Please welcome the 23′ International Signature to the GoSilver fleet! Brian and I are always looking for ways we can improve GoSilver, and this year we decided to add the 23′ International Signature to our fleet.  After running this business for a couple years we realized there was a gap in our fleet in that we went from a 20′ to 25′ Airstream with nothing in between.  We did add a 23′ Flying Cloud late in the season last year and that has helped fill the gap.  However, there are those who love the 25′ International Signature but felt it was too large for their needs. Then this 23′ International Signature is the perfect Airstream for them.  It has the International Signature decor, a queen size bed, a u-shaped dinette/convertible bed, a fully enclosed bathroom and an automatic awning.  We also upgraded the batteries in this 23′ International Signature to long-lasting 6-volt batteries in series, which allows for extended battery life when dry-camping.   We tried it out ourselves at Pinnacles National Park and found that it was the best dry-camping Airstream for a couple (or small family).  See the layout, more pictures, and the availability of the 23′ International Signature here.

We Now Have 360 Photos Of Each Airstream Interior Brian and I are so excited to announce a feature we’ve been working hard to add to our website!  In collaboration with Blind Knight Studios, we have captured 360 photos of the interior of each Airstream in our fleet.  So now you can visualize the Airstream as if you were standing inside!  We hope that these virtual tours will give you a better sense of the Airstreams if you haven’t stepped inside of one before.   Here an aerial shot of how we set up the trailers on the day of the 360 photo shoot. To begin, navigate to any one of the Airstream trailers shown on our fleet page.   When viewing on a computer or mobile device, scroll down to the Virtual Tour section and click the box to load the 360 photo.  The photo will automatically start panning, though you can use a mouse or touchscreen to rotate the view in any direction.  On mobile devices, tapping on the compass icon in the upper left allows you to rotate your screen to see the Airstream as though you’re standing inside the trailer! Lastly, click on the arrow icons to move to the different areas of the Airstream.   Here’s a quick peek inside our largest Airstream trailer, the 28′ International Serenity. For the full tour with multiple views of the interior, go to this Airstream’s webpage. And there’s plenty more 360 photos. So please, visit our fleet page and take a look inside each Airstream. We hope you all enjoy this new feature!

Introducing the 2017 Airstream Basecamp We are very excited to announce the arrival of the lightest trailer that Airstream has ever produced and the newest member of our fleet: The 16-foot Airstream Basecamp.  Though it may be small, it has all the necessities for a comfortable glamping experience including a full kitchen, refrigerator with a small freezer, a bathroom with shower, and a convertible dinette to bed.  The Basecamp even includes extras like a microwave, screen door, security box, black out shades, air conditioner and furnace.  And because this is the newest Airstream model produced there are plenty of USB ports to charge all your devices (more than any other Airstream in our fleet) along with the usual outlets.  There are batteries on board, charged by roof-mounted solar panels, to power outlets and lights even when it is not plugged in.  Two of my favorite features of the Basecamp is the wrap-around panoramic windows in the front, allowing me to cook with a view, and the back door hatch which allows for a view from the bed/dinette area.  Once converted to a bed, the large platform can easily fit up to 3 adults, which makes this bed bigger than the bed on the 19’ and 20’ Airstreams.   The Basecamp weighs 3500 pounds fully loaded, so it can easily be towed by most mid-sized SUVs and trucks, like the Acura MDX, Lexus RX, Nissan Pathfinder, Toyota 4Runner, Mercedes GLK250, Audi Q5, and BMW X3.  It has a 22 gallon fresh water tank on board and a 29 gallon black tank, which allows you to go dry camping if you’d like (read all about dry-camping here).  Otherwise you can take the Basecamp to any RV resort for the full hook-up experience, with electric, water and sewer ports.  And because this Basecamp is the lightest and smallest trailer Airstream has ever made, pulling this trailer is no sweat and learning to reversing it is also less difficult.   Of course with the smaller package, there are some things that the Basecamp doesn’t have that other Airstreams include, like a TV and stereo sound system.  Also the dinette and bed area are one and the same so you must convert the dinette to a bed every night (or do like we sometimes do and keep it a bed, and instead eat al fresco at your campsite).  There’s also no inverter circuit, so if you are not hooked-up to electricity you won’t be able to use the outlets.  Thus if you are planning to dry-camp for long periods of time in the Basecamp, we recommend renting a generator from us, which will allow you to fully utilize the trailer.   We recommend the Airstream Basecamp for couples or for families with small children.  For larger families with older kids, we recommend that two to three sleep in the Basecamp while everyone else sleeps outside in a tent.   Also if you want to go to multiple campgrounds, the Basecamp is a convenient way to travel without having to set-up and break-down campsites every time you move.  This trailer is a great option for those who like the camping experience with a little less “roughing it” and a little bit more of the comforts of home.  To view more pictures and find rental availability, go here.

Order groceries with Instacart and we’ll stock your Airstream rental! We are happy to present a new amenity for our guests at GoSilver: grocery delivery!  There’s nothing worse than getting all hitched up and ready to go, but then to have to stop off at a grocery store to stock up your Airstream for your vacation.  Or you have to bring all your groceries with you (and not to mention all your cooler bags which you then have to store in the Airstream).  By offering this grocery delivery to our guests, you guys can show up to a fully stocked Airstream! If you haven’t heard of Instacart before, it’s a grocery delivery service that hires personal shoppers to do your grocery shopping for you.  They partner with stores like WholeFoods and Safeway (see the above picture for all the stores available for delivery within our zip code, 95131).  There is a delivery charge of $9.99-$11.99 depending on the time window that you want it delivered.   If you want to have your groceries delivered and stocked into your Airstream we ask our customers to follow these guidelines to make it easier for us and to prevent any miscommunications: Schedule the delivery for the day of your departure, anytime after 11AM. Please send us the delivery information as soon as you order so we can set aside time in our schedule to stock the groceries. Make sure to give the business name and our phone number as the alternative phone number just in case the delivery person has trouble finding us.  You can also add the description that our business is “located in the Club Auto Sport complex, in the far corner of the back parking lot.” Please remember that the freezer section of the Airstreams (especially the smaller ones) are quite small so buy accordingly. And please remember to tip your personal shopper (they have a section for that on the Instacart site). We of course will stock items as soon as they are delivered but we are not responsible for the state of the groceries as they are delivered (for example if something had thawed out).  But in general we have had only pleasant experiences with Instacart, their personal shoppers, and the items they delivered.  We hope this amenity adds convenience to our customers lives and there’s one less thing to worry about before starting your Airstream trip!

Online Resources To Help You Find Your Next Campground or RV Park Sometimes you’re at a campsite or RV park just to have a place to eat and sleep enroute to other destinations on your trip.  But other times the campsite is the destination and not just part of the journey.  In those times, you want to book the best spots at the best campsites/RV parks.  To us, that means a clean RV park that’s generally quiet or in a convenient location (and that’s not shady, in the criminal sense).   And once we choose the best RV park, sometimes we want to choose the best RV space (especially if we’re staying longer than a couple days) and to us that means a spot that’s secluded with great views if they’re available.  To help us make these decisions, we use the following resources when planning our RV or camping trips: AllStays Camp & RV app:  This is the single most useful app that we have tried for our own extended RV trips.  Yes it’s a $10 investment but this app is available for family sharing and trust us, it’s worth it.  This app will show you every single independently owned RV resort, state park campsite, national park campsite, national forest campsite, and just general areas to park an RV.  The best thing about this is app is that it doesn’t need cellular reception to work (which is especially useful when picking a last minute RV park while on the road).  But if you do have reception, the app can take you directly to Google images of the RV park/campsite as well as to its website and/or booking site.  Though they have a couple reviews up on the app, there’s not a whole lot so if you have service, cross-reference your chosen RV park/campsite with one of the sites listed below. RV Park Reviews: This site probably has the most user generated reviews on RV Parks and campgrounds than any other site though there’s not much in the way of pictures.  You can filter parks with their search filters but sometimes their search can be a little glitchy (just make sure when entering the location you’re interested in the search bar to include the state, otherwise it will say nothing found).  But for the most part, the reviews are detailed and provide some great tidbits of advice. Good Sam Club:  This site is like the Michelin guide of RV parks and resorts (but not campsites).  They have a 1-10 rating system (with 10 being the best) for the categories Facility, Restroom (cleanliness), and Appeal.  I’m not sure who decides the scores, but for the most part they are reliable ( 10/10/10 RV resorts are usually really awesome, though more expensive).  They also have reviews from other Good Sam members, which really helps to paint a better picture of the RV park.  (Also a note about Good Sam, by joining their Club you can get a 10% off discount at any Good Sam RV Park and there’s a lot of them.  So if you’re going to be going to a lot of RV parks during the year, it’s worth getting the membership.  But otherwise the reviews on their website are great resources and their search function on the site is pretty easy to use). Campendium: This is a relatively new website that is trying to become the Yelp of campgrounds and RV sites.  All reviews and most of the photos are user generated.  The site was create by the couple behind Aluminarium (one of my favorite Airstream blogs on the web).  One of the best features of the reviews is the cell coverage info for each review (this is super important when you like to work on the road like we do), but each review comes with a ton of valuable information.  They also have reviews of free campsites for dry-camping (i.e. no hook-ups), which is a great tool for those just need the best parking lot to those who want to camp in nature away from the crowds.  There aren’t a lot of reviews out there yet for each campsite/RV park, but just like any community, it takes some time to grow. Trip Advisor: Surprisingly TripAdvisor can be a great resource for some of the bigger and more popular RV sites and campsites.  The great thing about TripAdvisor is they usually have some pictures of the campsite and sometimes tips on which sites in the RV park or campground are the best. Yelp: Yelp is still Yelp when it comes to RV parks, and like TripAdvisor, there are a lot of good reviews and photos for the bigger and more popular RV parks and campsites. And last but not least, one of the best way to find a good campsite is to talk to a local (if you’re trying to find some last minute RV campsites).  Of course not all locals will be the camper types and know where to go, but we’ve lucked out and found some great places just by striking up conversations.  At the very least it’s sometimes worth a try.   And finally if you’re planning ahead, once you find the park that you want to stay at, just call the RV park or campsite and you can ask them which sites are the best (most secluded or with the best view).  Most of the time, the RV parks are more than happy to tell you their recommendations.

How to use your Airstream without any hook-ups (aka Dry-Camping) What does it mean to dry-camp? For those who really want to use their rented Airstream to it’s fullest potential and for those with a love of camping out in private, less-populated areas then dry-camping is for you.  Dry-camping is when you park your Airstream in a place with no hook-ups (but usually a designated campsite).  Thus, unlike at a posh RV park, you do not have electricity, water, or sewer connection available onsite.  And what that means for you is that you will have to monitor both your electricity and water consumption, and forgo hours of TV watching and long hot showers.  But in exchange for those sacrifices, you’re rewarded with a usually quiet and isolated spot and nature right at your Airstream door-step.   Also another term related to dry-camping is called dispersed camping, but dispersed camping pertains to parking in sites that are not designated campsites and can only be done on public land that allows for it.  The term boondocking can pertain to both dry-camping (at a designated campsite) and dispersed camping (not designated campsites). Dry Camping Tips Dry-camping challenges can be categorized by  the different resources that have to be managed during your trip: power, water, and tank space. Power When you are not connected to 120V shore power at an RV park or campground with hook-ups, power is being provided by the two 12V house batteries onboard the Airstream. These batteries will charge up during the day by the solar panels on the roof if the Airstream is parked in a sunny area. The solar panels on the 19’ and 20’ models are smaller and will take 2 full days of solar charging to get back to a full charge.   The biggest user of power when using the trailer is the furnace. Even though the heat is created by burning propane, the furnace has a blower that spreads the warm air and uses up power whenever it is running. The other items that use up power when dry camping are the lights, the water pump, the flat panels, DVD player, refrigerator, fans, and running the inverter. The trailer has an inverter that converts the battery 12V power to 120V power that allows you to run any electrical item up to 1,000 Watts. Unfortunately, this leaves the coffee maker, hair dryer and air conditioner off limits when dry camping unless you have rented our optional generators. If the onboard batteries have completely drained, connect the 7-way plug from the trailer to the 7way connector on your tow vehicle (as you would do when hitching up your Airstream).  Keep them connected for a few minutes and this will provide enough juice from the vehicle’s 12v battery to begin allowing the solar panels to charge the batteries.   However if you plan to dry-camp for multiple days (and especially don’t know if you will be having sunny weather), we recommend renting one of our Honda Generators that operate on gasoline. The primary uses for the generator are recharging batteries and running high wattage appliances.  Running the generator for few hours during the day will bring the batteries back to a reasonable charge and allow you to have an enjoyable evening with heat, refrigeration and lights. If you plan to run the air conditioning with a 2000W generator, make sure that no other electrical devices are plugged in and turn off the the electric water heater. A 3000W generator will allow you to run the A/C while providing power to few devices.   Propane – The trailers have two 30lb tanks that are good for many weeks of camping. We make sure each trailer leaves our facility with full tanks and the propane is included in your rental fee. The hot water, refrigerator, stove and oven all work off of propane. Water This resource may be the most challenging one to stretch over multiple days. Our 25’ and 27’ models have 39 gallons of water and the 19’ and 20’ models have 23 gallons. We have 6-gallon water jugs available which can provide water to refill the tank and provide that extra shower or extra day of camping. Some campgrounds have water available on the premises but not at each campsite, so the jugs can be handy to shuttle water from the water spigot to refill the water tank. For campgrounds with no water you can bring water with you or take the jug and fill up in town when you are visiting the local sites.   Fresh Water Supply Grey Water Tank Black Water Tank 19’ International 23 gallons 21 gallons 18 gallons 20’ Flying Cloud 25’ Flying Cloud 39 gallons 35 gallons 39 gallons 25’ International 37 gallons 27’ International 39 gallons Holding Tank Space Typically, the gray water tank (water from shower and faucets) will fill up first.  Take short showers, and use the start/stop switch on the shower head to rinse, soap, and rinse.  Although it’s not as nice as a long hot shower when you are at a park with hookups, it will keep you fresh and use about 4 gallons of water. The outdoor shower is another alternative for quick rinses. Cleaning dishes can also use up the gray holding tank so using paper plates and cups can help save water.   The black water tank (sewage) is good for several days up to a week depending on the size of your Airstream. Each flush equals about a ½ gallon so you can estimate how many days you can go without dumping the tanks by guessing how many times a day you flush. As with water, many dry camping sites may not have a sewer connection at the site but provide a dump station where you can dump on your way out (this is recommended only for those who are going on multi-day dry-camping trips, otherwise we flush and sanitize all tanks as part of our service). Dry-camping at Alabama

Welcome to the family, the 23-foot Flying Cloud We are very excited to announce the addition of a new Airstream to our fleet: the 23-foot corner bed Flying Cloud!  For families and couples looking for a bit more extra space compared to the 20′ Flying Cloud, but don’t have the capacity to tow the 25′ Airstreams, this is the one for you!   This 23′ Airstream comes with all of the usual suspects including full bathroom with shower, kitchen, fridge with freezer box, stove, propane oven, bed, convertible dinette, TV, Blu-ray player, air conditioner and furnace.  But it also has additional features like a microwave, ample storage (2 wardrobes!), and a bike rack mounted to the back of the Airstream.   At 6000 pounds fully loaded, this 23-foot Airstream can be towed by cars like the Audi Q7, BMW X5, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Range Rover, Lexus GX, Mercedes ML250, Toyota Sequoia, and Volkswagen Touareg.  Also it is the smallest Airstream with 2 axles, which helps stabilize the trailer when towing.   We highly recommend this Airstream for families of 4 to 5 because of the ample sleeping quarters.  Not only does it have a bed (slightly narrower than a standard full sized bed) and the convertible dinette, but it also has a pull out lounge bed that can accommodate an adult taller than 6 feet.  For families of 4 or more, the kids could take the corner bed, which then can be screened off for privacy while the adults can have full utilization of the kitchen and dinette area late into the night (as well as easy access to the door to come and go).  This is also great if the kids sleep-in in the morning, allowing the adults to get a head start with breakfast.  (As a note this is a sleeping arrangement we recommend for those who take the 25′ Flying Cloud as well.)   So if this sounds like the Airstream for you, or you want to learn more, find more details and available dates here.

How-To: Book an RV site Here’s a quick follow-up to our previous post about researching RV parks and campgrounds. As an example, we’ll be using the Costanoa reservation webpage. This RV site is managed by KOA (Kampgrounds of America) and when booking your RV spot here’s a brief look at what your reservation form looks like:   Airstreams are travel trailers and they don’t have any slideouts.  And depending on what you rent, we have Airstreams ranging from 19 to 28 feet.  Here’s all the details you might need when making a reservation at a RV park or campsite: Equipment Type: Travel Trailer Slideouts: None Electricity: 30 Amp Length: 19 – 28 ft Width: 9 ft And that’s it!  You’re on your way to an unforgettable vacation!

A Hitch-up Tutorial Video by GoSilver We are excited to present to you our first video tutorial (of hopefully many)!  Our first video shown here goes over the process of hitching up your rented Airstream to your towing vehicle.  We of course will go over this at the start of your trip, but we will be sending this video to all customers so that they may familiarize themselves with the process before picking up their Airstream.  Thanks for watching!