New AS Globetrotter 23

[HMD1056]

I am in no way a fan of Airstreams and their issues.  With that said, their Globetrotter line now has 23 foot.  Larger 3 way refrigerator, queen or 80x34 twin beds, convection microwave, full bath (in the back, yuk!!) and bedroom in the front (double yuk!!).  My point being...many of the "wishes" of OTT folks/wannabes seem doable in a 23ft.  I am thinking new fiberglass molds to accommodate the new design/arrangement would be expensive.  And the extra foot wider would surely make the model more expensive.  The Globetrotter 23 comes in roughly at 100k.  The decor is OK, nothing to WOW about, but the conveniences of three burner stove, convection oven, and full bath are dreamy for this 62 year old gal-full-time-hopeful.  Any thoughts?

[Overland]

I moved this out of the "How to use the forums" section and into General Discussion.

 

The extra width of the Airstream, as with most stick built trailers, allows them more freedom with the floor plans.  They also measure 23' as the length of the box, whereas Oliver measures from tongue to bumper, so the AS is actually 5' longer.  Their 19' Caravel/Bambi is probably the closest to the Elite II in size, though they're still a foot larger in both length and width.

 

But there has been talk and rumors of a larger Oliver for as long as I've known about the company, and it is certainly a likely avenue for expansion.  I imagine though that there needs to be another step in both production capability and general demand before Oliver goes down that path.

 

 

 

 

[Landrover]

Yes the price doesn’t match the quality. If you put on all the options Oliver has you’ll be around 70k far short of airstreams 100k and you can’t get these options on the airstream. If you look at both as usable square footage. Not much difference. Build quality doesn’t compare I know, been there. It’s still your personal preference. Look at both up close and purchase what suits you best. Oliver was my choice.

[HMD1056]

Well, I look at the floorplans, but wouldn't buy an Airstream...too many quality issues.  You are so very right..quality is so far below OTT.  To be honest, before happening upon OTT and this forum, I was very uneducated on travel trailers in general.  What I have learned from this forum (and others) beats my college degree by miles and miles!!  I wouldn't fulltime in anything but an Oliver.  Not just the exceptional quality, but the exceptional service.  And I do hate to sound like a girl...but, Olivers are pretty.  Whereas, the streamlined beauty of the Olivers may not be real high on the priority lists of some folks, it is me.   Airstreams are pretty, but from reading the airforum posts over time, there are just too many quality control issues with brand new Airstreams.

 

Overland, thank you so much for explaining the length measurement differences between the two trailer types.  I was unaware of the difference.

[DavidS]

They also measure 23′ as the length of the box, whereas Oliver measures from tongue to bumper, so the AS is actually 5′ longer.

Overland, We have camped with friends with an Airstream, and I think you are mistaken. I looked on the Airstream web site, and it says: "All Airstream Travel Trailer exterior lengths are measured from the center of the hitch to the end of the rear bumper." On Airforums people said they are measured from "ball to bumper."

 

One major difference is that the tongue on the Oliver is much longer than on most trailers. Airstreams have a smaller tongue, and thus the cabin on a 23 foot Airstream is longer than on a 23 foot Oliver. I doubt the difference is five feet.

[Mike and Carol]

Overland, We have camped with friends with an Airstream, and I think you are mistaken. I looked on the Airstream web site, and it says: “All Airstream Travel Trailer exterior lengths are measured from the center of the hitch to the end of the rear bumper.” On Airforums people said they are measured from “ball to bumper.”

I’ve wondered about this, it just seems like the AS has a lot more interior space not just because of the extra width. There’s a 23’ AS that is stored next to my Oliver, I’m going to measure next time I’m over there. Mike

[Overland]

[postquote quote=180978][/postquote]

That's interesting, thanks.  I'm only going by what I've been told in the past; so if it's on their website, I believe them.

 

I do know that the RVIA standard is to count only the box when advertising the size, though obviously that guideline isn't followed by everyone.

[Mattnan]

I would be very interested in a larger Oliver.  To us a dry bath is important.  I like the floor plans of the front bed AS 23 and 25.  I am very concerned about paying the asking prices for those trailers given the reported quality issues.  I would probably immediately jump on a slightly larger Oliver if the quality is maintained.  The slightly larger interior volume is appealing to us.  There are some interesting European models that I wish were available in the U.S. market.  I am impressed with Oliver.  Markets change and the travel trailer industry needs to keep current.  Nest was on the way to innovation then AS..Thor saw the threat and bought them.  I hope Oliver will continue to innovate.  If companies do not someone else will.  Interested in others take on this.  I believe both AS and Oliver measure from hitch to rear bumper.

[ScubaRx]

All trailers are supposed to be measured from the hitch to the bumper.

[John E Davies]

 

Notice the load capacity. With a full fresh 39 gallon tank (324 lbs) and no options, you have just 679 pounds left for optional equipment and your personal stuff. Do they think people are stupid enough to buy these? I guess so, and the trailers will all be well over gross weight.

 

My well optioned trailer has a cargo payload of around 1350 pounds with full fresh 30 gallon tank.

 

Yay Ollies!

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

 

 

 

 

[SeaDawg]

Trailer measurements, and rv measurements, are all over the map, from my experience.

 

24rb class c on the way to Alaska measures 28 something on a ferry.

 

Airstream sort of measures tongue to bumper, but as another said, that tongue is really a short a frame, like most stickies, resulting a larger box, because of the shorter tongue. . Still rounded up, or down, or whatever.

I think molded fiberglass is the only class that truly tries to measure tongue to bumper.

Sherry

 

[Hans111]

We just faced that very decision between a 23-foot Globetrotter and an Oliver. We've loved our great little T@B for several years but have long-planned to order a roomier Airstream for retirement travel. But we just couldn't seem to bring ourselves to place the order. We were camping in Tennessee recently when we came across an Oliver on it's maiden voyage, then we made a detour to Hohenwald for the tour. On the way back to the Midwest the next day, we made it a point to swing by a large Airstream dealer to look at comparable Globetrotter and Caravel models while the Oliver experience was fresh. Sure, there were a few features we preferred with AS (mostly layout-related, maybe a few decor options) but the Oliver really stood out for it's fit, finish, and overall quality, especially against the Caravel. While Airstream advertises high MSRP, the prices dealers offered us were virtually the same as Oliver.

We got home, gave it a day, and ordered our Oliver. It was a simple decision once we found the right trailer--or rather, the right trailer found us!

[Mattnan]

We did the same thing in late August. We looked at the 23ft Globe Trotter and international Serrenity. Originally we were going to buy an Airstream. That was the plan, either 23 or 25ft model. We then saw an Ollie. We were concerned about the quality of the Airstream. We viewed new units at a dealer. There were broken cabinets and tables and poor fit and finish. We thought about it as we liked the addtional interior volume and floor plans of the Airstream. The recent blogs on quality issus were also key factors in our decision.

 

The Oliver quality won us over. We ordered one of the last inventory 2019 twins. We pick up our new Ollie, hull 537 "Beacon" on October 22. We have a lot to learn but are very excited. We will bring Beacon back to our home in Coastal Maine. We may do one short local camping trip then winterize Beacon and place her in our Barn for the first part of the winter. We plan to outfit Beacon and then leave Maine for southern climates sometime in Feburary. I am a Maine native and still enjoy "some" winter. We plan on ending our southern travels at the rally in May. We like being in Maine in the summer as we are close to an ocean beach with a view. We also enjoy ocean boating. We will be usung our Ollie primarilly for fall and winter escapes south and west. See you all out there.