RE: [VAL] 74 and 75 trailers were the best...

[<pcfranke@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>The Beatrice Foods years were the worst for our Airstreams - my opinion,
>yours may vary.

It does.  That's what makes the world go round.

With all due respect, the Beatrice years have some real advantages:

(1) lighter

(2) indestructable interiors --  because the casework was made of aluminum 
extrusions and melamine laminate, while there is vinyl bonded over the interior 
skin.  
Amongst other things, this means minimum upkeep.

But also disadvantages:

(1) the color schemes were what today is considered maximally tacky -- avocado 
green or burnt orange, shag carpets, etc.  Furthermore, at least for the first 
five years the laminate was entirely "walnut", which makes for a dark, perhaps 
gloomy, interior.  On the other hand, you're not required to retain the original 
color scheme -- the fabrics (which in thirty years probably have been rotted by 
the sun), the tambour, and even much of the laminate are rather easy to change, 
with some really attractive choices being available.  

(2) no grey water tanks until 1974 (some people have installed their own, or 
you always can use a blue boy).

(3) the frames were a bit underdesigned, so that they sometime bent on the 
longer models when driven over rough roads with the waste tanks full.  However, 
the fix for this is well known and easily performed by Jackson Center or your 
dealer.

It's a personal decision.  Personally, I love the one I've got,  and have no 
desire to replace it with any other -- newer or older.  

                  -- Lew #4239

'72 Safari
Getting unstuck from Ohio