[A/S] I'm an Airstream Wannabe--Newbie Questions

["darinb20855" <darin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi,

My name is Darin and I'm live in Maryland, just north of Washington, DC. My=
 wife and 
I, along with our two lovely daughters (ages 4 and 6) are planning a major =
trip 
starting next June--taking a year off and traveling North America. Presumab=
ly we'll 
tire of the adventure and settle somewhere—probably out West. I may write a=
 book on 
the experience.

I'm hoping this group can help me with the millions of questions that I'll =
have (well, 
at least several dozen). I plan on purchasing my Airstream in March of 2004=
. Right 
now I'm trying to focus on which model or range of models I might purchase =
and in 
which size.

My thinking now is that I will want something about 27' long, either of rec=
ent vintage 
(96 or newer) or something older that has been restored to perfect working =
order (not 
necessarily restored to historically accurate vintage condition). This is i=
mportant now 
since I'm trying to figure the budget out at this point.

So here are a few questions:

Anyone out there traveling with young children for an extensive period of t=
ime? What 
do you travel in—was in big enough? 

What about Canada? I hear that the wide-bodies are illegal in Canada—true o=
r rumor? 
Anyone traveling in Canada extensively?

What about Mexico? Anything I should know about Mexico's rules and regulati=
ons 
regarding trailer size?

What about National Parks? One source said that many National Parks have si=
ze 
restrictions on trailers—nothing over 27 feet. True? Widespread? 

Speaking of budget—what are maintenance costs like on Airstreams (and new v=
s, 
old)?

O.K., there are a few questions—I hope not too many!

Thanks,

--Darin