Life is good.

In the beginning, there was the tow vehicle.

One of the many things that initially attracted me to my 2010 Toyota Highlander Limited was the "Tow Package" option, which adds a 240-watt cooling fan, heavy-duty radiator and oil cooler.  With it, towing capacity is rated at 5000 lbs along with a hitch capacity of 500 lbs.

Many reviews pointed out that "...while there are many newer mid-size crossovers on the market, the Highlander has many attributes that make it a worthy choice as a family truckster, including decent build quality, good feature content, a comfortable ride and a surprisingly capacious interior.  In many respects it's the modern version of a 1980s Ford Country Squire, without the wood paneling.  no doubt Clark Griswold would approve."

THAT was what really sold me on the Highlander - it's what the Griswolds would have driven!

But really, it's a great SUV!  *AND* I can tow something with it.  What will I tow and where will it tow it to?  I didn't know.  But I know I had some idea in my mind that someday, I would want to tow something.

Eight years later, I decided to finally get the hitch installed, along with the wiring harness.

And so it began...  NOW I could actually tow something.

Having spent some time thinking about taking a real vacation, the first thing that came to mind was how I might be able to combine the two.  Tow + Vacation = ??  How about an RV?!?

I went out and visited a variety of RV dealers, and while there were some that were "nice", nothing really generated much interest in me.  Well, except for one, and it was sooooo expensive!  

The Airstream.

Sleek lines.

Curves.  

All Aluminum.  

Wrap around windows.  

Amazing.

To put it into perspective, most of the RV dealers I visited had 2018 models ranging in price from $15K-$30K.  But the 2018 entry Airstream model was $40K+ (with a fraction of the amenities in the competitor's $30K models, and a 1/4 of the size), and only seemed to skyrocket up from there.  The unit that I was interested in was $59K!

But, um, no.  

So, I started visiting online forums and facebook groups to learn about them and their owners, and I was really impressed.  Especially by some of the amazing remodels and renovations that some of the owners have done.  But one of the things that really stood out for me was the amazing sense of community that Airstream owners are a part of.  And I found the DIY renovations amazing.

But lets not forget about that tow vehicle...  

I had to learn all sorts of new terminology.  Hitch weight.  Dry weight.  Tongue weight.  Hitch capacity.  Tow capacity.  Oy!  Fortunately, there are LOTS of resources on the Internet to help guide you through all of these terms, but I can't stress enough how important it is to understand how your vehicle's tow capacity and hitch capacity factor are the weakest link in the puzzle in terms of learning what you can/can't tow.

Focusing in on the 5000 lb tow capacity and 500 hitch capacity of my tow vehicle, I started looking into used Airstreams.  Often, I felt like a parrot, as most of my posts consisted of "Weight?".

Then I found it.  

My Airstream.

The one.

And just like that, "Life is Good."