Are people really this foolish?

[JD GUMBEE]

Video of a 1978 Airstream TT, itemizing the money spent on refurb.


The thing is not old enough to be worth a third what was spent...and they could have bought a mint condition example for a lot less.
I do not see any workmanship worthy of that kind of ca$h.
I know the Scotty's and the old Shasta's are starting to demand high numbers, but have any of you seen this kind of insanity before?

This makes me want to pull the trigger on the property in NM and rebuild old TT's.

I think I would feel guilty taking money like this.dx

 

[tx2sturgis]

What the babe lacks in common sense, she makes up for in looks.....so there is that.

 

[JD GUMBEE]

The guy CRIES when he sees it in another video.

About the cheesiest audio setup you could ever buy...and they brag about how "all the appliances are Furion brand."
A bit like being glad you bought awesome quality "Durabrand" car audio. LOL

Of course, they are tiny house people.
SMH

 

[highdesertranger]

what's funny is they paid someone for that birds nest wiring. wire nuts on a mobile application haha. highdesertranger

 

[Motrukdriver]

Holy crap... I wonder who was driving that spending insanity.

 

[SoulRaven]

I got nothin' to say. They're happy, so be it.

 

[johnny b]

Having never heard of 'Furrion' before, I googled.....BWAHAHAHA!
$275 for a 4.3 cubic ft. dorm fridge; 115V.
$460 for 'dual' induction cooktop....however, it shares a 15 amp plug...total combined usage capped at 1800 watts, ie cook on one while maybe warming on the other?
$710 for small propane oven....well at least it's gas.

HQ - Hong Kong
R&D / Quality Control - Dongguan, China  (Code for made in China)

So, to answer the thread title:  Apparently, YES!

 Oh yeah, $472 for a rim job....I know there's a joke there somewhere! 

And for the kicker, they think they actually 'made money' by continuing to work while paying for all the labor...must be that common core math???

 

[tx2sturgis]

 Oh yeah, $472 for a rim job....I know there's a joke there somewhere! 

He says it with a straight face tho!

Yeah I wasn't gonna go there because everyone already knows I have a twisted sense of humor... 

:dodgy:

 

[jimindenver]

Who knows why their decisions were made. They could have bought cheap not knowing all that was needed or thinking that the money was better spent on ending up with a custom rebuilt rig. I recognize also that as you tubers that there has to be a certain amount of flash and brand recognition for showmanship.

They seem to be happy with their choices. I feel the fridge is small as is their ability to produce/store power vs all of the electrical requirements in a off grid situation.

 

[SoulRaven]

Has anyone wondered yet, if at least some of those luxury products were donated to them by the mfg'rs, for clever & free advertisements for their products to be shown in numerous videos? Or that maybe they got a huge discount on them for being notable & popular YouTubers among the famous & highly regarded Airstream & other sundry TT owners groups?

 

[John61CT]

Airstreams are like VW buses, getting far higher than rational prices in any kind of condition.

So obviously the demographic buying them are not making decisions based on economic common sense to start with.

So many mainstream citizens spending hundreds of thousands on very shoddy consumer goods that won't last nearly as long as what poorer folk are DIYing learning as they go.

Too much money floating around, common sense not so common. . .

 

[Grizzly708]

I would not go that route myself, but if they're happy it's all good. 

 

[ZoNiE]

A fool and his money...

 

[Canine]

I bought a brand new aluminum 6X12 V nose custom built cargo trailer with some extras from the factory. I built it with about the best stuff I could buy (latex mattress, 2 MPPT controllers, two axles on the trailer, upgraded tires, PlatCat heater, etc.). Including fuel to pick up items, and every miscellaneous item, I spent about $15,000. That to me is a high cost build. I could have made a heck of a rig for much less.

If they took out the labor costs, they would still be around $40,000. It took me 11 months total to do my trailer. If I had access to a garage, it could have been done in about 5 to 7 months. If I had been more motivated and more knowledgeable, I could have knocked it out in 3 or 4 months. This is 99.5% by myself. If I had help, holy cow- I'm talking 2 months or so.

My solar is 570 watts with 4 AGMs with all the bells and whistles including fuses, wire, inverter, mounts, etc. came to $2700 which is an expensive setup. Theirs came to $4600. I'm not sure how they could spend that much for a similar system to mine.

About the only thing I spent more on was insulation. Hundreds more.

Their rig is nice and much cheaper than a house, so they are still coming out ahead. Yet, I must say you can do it for much less if you don't get hung up on having an Airstream or some such thing.

Also, my knees were screaming in pain just watching them sit there. Must be nice to be young.

 

[jimindenver]

For some people the cool factor is as important as anything and sometimes worth sacrificing function to hold their heads up high and say I have (fill in the blank). Some people pay a lot to have function they will never use just to be able to say "look at what I could do if I ever wanted to" even though you know they never will. THEY are the only ones that have to see the value.

 

[[email protected]]

I have a brother whose annual income approaches $1000000. His view of money and my view of money are two entirely different things. He simply does not understand why people would worry about something when it was only a few thousand dollars!

Sent from my Z557BL using Tapatalk

 

[tripper]

I have about $8000 total cost in my 5th wheel (including purchase price). I have done a nice job upgrading my rig for that amount of money. I have all the conveniences of a modern rig, plus a lot more. I can only imagine how incredible my rig would be if I only put half the amount they did into my 5th wheel. I would at the very least have a disco ball for that much money!

Still I do not fault them for spending the money, you only live once. What a great thing to spend your money on. What I find foolish is my friend in San Diego who is paying $3,000 a month on mortgage on a townhouse that looks like an apt. with a 10x10 foot yard, and yet they think they have a great place, my friend is 48 and I recently pointed out to them that they will be 78 before the house is paid off...

 

[tx2sturgis]

What I find foolish is my friend in San Diego who is paying $3,000 a month on mortgage on a townhouse that looks like an apt. with a 10x10 foot yard, and yet they think they have a great place, my friend is 48 and I recently pointed out to them that they will be 78 before the house is paid off...

To be fair, you also have to look at real property as an appreciating asset.

In 30 years, that townhouse will probably sell for several times the purchase price. 

Any normal RV....not so much. Unless it's an Airstream...they do seem to hold onto some value.

 

[JD GUMBEE]

Everyone has to make themselves happy.
Maybe a 1978 is worth a ton.
I guess when I look at classic cars...and I see a 1955 Chevy done up nicely...I GET it.
Even a 1965 Mustang a classic.
But a 1978 vehicle? Few from '78 are worth any money, though. Maybe the "Bandit" Trans-Am.
The same holds true in my own head for an Airstream. Early 60's kept early 60's, I would understand.
But when you can get this for the same investment: https://www.ebay.com/itm/2018-Airst...ash=item2cd0119e50:g:XpMAAOSwZEValvgy&vxp=mtr
(Link leads to a 2018 Airstream Globetrotter, with some very nice pictures of the inside)
...throwing money at one like they did to end up with walls that looked like that...it just left me shaking my head.

Jim makes the only point that matters though.
As long as they are pleased with it, more power to them.
(Except for that stereo. All that cash and they could not throw at least a nice double din unit driving a pair of KEF Q350's to fill the thing with decent sound?)

ltripper, your $$$ amounts coincide with my thoughts.
As long as the roof has not leaked a bunch, you can turn any towed RV into something nice for 10K or less. (Including a little solar.)
As for that $3K/month condo. It's not the $3K/month...it's living in a CONDO!!
YUCH YUCH YUCH
Makes about as much sense as buying a diesel pusher to pay for RV park slots to show off your $25K golf cart with the pimp rims. SMH
Don't they know you can own a pretty nice sand rail for that money?
Give me GLAMIS man. Any day!!!

 

[John61CT]

Regions with crazy housing costs are largely that way because they give relatively comfortable access to high-growth industries paying skilled labour nice fat salaries. Choosing to live in the low-rent boonies is just not an option for most still stuck in the rat race.

Remember, in the top 15 or so metro areas these days $100K is just barely middle class, and paying 30% of your gross income for housing is very much at the low end, even if it's rent.

Not saying that is optimal, or even financially sensible in my book, but it certainly is mainstream normal.

Most people do want to be socially accepted by their class peers and "betters", and that doesn't come cheap. Many pay well over 50% of their income for their housing for that privilege.