Foley RV/Airstream of Mississippi - Gulfport, Mississippi (December 2025)

We were convinced that the electrical problem we diagnosed while camping in Pensacola wasn't going to fix itself. The best course of action for us was to take Rosie, our Airstream trailer, to Foley RV/Airstream of Mississippi in Gulfport and let them figure it out. 

We hitched-up the night before so that we could get an early start to Foley RV. We were able to leave Battleship Row and start our trip to Mississippi before sunrise. Our goal was to arrive at Foley RV around 9 a.m. We knew we could eat breakfast at the restaurant next door while Rosie was being worked on. 

Foley RV in Gulfport, Mississippi

We arrived at Foley RV before 9 a.m. and they immediately started working on Rosie. We walked next door for breakfast. I had it in my head that the battery converter was questionable. As we sat in the restaurant enjoying our breakfast, we saw Ron, the manager of Foley RV, walking across the parking lot headed to us. 

It is never a good sign with the dealership manager hunts you down while your Airstream is in for service. Yes, Ron was looking for us and yes, he knew what the primary problems was. Rosie's AGM batteries were toast. 

Airstream suggests replacing those batteries every three to four years. Rosie's batteries were five years old, so i felt we had a bonus year with our batteries. 

Foley RV had the batteries in stock and Rosie was ready around 11 a.m. We were able to start for home.

Unloading Rosie as the sun sets

We arrived home with less than an hour of daylight remaining in the day and quickly emptied Rosie before driving to the storage lot. We had to park Rosie in the dark and had to go back the next day to winterize for the coming cold weather. 

We have to say that our abbreviated camping season was a success and we have already started making plans for next year. 

Foley RV/Airstream of Mississippi - Gulfport, Mississippi (October 2025)

Rosie, the name we call our Airstream trailer, sat idle for 15 long months while I recovered from a mountain of medical woes. As expected, we compiled a list of "maintenance problems" during our first camping trips. We were pleasantly surprised that our "problem list" was short. 

We could not ignore one of the problems. A small amount of water was leaking in through the front window. It appeared we didn’t have a major problem with this leak because we had more than an inch of rain while camping near Mobile and Rosie was dry inside, but we knew the leak would only get worse over time. 

Foley RV / Airstream of Mississippi

We decided to close our second Rosie adventure of the year by visiting Foley RV/Airstream of Mississippi for some service from the dealer who sold us our Airstream.

We knew we had to leave the Mobile area early on our service appointment day. Complicating the travel time was the tunnel under Mobile Bay. That tunnel has a reputation of being very slow weekday mornings. 

We completely hooked-up Rosie to our truck the night before and had to take down only the electric just before pulling out. Our planning paid off as we made it through the tunnel before the traffic slowed down to a crawl during the normal morning drive time. 

We were able to travel the 75 miles and arrived at Foley RV just as they were opening for the day. After giving the service technician our problem list, we headed to the fast food restaurant next door for our breakfast. 

Breakfast time!

When we walked back to Foley RV's Service Department, the technician had a list of the problems he found with Rosie. There were three areas around the front window that caused a "slow leak." All of the repairs could be completed by noon, but we needed to stay overnight to make sure the fresh window seals set properly.

While the technician worked on Rosie, we looked at the new Airstream trailers and the Basecamps. Fortunately, we didn't find a new trailer that we liked more than Rosie. 

The technician working on Rosie's AC units

Then it was closing time at Foley RV. There are three full hook-ups spots behind the service bays that customers can use while their Airstreams are being serviced. All three camping sites have a pronounced left-to-right lean, which would be unacceptable at a campground. We would have to live with the lean for a night while Foley RV repaired Rosie.

We were locked in their lot and given emergency contact numbers, which we did not need. The traffic and train noises died down around 9 p.m. Suzy, our Yorkie, didn't seemed confused by all of the other Airstream trailers. She always returned to Rosie's door when we took her out for a walk. 

Rosie in the service area's complimentary overnight parking

It was surprisingly cool the next morning. We turned on the heat pumps to make sure they worked. The technician was there by 8 a.m. and tested the new seals. A new problem was discovered and quickly fixed. We were ready to leave for home by midmorning. 

Foley RV/Airstream of Mississippi- Gulfport, Mississippi (May 2024)

RV owners know that their campers need occasional maintenance. It makes sense that when you drag a trailer down the road at highway speeds, things are going to need repairs.

For Rosie, our Airstream trailer, the main door was showing signs of a problem. The door moved up about a quarter of an inch when you closed it from the outside. You had to slam it hard to close it from inside and I am sure that our camping neighbors did not appreciate that noise. 

Foley RV/Airstream of Mississippi

Airstream owners know that there are some repairs that any RV service center can help with. Then there are Airstream specific repairs that you need to trust to someone who works on Airstream trailers. The door is a potential aluminum issue and that suggested that we needed to take Rosie to an Airstream dealer.

Since we purchased Rosie from Foley RV/Airstream of Mississippi, we know that dealership. They have a Five-Rivet rating with Airstream, meaning their service department is top rated by the company. They also have John, the service manager.

We have developed a strong level of trust with John during our previous visits there. We are not alone because you frequently see John mentioned in a positive light in many social media posts from other Airstreamers. 

John met us as soon as we arrived at Foley RV/Airstream of Mississippi. We went over the three things we had on our list. John told us that we didn't have to unhitch and he could have us on the road in 90 minutes. 

We went to the fast food restaurant next door and ordered their two for $5 special for breakfast and took our time eating. By the time we walked back to the service area, they were finishing up on our Airstream trailer. Becky looked at a few new Airstreams while I talked to the service technician. 

True to his word, John told us that our Airstream trailer was ready for the road midmorning. We settled up our account and felt good about our service visit there.

Foley RV/Airstream of Mississippi - Gulfport, Mississippi (October 2021)

RV'ers know that some roads are simply bad for their  rigs. The bouncing on I-12 in Louisiana damaged the legs on our first Airstream trailer's table. Another road to avoid is I-59 heading north from Birmingham, Ala. Somehow the state has never been able to smooth out that road so that it doesn't toss around your camper as if it was in the epicenter of an earthquake.

We recently found ourselves pulling Rosie, our Airstream trailer, from Birmingham to Chattanooga. We tried to go slow enough to minimize any potential damage, but noticed the door didn't quite close as easily as before and the deadbolt lock was hard to engage. That meant it was time to visit Foley RV/Airstream of Mississippi for some warranty service on Rosie.

We knew from purchasing our original Rosie that your RV dealer was important. We bought our first trailer from an Airstream dealer that was excellent in keeping our original Rosie in tip-top shape. That dealership was sold to a big RV chain that dropped the Airstream line.

When we started talking about getting a new Airstream trailer, we found in the Blue Beret, the Airstream Owners Association's magazine, that Foley RV was a "Five-Rivet" dealer. This is the Airstream Corporation's highest recognition for dealers, their service departments and their customer service. 

Sign at Foley RV

By the way, there is an Airstream dealer much closer to our house. We called once about a minor Airstream recall item. It appeared the service manager knew less about the recall than us. We followed by calling Foley RV and their service manager not only knew about it, he was able to tell us how to avoid problems until the recall fix packages were distributed to the dealers. That again pointed to the difference between a Five-Rivet dealer and a no-rivet Airstream dealer. 

Adjusting the hitch

There are a few "camping" sites behind the service bays and we would normally park there for the night. Rosie was ready in the morning, so we decided to get on the road early. We have a good chance of making it home tonight for a short break before we go out for more Rosie adventures.

Foley RV/Airstream of Mississippi - Gulfport, Mississippi (January 2020)

Hello and Goodbye.

We scheduled a trip to Gulfport, Mississippi. It was time for some regular maintenance on Rosie, our Airstream trailer. In the past, this has meant a trip to the Airstream factory in Ohio. Instead of heading north, we decided to go to Foley RV/Airstream of Mississippi. We heard from several fellow Airstreamers that this was a good dealer with a strong service department. 

While setting up our appointment, we asked a few questions about their inventory. We figured we could pass the time while they were repairing Rosie by looking at some new Airstream trailers. 

One trailer they expected to arrive from the factory in a few weeks piqued our interest. It checked most of the things we had on our “we wish Rosie had this” list. 

As we talked to a salesman over the next few weeks, we started toying with the idea of seriously looking at this new trailer before starting the planned maintenance procedures on Rosie. We realized that we could trade Rosie in instead of keeping our service appointment. 

It felt funny pulling into Foley RV/Airstream of Mississippi knowing that we were really considering trading in Rosie for a new Airstream trailer. It didn't take long to make the decision. We were about to say goodbye to Rosie and say hello to a new Rosie.

I felt like we were taking a page from my brother's playbook. He had multiple dogs who were all named “Happy.” We were very comfortable with calling our trailer Rosie so the new one would also assume the name Rosie.

Our new Rosie was parked in Foley RV’s camping area behind their service building. They parked our old Rosie next to it to make it easier to transfer our things from one Rosie to the other. 

When we awoke the next morning, our original Rosie had been moved to another section of their lot. It felt funny seeing our original Rosie parked away from us. At the same time, we were busy setting up our new Rosie. 

Original Rosie after being moved away from the new Rosie

We were not alone in the camping area at Foley RV/Airstream of Mississippi. One other new Airstream owner was parked in this area at the same time. Our neighbors were planning to take their new Airstream trailer to Montana. While that sounded exciting, January’s winter weather may slow them down.

Camping at Foley RV / Airstream of Mississippi

We planned to stay another couple of days when we saw that a big storm was heading towards the east coast and we didn’t want to travel in what was being described as severe storms going home. 

We said our final goodbyes to our first Rosie as we hitched our new Rosie to our truck, then we were off.

About to hitch up the new Rosie

Pulling out from Foley RV / Airstream of Mississippi

We made it home ahead of the storm and parked Rosie in the storage warehouse we use. We plan to go on a “shakedown” camping trip in a week or two. After all, we have to figure out where things go and we need to start discovering our new Rosie’s personality. 

Goodbye old Rosie. Hello new Rosie.