Vinnie’s East Coast
From Woodland Airstream to Vinnie’s East Coast
This summer my husband and I bought a 2025 25’ Flying Cloud, and we’re as surprised as anyone.
We landed on the 25’ Flying Cloud FBT after a conversation I had with John Gustafson, the CEO of Woodland Airstream. John’s dealerships are successful, in part, due to asking the right questions and not just trying to sell another trailer.
I told John we were very interested in the 27’ Globetrotter FBT and he asked me several questions about our travel and how we planned to use the rig, and then he asked me to consider the 25’ Flying Cloud FBT because he thought it was a better fit for us.
I respect his sales model more than I can express because John could have sold us a more expensive rig, but he wanted us to own the Airstream that would best fit our lifestyle.
Hours of YouTube videos later, we were also convinced that the 25’ Flying Cloud FBT had the size, maneuverability, storage capacity, and the best interior trim to meet our needs.
We traveled to the Woodland Airstream location in Georgetown, KY and they showed us why the Woodland franchise has earned a Five Rivet designation … We had a fantastic experience from our sales interaction with Mason Karrick to delivery.
Two weeks later we headed to Vinnie’s East Coast in Tallahassee for a few upgrades:
Coating from Master Applied Coatings
3’ lift kit
SoftStarts on both AC units
I started handling Vinnie’s marketing when we had our 22’ 2022 Caravel and F250 coated by Master Applied Coatings when our rig and truck were brand new. A year later I was so impressed with MAC’s permanent, proprietary coating that I asked Vinnie if I could handle his marketing. Yes, I really was sold on MAC’s product and, yes, Vinnie really did need marketing help. (The truck in these photos was coated by Master Applied Coatings in February of 2022.)
Why did we travel to Vinnie’s to have these upgrades done?
The obvious answer is that I work for the man and trust his team. This is my work family and not only do we take care of one another, we take care of every customer as though they are part of our family. I know the training this team has gone through and the attention to detail that every rig receives. There is no where else I’d rather go and I’m thankful that Vinnie’s East Coast is within driving distance of our home base.
(Here’s Sean working on our lift kit.)
A few questions our team often hears:
Is Vinnie’s East Coast as reliable as the Sacramento location?
We hear this question a lot and the answer is, yes! I trust Theron Perkins, the manager of Vinnie’s East Coast, and Sean Wheaton to work on any part of my personal rig. Why, because Vinnie trained these guys before cutting them loose to represent his personal standard and his name on the other side of the United States. That’s a big deal for Vinnie. Not only that, he continues to fly in and mentor these men. This is not a job for Theron and Sean, this is their chosen career path and how they are supporting their families long term. Vinnie has chosen to invest in their lives for their well being and for the greater good of the Airstream community long term. So, yes, Vinnie’s East Coast is every bit as reliable and trustworthy as our Sacramento location!
*Note: Paintless Dent Repair and Custom Interior Remodel are only offered in Sacramento but every other service is offered in both locations.
Is Vinnie’s lift kit different than Dexter’s? Is that why you didn’t have it lifted at the dealership when you bought it?
Yes! We designed and manufacture our own lift kit. It’s robust with a channel for the propane line and ours has 5 supports vs. the three in Dexter’s product. With the additional two supports, the C Channel on ours can’t deform because it’s a little beast!
Vinnie and Karl designed this lift kit
Two additional supports and a channel for the propane line makes our kit unique and we manufacture it in house.
What about Master Applied Coatings … Is their coating worth the hype?
I saw this coating perform on my personal rig for three years and to call this coating “ceramic” is a bit of a misnomer because it’s a proprietary, permanent coating that’s made in the United States and doesn’t ever require reapplication. For three years our Caravel was a breeze to keep clean. Washing was easy because MAC’s coating is hydrophobic so the water basically rolls off, no waxing, and we didn’t see any signs of filiform corrosion on the Caravel when we traded it. So, yes, for us Master Applied Coatings was absolutely worth it. I have my personal experience with the product but the images that continue to impress me are from the Airstream that was stolen and driven through a chain link fence. If you want to know how our product is different in one minute, watch this video on the MAC site
Master Applied Coatings
This coating bonds to your rig’s original factory foundation and needs to be sanded off to be removed. It’s permanent and never needs a reapplication.
What upgrades would we like on our next visit to Vinnie’s?
16’ rims and light truck tires when the current ones are ready to be replaced.
Replace the opaque glass in the door with clear and add a shade.
Swap the Fantastic Fans for Maxxair.
Eventually swapping out the two layer skylight for a more robust three layer. (This isn’t a big deal for me because the rain isn’t loud.)
As a customer, I’m thankful that Vinnie’s has locations on both coasts. As an employee, I recognize that our growth is methodical for both Vinnie’s and Master Applied Coatings.
We will not expand until we know we can maintain the same quality craftsmanship that customers have come to expect. No cutting corners … Expansion happens when the next man is trained and ready to lead his own shop with service excellence and customer-centric integrity.