[85MH325]

Having towed a number of 16 and 17' fiberglass trailers with a '94 Toyota 4x4 extended cab compact truck with the 3.0L V6 and an auto trans, and back a number of years ago having towed a '61 Bambi 16 with an '85 Toyota compact truck 22RE 2WD/auto, I can tell you that you'll not be happy with either the performance or the gas mileage, but you'll be able to get by with it.

Make sure you use weight distribution and sway control (a Reese Dual Cam with 600 lb bars will do nicely) and a Prodigy (or P3) brake controller. Make sure the hitch is set up properly, and limit the "extra" weight you plan to carry.

I won't have to tell you to "slow down" 'cause you won't "go fast" even if you wanted to! You'll know when to manually shift to help out the tranny, and NEVER use overdrive. But it WILL pull the new Bambi 16' ok.

I'll also tell you that having had the 3.4L V6 in both the '97 T100 extended cab 4WD manual 5 spd, and now the '02 Tundra Access Cab 4WD with the auto, that the 3.4L will run rings around the old 3.0. I've not yet owned a truck with the new 4.0L V6 so I can't comment on that drivetrain. I towed my '04 Bigfoot 15B17CB 17' with the Tundra and it'll do it all day long without complaint. The '94 really wasn't happy about towing a 17' Burro (both with similar weight specs to the new-body Bambi 16')

This advice will NOT apply to the DWR Bambi with a 4500lb GVWR axle nor perhaps to other Bambis with custom work done, only the 3500 lb GVWR on the standard Bambi 16s. I didn't realize until I looked at the current Airstream.com specs that they'd upped the rated weight and axle capicity of the '08s.



Roger