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Hi Zimode,
We've PM'ed a bit, so some of this may be a "replay" but I figured I would write some of this "publicly" so others could comment.
This past Spring my wife and I became owners of a 19ft Bambi International CCD. We looked at the 16ft and decided that the bathroom was just too small and my wife was convinced that the difference between a "wet" bathroom and a "dry" bathroom would make a huge difference in her desire to actually use the Airstream.
At the time we owned a 2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid (with a tow capacity of 3500#) so we knew there would be a change in TV. No problem, since there were other vehicle changes that were needed in the household. So, a new 2008 Highlander became our TV. It came with the tow package. I had an aftermarket hitch and brake controller installed to couple with the dealer-provided Equilizer weight distribution system.
Over the past few months we've towed the Airstream three times with the Highlander. It pulls "fine." We're not speed demons, but the power of the engine seems to pull it without much trouble and we could brake/slow without trouble. We can get up to freeway speeds, we drove over the "hills" from San Jose to Santa Cruz without too much worry. We didn't need to do any crazy maneuvers or anything, but it seemed fine.
One of the "wonders" I always had was the hitch weight. The weight limit of the hitch is 500#. If you load the 19ft AS with some water, some/all LP gas, pots, pans, etc, my guess is that you're over that limit.
Recently another life change necessitated another slight vehicle change in the household so I took the opportunity to "do things right." We bought a used 2003 Chevy Express 2500 conversion van. It has a 6L V8 with a big beefy class IV/V hitch. It's rated to tow about 8200#. We now feel much more comfortable to travel with this setup. We can "upgrade" to a larger AS someday, load the van (not having to worry about payload limits, within reason of course) and the longer chassis, suspension and engine of the 2500 can work its magic.
My sense is that if you're set on only having the 16ft Bambi, you'll be fine. But others on this forum will suggest that someday you'll probably want to upgrade to a longer, heavier AS trailer and then you'll need a bigger tow vehicle.
Will the 2008 Highlander work with the 16ft Bambi? Yes. And probably quite well. And it will "work" with the 19ft Bambi too. You'll be fine with short trips, etc. But, I'm not sure I recommend pulling the 19ft Airstream with the Highlander in the mountains about 5000-7000ft.
Finally, my hunch is that you'll enjoy the 19ft much more than the 16ft trailer unless you only sleep in the AS. The 16ft AS is tight for more than a couple of days. Even the 19ft that we have is tight for more than 5-6 days. But, in that sense, different strokes for different folks.
Good luck, and let us know what you decide.
-Josh
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