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yakman · 07-31-2009, 09:02 PM

Hello all,

Not sure if this info has been passed along already?

Took a tour today at the mothership and Don (aka Airstream Tour Guide) informed us that the times are a changin'.

No more 31 or 34 footers or sliders but the Pan American will continue production.

Bummer.

yakman

rangebowdrie · 07-31-2009, 11:57 PM

I,am not surprised at that decision. They (the trailers), have/had reached a level of such weight, that I, for one, would not feel "totally" in control, unless I was towing with a Top Kick/Kodiak, F-450/550, or an FL-70.

They are dinasoaurs,,,

boondockdad · 08-01-2009, 06:39 AM

Airstream, I'm sure is aware, that in ten years, nobody will be producing a van/suv capable of towing a large trailer.

wolverine · 08-01-2009, 07:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rangebowdrie

I,am not surprised at that decision. They (the trailers), have/had reached a level of such weight, that I, for one, would not feel "totally" in control, unless I was towing with a Top Kick/Kodiak, F-450/550, or an FL-70.

They are dinasoaurs,,,

Our 31" Classic tows effortlessly with our Chevy 2500 HD with Diesel. We're averaging 15 miles/gallon and hardly know we are pulling anything even through the Smokey mountains. My wife does not travel lightly so we need every square foot. Our 31 will be a vintage someday.

rangebowdrie · 08-01-2009, 08:21 AM

Yes, I know that there are many who tow them with smaller rigs,,,and thats ok.
With the demographics, of a changing market, with more younger people wanting smaller units, to use for shorter time periods, the demand is just about gone for those big units. Add in the vastly more crowded roads, and camp areas, and the smaller tow vehicles, the numbers don't add up.
Also, the proliferation of luxury motorhomes,(at lower prices), that can tow a car has got to be affecting the sale of big trailers, not to mention the exploding use of 5th wheel toy haulers, it's easy to see Airstreams decision.
The older, more affulent people, who in years past, could afford a big trailer, and a big tow rig, have gone to MH's. They don't want to have to use a big tow vehicle as transportation, once they unhitch.

pmclemore · 08-01-2009, 09:19 AM

Actually, I've never seen a 31 or 34 towed with a 450/550 or especially a topkick.

However, a 3/4 ton rig is a perfect match - not a risky exception as rangebowdrie would propose. I do, however, agree with finalcutJoe that with the way vehicles and the apartment-dwelling folks who favor small car design are going, we may not be able to replace our favored rigs.

Pat

Gene · 08-01-2009, 09:39 AM

There will always be a need for large trucks in construction, farm, and other uses. How it'll be done, I don't know. Diesel is one possibility.

But electric motors can produce a lot of torque and two or more of them can drive each axle or wheel with a small internal combustion engine generating electricity after the batteries run down. The internal combustion engine can be more efficient since it runs at a constant speed. This a not a new idea, but with cheap fuel little was done about it. There are all sorts of hybrids coming out, some with the internal combustion engine powering the wheels part time and others with that engine just charging the batteries. Most, if not all, use gas and not diesel. A small constant velocity diesel engine would be more efficient I would think. And the much talked about Chevy Volt is not purely an electric car, it's a plug in hybrid. There one car proposed with two electric motors, each with 201 hp.

For whatever reason, most of these hybrids are cars and car based SUV's. Perhaps the marketing guys at the auto companies don't think the people who buy trucks will buy hybrids, but I think they are wrong. For those of us who travel a lot with a trailer, there would be a lot of appeal for a tow vehicle that has better mileage.

There was a 34' on the line when we were in JC a couple of months ago and Don said it might be the last one. They were selling so few of them it didn't make sense to stockpile the parts for them.

Gene

yakman · 08-01-2009, 10:05 AM

Top sellers for AS right now are the 27' and 25' FB's followed by the 19' Bambi.

I don't need the space from a 31 or 34 but they sure are nice. Ideally, a 27FB would work the best for us, be we opted for the biggest of the small in the 25.

Not to say I wouldn't spring for a 31 down the road, but at that price level, I'd certainly be looking to buy used.

cheers,

yakman

willyd · 08-01-2009, 12:54 PM

NO problem towing a 34' with a 3/4 ton Dodge Diesel - 6 speed.

wahoonc · 08-01-2009, 01:15 PM

They need to take a look in the past and utilize some previous ideas. My 31' is not particularly heavy. I quite often tow with an F150 with the small V-8. The max GVW on mine is ~7400# and I am usually a good 1000+ under that for the more local trips. BTW 31'.

Aaron

mello mike · 08-01-2009, 02:42 PM

Agree, the 1970s era Sovereigns are pretty light. My '72 weighs about 4800 lbs dry and my Excursion tows it effortlessly. If Airstream wanted to they could build lighter 31 footers. The newer long bodies weigh 3-4k lbs more than my Sovereign. Not very smart.

rangebowdrie · 08-01-2009, 03:08 PM

Yeah,, I was not very concise in my post. The model that I was thinking of, is the 34, that had a gvw of what,,, somewhere around 10>11K?
Pretty big load, even for a 2500/250/350 type truck.
What impresses me about the Top kick/450/550 types, is the huge brakes, that, and real "truck" wheels/tires/frames.

SARGE/AF · 08-01-2009, 03:09 PM

AS may stop the larger trailers for now, but they will have to bring them back or die quitely as their sales are lost to other manufactuers who are still willing to build a 34,36 TT. There are too many who do not want MH's and that generation will get older, have kids, etc, and will need the 34/35/36. They may want the smaller 16,19,25's, with more economical TV now but that will change later.
In the near future diesels will be the common engine, 3/4 & larger will be converted to run on either Natural Gas/electric (NG/E) or pure Natural gas (NG). Everything is in place except for filling stations for NG.
Right now Peterbuilt, Kenworth, Freightliner, Volvo, all have in the works class 6,7,8, tactors that run on NG & NG/E, but are waiting for the market to catch up.

Sarge

dstalzer · 08-01-2009, 03:19 PM

It is a shame the 31' is going away. For now my 25' Classic suits us, but we use it for trips of a few days and up to 3 weeks. In a couple year when we retire, I certainly would think the 31' model would suit us better.

Dennis

ZoominC6 · 08-01-2009, 03:54 PM

Sarge, I think you hit the nail on the head and agree with you 100%. Of course, I'm a bit prejudiced but what the heck

Ag&Au · 08-01-2009, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dstalzer

It is a shame the 31' is going away. For now my 25' Classic suits us, but we use it for trips of a few days and up to 3 weeks. In a couple year when we retire, I certainly would think the 31' model would suit us better.

Dennis

Hi Dennis,
I think the info about what is being manufactured now (2010 models) is coming garbled from different sources. My information is that the 2010 classics are 27 FB, the standard floor plan 30 (I think either Queen or twin) and the 31 Dinette. I think part of the confusion comes from the fact the the 31 D is actually the same length as the 30. There are 2010 31Ds advertised now on at least a couple dealer's lots. I have one on order that was scheduled of the assembly line last Tuesday, so hopefully I will see it soon. I sure hope I'm right.

,
Regards,
Ken

Gene · 08-01-2009, 05:11 PM

I have found relying on Don the Tour Guy for information is somewhat chancy. Last year he said the name Flying Cloud was going to be used for the Classics. He was wrong—it was the Safari name that was replaced. Two of us on different tours (maybe more, this information has been posted for several months on different threads) heard Don say the 31's and 34's were toast. I believe I got confirmation from an Airstream executive later that day after taking the tour again this year.

It's possible Airstream changed it's mind if a bunch of orders came in, or it may be as Ken says—31D's are the same length as 30's.

By the way, we've taken the tour two years in a row and each was very different. This year we were killing time while we waited for our trailer to be fixed, but we were glad we took the tour because we saw different things.

Gene

tslanier · 08-01-2009, 05:33 PM

I love my 34 and it tows like a dream with a Hensley and a Dodge Cumins 3500. I am in the process of trading it for a 2000 34 with Sofa SO. I work some remotely from the Airstream when I'm out of town, ie beach, mountains etc so the side sofa with no dinette and desk in the front is perfect for us.

SARGE/AF · 08-02-2009, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rangebowdrie

Yeah,, I was not very concise in my post. The model that I was thinking of, is the 34, that had a gvw of what,,, somewhere around 10>11K?
Pretty big load, even for a 2500/250/350 type truck.
What impresses me about the Top kick/450/550 types, is the huge brakes, that, and real "truck" wheels/tires/frames.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXX
Range,
evidently you dont know about trucks, and I believe most in here will verify what I am about to tell you, BUT,,,
the ratings you think for the 2500,3500,250,350,450,550, are much higher than you believe depending on the age of the truck. So for space reasons lets stay with anything built after 2004. Now I know Fords best so their ratings are more accurate. The numbers below are tow weights not cargo. Bumper= hooked to bumper/receiver, Bed= fifth wheel/goose neck.

Chev/GMC, Dodge 2500 is a 3/4 ton- 13,000 bumper, 15,500 in the bed
Ford- F250 (up to 2009)- 13,500 bumper, 17,000 in the bed,
2009 increase 1000 lbs for Ford, Chev, GMC, Dodge,
Dodge 3500 is a 1 ton- 14,500 bumper, 20,000 bed, reduced because of softer springs to take out bounce when empty.
Chev/GMC 3500 is a 1 ton-16,000 bumper, Bed 25,000
Ford F350 is a 1 ton-16,500 bumper, Bed 28,000
2009 1 tons add 1,000 lbs
Ford F450-18,000 bumper, bed 30,000
Ford F550 is a 1 1/2 ton-no bumper rating, but has a 40,000 fifth/goose neck rating, this truck & the F650 are rated the same and both are comonly used for tow trucks, ambulances, utility trucks.

Sarge

wahoonc · 08-02-2009, 10:13 AM

Names and dates have been changed to protect the not so innocent...

I have a first generation PSD (actually 2 of them) one is equipped with 4wd and 4.56 gears, it has been used to pull a trailer weighing in at around 30,000#

Many of today's trucks are very capable tow vehicles, the main issue with towing an Airstream is that they don't like a stiff TV and will suffer damage as a result. Personally I think Airstreams have gotten way to heavy in the recent years. But what do you expect when people want Corian or Granite counter tops in a travel trailer?

Aaron