This weekend we took our 2004 Int. 22' CCD out for it's first trip! We were in a hurry (we're both still working, but can see retirement looming ), so just wanted to test the thing to see how it worked (since we haven't done any camping except tent camping about 15 yrs ago). Went to a nice County park next to Santiam River in Oregon...about 35 miles from home. Excellent weather...no hills to climb....no problems getting a campsite....saw one other A/S going the opposite direction & waved...no A/S's at the campground, but a couple came up to say they are rebuilding a '67 Overlander. OK, how did we do? Well, we got there OK...got hooked up OK...cooked dinner OK....slept OK...(lost the dog for a brief period)...next morning I hooked up the hose to the camp water to what I thought was the water holding tank, since we didn't have any water on in holding tank. Now I luckily checked the status bars as I was doing this, and the black water tank kept going up, but the water level stayed the same. So I turned it off, and found that I was filling the wrong tank...the black water tank. I had topped it off, and the commode was full to the brim with "you know what"! Luckily, I was just on my way to the dump station to empty out everything. My first dump....no wait...just pulled up...now what do I do....luckily a helpful camper pulled up behind and guided me through the process (BTW 4 campers were waiting behind me).
What did I like on my first trip? - the towing, the ease of backing, the quiet interior, the excellent stove top, the fridge, the fans, the neat look of the interior, esp at night. What didn't I like about my first trip? - the dang'd roller shades...they wouldn't spring back up properly....the bed was a bit small...had to crawl over my wife to potty at 4:30 am... shower/toilet combo I thought was OK, but my wife did not use it (the shower)... poor labeling of what was the switch to what... obnoxious guys celebrating a birthday next door.... underpowered tow vehicle (am planning on remeding that)! Overall experience (for me) was good! Now, do I wish I had waited for the Int. bambi 19' CCD that I ordered and was due on June 1st? I don't know! I do know that I was excited and wanted to "get on board" with an A/S ASAP. I thought the 22' offered more room to move about inside, and possibly a better experience. I'm now getting phone calls from other dealers that I made inquiries 250 miles away that now have 19' CCD's in stock. Should I have waited?
Sounds like, all in all, your first A/S camping experience was successful. Keep in mind that it will take a few such trips for you and your wife to begin to feel a real harmony, not only with your new Airstream, but also with the "vagabond" lifestyle in general. No matter how large the trailer and no matter how well appointed it may be, it is still very different than being at home (in a good way, I think). Sounds like you're already discovering some of the little quirks that give each trailer its own character and personality.
As far as having waited for the 19' CCD - I have a 19' Bambi (Safari) and am very, very happy with it. But, the little things that you mentioned bothering you about the 22' CCD wouldn't be much different in the 19' model. The bed, for instance, is even a bit narrower in the 19' and you would still have to crawl over to get out. No wet bath in the 19' (which I like better), but other than that, the 22' is definitely more trailer. I really like the 22' CCD. It was the only other trailer I even considered when I was looking for my first Airstream.
Oh boy, you are lucky!!! We have a 22' CCD coming! Should be released from the factory on the 12th. Hope to take delivery later in April.
We sold our '67 Caravel (restored - 17') last fall thinking that we would give up on trailering for awhile. It was small and the bed was hard to use (having to fold and slide it out every night, repack all the beddings when done, etc.). I am accustomed to crawling over my wife to get out of there! On older trailers you are seemingly having to fix or troubleshoot something much of the time. It must be a nice experience having systems that work real well all the time.
Over the winter, we kept thinking of reasons why we should get another. We thought about the quick weekend getaways into the mountains. We dreamt of long road trips through our wonderful landscape. We justified getting one as an interim guest quarters. I wanted a small getaway office. We looked at the 16', 19', and 22' CCD's. So we did it. We opted for the 22' for various reasons including the fact that I could use it as a remote office if need be and it had a tad more room so you could at least walk around. We discovered that the roller shades would be a problem the first time we saw them so we are planning replacements from Smith+Noble. I've got a water filtration system sitting in the garage waiting for installation. I have a box of stuff to install or "switch out". We ordered ours with all-around awnings and the entertainment package thinking, "why cut corners at this stage of our lives?".
Buyer's remorse is a very common element in most every major purchase. I'm sure your uncertainty about the 22' versus the 19' is very natural (and healthy). What I do hear very often here on these forums is that you are rarely sorry for getting a bigger trailer... And heck, I figured, those darn CCD's hold their values pretty well. Worst case, you take a small loss if you decide to change your mind in the short-term.
My wife has limited patience... There will be much testing, checking and double checking before we make our maiden voyage.
I have some specific questions for you if you have some time and are willing to share. We are planning a trip through Oregon in late May. Please IM me if you have the time.
Congatulations on your maiden voyage!
Sounds like you made the right decision as far as the trailer goes. A little bigger is usually better. I'd strongly recomment that you remedy the tow vehicle situation as quickly as possible. Were you hoping you could 'squeak by' with the current one, or maybe that's just next on the shopping list?
A mechanic friend told me that you should never tow a trailer downhill any faster than you can tow up the hill. There's a 8% grade that people have to negotiiate westbound to leave our fair city, and he sheepishly admits he doesn't go down that grade at only 25 mph with his 24'er. That hints to me that his truck is a bit undersize, but then again, he doesn't go very far very often, either.
Our '71 Safari is arriving today, and I can't wait!
I think you did the right thing with the 22' and if you don't like it people are standing in line for anything 25' and under. On my first trip out I left the sewer connection home, the ones in the campground store will not fit the Airstream Thetford. Luckily I was only 30 miles from home. Maiden voyages close to home are the smart way to go. Our second trip was only 100 miles away, the third was 1000.
Rick
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Thanks for all your encouragements! Now I am dealing with upgrading my tow vehicle. I am leaning towards the 2004 Avalanche 1500 4x4 with 3.73 axle ratio. It fits in my 20' garage (I drove one home to try it). It turns sharper than the 2004 Ford F150 Supercab with 6.5' box, so that when I back out of the garage, I can stay on the pavement created to back into without running over the planting areas around it. The Avalanche has lockable storages in the bed area which I like a lot. The only problem is when I computed the GVWR with the 22' CCD hooked up, I was over the alloted weight by about 100 lbs. Is this a big deal in terms of wear & tear on vehicle? The weight that I computed was with a full tank of gasoline (31 gals @6lbs/gal= 186lbs) , 400 lbs of people, 200 lbs of "stuff", weight distribution hitch weight of 75lbs, 550 lbs of tongue weight. All total of 1411 lbs payload. Total allowable payload is 1318 lbs. Curb weight is 5682 + 1411 = 7093 lbs. GVWR for Avalanche 1500 is 7000 lbs. The tow capacity of the Avalanche 1500 figured out to be 88% of GCWR with the trailer weighted down with full water, LP gas, and "stuff to a final figured trailer weight of 5000 lbs. I think that is OK, as anything below 90% is considered safe for the tow vehicle. I could buy the Avalanche 2500, which would make me well within the GVWR of 8600lbs, and tow % would be 74% of GCWR. Then I would sacrifice some economy on gasoline, but would know that I was in the "safe zone" in both catagories. I would prefer to go with the Avalanche 1500 if possible. Any thoughts on which way I should go would be appreciated!
Thanks again!
The Avalanche 1500 was my first choice until I actually saw a Nissan Titan and drove it. The Titan is 2.6" longer than the Avalanche and tows 9,400 lbs.
The '04 Avalanche does look great. The only way to really know the weight is to get it CAT scale weighed with all your stuff in it. I bet it would be under the GVWR.
Or the Titan might work better for you like Davydd said with the higher WRs and I've heard many, many good things about it, here and elsewhere.
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The Avalanche 1500 was my first choice until I actually saw a Nissan Titan and drove it. The Titan is 2.6" longer than the Avalanche and tows 9,400 lbs.
I believe the Titan also has built in lockable storage compartments, that's a definite plus in new trucks. They'll all have 'em by next year, I'll wager.
Definitely better to be a little over-powered than ever underpowered - remember, as in most things in life, your best estimate is always going to cost less, weigh less, hold more, and/or get finished sooner than the reality. I've heard only positive things overall about the Titan, too.
What clinched it for me for the Titan was the towing capacity. It might be classified as a 5/8 ton if there was such as designation. I thought like JordanDVM that I would probably have to be looking at a 2500 Avalanche and another 2 grand premium and excess I don't need for my Tradewind. The Titan is almost identical in spec size to the 2004 Ford F-150 than to Chevy or Dodge. However, Titan's engine HP and torque way surpass the Ford in the 1/2 ton series. Ford does make over 9,000 lb towing claims as well in the F-150. I agree about those huge turning radii too. If they had put Quadrasteer on the Avalanche as they do with the Suburban it would have been very tempting. I'm moving away from the SUV and back into the truck world. I was thinking the Avalanche would be sort of a bridge vehicle.
I have to admit going to a Nissan Titan in its first model year after being a Chevy man my whole life is a big gamble. But, I just liked everything about it.
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