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Old 12-05-2016, 09:12 PM   #1
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2017 22' Sport
North Bay , California
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22FB bed is now 78" long instead of 84" (2017)

My wife and I are considering a Sport 22FB. We are a family of four, with two young kids and are trying to figure out the best way to organize the sleeping arrangements. Since my wife and I are both relatively short, and are side-sleepers, I thought I could fabricate some sort of barrier and have my daughter sleep at our feet (on the other side of the barrier) perpendicular to us. Something like:

Me Wife
| |
| |
--------- Barrier
----- Daughter
(edit - spacing isn't working for me here, but you get the idea)

With an 84" long bed, we could easily work that out. However, I noticed in the latest floorplan that the 22FB now has a 78" long bed. I can't tell how it's different - the shell is the same narrow width (7' 3.25"), so maybe they put in head/footboards? Does anyone know if this is just a typo in the brochure and website materials, or what changed?

Also, before you chime in about how crazy we are trying to put 4 in a 22FB, we're towing with a Tesla Model X, and it's really the biggest Airstream we can tow reasonably. I was set on a '19 FC Bunk but with a tongue weight of 550 and the larger frontal area, it's out of the question.
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Old 12-05-2016, 09:30 PM   #2
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2017 model of sport 22 added a hinged lift to raise up the mattress to get under the bed. So the mattress was shortened 1 inch on each end for clearance so The window shades at the head and foot of the bed are not interfered with when raising the bed

Hate to tell you that your idea, in my opinion, is a poor one.

Due to curves at the front of the trailer the length at the front is shorter than the full length at the aisle end of the bed

Better idea would be a camping pad on the floor, or a way to add some supported width to the dinette bed
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Old 12-05-2016, 09:44 PM   #3
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Thanks, that explains it. I knew the hinged lift was new, didn't think about how that would require a smaller mattress, but it makes plenty of sense.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Piggy Bank View Post
Better idea would be a camping pad on the floor, or a way to add some supported width to the dinette bed
Yes, both of these ideas have been tossed around as well. I measured that I could add 14" of supported width to the dinette bed and still have about 10" to pass at the narrowest (refrigerator) point. My skinny legs would do fine getting to the bathroom at night, and I'm the only one using it at that time.

I agree that my idea was marginal at best.. just trying to figure out what would work. We've also floated the idea of a bunk above the dinette.

Our usage aims to be mostly long weekends, so it won't be a big deal. However, if we buy it, we'll probably do at least a few long trips. Our planned road trip to Yellowstone this summer would include the Airstream, if we purchase it. That will obviously be a longer journey.
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Old 12-06-2016, 05:07 AM   #4
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Glad to hear your expectations are realistic.

For what it's worth, I would think that 2 children would reasonably be OK on the dinette. Use 2 sleeping bags, and have one person's head by the adult bed, and the other person's head by the bathroom.

As an easy and inexpensive backup plan, just get a tenting cot mattress and plan to use on the floor if either of the kids balks.

We did Yellowstone and GTNP last summer and we have 2 adult children who came along and were in their own tent. When there was a (black not grizzly) bear having been recently in the campground in the Tetons, the kids did not fancy sleeping in their tent. So we tried 3 in the big bed and 1 on the dinette. Did not work. We ended up with one on the dinette and one on the floor. (sadly without a pad underneath)

Only other piece of advice is to secure a reservation NOW for Yellowstone, and then cancel later if you end up not getting your unit. We got ours as soon as they were available. Many busy times sell out right away.

Here is a link to a thread that I wrote after we got home summarizing our trip to Yellowstone, in case you are interested.
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f295...-a-153482.html
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Old 12-06-2016, 09:39 AM   #5
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Piggy Bank,

Thank you for your real-world feedback and for the Yellowstone link. What a valuable and interesting trip report!

Having an electric car as a TV really makes things much more.. let's say interesting. In most cases, if I'm going to be doing any intra-day driving, I need hookups at my campsite. Not for the trailer so much as for the car. I will be able to dry camp, but I'll have to always consider whether my vehicle will have enough charge to pull my trailer to the next charging station.

Yellowstone is pretty well covered by the fast "Superchargers". There is one in West Yellowstone, and one in Jackson. I plan to come in through West Yellowstone, where I'll have a full charge, so I could camp at Madison (as you did) and dry camp easily. If, for some reason, I wound up driving a lot in the park and using up my range, I could always drive the car back the 14 miles to top up.

I think that probably make more sense than going to Fishing Bridge and having a charge at the campsite. But I'll have to think about that some, as I hope to use solar and not a generator.

Anyway.. that's all pretty off topic so I apologize. Just wanted to thank you for the feedback.
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Old 12-06-2016, 04:22 PM   #6
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Just curious...as the winter 2016 issue of "Airstream Life" has an article on towing a 22 Sport with a Model X, and they estimate the towing range for a 5000# load to be "not much over 100 miles". I'm wondering if that sort of utility is sorta limiting for what you might be wanting to do?
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Old 12-06-2016, 05:01 PM   #7
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It is limiting in that it certainly makes longer trips more difficult. There is a couple who has taken a 6000 mile trip around the country with their 22FB and Model X. Obviously there are variables that affect range - sometimes on very steep climbs, they found that their range was under 100 miles. Sometimes they had long stretches with no RV parks (for charging the car) or Superchargers, and they found that they had to drive 50mph. But for the most part, planning and patience paid off. At times, they were able to stretch ~150 miles on flat ground.

Tesla has a very extensive, and very rapidly growing network of what they call "Superchargers" which are very fast chargers (see locations here). Unfortunately, the configuration of these chargers varies and it can be difficult to plug in without either blocking other stalls (not very nice) or unhitching (not very quick). The couple that I referenced was able to take the whole trip while only unhitching once to Supercharge. So that's encouraging. Also, remember that any time you have electrical hookups at the campsite, you'll wake to a full charge on the Model X.

I have spent the last few days mocking up trips that I'd like to take. It's a bit like solving a puzzle because I have to incorporate elevation changes, find interstitial charging sites between long stretches, etc. I mostly enjoy this kind of challenge. it's somewhat similar to the long trips I took in my Model S in the early days, when Superchargers were not very prevalent. However, I'm realistic and can see where there may be times that I just don't have the patience for it. This is one reason I'm considering an Airstream. Residual values are reasonable compared to the competition, and the market is pretty liquid. I can at least control some portion of my financial risk, given that I may have to walk away from the idea.

In the meantime, it's been enjoyable learning all about Airstreams and the mechanics of towing behind an EV. If nothing else, I walk away with an education.
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