I too have a dream...

[connorsa]

Here's my story. Am a single empty nester older Mom, selling the family house and ready for a big change. I'm the wanta-be A/S'er who subscribes to the mag, collects vintage remodeling books and has the Hallmark A/S ornament on the bookshelf!

Ok, so over time I have decided I need a 27' queen bed in the 1997 -1999 era. I so want to spend the next three years or so in Kansas City, Redding Calif and Charlotte NC taking classes and being involved in ministry etc. I would live in the A/S full time coming home occationally to see kids etc.

I would do this all by myself and would hopefully find RV Parks close to the ministries I want to plug in to stay at.

And I need the TV as well, I'm considering a earlies 2000 Tundra 3/4 ton.

How does this all sound? I love the forum and will check out the used A/S for new tires, packed bearings and the inspection etc. I love the older vintages, I just don't think I can take one of those on. I can still re-upolstry the gaucho couch in vintage hawaiian! Ha.

Thank you for any feedback.

Anne

[Goin camping]

Follow your dreams and the details will sort themselves out.

[moosetags]

Best of luck in putting your dream together.

Do some research on the Tundra. I believe they have never made a 3/4 ton truck.

Brian

[blueiwahine]

Hi Anne,
Sounds like a great plan...Something Hubby and I would like to do in the future too...but of course we've got to get the AS first. I'm like you ...subscribe to the Airstream Magazine, have alll the AS coffee table books and the Hallmark ornament too. lol
Don't give up on your dream...it will happen soon...
Debbi

[willyd]

Follow your dream wherever it takes you.....but you must take the first step.

[76sovereign]

It sounds wonderful..I have no doubt you can do what ever you set your mind to.

[wahoonc]

Anne/Conorosa,
I would suggest a PM to board member Juel, IIRC they tow with a Tundra(and I am sure there are others) FWIW you can full time in anything if you put your mind to it. I did for a couple of years in a pickup camper...best years of my life!

Aaron

[Foiled Again]

Hello, I'm living full time in a 25 FB. Got rid of a huge old house and have my cleaning routine down to 20-40 minutes per week. You'll love that part.

I think your size range is good for full timing, however I too agree you need a REAL 3/4 ton vehicle for something that big and that new. Newer A/S are heavier than old ones. I personally wouldn't look at anything but a Chevy 2500, Ford F-250, Dodge Ram 2500 or a 3/4 ton SUV from one of those manufacturers. By the way, I think you're being very realistic/practical in considering a newer unit. The old ones are very cool, but they are full time projects - often for years - restoring, replacing and upgrading their systems and making them truly something you can live with, and live in. One of my best forum friends GT1963 just bought my 2005 22' CCD - after years of being avid and expert restorers, their family and personal situations have changed enough that they want to camp NOW and not do so much work.

One thing I'm facing now is the high gas prices - which make having some OTHER vehicle pretty necessary. Choices there can be anything from a bicycle, motorbike or very small car. How much and how often you move around will define what your best choice is. However consider your tow vehicle too. Motorbikes CAN be carried easily in a pickup truck if the bed is big enough... In an SUV.. no. You can't tow both the Airstream and a Prius at the same time which isn't a huge issue if you're staying in the same area for 2-4 years, but might be undoable if you're moving 2-3 times a year.

Now for the A/S itself. Go to forum rallies, travel to big dealers with large inventories, check the Classifieds in this forum. Look at EVERY unit you possibly can. The floor plan is a very poor indicator of how the RV will fit you and your lifestyle. You may find that making a corner bed doesn't bother you, for others it's a deal breaker. Dinette size, closets, bathroom size (knee room) are all issues that if you make a mistake will drive you nuts for the long term. I've decided to stick with my 25 FB for a few years for money reasons, but if I got a "replay" on that purchase decision I'd go to a 27 FB just for the closet and the front to back queen.

Good luck and see you down the road.

Paula

[azflycaster]

wahoonc is correct about the Tundra. The 1st generation Tundra (up tsp 2006) was a little short of being a 1/2 ton. I had a 2003 and it was a great truck and towed my 25 foot Trade Wind just fine. I think the size and year of the trailer you are looking for would be too much for that Tundra. The 2nd generation Tundra (2007 and up) is a real 1/2 ton and with the bigger motor would be better suited for the larger newer trailer you are looking at. I suggest that you find the trailer you want and then find the TV that fits.

We will be driving through Durango later this week on the way to the RMVAC rally in Salida, we will wave!

[stowaways]

Go Anne! We're FTiming in a 27' FB (moved down from a 34' SOB") and couldn't love it more. We work full-time (still building the nest egg) and wouldn't change a single thing about our unconventional approach to life. Most people are floored when they find out we live in a pasture with horses and still manage to find a place for our dry cleaning. ; ) Live your dream; otherwise, someone else gets to.

[J&C]

Anne,

Welcome to the Forums!

I'm sure you will appreciate pulling the narrow bodied vintage units.

Just be sure to verify that it does not have a rear-sag issue.

Good Wishes!

JB

[connorsa]

Paula - Thank you so much for your opinions and wisdom. Tell me what you think about the dinette, ya or na? I like the frig and storage area vs a dinette and I certainly don't want to lose the couch.

And why a FB? The front to back queen sounds good, but some parks you would be facing the street with your bed...?? Just curious.

I love these forums, so helpful!

Thanks all, Anne

[joe3957]

Let it be fun and realize you may change everything about your thought process along the way. I tow a vintage 26ft (1967 Overlander) with the first generation Tundra. It does fine, but I wouldn't pull a 2000's vintage 27ft with that truck. The new Tundra would be fine I think. I too will be in Salida this weekend, and agree with the thoughts about looking at lots of trailers. The open house on Saturday will give you an opportunity to see what the Vintage crowd is all about, go to the larger dealers and sit in lots of trailers as well. Good luck!

[Foiled Again]

Originally Posted by connorsa

Paula - Thank you so much for your opinions and wisdom. Tell me what you think about the dinette, ya or na? I like the frig and storage area vs a dinette and I certainly don't want to lose the couch.

And why a FB? The front to back queen sounds good, but some parks you would be facing the street with your bed...?? Just curious.

I love these forums, so helpful!

Thanks all, Anne

Pull in spots basically have "streets" front and rear, so what's the diff? The FB design has a rear end dinette. If you back in, theoretically you're looking at the prettiest scenery from your rear wrap around window. You're sleeping in the front, so if you're asleep why is the view important? In truth I've found great and not so great views depend on the park you visit. Some are great out of every window, others - close all the curtains!

Dinettes - side dinettes always end up over the wheel well, so two of the four occupants have to be midgets or children. End dinettes, like in the FB are roomier, and since the "wide body" starts at 25' lengths, they are even roomier in the bigger units. The end dinette also fairly easily folds down into a bed/couch which can be quite comfortable. I have mine down quite a bit. I just eat from a tray. The FB even with the dinette has a couch. Closet in the 27 FB is MUCH bigger, and with the single lobsterbowl sink and roll out microwave, it has more counter space, though it still is small.

What works for one might not work for another, so find what fits you!

Paula

[Gene]

Anne and Debbi, welcome to the Forum.

We started looking the end of last summer and by the end of October, we had a Safari 25' FB. We had a perfectly good 2002 Tundra, but didn't believe it was good enough to pull a 25'. The engine was a bit small for that, but the biggest issue was payload. So we bought an '07 Tundra. This is a much larger and more powerful truck than the 1st generation Tundra's (actually 3rd generation if you count the T 100 as 1st gen.). The first Tundras, as Richard says, were a light 1/2 ton. I think the newer ones are 1/2 ton plus, maybe 5/8 ton.

The big issue with 1/2 ton trucks—and they're all different in all their capabilities—is payload. Most have big enough engines to pull a 25 or 27, but the suspension may not be up to it. Some people pull 27's with a 1/2 ton, others feel they need a 3/4 ton. We wanted the Toyota for reliability (we've had excellent service with Toyotas), and believed the 27' was a little too heavy for the Tundra's payload. We certainly liked the 27' floorplan, but 400 more lbs., 70 lbs more tongue weight and around $4,000 were clinchers, so we got the 25'. If you had the standard cab new Tundra, it has more payload, but we wanted the larger (4 door) cab. And the 27' just seemed too long.

But if you are looking at something from the '90's, some of them were lighter than the contemporary ones. I don't know exactly when the weight changed, but I think it was at the end of the decade. If you want a '90's Airstream, be prepared for repairs. Even experienced people can get fooled and have to do a lot of work. Various Forum members will inspect used ones for you and you can find them somewhere on the Forum. If you are good with home repairs, that's a good start for a trailer, but remember it's a whole house compressed into a couple of hundred square feet and that's a challenge. And even new ones need a lot of maintenance, more than a good car or truck. Whatever you do, it will cost you more than you think for there's a lot of extra stuff to get. If you visit the factory, there will be many toys to tempt in the gift shop (we all go to the factory eventually).

There are many threads about tow vehicles and GVWR, GCVWR, axle ratings, tow capacity and payload. There are plenty of books about RV's that are useful to read. You will be confused, but it gets better after a while. You will have trouble sorting out all the recommendations about trucks and weight, but after a while you'll figure out who to trust (usually somewhere in the middle between the paranoid and the foolishly fearless).

Read and read until you are comfortable you know enough and are ready to act. Most say to find your trailer first and then the tow vehicle. We knew we were going to get the Tundra and bought it first, but we knew we would probably get the 25 even then. For us, the decision on each affected the other.

And Anne, greetings from north of the Uncompadre Plateau.

Gene

[blueiwahine]

Thanks Gene for the reply...We are definitely going through all you said...We have decided we want the 27FB...I want the Ocean breeze due to color scheme and triple awnings...doesn't matter to hubby as long as it is a 27FB...The TV is what is driving us crazy..We love Toyota (have 2 FJ Cruisers). The Tundra 4X2 is definitely something I could drive and prefer, along with rebates being offered on it( What we save would allow us to be able to spend more on the AS, so we don't blow the budget)...then we have the Ford dealership quoting us a deal that is very hard to refuse on a Diesel F250 King Ranch 4X4, that will pull and carry a small house( no towing or payload issues with it)...then of course the other makers have their good pts... Decisions...Decisions...Decisions...

I sorta got depressed on all the interior flaws on the 08 trailers we looked at in Houston...mine you we are not picky people...but just freaked me on some of the quality of work for the price...and then all the problems I am reading on here people are having...(I keep telling myself to take it all with a grain of salt...the FJ forums had me freaked with all the FJ problems, when I ordered my FJ and we haven't had any issues in 2 years). Just kinda busted my bubble.

Now we're home and I'm psyched again. Luckily we're in no big hurry, so learning as much as we can, and trying to get the best price.

Have a great day!

Debbi

[J&C]

blueiwahine, Debbi,

I always find myself saying, "If I only knew then what I know now".
I purchased an 4x4 Excursion new in 2003. I can count the times on one hand using the 4-wheel drive, I could have avoided those occurances. My next tow vehicle will be 2-rear drive, they ride, steer better and tow-capacity is greater.

This is my preference but at least I shared my thoughts with you.

Good luck, JB

[mustang]

I wouldnt tow with a tundra. Also they never made a 3/4 ton. Not very relliable. Frame issues ect. Kind of like the Honda oddessey, a market that fizzled out quik because they cant compete with American quality and longevity. You sound like your having a good time in this life and that is great. Buy American it is well worth it when you get into the bigger trailers you want a sure foot on the road. High winds or semis passing you . Toyota has spent alot of money on marketing. Chevy offers a great 1/2 ton with creature comforts and fuel economy. I personaly like Ford ( super duty) but it is overkill for yuor application. 2009 is a new body style for F150 I think. Good luck

[Gene]

As you can see, Debbi, people are really attached to their trucks. Our '07 Tundra has about 8,000 miles on it in 10 months and has been flawless. Our 2002 Tundra had zero problems except they rebuilt part of the front suspension on a recall. Our two 4 Runner were flawless except for 3 or 4 very minor issues (such as a bad windshield wiper blade). Our '99 Tacoma was flawless. Sure, Toyota markets their vehicles, but they back it up with reliability. Compare their reliability with others and Toyota always is ahead of them.

The new Ford 150 is supposed to come out in November. The general rule is to avoid a totally new model because there will be problems in the first year (I admit I didn't wait that long for the Tundra).

The 2wd Tundra would have a much bigger payload and might well be a good combination with the 27'. Finding a 2wd in Colorado can be a chore. You might have to go to Albuquerque.

You're right to take your time. We didn't have any patience once aluminitus struck. We've had a number of minor defects on ours, but they're getting fixed. One problem is the dealer network is thin and we (and you) have to travel long distances to get things done.

Gene

[blueiwahine]

Anne,
Just wanted to say Sorry...didn't mean to hi-jack your thread.

Thanks everyone for the info.