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04-04-2012, 02:28 PM
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#1
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New Member
1975 31' Sovereign
Minneapolis
, Minnesota
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 4
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Issues with length? Hoping to full-time.
Hoping to borrow on your experience and expertise, forum!
Currently in research mode with my boyfriend to find our dream Airstream trailer. We plan to full-time, have a home base, keep regular jobs, and only travel occasionally -- taking 3-4 extended trips per year. We plan to buy vintage, prefer a rear bedroom, and anticipate some rehabbing/remodeling before it's liveable. We're saving/researching now and plan to buy next spring.
We think a longer trailer would make a better home for us, but I'd like to know if there are any known problems with having a 34'-long trailer. What limitations have you faced hauling a long trailer? Are there any problems or limitations that you've faced? Is it more difficult to boondock in a 34' Airstream trailer than something shorter? Are you prohibited from parking in a large number of campgrounds or overnight RV parks? Has it made that big a difference at all, hauling a 34' trailer?
What is the preferred length that most full-timers choose if they're also working full-time "on location" (not wirelessly or remotely)?
Thanks for your time! Look forward to learning more through your responses and eventually joining this community as a real Airstream owner!
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04-04-2012, 03:19 PM
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#2
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4 Rivet Member
Central Florida
, Florida
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 455
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Smorean:
Welcome to the forums!
Many national and state parks have smaller sites that better accomadate the smaller RV's. We have stayed in different state parks and have had no problem in getting a site. However, we reserve our site in advance since we work and want to make sure we have a site that will fit us. There are sites in the state parks that will not fit us. We haven't stayed in any national parks (yet) but I hear that they have small sites.
We have had no problem with finding sites in private campgrounds.
With our diesel truck we find no problem in trailering our 34. With a longer unit you need to be more careful in making right turns. We really don't go camping; we go RVing and like the comforts of home that our Classic 34 provides. We like the additional space.
Airstreaming is fun.
__________________
Dave
2008 Classic 34
Dodge Ram 2500 Crew Cab CTD
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04-04-2012, 03:21 PM
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#3
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Rivet Master
1982 34' Limited
Brunswick
, Georgia
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 1,084
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I love my 34'. I have had no issues towing at all; I would make sure that you have the right vehicle/setup for what you are trying to accomplish. I dont full time in mine, however, I would think that the additional room would be nice.
The 34' has quite a bit of room on the interior. I have the jackknife couches in mine (one in front and one on the side across from the door), full dinette, large main closet, and smaller closet in the rear bedroom. There are two sliding dividers on either end of the hallway that can allow from some privacy in the front or rear.
Once you get used to towing it is not a problem. The rear tires will want to drag a little in tight turns, and the rear tires will always track a little to the interiors of your turns...so watch the curbs. the rear overhangs the last axle a bit more than the shorter airstreams, so you have to watch abrupt elevation changes (so you dont drag over humps) and the tailswing in specific occasions. As long as you dont forget these things you are good. The triple axle tows very well and has a tongue weight of 770 lbs.
Good luck on your search! feel free to PM me if you need any reference pics or such!
__________________
1982 34' Limited
2000 Excursion V10 4x4
WBCCI #3321
TAC #GA-24
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04-04-2012, 03:30 PM
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#4
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4 Rivet Member
Birmingham
, Alabama
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 264
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04-04-2012, 03:41 PM
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#5
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Wise Elder
2010 30' Classic
Vintage Kin Owner
South of the river
, Minnesota
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 4,169
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Hi Smorean
Welcome to the forums. There are a number of active members from the Twin Cities and the greater Minnesota area.
Quote:
Originally Posted by smorean
We plan to buy vintage, prefer a rear bedroom, and anticipate some rehabbing/remodeling before it's liveable. We're saving/researching now and plan to buy next spring.
We think a longer trailer would make a better home for us, but I'd like to know if there are any known problems with having a 34'-long trailer. What limitations have you faced hauling a long trailer? Are there any problems or limitations that you've faced? Is it more difficult to boondock in a 34' Airstream trailer than something shorter? Are you prohibited from parking in a large number of campgrounds or overnight RV parks? Has it made that big a difference at all, hauling a 34' trailer?
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I have a 30' and have been all over Minnesota and the surrounding states with it. I've seen 34's in and out and corresponded fairly extensively with 2airishuman, a forum member with a 34' who used to post here prolifically.
The only interior difference between the 34' and the 30/31' trailers (which themselves are the same length and differ only in the bathroom layout) is that the lounge area (living room) is larger. With the 34' there is the additional cost of maintaining a third axle with the additional brakes and wheels.
There was a recent thread on trailer lengths that you might want to read.
Nearly all the RV-centric sites in most Minnesota campgrounds (state parks, corps of engineers, commercial, county, etc) can accommodate a 34' as long as the tow vehicle is detached and parked elsewhere. Most sites can accommodate a 34' without detaching a tow vehicle. At older state and local facilities the access roads will have some tight turns and will require considerable maneuvering and backing skill at least in some cases.
Commercial campgrounds are generally sized to accommodate larger rigs as are the regional and county parks in the metro area - Bunker Hills in Anoka and Lebanon Hills in Eagan.
Campsites in Iowa state parks are, on the whole, somewhat smaller.
Quote:
What is the preferred length that most full-timers choose if they're also working full-time "on location" (not wirelessly or remotely)?
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Conventional wisdom is you should try traveling in an RV for a while first (if you are not already familiar with doing so) before planning a fulltiming adventure.
Most fulltimers don't use Airstreams because they prefer the largest available rigs, generally 5th wheels or Class A motorhomes with multiple slides. That's especially true of couples. Most of the Airstream fulltimers we have here on the forum travel alone.
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04-04-2012, 03:43 PM
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#6
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Wise Elder
2010 30' Classic
Vintage Kin Owner
South of the river
, Minnesota
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 4,169
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Finally you may wish to visit the Minnesota Airstream Park in the St. Cloud area. They have a couple of open houses a year and it's a great place to see a variety of trailers. There are over 100 Airstreams parked there seasonally.
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04-04-2012, 07:00 PM
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#7
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Rivet Master
1995 30' Excella
Bowie
, Maryland
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 2,345
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My parents have a 34', and have lived out of it on several occasions. They love it, and I doubt they'd want anything else. Dad claims it's the best trailer to tow he's ever had, and they started with a pop-up and have had a couple SOBs as well as two other Airstreams (a 27' and a 29', if memory serves).
I'm not sure how old you're thinking, but I don't think they made the 34's before the early 80s. There are a bunch of them around, though - it was much easier to find the 34's than it was the 30's when we were looking. I'm still a bit surprised they stopped making the 34's - they were pretty popular models.
__________________
1995 Airstream Classic 30' Excella 1000
2014 Ram 2500 Crew Cab with Cummins 6.7L Diesel
Sold but not forgotten: 1991 Airstream B190
Sold: 2006 F-250 6.0L Powerstroke Supercab
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04-04-2012, 08:08 PM
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#8
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4 Rivet Member
Central Florida
, Florida
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 455
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jammer
Hi Smorean
Most of the Airstream fulltimers we have here on the forum travel alone.
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There are many couples who fulltime in an Airstream 34 (although they may not be on this forum). At the 2009 Escapees Escapade in Sedalia Missouri the Silver Bullets group held a social hour of about 18 Airstreams attending. Many were fulltimers and most were couples. We talked with one couple who had been fulltiming in an Airstream 34 for 17 years. They said that they knew a couple who had been fulltiming in an Airstream for 32 years and most of that time was in a 34.
The amount of space needed is a very personal issue. Some people fulltime in a truck camper whereas others find a 40 motorhome too small and need a 45 motorhome. Some even fulltime in a tent. It will all come down to what you are comfortable living in.
The Escapees Discussion Forum has a lot of information on the fulltime lifestyle as it is oriented toward the fulltimer.
__________________
Dave
2008 Classic 34
Dodge Ram 2500 Crew Cab CTD
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04-04-2012, 08:43 PM
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#9
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Moderator
2015 25' FB Flying Cloud
2012 23' FB Flying Cloud
2005 25' Safari
Santa Rosa Beach
, Florida
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 13,153
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Greetings from the Florida Panhandle
Welcome to the Forums. We're glad to have you with us.
We are about half timers. We have had Lucy (our 25FB) since June of 2006. We have camped in Lucy for 1,013 nights, and have towed her almost 90,000 miles in all of the contiguous 48 states. that amounts to 46% of our time during that period.
The 25FB works well. Lucy is large enough to be comfortable, yet small enough to tow easily, and take most places.
Brian
__________________
SuEllyn & Brian McCabe
WBCCI #3628 -- AIR #14872 -- TAC #FL-7
2015 FC 25' FB (Lucy) with ProPride
2020 Silverado 2500 (Vivian)
2023 Rivian R1T (Opal)
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04-09-2012, 03:34 PM
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#10
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Rivet Master
2005 25' International CCD
Fleetwood
, North Carolina
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 687
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Hi Smorean,
We are in our fifth year full-timing in a 2005 25' CCD International. Previously had a 22' CCD and just had to have a sofa, 6 cubic foot fridge, and dry bath. To us, the three big advantages of a 34' over our 25' would be the greater cargo capacity, the huge wardrobe, and the large living room. We're okay without these but would sometimes like the living room space to invite friends in to play cards. Instead we invite ourselves to their RV.
Maybe four times in four years we have been the lucky recipient of the last space in a national park (Cades Cove) or state parks and private ones -- the space was still available because it was too small for other RVs and our 25 was the biggest RV it could take.
Doesn't happen often, obviously. More space is doubtless nice to have, and we're grateful some of our friends and neighbors at various campgrounds have the larger RVs.
We find the 25' is amply large for us. Like Moosetags, we like the ease of towing and maneuvering the 25' trailer. We have loads of storage space although our axles are only 3,000 pounds each so we're kinda limited on cargo capacity.
Some friends recently replaced their axles, apparently to greatly increase their cargo carrying capacity. We'd rather fuss around with what we can jettison to make room for what we want and need.
Good luck on your house hunting!
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05-30-2012, 10:22 AM
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#11
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2 Rivet Member
2008 30' Classic
Anchorage
, Alaska
Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 41
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The 34' would be a great way to go. We have been full timing it in a 30' since 2009. When we first bought the trailer, we were considering all sizes. I was concerned that although we would be living in it full time, I did not want it to become a park fixture collecting dust. I was worried that a large trailer would invite excessive clutter and become a hassle to keep on the road for ongoing intermittent trips. We adopted a minimalist attitude (which goes hand in hand with a trailer anyway) and banned all "nik naks", hanging plants, etc. With that approach, we can mobilize at a moment's notice within several hours to hit the road. So yes, you can live comfortably in a larger trailer but still live the dream to travel. Also someone warned me that a larger trailer could be tougher to find nightly accomodations especially with older parks. We took our first two years and explored most of the US and Eastern Canada (NS & PEI). Canada in particular had a lot of older parks but we never had a problem fitting into a space (although we were sometimes a few feet from neighbors). The biggest headache is that you might occassionally have to unhitch for the night because the trailer takes up the entire "trailer and vehicle" space. Again, in my mind, a small price to pay for the opportunity to roam all over kingdom come. A final piece of advice would be that if you are not consumed with the "travel aspect" of trailer ownership, I would just get some other brand loaded with popouts that will maximize space and comfort. If you spend any time at the factory and absorb some of the Wally history, I think you will come to agree that AS's were from inception always designed and built for travel.
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