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Bluto · 04-10-2009, 04:01 PM

I mainly use my current 23ft Airstream when on vacation, and during that time I generally do a good bit of traveling to see a specific area of the country and stay in National Parks and Corps of Engineers and State Parks in various states.
I have never experienced times when my 23 ft was too long for a campground although I had to park my truck next to it at times to fit.
I am thinking of going to a 27ft which doesn't seem that much longer but would like to hear from owners of 27ft models who do a lot of travelling, if I should have any reservations about going larger. Would you do it again or pick a different size?
I won't be living in my trailer but using it for travelling and camping and travelling some more.
I'd like to hear the kinds of things that you have experienced in relation to towing and camping with a 27footer.

wayner61 · 04-10-2009, 04:15 PM

We have a 27FB (28' from bumper to ball). To this point, we haven't had any trouble fitting into any spots. TX state parks, a couple of state parks in AR and one in OK all were fine. No problem at all at any of the commercial campgrounds we have ended up in. The tightest spot I have ran into from a length standpoint was Queen Wilhelmina (SP?) in AR. At that park, we had to park our TV cross-ways in front of the trailer because there wasn't really enough room to head straight into the drive way.

As far as backing in or getting parked, I actually find the A/S a little easier to maneuver than our old trailer which was a 24.5' SOB. I don't know if it is just the distance between the ball and the trailer axles or what, but it seems easier.

Rich Luhr of A/S life spent a lot of time in national park campgrounds where the sites are typically the smallest. He did it with a 30' bunkhouse model. He reported only very rarely having problems getting a spot that would fit. You might want to search the old "tour of America" blog for a couple of posts where he discussed that issue at length.

Wayne

dmoore · 04-10-2009, 04:38 PM

We have a 28' Intl and camp primarily in State Parks, National Parks and Corps of Engineer campgrounds. The length has never been a problem for us. A few times we have had to park our tow vehicle either beside or crossways in front of the trailer. There have been times that we have got into tight spaces (lots of trees, etc.)with our Airstream that shorter trailers with the "gooseneck" setup have had to pass up. I don't know if this is due to the trailer or my hubby's great "backing up ability". He seems to welcome challenges of this sort (go figure!).

Anyway . . .

We love our 28 footer -- it's perfect for the two of us and our dog. We've had it about 18 months. To date we've had several trips of 3-4 weeks in duration. Most of our camping has been done east of the Mississippi. However that will soon change as we're leaving in a month for Alaska and plan on spending the summer.

Hope this helps -- good luck!

Debbie

Foiled Again · 04-10-2009, 08:24 PM

Just try to find a used one. Especially a CCD version. sigh....

somefun · 04-11-2009, 01:00 PM

I don't know if you're looking for a new or older 27'. I've had my '74 for 12 years and have never had any problems with fitting into a campground, and it tows beautifully! I would probably buy at least that length if purchasing new. But that ain't going to happen any time soon!!$$

Bluto · 01-05-2010, 02:19 AM

I finally got back to this thread again and I thank everyone for their replies. Just as an update, I have not bought a 27 footer yet although they do sound nice, and one day I hope to have one hitched up. Now it's just a matter of dollars and cents!

Whirlaway · 01-05-2010, 05:28 AM

I found no problem towing and I think it's easier to back up the 27.
I believe the interior usable space is dramatic compared to the 23 for me.
They are both wonderful.

Bluto · 01-06-2010, 02:44 AM

That's good to hear, so maybe I'm on the right track. The Classic, in the 27 is a real beauty for sure!

wheel interested · 01-06-2010, 04:22 AM

Just happen to have one available!

handn · 01-06-2010, 08:37 AM

I have a Safari 25 and miss a dinette and sometimes think about going to a 27.
I don't think I will because there are places I want to camp but can't because my 25 is too big.
We use our Safari for archery hunting in Colorado and park mainly in unimproved camping spaces in national forests. Many of the roads we use have hairpins and are narrow. I don't want to have to back up and go forward to get around a hairpin.
My Safari has little road clearance. The longer the wheelbase the more the lack of clearance is an issue. The longer the trailer the more difficult to manuever around trees and rocks.
If I were camping in improved sites in state parks and national forests, the size of the 27 would not be an issue but for our use it is.

Bluto · 01-06-2010, 10:04 AM

I just looked at a picture on the Airstream website of a 27 and discovered something of a problem with the front bedroom models. Looks like the rear door does not get much coverage from the awning. So when it rains for days it might be close to impossible to leave the door open without the interior of the unit getting wet. Man that is a major drawback for me, I can't believe that I just discovered this after looking at them for about a year now. There are so many times I've used my current trailer and enjoyed the fact that I can leave the main door open during a storm and nothing gets wet. It bums me out as I really like the newer designs, but I'm also glad that I didn't actually persue this further. At this point, it looks like a deal breaker for me. I'm surprised that with all you guys with this design and nobody ever mentions that drawback. Maybe I'm mistaken about the awning and the back door coverage?
Like to hear from you guys about this subject.

Gene · 01-06-2010, 10:41 AM

The awning issue is the same with the 25', but it didn't bother me until you mentioned it. The awning problem that gets to me is the door hits the underside of the awning when we open or close it. I know there's an adaptation for that, but it's just another stupid design thing. We don't use the awning that much, so it's not very important and certainly less important than the advantages the FB's have.

The 27" was very appealing to us but we didn't want to struggle with smaller campsites. Sometimes narrow access roads and narrow or short spaces are quite a challenge and with a 27", that would be a bit more challenging. This is also true of private CG's that have small spaces. When we are traveling and don't want to unhitch, a few times the only spaces have made us have to unhitch and park across the space. Maybe with 2' more that would happen more often, or we'd have to go back and forth more times when backing into short/narrow spaces.

Another of those nasty compromises—more inner space means bigger on the outside too.

Gene

Antique Pedaler · 01-06-2010, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bluto

I Looks like the rear door does not get much coverage from the awning. So when it rains for days it might be close to impossible to leave the door open without the interior of the unit getting wet.
Like to hear from you guys about this subject.

The coverage is about the same on our 25 FB. On separate days we weathered 5" and 3" rains. We had the awning in shortened "storm mode"....aft end lower than the front.

Temperatures were warm so we kept the entry door open as well as the rear window on the same side. The screen door and the window got wet but the awning was enough to keep rain out of the trailer. But I'm sure if the wind had come from a different direction we would have had to shut everything down.

Antique Pedaler · 01-06-2010, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

The awning problem that gets to me is the door hits the underside of the awning when we open or close it. I know there's an adaptation for that, but it's just another stupid design thing.

Gene

Shouldn't happen if you raise the awning at the door end to the 4th notch in full open mode and the 2nd notch in storm mode.

Bluto · 01-06-2010, 12:45 PM

Well, Gene hit on the answer again. One word sticks out in my mind. Compromises!

A/S designed a nice inside layout for both the 25 and 27 then compromised on the door placement. I don't have an answer and it looks like this was their answer. "Compromise"

I guess there is no perfect trailer. I like small units too, just for the reasons mentioned above, but the larger ones do have there advantages.

The answer must be to just buy what you can and suck it up on the flaws. Believe me when I say that I have searched and searched again for all the different makes and models and they all are lacking somewhere. UGH!

cosmotini · 01-06-2010, 01:03 PM

Gene,

With our old trailer, I had the problem with the awning. I had to lubricate the extension arms with silicone before they would extend fully.

Bluto - I know we've camped during a rain with the door open without issues. It would depend on the direction of the rain since the door is at the end of the awning, however.

One of the GOOD things of the door is it will not blow open during travel if it's not latched/locked correctly.

v

Gene · 01-06-2010, 02:12 PM

The arms on the awning work fine, though it seems to be a kind of goofy system. The simple solution is to have a clip to the awning and hook it to the arm—I think something like that is available. The expensive solution is a roller that attaches to the top of the door. I like the former, and someday I'll look for it (if I remember, most likely my wife will remember first).

Gene

2airishuman · 01-06-2010, 02:29 PM

while 'deflappers' attached to the pole/cloth do reduce FLAPPING...

they don't help with door clearance.

and after proper tensioning the zipdee cloth shouldn't flap.

the zipdee "door wheel" allows for ROLLING on the cloth vs rubbing on the cloth...

but actually makes clearance worse, since it extends ABOVE the door.
____________

we have no pics so there no way to evaluate the problem.

typically it is from NOT using the 4th HOLE on the lower arm...

OR from not RATCHETING the upper tensioner arm a 2nd time...

AFTER the awning is fully up.

of course it's possible the arms are bent or a/s mounted it wrong or z/d cut the cloth too long...

but door rubbing is almost always operator error.

cheers
2air'

Gene · 01-06-2010, 02:36 PM

Yes, deflapper, is the name—I think one strategically placed would pull up the awning just high enough. Arms are not bent, but mounted wrong, who knows? Not me.

Gene

wheel interested · 01-06-2010, 07:50 PM

We have had a 25 and a 23 and a 27 and we have camped in the same places. Plenty of state and National parks. It takes a bigger space to turn around in a circle but camping spots have not been an issue yet. Also though a friend of mine told me about the rain thing with a rear door, I have kept the door open in the rain and not gotten wet inside. I suppose it depends on how hard it is raining and what direction it goes????