Aspirational Airstreamer....

[ailsaf]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for allowing me to become a member even though I don't have a tin can ... yet.

I'm approaching middle age (at 58 ) and am thinking that spending much of the winter further south, in an AS, is a good idea -- I'm in Ottawa, Canada.

I've been reading and researching about trailer models, TVs, GVWR, brake controllers, black tanks, composting toilets, boondocking, glamping, shiny or patina, 1/2 vs 3/4 tons, big red numbers, state parks, winterizing, queen vs twins, FB vs RB, etc. etc. and my head is spinning!

We've already been to CanAm in London and got the tour - me, hubby and dog - and my thoughts have moved from a 19' Sport to a 25' RB FC (mainly to accommodate all of us in the bed and in the lounge area -- is that weird? --...not to mention the two tvs!)

The problem is the larger the trailer, the more horsepower the TV, right?.... and although I'm sure this has been covered ad nauseum already, I'd love to hear what people are using to tow their 25' AS.

I'd prefer to hear that their TV is 15 years old and runs like a top. That way the $$ I spend on the trailer doesn't get squeezed by the price of a TV!
Thanks again and so happy to be amongst so many knowledgeable people.

Ailsa

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[Piggy Bank]

Welcome the the AS forums. We love looky-loos.
Doing the dreaming and thinking and comparing is part of the fun.

We have a 25 flying cloud rear bed twin. Got it this year (traded in a 22 sport). We tow with a Toyota Tundra V8 5.7 liter (gas) short bed crew cab pickup. We drove from Kansas City (middle middle of the US) to Yellowstone National Park and back this summer. The Tundra was great to tow with in the mountains.

We typically camp with 2 adults and 1 golden retriever. Sometimes our adult daughter comes along too. The 25 is a great size. Very comfy beds. Room to move around inside. Great size bathroom and shower. Enough clothes and shoe storage. Good size refrigerator. We like having both the gas oven and the microwave (if we could only have 1 it would be the oven), decent counter space, and we really like the rear bedroom. Since most sites are back in you often get to look at the lake from bed. Quieter sleeping with the bed area away from the road. And the door is closer to the vehicle which makes any loading and unloading a bit easier.

The size of the 25, as well as the tank sizes, work well for us.

The rear bed twins gets you a really large exterior storage locker on the back of the trailer.

[ailsaf]

Originally Posted by Piggy Bank

Welcome the the AS forums. We love looky-loos.
Doing the dreaming and thinking and comparing is part of the fun.

We have a 25 flying cloud rear bed twin. Got it this year (traded in a 22 sport). We tow with a Toyota Tundra V8 5.7 liter (gas) short bed crew cab pickup. We drove from Kansas City (middle middle of the US) to Yellowstone National Park and back this summer. The Tundra was great to tow with in the mountains.

We typically camp with 2 adults and 1 golden retriever. Sometimes our adult daughter comes along too. The 25 is a great size. Very comfy beds. Room to move around inside. Great size bathroom and shower. Enough clothes and shoe storage. Good size refrigerator. We like having both the gas oven and the microwave (if we could only have 1 it would be the oven), decent counter space, and we really like the rear bedroom. Since most sites are back in you often get to look at the lake from bed. Quieter sleeping with the bed area away from the road. And the door is closer to the vehicle which makes any loading and unloading a bit easier.

The size of the 25, as well as the tank sizes, work well for us.

The rear bed twins gets you a really large exterior storage locker on the back of the trailer.

Hi Piggy Back!

Thanks for your reply and your positive testimonial re: the 25. Yes, I had the exactly same thought about the RB and couldn't imagine any other floor plan being as nice! Although some have said to me that they'd rather be sitting at their bistro table admiring the view while it was light and sleep at the other end. But I would rather wake up to a great view and lay there admiring it....with a cup of tea and a snuggling dog and person.

Your TV set-up also sounds great and something I was looking at. Definitely the crew cab for the dog, but V8 5.7 for the towing ability. What kind of mileage do you get? I guess it's pretty well all the same for this kind of thing.

Someone else said to me, "Buy the AS you want in the end now", so despite the draw of a less $$, smaller trailer, I also think the 25' is the way to go, esp if we're going to be living in it for a month or more at a time.

Thanks again for the info and welcome!

Ailsa

[SeaLevel]

We tow our 25' Front Bed Twin with a Sierra 5.3L V8, with Max Tow. It performed well on our 8000 mile trip this past summer, some of which was in the mountains.

We like having the nice view in the back, and we've never had noise be a problem when sleeping. There's not much going on in the campground at that time of day.

[DKB_SATX]

I think that any of the modern half-ton pickups properly equipped for towing would be good for you, or perhaps one of the bigger SUVs if you want more interior volume and don't carry stinky things like gas cans. I tow a foot-longer, somewhat-heavier 26U with an F150 Ecoboost 4x4 and have no complaints in our travels.

One thing I'd have you think about, though, is how long you're planning to head south at a time, and how much stuff you'd "need" to take with you. (Needs are somewhat variable from person to person, so no one else can really answer that question for you.) Kayaks and electric bicycles and dutch ovens and bbq grills do add up in both space and payload consumed. If we were taking 12-week trips more than 12-day (and shorter) ones, I might want more cargo space and payload and consider a 3/4 ton or 1-ton, but I won't need that for a decade or more unless I win the lotto, in which case the loss on trading tow vehicles won't matter.

[Wayne&Sam]

Originally Posted by Piggy Bank

The rear bed twins gets you a really large exterior storage locker on the back of the trailer.

That storage is harder to access on the front twin as the LP tanks are in the way.

We love our rear twin. We tow it with a Dodge Durango with no problem.

[Piggy Bank]

Originally Posted by ailsaf

Hi Piggy Back!

Thanks for your reply and your positive testimonial re: the 25. Yes, I had the exactly same thought about the RB and couldn't imagine any other floor plan being as nice! Although some have said to me that they'd rather be sitting at their bistro table admiring the view while it was light and sleep at the other end. But I would rather wake up to a great view and lay there admiring it....with a cup of tea and a snuggling dog and person.

Your TV set-up also sounds great and something I was looking at. Definitely the crew cab for the dog, but V8 5.7 for the towing ability. What kind of mileage do you get? I guess it's pretty well all the same for this kind of thing.

Someone else said to me, "Buy the AS you want in the end now", so despite the draw of a less $$, smaller trailer, I also think the 25' is the way to go, esp if we're going to be living in it for a month or more at a time.

Thanks again for the info and welcome!

Ailsa

Our milage with the Tundra is about 15 around town not towing, and about 11-12 when towing on the highway.

The Tundra is a very comfortable vehicle. It is my daily driver.

Also my favorite feature is the full roll-down rear window on the crew cab max. It is really nice to get all that fresh air without having the wind in your face, or having to get too much sun like with a sunroof.

[dbj216]

Hello from Colorado Ailsa: The Airstream dealer in London is qute knowledgeable and would be a great asset to you if and when you proceed. The 25 footer is one of the most popular lengths, and has been for years and years. You are wise to get the correct size trailer for your long trips.

Don't discount a used Airstream. Airstreams last a long time. Most folks take very good care of them, especially when new. Life happens and they end up on the used trailer market. The classifieds in these Forums is a good place to take a look. I have a 1975 Overlander 27' and a 1986 Limited 34'. Bigger than you are seeking, but both trailers will do what your family wants to do and much less cost, year after year. There are just a lot of capable used tow vehicles on the market too.

David