New member. Hello from Vermont

[Menno]

Hi to all,
Looking forward to this collective learning experience and exchanges.
My wife and I will soon be airstream owners and plan to buy the newest 33 ft classic. Floor plans are always personal, I know. For us the beautiful bathroom and theatre seating with desk will work and are the reason we did not buy the 30 ft classic.
We need to buy everything, and will start with the truck. Probably will go with a f250 gas or ram 2500. Any tips on what accessories are essential to pull this long and heavy rig? I rather know this when I negotiate the price, unless after market is better.
Same for the airstream. I know the dealer will steer me to the equalizer sway/ weight distribution, but can I do better, and is this generally advisable? Looked at Reese dual cam, but don't know if it fits well on the frame of the classic 33 ft.
Probably will be back with more questions😉. Apologies in advance if my questions are addressed already ( I tried to look through the posts) or very basic. Menno

[Condoluminum]

Congratulations, and after seeing new 33's at factory in June a lot of us are going to be envious... Truck should be fine, though getting rear camera and backup trailer steering assist might be very helpful.. A lot of folks here promote either Pro Pride or Hensley hitches for heavy trailers, though others would say the larger trailers are more stable towing than the smaller ones.. Talk to a lot of people who own them (go to rallies or gatherings..) and decide for yourself.

Two valuable tips I'd pass along are to gain skill with the "search" function here at the forums, so you can find useful messages and message threads from among the hundreds of thousands of postings, and to start "small and local" with driveway camping or local camping and very short trips to start, til you get trailer debugged and loaded up with the stuff you need, and not the stuff you don't need... It will be tempting to treat it like a second house, and load it up with everything that will fit, but that may not be wisest strategy...

John

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Welcome !!!!

On the truck everything that has "towing" or "trailer" is probably worth considering. That's different than "being needed". There are a lot of vehicles that can tow a 33' and not all of them are pickup trucks. I would go with the full camera package on the F-250. It helps in a lot of situations, not just when towing.

There is a lot of debate about 4x4 vs 4x2. On the F250, the 4x4 can get pretty high off the ground. Tossing stuff up into the bed can get tiring. Going 4x4 is not needed for towing, but might be for other things. I would go with a manual locking rear axle on the 250. It does not add much cost or weight. It *can* help you get unstuck (4x4 or 4x2). The camper option also is not much money. It boosts the springs a bit and may add an anti-sway bar (not the same thing as trailer anti-sway).

Hitches are a religion. There are lots and lots of threads around here with proponents fiercely supporting their particular creed. There also is a bit of "you get what you pay for" and "mine's good enough" thrown in. Lots of fun.

Enjoy!!!

Bob

[kendrick.l.j]

Menno, welcome to the forum and congratulations on your decision to buy the 2018 33 Classic. I would suggest that you read the sub-section that relates to the Classic. You will find a wealth of information on your specific model and possibly how to avoid some of the issues that a brand new model has. Read the Much Ado Alde thread, please, you may thank us later. There's a lot to learn but if I can do it, and I can, you can do it too.
Video tape your walk through. If possible go and spend as much time as you can in a 33 to see how things work. Read, read and then read so more and ask lots do questions.