Tent campers stuck between purchasing Airstream 28-30’ Flying Cloud or diesel pusher

[Wes Costner]

Need some help from some of you crossovers. Wife and I stuck between purchasing an Airstream travel trailer or a Tifton diesel pusher. Not a fan of airstream’s motorhomes but love their travel trailers! Any suggestions?
Thanks,
[emoji704]

[uncle_bob]

Hi

We camped out in tents for many decades. Eventually the whole "sleeping on the ground" thing became less and less compatible with aging joints.

TT pros:

1) You set it up and leave it at the campsite (just like a tent). You have your tow vehicle to chug into town with. No need to tow a "runaround vehicle".

2) The trailer is made from aluminum. It likely will out-last a number of tow vehicles. Drive train totally blows out - keep the trailer / replace the truck

3) The distance from ground to "inside" is less. Our tired old dog can make it up into the AS. Not so much with the neighbor's MH.

4) Purchased new, even the trailer + new tow is less than a Tiffon without a tow vehicle.

5) Maneuvering wise (and drivers license wise) the trailer is a bit easier to deal with compared to MH + towed vehicle.

6) Simply by being smaller, the trailer will "fit" in places the MH will not. Simply getting down the roads to here or there may be more practical with the trailer.

MH pros:

1) You can tow a runaround vehicle (like a jeep) that is much more off road compatible than a big truck.

2) A high end MH is worth rebuilding. Yes, it costs money to put in a new engine but not *that* much. TT's also need maintenance, just not quite as much.

3) You are more self contained. Onboard generators, hose reels, storage, .. the list goes on and on. The vehicle is bigger and there's more in it.

4) You can go *lots* bigger with the MH. Your overall length may not be longer than truck + trailer, but it's all live in length.

5) The "fit and finish" (and options) on a $500,000+ MH is indeed better than on a $100,000 trailer.

What swung us away from the MH was drive train upkeep. Not a big deal when the vehicle is new. The whole "what will go next" thing after 5 or 10 years on the road. That starts to wear on you. Sure, it costs and that's part of it. Being stranded here or there (or the risk of being stranded) was a bigger issue to us.

All that said, if the budget will let you buy a brand new 45MP, there's a lot to like about one.

Bob

[AlanMcD]

Wes, I was looking at MH's, too, and narrowed it down to what I felt was the top three in this order - Tiffin, Newmar & Winnebago. We test drove several, too. I even went down to Red Bay, AL and spoke to Bob Tiffin in person. Tiffin, in my opinion, is the top of the line because not only quality but also service. If you have a serious issue you will likely talk to Bob himself to resolve the issue. What other company would have you talk directly with the founder/CEO? None, that's who. Now, that all being said, a MH is a money pit and I'm talking about overall cost of ownership. Take for example the tires...to replace the 22.5 inch tires on a MH you're talking probably $500-$600 dollars per tire vs. $150 dollars per tire for a travel trailer. Now that just the tires, look at all the other expenses like maintenance, an oil change, how many quarts does a MH take? Not to mention the usual array of issues RV's have. What's it cost to repair a slide out room? We ended up going with our Airstream because in the end we're travel trailer people but the overall cost of ownership on a MH was just too much for us to stomach.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

There's an interesting rule of thumb from the world of boats ( yet another money pit ...): Upkeep per year is X% of the value of the vessel. Depending on who you talk to numbers in the 3 to 9% range get tossed around. It also varies a *lot* depending on exactly what they put into the number.

I've never seen the same sort of thing tossed round on a trailer or a MH. It might have some validity. My guess is that if you *knew* ahead of time that it's a $x,xxxx a year number (and budgeted that amount) there would be less shock involved.

Bob

[A W Warn]

Originally Posted by Wes Costner

Need some help from some of you crossovers. Wife and I stuck between purchasing an Airstream travel trailer or a Tifton diesel pusher. Not a fan of airstream’s motorhomes but love their travel trailers! Any suggestions?
Thanks,
[emoji704]

Depends on your desires and available $.

Do you carry a lot of stuff (mo-ho will carry more stuff)
Do you need more space for people (mo-ho has more space & SLIDE OUTS!)
Do you want to camp in remote places (mo-ho is not good off pavement)
Initial purchase price and long term depreciation (mo-ho cost more)
Do you DIY maintenance or spend $ (mo-ho drive train, tires, etc more $)
Insurance cost (mo-ho much more)
Driving big rig (mo-ho + towed is probably longer than tow vehicle + trailer)
Is storage an issue?

There are many pros and cons, and they are not the same/equal for everyone.
For me, the truck/trailer combo has always come out on top.

[slowmover]

MoHos don’t drive worth a damn. It’s a job. Anyone says otherwise hasn’t seen as many as I have. Struggling. (This calendar year I’ll have just over 100k on this Kenworth before Labor Day). Price doesn’t matter, as I’ll include commercial coaches. So, why?

With a family of five or six aboard, I can see it. Not otherwise. Do you really want to spend a week in July in Amarillo at the Cummins shop? That’s one of many MoHo stories having a TT avoids altogether.

Give some emphasis to this end. (It aint about stuff carried along).

[AlinCal]

What did I just read?
Well anyway OP you came to the right place , we have people that know everything here so just fire away.

[Lara Me]

Test drive one of the large MHs and you’ll quickly decide. For us, it was worth giving up space to not have to drive a bus while also having to tow a car just for for mobility. More than 5 in your family would tip the scales towards a MH just for space logistics.

A 30ft AS is a great size for 4. Bathroom is bigger and bunks and bed are ideal.

[bweybright]

HUH??? Tifton diesel pusher versus an airstream towed with no discussion about a tow rig? I am old and dense but what am I missing here????
And if the post is correct, coming directly from a tent?
Again.....am I missing something in the request for help?
We all want to help but to go from tent to infinite and beyond?

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by bweybright

HUH??? Tifton diesel pusher versus an airstream towed with no discussion about a tow rig? I am old and dense but what am I missing here????
And if the post is correct, coming directly from a tent?
Again.....am I missing something in the request for help?
We all want to help but to go from tent to infinite and beyond?

Hi

One has to *assume* that the OP is indeed asking a legit (to them) question. Each of us has different constraints and desires.

I know that we most certainly did a couple of passes at shopping for motor homes (though not quite as high end). We made multiple passes looking at popups and various sized trailers. All of this while we were in tents. Looking at other stuff, borrowing this or that, but mainly camping in tents.

We had the luxury of years ago having a good friend to "borrow" a 40'+ MH from. Helping to keep that one on the road gave us a very good view of what owning one involved. Indeed, they bought that one with no prior experience camping, let alone trailers or motor homes. Their desire was a way to travel rather than a way to camp.

Sitting here in the campground, the guys to one side are on their maiden voyage in a 40'+ fifth wheel. Across the way earlier there was a first timer in a ~35' MH (but not a Tiffin). From helping them with this and that, I'd guess that prior experience was in a tent for both of them.

So yes, people most certainly do go from zero to infinity in one step.

Bob

[Rgentum]

When my sweetie was married to her ex-husband, they began RVing with a 25 ft Mini-Winnie and quickly moved up to a 45 ft Prevost.

When she and I got together, we tent-camped, and then she fell in love with Bambis, as she had had enough with motorhomes. After touring ASs at our local AS dealer, we settled on a FC 27FB, and we've put around 35K miles on it in the last three years. It's ideal for the two of us and our Great Dane.

I have no experience with owning a motorhome. My most telling experience with one was last summer driving into a service station on the Oregon coast. On the other side of the pumps was a huge motorhome. Its owner was simultaneously filling its two diesel tanks, and the combined cost was in the $hundreds. I asked him what kind of mileage he got, to which he replied, "If I'm lucky, I get 6 mpg." Towing our AS with a Ram/Cummins, I routinely get 12-16. I'm not an 800 lb gorilla, and while I feel reasonably comfortable driving the RAM/AS combination, the thought of driving one of those behemoth motorhomes scares the dickens out of me. It's just more than I want to be responsible for.

[Lara Me]

Originally Posted by bweybright

HUH???
And if the post is correct, coming directly from a tent?
Again.....am I missing something in the request for help?
We all want to help but to go from tent to infinite and beyond?

We went from tent directly to an AS. Ok, there was a two year period where we used maybe four times a pop top tent installed on my Honda Element (google “ecamper”) but as my wife pointed out, it was still a tent.

I don’t see why that leap is so big. Should he have to earn his way up to an AS? Why waste $$$ on an interim step if you know an AS is what floats your boat?

Real competition for an RV isn’t another kind of RV but where else to spend your vacation dollars. Once we outgrew the “charm” of a tent, we looked at buying a vacation place, timeshares, or just staying in hotels. They each had their merits and demerits. Once we decided the RV was the choice for us, it was about finding one that checked our boxes. Missus liked the Diesel pushers at first but loved the AS, so the choice was easy.

I really like not having to guess whether the pictures on the hotel site will actually match our room. Stayed in three hotels last week, each $150 or more a night, and none were nicer than my AS, and two were downright disgusting (from supposedly decent chains). I never worry if my room is sanitary and I don’t have to battle smoke or mold smells either in my AS.

Sometimes we see these massive Tiffin and other MHs and wonder if the extra space would be welcome, but the thought quickly leaves when we are underway with the AS, or as others point out, when we are gassing up and the fuel bill never tops $100 and we are averaging 12-16 mpg in the PNW terrain.

I adore our AS, so much that when we upgraded four years later it was for another AS.

Now, if I was full timing, or had more than three kids, I’d have to look harder at those Tiffins or Newmars.

[cegardner]

We went from tent / pop up to a 22 spirt. Within two yrs a 25 FB FC. Now we are inti a 27 serenity. We also examined MH. We have traveled 60,000 miles with our AS. Never had a regret. The shorter length has allowd us in many tight campgrounds. We trailer with a 350 diesel ford. Over kill be with tow haul we never even blink at the tow. Arrive rested and happy.

[WhereStream]

We had a VW Westfalia, likely the smallest motorhome on the road, and we loved it.

Easy to drive around, could set up camp in minutes, low stress all the way around (but no AC at night, so no camping in summer).

Drove it all over the country and up into Canada, too.

But, as the VW got older, mechanical troubles set in. Problem made worse by the fact that VW stopped importing the Camper model and stopped making the motor altogether.

So we sold it. The “camper” part was still working great, but the “vehicle” part was no longer trustworthy, and it was increasingly harder to repair.

I decided we’d go with a nice trailer, one we could keep for years, and eventually replace the puller (my Suburban, which is still on the job).

[GOUSC]

My wife and I have camped for over 35 years going from a tent to Class B to a 35' Class A Diesel pusher. We had the Diesel pusher the longest. It was great with a family of 4 and perfect for just 2. However, when we were both retired we ended up with a Travel Trailer and chose an Airstream Globetrotter, GT. The main reason was we didn't want to worry about an extra engine any longer. In addition it was $2,500 everytime we needed to replace tires.

We worried about having enough space but over the years we have learned to pack smarter and with only 2 of us we probably don't use more than half our storage space. With a motorhome you will have more space than you will ever need and we do miss the built in generator / 4 house batteries and 2000 watt inverter. However, this just allows me to take advantage of my Honda EU2000 generator that I packed in my old Motorhome and the solar panels on the GT are more efficient that what we had previously.


I don't find parking any easier with the TT that other people have stated. you will need a tow vehicle behind your motorhome but it will be disconnected when you park at your site. I was towing 50' with my motorhome and TV but only parking 35' at the camp site. I'm towing about 47' with my GMC Sierra Duramax diesel and 28' GT but still having to back in the same 47' length. Based on this I believe I could get into tighter spaces with my motorhome than GT. I did not have an issue backing in either set up but it will be an adjustment for your coming from a tent to do either option.


I got 10 mpg towing with my diesel pusher and an getting 14 mpg towing my GT. Our motorhome diesel was only 230 HP. If you get a 400 hp motorhome you may be in the 6-8 mpg range depending on the size of you motorhome and that will double the cost of your trip.


Towing the GT is easier than driving the motorhome as a lower profile, less weight and the ride of the GMC is better than the diesel pusher.

We like the fit / finish and style of the GT and feel it was comparable to what we had in the motorhome. I think the GT will hold up better long term than the body of a motorhome. We did have 2 instances in our motorhome travels of mechanical issues. When those occur you not only lose your transportation, you lose your place to sleep. If that happens with the GT we could just find a rental car until repairs to the truck are made and still have a place to stay.


I would suggest you keep asking questions / go a large RV show somewhere to see all the options out there and don't rush into a decision as it is major purchase. Once you spend the time and ask enough questions (not to the salesperson but to other campers) then you will reach the decision that is right for you. We were leaning toward a Keystone Passport Elite or Keystone Bullet until we went to an RV show and saw the Airstreams. The more we looked and discussed getting the Airstream GT was a no brainer for us. You won't miss your tent at all whatever your decision ends up being.

[Aviator]

We went from tent camping and backpacking to an Airstream about 9 years ago. We tried the Motorhome idea via renting a 27' RV America. It just wasn't for us. We quickly realized that the Motorhome was too big to park in town and if we went that route we would need a towed (tow behind vehicle). That just added to the complexity and hassle of upkeep. With the Airstream, so long as we maintain it, it will outlast us! As others have said, we set up the trailer at our campsite and our tow vehicle becomes our runabout. We also really like the camaraderie of the other Airstreamers. Similar to when we had a classic Mustang and belonged to a couple of Mustang owner groups, the Airstream people are great.

We have no regrets after the passage of time and will most likely own a series of Airstreams in the future. Our original 34' will soon be for sale and we are now camping in a rested 1970 27'

[Acheron2010]

OF course we are all Airstream supporters here, but for style, if I was looking at a Class A, I would choose a

Winnebago Horizon

. Closest thing to an Airstream on six wheels.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

We had a bit of rain yesterday ( = it really poured down ). Out walking the dog I noticed a couple of the tent / camper combo's. The tents were all covered in "wet stuff" drying out. That *really* brings back some memories

Back when I worked for a living, one of the guys who worked for me was very much into 5th wheels. About every 4 years he would trade up to a yet larger model. We could spend a lot of hours debating the right and wrong of how each of us went camping. The bottom line alway was, what he did worked for him. I liked how I was doing things .... It's not a one size fits all world

Bob

[guskmg]

The old rule thumb is: a motorhome is more convenient enroute, and a trailer is more convenient when you get there. Having said that, my son's Tifton MH had more problems than my Airstream. One big differance is fuel consumption. However, if you can afford a MH or Airstream, that should not matter much unless you hate to pay oil companies more, like I do. BTW, they are at it again raising prices while supply is at capacity even including all the new storage in Cushman, OK.
guskmg

[PKI]

One of the good things about MoHos is that you can rent them. You might be able to understand your feelings and RV desires by renting a coach similar to what you think you want.

One of the bad things about an AS is that it can be difficult to find one that the owner will rent. There are stationary ASs in many resort areas. A few nights might give you a feel for the breed.

If you have tent camped, then any upgrade will be an improvement. Look at purchasing a Casita. Those trailers have a following and good resale value. You may find it to be your solution. But even if you find it too small, you will gain towing experience, backing experience and trailer camping experience.

Bet you will figure this out as you learn more. Pat