FB N/S Queen to Twin Conversion

[Al and Missy]

Hi,
We are newbies looking for our first Airstream. We are pretty convinced we want a front bedroom/twin bed model, either a 25 or 27/28 in the 7300# GVWR range. Limiting ourselves to FB twins significantly reduces the number of pre-owned options. I have seen several posts which converted (I think) an E/W queen bed to N/S twins. I'm wondering about converting a N/S queen to twins. It seems that might be advantageous for several reasons.
1. The walk space at the foot of the queen could be used on either side to provide longer twin beds.
2. The external front storage hatch that goes under the queen bed head could go under the nightstand and the heads of the twin beds.
3. There would then be an option to have the storage under the rest of the twins to be totally internal or to add one or two hatches to get external access.

Has anyone done this, or does anyone with one of either the N/S queen or twin version have any suggestions or comments.

[switz]

An important information point is that the Flying Cloud and International 25' models have a GVW of 7,300 pounds and the 27'/28' models have a 7,600 pounds GVW. The 31' models have a 8,800 pound GVW. Note that ONLY the Classic and Flying Cloud trim lines support twin beds as a factory option.

The 25' Flying Cloud family has an average tongue weight of 836 pounds. The Flying Cloud 27FB has 791 pounds tongue weight, but the Flying Cloud 28' has the highest tongue weight of 976 (more than the 880 pounds of a 31' Flying Cloud).

The International 25 has a 886 pound tongue weight while the 25FB has a 833 pound tongue weight. The International 27FB has a 770, pound tongue weight while the the International 28 has a 950 pound tongue weight (more than the 880 pounds of a 31' International).

All Classic models have real solid Hickory wood interior cabinetry. The 27FB Classic has a 792 pound tongue weight and a GVW of 9,000 pounds. Both Classic models are 31' long and have a 10,000 pound GVW. The Classic model 30 has a 773 pound tongue weight and the Model 31 has a 805 pound tongue weight.

Note that these tongue weights are from the Airstream literature and are lower than the real numbers people experience.

Our first trailer was a 2013 25FB International Serenity with the cross frame queen bed. I had the forward side of the bed and it was an nightly multi trip to the bathroom access issue for me. Also, we had to climb on top of the bed to access the front roof lockers. The storage under the queen bed has an access hatch in the curb side of the trailer. Our tongue weight was close to 1,200 pounds camping ready.

We were unhappy and decided to upgrade to and ordered a twin bed 27FB Classic. Under each twin bed, the space is divided roughly in half front to back (board is paralell to frame members) with an outside access to the space under each twin bed and an inside door to access that half of the space. There is also an access hatch on the front behind the battery box to get to the space under the center night stand and the head areas of the twin beds.

Since the dinette space and furniture design of the 25FB and 27FB is identical and we did not like sitting sideways to watch TV, we changed the order to a twin bed Classic 30. The difference was only $3,012 between the Classic 27FB & Classic 30 at order time versus the hit for depreciation and dealer profit if we did it a year or more later.

Here is a link to download the 2014 Airstream Catalog from Colonial Airsteam's website. Colonial Airstream is the largest dealership and has around 100 models in stock. They typically have 50 to 60 photos of each unit in inventory that you can peruse at your leisure.

http://colonialairstream.com/Airstre...el_trailer.pdf

I suggest pushing pencils hard before signing in ink.

[dkottum]

A fairly easy conversion and done frequently, queen bed to twin for some, twin to queen bed for others. We bought the front dinette 25 then pulled out the dinette/lounge and installed recliners, console, and fold out side table because our annual six month trips needed more comfort.

We have the EW queen bed and like it very much. At least at this point in our lives. No doubt the twin beds make for easier access to overhead cabinets and the best path to/from the beds, but there's more to it than that. Maybe when we are a older and not as active and agile, the twin bed conversion will happen on our trailer.

Don't worry about juggling factory or other folks' numbers when comparing, it'll make you dizzy and not much else. The front beds tend to load heavier in front than rear beds because the beds are the largest storage compartment.