New to forum and to Airstream

[Austin512]

Howdy All, we purchased our first AS this week and have used it twice in the first week. We located a 2011 27FB Int Sig in the classified section here and made the purchase nearby within a week. After installing new tires and batteries and filling up a propane tank I pulled it 55 miles to an RV Park near home and set it up. We stayed in it the first night to try out all of the equipment and appliances. We came back over the weekend and detailed it and have it looking new again. The forums have been a great place to look up "how to" questions. We are looking forward to meeting some you in our new adventures

[SteveSueMac]

Congrats and welcome! We have the same configuration but in the Flying Cloud trim. We love ours! Here's to many years of happy camping!!

By the way - hard to tell from the pic but is the nose of your TV a little high? The angle of the pic suggests you might need to distribute more weight to that front axle. Scales are the best way to know for sure. Good luck!!

[dwightdi]

From your picture, you need to install weight distribution bars. TV should not be squatting in the back and elevated in the front. Without proper bars, the road contact pressure on the front wheels is reduced and you lose proper steering control.

[Austin512]

Thanks for the pointers. The Land Rover had a self leveling air suspension when the engine is running and the doors are shut. When I got out of the truck at the RV park it lowered itself to a preset height for ease of exiting the truck. I'll take your advice and check it out on some scales when the engine is running and the suspension is active.

[dwightdi]

The active self leveling suspension will level the truck by increasing the spring rate in the rear by adding air pressure to the air shocks in the back. That will level the truck, but will do nothing to change the weight distribution from the rear wheels to the front wheels. You need to shift some of the trailer weight to the front wheels to restore the proper steering control. You have taken significant amount of weight off the front wheels due to adding the tongue weight of the trailer at a distance behind the back wheels. It is like a kids teeter tauter with a fat kid sitting on the ball behind your truck. We had a guy at our local club with an old self leveling Cadillac that had the same problem until we explained it to him. Depending on how how you intend to use the trailer, you need to buy at least some kind of weight distribution hitch.

[Martin R]

I zoomed in on the OP photo and it looks pretty level (more so than the thumbnail) and,unless my eyes are deceiving me, he has a WD hitch in place already....

[twolanehwy]

I think you're right Martin...looks like my Reese w/ spring bars.
Probably just needs ball raised on TV.

[kdickinson]

Nice! welcome to the Airstream life!

[BoldAdventure]

Congrats and welcome to the addiction.

[Austin512]

Yes, I am using a weight distributing and anti sway hitch already. It may need to be tweaked a bit.

[Mrjkq]

Trying to help not nitpick. I also have air suspension in my truck and feel your set up is possibly totally wrong as you suggested. The fact that your truck lowers automatically upon exit suggests to me that you can turn off the system if desired whereas it will stay level if turned off before exiting not lower down. The point here, that is how your WD hitch should be set up with the truck level in driving position & air suspension off. Once measured & set up & the air is turned back on. Now you have equal distribution of weight between both front & rear axles & if done correctly your air may tweak it an inch or two. Otherwise, the air suspension "fools" the teck doing the set up & everything measures out, looks level & you end up with premature bald rear tires & a dangerous towing experience.

[madpiper]

Welcome to a great new experience and hobby we hope will last many years!

[gnijman]

My wife and I are new owners too with several short and one long haul trip under our belts. Welcome to the community. Keep your umbrella handy ... I hear you've had a snippet rain down your way.

[Austin512]

Here is another pic with the engine running and the truck sitting level. I stopped by the hitch shop today and they gave me a thumbs up on my set up.

We stayed in the AS over this past weekend when it rained 10 inches one night in the Texas Hill Country. I had two small leaks at the front and rear center windows. I tightened the latches afterwards and picked up some lubricant for the gaskets today.

My AS has the brown and lime green upholstery on the cushions. We plan to change that out for Ultraleather in light oyster or black. Any suggestions on colors. We have one small dog that sheds white hair in bucket fulls.

[aftermath]

Your towing set up looks great. I am jealous, still want a 27FB.

I use Aerospace Protectant 303 and it works very well. Heard about it here on the forum. Be careful when adjusting the window latches. This is one of those things you can overdo.

I would keep the cushions. Shave the dog and you should save a lot of money.

Enjoy your new trailer.

[larryglarson]

We are a little over 5 yrs. into "Airstreaming". We love it, we hope you do too.

[ShinyPete]

Austin-

Very nice setup and stance on that last pic. We're fellow 27fb kin, and love the size of our coach. Enjoy!


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[Austin512]

I made a newbie mistake and pried the front window open the first time and shattered it. Thankful for the front rock guard that covered it for a few days until the replacement arrived. Someone recommended silicon grease on the rubber gaskets so I stopped by the NAPA store and picked that up today along with my new replacement window at the AS dealer. I hope the learning curve is short because this is getting expensive quickly.

[Cannonball]

Welcome to "The Club". I trust you will have a great time. I note you are in Austin. We are in San Antonio. Our WBCCI Unit is the Texas Alamo Unit. We are pretty informal, to say the least/most. Our next rally is in Boerne over Thanksgiving weekend. If interested, please join us. You can PM me for details.


Cannonball, Deep in the Heart of Texas!

WBCCI #4387, Air #84080

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[cwf]

Welcome aboard!

We are in Round Rock... have a 34' 1999 Excella.. nearly 3 years.. loving it!