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Old 08-28-2013, 10:08 PM   #1
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2014 30' FB FC Bunk
Sunnyvale , California
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 39
2013+ Bunkhouse Owners Thread!

We are back from our first real trip in our 2014 FC Bunkhouse, and figured we should share our observations and issues while they're still fresh in our minds... Please feel free to add your own observations/comments/questions!

Overall, we love the layout of the trailer, and it feels so much more functional for our family than the 27FB. We did miss the pano window over the dinette this trip - would have had a lovely ocean view - but not enough to regret the trade.

Here's an area by area breakdown:

Bathroom
  • The lack of storage is completely ridiculous. We’re trying to figure out what sort of small shelves to mount to the wall by the shower.
  • The toilet in this trailer is much more robust than the one in our 2012. Also appreciate the solid ceramic seat vs. the old plastic one with crevices. The macerator makes the lights throughout the trailer flash a bit, though.
  • The faucet is very small and close to the sink bowl. Would like to replace this.
  • The sliding shower door is interesting.
  • Not sure I would have placed the towel bar inside the shower...

Kitchen
  • The fuse in our hood blew early on in the trip. Apparently we need to get a fuse with a slightly higher capacity.
  • Forma paper towel holder fits nicely inside the pantry door. We also put a Forma over-the-cabinet-door hand towel holder on the cabinet under the sink. Forma Wingo Wallmount Paper Towel Holder
  • We’ve had multiple drawers come off their tracks and land on the floor while towing. We upgraded a bunch of the cabinet latches to 10lb ones, which seems to be helping.
  • Would be really nice to have a counter extension over the couch area.
  • The faucet pull out sprayer is… better than nothing, but I wish it was an integrated spray head on the faucet. Might be replacing this…

Bunks
  • Our 6yo cannot climb into the bunk without a boost. We are going to install a climbing hold for him to use to get up there before our next trip
  • We swapped the double for a twin and layed down 4 Flor carpet tiles between the bed and the bathroom wall. The kids like having this as a walkway/place to set stuff/etc.

Living Area
  • Our door bolt is pretty tough to use. We tried some silicone spray, but it feels like an alignment issue.
  • Not really sold on the mini-blinds. We've had a few fly off while traveling. We had pull down shades in our previous Airstream - neither is perfect. Going to try making some curtains…
  • One of the springs on the cabinet that holds the entertainment stuff seems too tight. The screws have pulled out of the door front 2x now.
  • Ikea Pluggis bins fit well in the overhead compartments.
  • The thermostat in our International had an outdoor temp reading option, but this new one does not. Weird.
Bedroom
  • The little cubbies by the bed are nice, but we haven’t figured out how to make the wardrobes useful yet. I think little tap lights in them would help.
  • What I wouldn't give for drawers in here...

Outdoor
  • the compartment above the hitch has alignment issues and can be very difficult to open/close.
  • The claw piece of the awning arm broke when closing. This part is apparently designed to break to prevent more damage. Will have to be more careful about the awning arm placement when closing.
  • We switched from 800lb bars to 600lb bars for our weight distributing hitch and it seems to have made the ride a bit smoother.
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Old 08-29-2013, 05:39 AM   #2
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As a original 05 bunkhouse owner I was wondering when someone was going to review a new one. Floorplan is so functional, so easy with kids. One of the things they changed on the new BH is the storage arrangements. Back by the rear bunk they used to have a different arrangment (door and bins) for kids clothes now they are drawers. bathroom used to have more of a cabinet in there. Kitchen is about the same.

What are you towing with?

We have about 88k towing on ours since new in 06
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Old 08-29-2013, 09:50 PM   #3
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2014 30' FB FC Bunk
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We're towing with a 2013 Ford F250. We had a QX56 for our 27FB, but decided it wasn't quite up to the additional weight of the 30bunk.
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Old 08-31-2013, 01:53 PM   #4
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2014 30' FB FC Bunk
Pennington , New Jersey
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Thank you for your review- we also traded in our 2010 27 ft for the 30 ft bunk. It is currently on the assembly line - should have it by the end of September - my wife was concerned about the lack of counterspace in the bathroom - didn't even think of the lack of storage. That will definitely be something we will have to solve.

Is the toilet paper holder inside the cabinet door of the bath sink?

Does your bunk have 2 air conditioners? Have you run both? Any issues if you have?
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Old 08-31-2013, 02:19 PM   #5
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Yes, there is a toilet paper holder mounted vertically on the cabinet door that opens toward the bathroom door. I took a ton of photos of the whole trailer, but none of that cabinet, oops. The sink plumbing hangs down and takes up much of the first shelf, and the second shelf is just very low and awkward. Fine for extra TP, tank tablets, and a first aid kit, but not really where we want to keep the toothpaste, yk?

We do have 2 air conditioners, but haven't run either of them yet. The place we camped last weekend is right on the coast and it didn't get out of the 70s, so there was no need. In retrospect, we probably should have run them just to make sure everything worked! The 2nd AC is in the bedroom, and I'm kind of bummed that it took the place of the fan that used to be there. I liked that fresh air source/tiny skylight in the night.
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Old 08-31-2013, 03:48 PM   #6
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(ETA: I don't know if there would have been a fan in the bedroom if we didn't have the 2nd AC, or not. There was a fan above the bed in our 27FB, so I was just assuming. We still have 2 fans in the trailer - one above the bunks, and one between the dinette and the bedroom "door.")
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Old 08-31-2013, 05:13 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by silver27 View Post
(ETA: I don't know if there would have been a fan in the bedroom if we didn't have the 2nd AC, or not. There was a fan above the bed in our 27FB, so I was just assuming. We still have 2 fans in the trailer - one above the bunks, and one between the dinette and the bedroom "door.")
Yes - we are bit concerned about the ac above the be and not the fan. - keeping our fingers crossed.
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Old 08-31-2013, 06:05 PM   #8
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A number of us have had the fuse blow in the rangehood. They are of a size not commonly found in the US (Italian?) Had some PM exchanges with another guy who read my post about this. His (and mine) blew for no apparent reason. Oh, we just had a number of posts on the crummy claw on the Zip Dee awning thing. One guy carries two spares with him. I've broken two myself. The general theme from the experts is that Zip Dee makes them cheesy so they break and not something more expensive. I think it's crummy engineering myself! I'm about to have A/S install the 2d AC in my '12 Intl. I will miss the fan, but the 15000 BTU unit is not up to the task of cooling the back of my trailer. Enjoyed reading your observations. Thanks for posting!
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Old 08-31-2013, 06:05 PM   #9
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Hoover , Alabama
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Ours will be hopefully picked up on 11/1/13...some concerns voiced about waiting in a que for delivery - so sorts case we will pick up on 11/15

I will no doubt be saying a lot about the unit once we get to fiddling with it

Keep the reviews and advice coming!!

Ours will have 2nd AC, awning package, inverter, EB tires/wheels, and black UL

Really hope we can pick up on 11/1!!
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Old 10-16-2013, 08:09 AM   #10
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2014 30' FB FC Bunk
1986 25' Sovereign
1968 30' Sovereign
Vestavia , Alabama
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new owners- 2014 flying cloud bunkhouse!

We just picked up our new 2014 Flying Cloud Bunkhouse last Friday. Could not be happier with the floor plan and the trailer overall! We had outgrown our 25' sovereign two years ago, and switched to a SOB camper with bunks. We only have one kid, but having our own space makes us all happier. We were thrilled to find Airstream brought back the bunk model, and are done with the SOB box trailers for good

We have not had any major issues yet, and hope that continues. I think our dealer did an excellent job going over it beforehand. The weather was dry during our drive home so leaks were not an issue. The only exterior thing we are concerned about are the GYM tires. One has a slight bulge on the side. We will be changing those out pronto, as soon as we can determine the best replacement tires..and maybe wheels?

Towing was fantastic!! Our last trailer, (the SOB, yes- I really like calling it that, LOL!) was an ultralight and weighed about the same but was longer and about a foot taller with a really bouncy suspension. The new trailer feels about the same while towing as our old sovereign, which was only 25 feet long. It was lighter, but still heavy for the size since it was an 8o's model. Much easier handling and no effects from wind or trucks with the new trailer!

Other observations: On the interior the main LED lights do come on dimly when the toilet is flushed. The bathroom space was much larger than what we expected from viewing the photographs. No worries about banging elbows or room for your shoes on the floor We added lots of stick- on removable hooks to hang our towels and a toiletry bag for each of us. The bags go under the sink during travel. I guess we are sort of minimalists, the storage space is not an issue for us in the bathroom. We also use travel microfiber towels, like a lot of people that live on sailboats use. They dry quickly and take up very little space.

The galley area has plenty of room to pass by each other and the dog, unlike our past 25' sovereign. We went ahead and bought LED lights to replace the halogens over the cooktop. LOVE all of the counter space, and the amount of cabinets and storage space is amazing.

We have the second AC and the 50 amp service. Takes a little trial and error to set the thermostats. The main thing is to set them both to the same mode so they do not cancel each other out. We used the heat pump set on auto at night and it worked well. The power cord is HUGE and heavy, like any 50 amp cord. We may look for an additional shorter length cord for easier handling. There is not a remote generator hookup with the 50 amp option.

The remotes to the televisions need to carefully aimed, or they will operate all the tv's at once. We have not even begun to figure out the sound system...all in good time.

Well those are our main first observations. Will post any others as they come up.
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Old 10-16-2013, 04:03 PM   #11
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2014 30' FB FC Bunk
Pennington , New Jersey
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We picked ours up a few weeks ago. Love they layout - had some issues with the drawers rolling out during transit. The one under the cook top actually flew out and smashed into pieces during our first trip. Kind of annoying given they new drawer slide were supposed to be an improvement for the 2014 model. We got the ultra leather and love the comfort. So far very, very happy with our bunkhouse.
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Old 10-16-2013, 04:39 PM   #12
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Hello, IggyWalker! Hope you continue to enjoy the bunkhouse.

What bulb type did you get for the cooktop overhead lights, and from what vendor? I'd like to replace the range hood lights in my 2013 25FB but I have not found a source.
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Old 10-16-2013, 06:21 PM   #13
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What bulb type did you get for the cooktop overhead lights, and from what vendor? I'd like to replace the range hood lights in my 2013 25FB but I have not found a source.
I installed 12 LED plug-in replacements over their stove, in bright white. Out of Doors Mart offers them for sale direct.
As for the remotes, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words...:
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Old 10-16-2013, 06:29 PM   #14
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Cool - hope we have mostly good experiences over time.

2 weeks for me now

Getty !!!
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Old 10-16-2013, 07:39 PM   #15
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Cool - hope we have mostly good experiences over time. 2 weeks for me now Getty !!!
Tick, tick, tick....nearly there!!!
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Old 10-17-2013, 05:15 PM   #16
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2014 30' FB FC Bunk
1986 25' Sovereign
1968 30' Sovereign
Vestavia , Alabama
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Hi Ssquared,

The carton for the bulb has "LED G4 Lamp" on it. Out of Doors Mart sticker has "Chip 12 LED5050 bright white". Price was $15.95 each. Very bright and color temp. of the light matches the one over our sink. We changed them for lower drain on batteries, less heat and lower chance of blown fuses.



Quote:
Originally Posted by SSquared View Post
Hello, IggyWalker! Hope you continue to enjoy the bunkhouse.

What bulb type did you get for the cooktop overhead lights, and from what vendor? I'd like to replace the range hood lights in my 2013 25FB but I have not found a source.
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Old 10-17-2013, 05:26 PM   #17
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2014 30' FB FC Bunk
1986 25' Sovereign
1968 30' Sovereign
Vestavia , Alabama
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 41
Hi PharmGeek,

A good trailer is worth the wait

And I just noticed we are nearly neighbors!!




Quote:
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Cool - hope we have mostly good experiences over time.

2 weeks for me now

Getty !!!
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Old 10-17-2013, 05:33 PM   #18
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Black UL

Quote:
Originally Posted by PharmGeek View Post
Ours will be hopefully picked up on 11/1/13...some concerns voiced about waiting in a que for delivery - so sorts case we will pick up on 11/15

I will no doubt be saying a lot about the unit once we get to fiddling with it

Keep the reviews and advice coming!!

Ours will have 2nd AC, awning package, inverter, EB tires/wheels, and black UL

Really hope we can pick up on 11/1!!
What is black UL
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Old 10-17-2013, 05:42 PM   #19
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Thermosat externe temp.

For your info. it is the thermostat that is discontinus for the reading of the external temp. I no because I thouhgt mine have a problem and call dometic to change it....So just one reading the inside temp.....
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Old 10-17-2013, 10:33 PM   #20
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Range Hood Lights

Iggy,

Thanks for the details on the lights. I had a mental image of a simple bulb-shaped replacement, but now I understand it's a multi-LED package.
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