23 FC rear bed, comfortable for dining?

[scubadog]

We are thinking about purchasing a 23 Flying Cloud rear bed with a leatherette couch. It has a drop down table. Does this work well? Is it reasonable to sit on the couch when dining at the table? It comes with a chair for the small desk. Does this rattle around when towing? Any comments on the rear bed configuration are much appreciated. Thanks.

[Jammer]

Welcome to the forums.

I have a 30' Classic with an essentially identical arrangement in front, although the spacing may differ slightly. Since we have a dinette we only use the couch for dining when we have more than four people. But that happens fairly often, and it does work well. My fold-out table isn't really wide enough to allow people to sit across from each other at it so I'm more or less limited to two people there. The slide-out support arrangement is compact and quite solid and has worked well.

Opinions vary on the pros and cons of front and rear bedrooms but I also prefer the rear bedroom configuration as the living room then gets the larger windows and if you disconnect the tow vehicle as I usually do then often the best view is from the front also. In really remote areas maybe windows in the bedroom are a good thing but that isn't usually the situation I'm in so they end up being more of a liability than anything.

[Lucky Dog]

Welcome to the forums, Scubadog. We have the same unit unit you are looking at; ours is a 2009 Flying Cloud 23' with rear corner bed and front lounge. We really like the setup as it gives us more room around the entrance/galley and we didn't like the dinette/wheelwell humps in the front bed floorplan. We are not big people so the smaller, corner bed is fine for us compared to the larger, front bed. The chair snaps into some latches on the floor and pretty well stays put. The table folds out and can be use as a single or flipped open fully to cover most of the length of the couch for side-by-side dining. We bring extra pillows so that the lounge, when opened, makes a very comfortable area to stretch out, read, watch a movie, etc. My wife is the nite owl, so she can relax upfront and I can turn in earlier. The accordian, folding door separates the areas and blocks her reading lights from the "bedroom". She is also the tech guru in the family and loves her laptop so the desk/chair works great for her and doesn't interfere with me catching the news on the TV mounted over the desk area. We are relatively new Airstreamers, having spent only about 20 nights or so in the unit to date, but we are well pleased so far. We did a 12 day trip in April and had plenty of storage room for clothes, etc. The dual lounging areas (lounge up front, bed in rear) are nice if you get some bad weather and our forced to stay inside for an extended period. Each one gets their own "space" to read, nap, etc. Take your time in looking at the different units and floor plans. That's half the fun! Good luck in your search for the perfect AS for you.

[scubadog]

Another concern we have is whether the bathroom right next to the bed is annoying at night. In the 25 FC twin bed, the bathroom is moved more to the center but it's a more expensive model and may cost more in lower mpg than the 23. Touch decision right now.

[fmr.capt.evi]

trust me......go with the 25.....

[dkottum]

Originally Posted by fmrcaptevil

trust me......go with the 25.....

Would you elaborate, on both?

doug k

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by scubadog

Another concern we have is whether the bathroom right next to the bed is annoying at night. In the 25 FC twin bed, the bathroom is moved more to the center but it's a more expensive model and may cost more in lower mpg than the 23. Touch decision right now.

Unless you have water hookups at the campsite most of the noise when using the bathroom will come from the water pump. In either location a light sleeper will be awakened by another person using the bathroom.

[Lucky Dog]

Seriously, if you are worried about the sound of a flushing toilet, wait until you hear the furnace or the a/c kick in. Or the fantastic fan running to pull in the evening air. You are either going to get used to the sounds or not. "Living small" ain't for everybody.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Another here with the drop down table, has worked ok for 4 adults, not like home but not much in the AS is.

If you are mostly two with no plans on the way, the 23' would work.....for awhile.

We be two to, and are really glad we went with the 25', size matters, it is the most common reason for trading in your 'Stream.