23D or 25 Rear twin?

[Hogfan]

Hi everyone!

We are new to the world of Airstreams and narrowing down floor plan selections for our first trailer! For now it's just my husband and I + two Labradors. No kiddos yet.

I would love your thoughts and feedback on the pros & cons of the 23D vs the 25 rear twin floor plans!

Thanks so much!

[NWRVR]

Congratulations on your next step to join the AS addiction! We are also new to Streaming and had the choice of a 2012 International Serenity 25 rear bed or 2014 25FB. Decided on the front bed simply because when we back in to a camp site we would rather sit at the dinette and see trees or other view rather than the Tow vehicle or camp ground road and other campers out the front windows. When we go to bed it is generally dark and nothing to see out the front windows so nothing lost.

[ckottum]

The 25 is 6" wider and 26" longer, about 12 sq ft more space and you will feel the difference everywhere. It also has larger storage tanks and larger wheels, tires, brakes. Pano windows front and rear.

The 23 is largest of the small Airtreams, the 25 smallest of the large Airstreams and more likely to suit your future needs. Either match up well with a properly equipped light duty pickup or large SUV.

We customized our 25 rear queen model for extensive travel and have no complaints.

cheryl

[peetoe]

My wife and 6 year old son used a 23 foot safari for about 4 months. It was simply to small. I found a deal on a 25' EB. It's perfect the difference in size is massive. Much more then the two feet you think your gaining.

[ckottum]

FB vs RB a matter of choice in the 25, we have the living room in the front. I'll just say if we bought another Airstream it would definitely also have the living room in the front where it belongs.

cheryl

[WindyJim]

I will just address the twin vs non-twin bed arrangement. Our last two Airstreams (1999 27-foot and 2004 25-foot) have both been with twin beds.

My wife is short (5'0") and the twin beds allow for easier access to over the bed storage. Also we are an older couple and the ability to get up independently, without waking the other partner, is very pleasant.

Twin beds were a requisite in our AS selection.

[Roll-on]

We too are new to AS but not to travel trailers. We purchased the 25 Twin RB and love the set-up. Because of the twin bed arrangement, the space looks much larger when entering the trailer since the aisle is where a queen bed would be. The best part is all the outside storage space. We have more now than our last travel trailer that was 33" long with 2 slide-outs!

[silverlabs]

Hogfan - Welcome to the world of Airstreams. I'll jump in with my two cents as we seem very similar. We purchased a 2014 25FC RB Twin last year. My wife and I travel with two labs as well. This floor plan works extremely well. We had the luxury when we were purchasing to have a FB and RB side by side where we went in and out many times. Our decision ultimately was due to several things. We liked having the full range of cooking appliances and we liked the larger bathroom the RB offers. The outside storage on the two is the same, other than the fact on the FB the main storage is behind the propane tanks. It's harder to get into and there have been reports of some leaks with water forced into it while driving. In addition, if you ultimately use a ProPride hitch, the WD jacks may limit the opening even further.

We went on one two month trip last year through the Rockies and up into Canada with the two dogs and had plenty of room. Used it on several other trips as well with no issues. We did just upgrade to a 28FC Rear Twin due to really liking that floor plan, but would choose the 25FC RB Twin without hesitation if we reduced the trailer size down the line.

[silverlabs]

Just another note. With the twin setup and the two labs, they both sleep perfectly on the floor between us and love it. The twins really make the unit appear bigger as when you walk in and look down the aisle, you see the entire trailer.

[ckottum]

When looking at storage, keep in mind the only outside storage is the rear bumper tray and the slinky tube. Everything else is inside storage, just a question of where the access hatches are located. Some of those hatches could allow a (skinny) person to enter the trailer so use the locks.

cheryl

[ckottum]

I like everything about the twin bed models except the sleeping arrangement, so it's a queen bed here.

cheryl

[silverlabs]

On the 25 Twin there are 4 outside storage spots. Two street side, one curbside and one (large) in the center, either front or rear depending on where bedroom is. These plus the bumper tray and slinky tube.

[Bill M.]

We have an older 25' rear twin bed. Far as we are concerned it is nearly perfect. The newer ones are 6" wider and that should make the kitchen area easier for 2 people to get by in. The only reason I can see to go for the 23 is if you want to pull it with a smaller TV. For the wide body I suspect you need something like a pickup or good sized SUV with the extended mirrors to really see around it.

[reelfastgreg]

25FB met our needs very nicely. we still enjoy each others company in bed so the queen was the natural choice. great matress, BTW along with wonderful pillors from AS, couldn't believe it. sitting in the rear lounge area gives us views of where we are instead of the TV. but we do find many places are set up for large coaches so we find ourselves pulling in 'backwards' some of the time to maximize the view potential, not really a problem so long as your sewer hoses are long enough. the power inlet on the front of the AS is very nice in these circumstances. we also checked out the 27' but we didn't gain much of anything so this 25' is a great combo for the two of us plus occasional overnighting grand kids.

[KJRitchie]

Went through the same when looking at preowned Airstreams. Started looking at a FC 20 then FC 23D and 23FB. Since we didn't think our 2005 4Runner was up to the task for even a 23 and needed to upgrade the tow vehicle we decided on a 25 and ended up with a 2008 Classic 25fb with queen. 2013 was an expensive year.

Looking back on our decision we wouldn't have like the rear corner bed and bath.

Kelvin

[StillRod]

Our tale is similar to others. Started small with a 2012 19 ft Flying Cloud, but the corner bed was just too inconvenient on long trips.

We opted for a new 25 with twin beds because:
- Independent bed ingress/egress means your spouse isn't disturbed when you arrive late or get up early.
- The center aisle affords ample standing space while dressing, making bed, etc.

We chose rear vs. front twins due to:
- significant increase in externally-accessible storage compartments.
- the majority of that storage is aft, which helps to mitigate the amount of weight that lands on the tongue
-- we don't pull with a truck, so keeping tongue weight in check was essential to us. We're at 800 pounds, fully loaded.

Ten weeks out west this winter led us to conclude that the 25 rear twin was the right answer for us.

As to the debate about front vs. rear view, our experience suggests that its in the right/wrong place about half the time. Not a deal breaker for us. Weight distribution was.

Good luck with your decision. Welcome to the party! Its always a fun place to hang out.

Rod

[Guyel]

Very happy with our 25' Twin. Seems to be more room and access to the beds is easier. Would quote the same comments as above plus if you have to dogs they can sleep on the floor between you. We considered the Queen bed when looking but very happy we went with the twin beds.

[Mrjkq]

Ditto, both of above. My first look was at the 23D, liked it but that corner bed sent me to the 25 RTB, so much more storage & the isle between the beds gives the feeling of a much larger space.
Joe

[gypsydad]

Originally Posted by silverlabs

On the 25 Twin there are 4 outside storage spots. Two street side, one curbside and one (large) in the center, either front or rear depending on where bedroom is. These plus the bumper tray and slinky tube.

Unless yours is unique Silverlabs, our 14', FC 25' twin FB model only has 3 outside bins plus bumper storage. The 25 twin RB does have 4, as you state. We love the twins; more room in bedroom, and actually, a queen is only 60" wide; the twins are each 34" wide so total of 8" inches sleeping room! (but who's counting!) As for 23' vs 25', Moosetags is a good barometer in his 25' Lucy thread since he went down to 23' and back up to 25' . This being our 3rd 25'; only thing I seem to miss in this set up is 3 things; (1) I like the microwave in the RB model, but could get a combo convection/microwave instead of the oven I guess. (2) love the new ducting vents in 15 and newer....we are seriously considering a 16' model for the vents and louvers in the air conditioning. (3) love the "custom kitchen goucho seating" package offered as add on this year by Airstream Adventures custom line....but I digress...get the twin 25'; the dogs will be fine...our boxer sleeps on the lounge area or sometimes jumps in bed when she can get away with it...

[m.hony]

Another vote for the bigger trailer-