Special considerations for Flying Cloud 30 FB W/ bunk option?

[BigT Bruck]

My wife and I were just hours away from pulling the trigger on a new (2016) FC 25 w/ twin option. We really like the layout with the dinette up front (lots of natural light) and the twin beds in back. We think it might be perfect for our family of three (our son is 6).

Then we met the FC 30 FB W/ bunk. For just a little more money, it seems we could invite family and friends whenever we want to. My tow vehicle can handle it, but what else do I need to know?

1. More maintenance required?
2. Different electrical hookups? If so, how does this impact our camping experience?
3. Would I need a more substantial generator?
4. Are two a/c's necessary?
5. Anything else I need to know?

Thanks for the advice.

[Echelon73]

I think a lot of people would argue in favor of two A/C's even if you get a 25. Our 30 only has one A/C and we are in the process of adding a second one. You will have to lug around a heavier 50A cord versus the 30A cord, but well worth it in my opinion. You would only need a larger generator if you plan on running two A/C's at one time. 50A or 30A, they both run 120V so you can get adapters to run in any campground. If you do have two A/C's and are at a campground that only has 30A power, then you can only run one A/C at a time. There is not a significant difference in maintenance. There have been a few times where I thought a 25' model would have been easier to maneuver in a campground, gas station, or parking lot, but I love the extra space in the 30. Our 30 tows really well also. I would say go with the one you like the best and you think fills your camping needs the best.

[dkottum]

You decide, we don't know anything about you, and tell us what you ended up with.

[knowltontr]

We upgraded from a 2014 27' FC FB to a 2015 30' bunky. We LOVE it! Our 10 year old daughter loves her personal sky light from her bunk. The wife and I love the extra space and the fact that we can get up early and have coffee w/o waking the sleep princess. Putting the dinette up and down everyday in the 27' got old quick. I love the extra storage, bigger bathroom and the ducted AC in the 30' bunky. I'm still trying to figure out the best way to setup the dual AC/HP units. The 30' tows great with my 07 F-150 super crew. NO regrets! DO IT!!

[BigT Bruck]

Thanks for the feedback. We're definitely leaning towards the 30'.

Here's a follow up question ... there seems to be a lot of opinion out there regarding towing. It seems straight forward to me.

I have a '13 Toyota Tundra capable of towing 10,100 lbs. I've used it to tow a 25' boat that weighed 6,500 lbs with fuel on board. It towed fine ... it was definitely tested up steep hills and consumed LOTS of fuel, but otherwise was o.k.

I'm under the impression that a new 30'FB is heavy ... like 8,800 lbs (not loaded with gear). I would prefer to have a 20-25% cushion. Seems like I would be maxing out the Tundra's towing capability.

I note one person tows a 30' Airstream with an F-150 just fine. I guess there is a difference between "can it tow it" and "should it tow it". Thoughts?

[KJRitchie]

The only issue with the Tundra is its payload. I had a 2010 Tundra Doublecab 2x4 and it only had 1465lbs of published door sticker payload. My 2008 Classic 25fb has 1100lbs of tongue weight. I would think the 30' bunk might have similar. The Tundra towed fine with the Equalizer hitch and got several good mileage legs (13mpg hand calculated) on my trip out to Utah from Missouri this summer. The brakes worried me a little on some of the long grades but I think I didn't have my brake controller correctly set up for mountain driving. My Tundra brakes started to vibrate under heavy braking. Could be the ABS coming into play because the trailer brakes weren't helping much.

But in looking at the long run and the desire to have a 4x4 pickup with a bed shell I ended up with a 2015 Ram 2500 Crew Cab 4x4 Cummins. However it only has a 2089lb door sticker payload but figure it would be enough for our future needs. I did outfit it with an ARE shell.

Kelvin

[dkottum]

The easy choice on the truck is to get the Airstream you want and see if the truck you already own handles it to your satisfaction. If not you'll have to get a different one.

Know that one person's satisfaction is another's disaster-about-to-happen. Which you will read about on internet forums all day long.

Your properly set up Tundra with a top quality weight distribution/sway control hitch, properly loaded truck and trailer within weight limits, is a good start and may do a very good job for you.

The other important factor is budget, you have to balance that as well.

[Amsterdamer]

We went from a Safari 30 Bunk House (31 feet) to a Flying Cloud 27 (28 feet) with Twins.

Primary Reasons:
The 27 feels much more open inside and the BH is comparatively crowded.
The 27 has panoramic windows, front and back plus vista view, and the BH has none of these.

We really liked the Bunk House when the kids were younger but now that they are out of the house, the '27 is better for us. If you have kids, the Bunk House is great and not really any more trouble to own.

[rumrunner]

If you can pull up and down the hill between Chandler and Flagstaff safely, you can take it just about anywhere. Easy way to find out
How about a long test drive?
tim

[SCOTTinNJ]

I had a 25' twin and now have a 30' bunk. Also have a 5 year old and tow with an F-150. Probably qualified to answer your questions...

Originally Posted by BigT Bruck

1. More maintenance required?
2. Different electrical hookups? If so, how does this impact our camping experience?
3. Would I need a more substantial generator?
4. Are two a/c's necessary?
5. Anything else I need to know?

1. Largely no. If you get the second AC then there is potentially two to replace down the road. But there is also one to work if the other is out. The 30' has a pump in the toilet that the 25' doesn't have. I prefer the simplicity of the 25' but haven't found the 30' to be a problem. Yet.

2. 50 Amp on the 30' will allow you to run everything in your trailer almost without concern. 30 Amp on the 25' means you have to be a little careful when running the microwave, AC, and water heater simultaneously unless you run the water heater on gas. You also have to watch for high draw appliances like a hair dryer. We often hook up to 30 Amp even with the 30' trailer, particularly when we don't need both AC's running. We rarely run both. The 30 Amp cord is significantly easier to deal with than the 50 Amp, particularly when it is cold and stiff.

3. See #2. You'll only need a bigger generator if you want to run both AC's. And in that case you are going to need a very big generator and probably a bigger truck to deal with it. I wouldn't consider running both AC's off a generator.

4. No. But nice.

5. Probably a lot. One thing I can say is that on the road there is little difference between the 25' and 30'. Maybe it takes a bit more attention in gas stations and such, but if you tow that big boat you'll be fine either way. I wouldn't concern myself with the extra length on the road.

I can see where it may be difficult to fit a 30' in some campgrounds/parks where a 25' would fit, but we haven't come across any thus far. I don't think that's a big issue either.

And the weight of 8,800 lbs for the 30' is max. I can look on the sticker on mine, but I think it's more like 6,500 dry.

[SCOTTinNJ]

Originally Posted by BigT Bruck

I have a '13 Toyota Tundra capable of towing 10,100 lbs. I've used it to tow a 25' boat that weighed 6,500 lbs with fuel on board. It towed fine ... it was definitely tested up steep hills and consumed LOTS of fuel, but otherwise was o.k.

I'm under the impression that a new 30'FB is heavy ... like 8,800 lbs (not loaded with gear). I would prefer to have a 20-25% cushion. Seems like I would be maxing out the Tundra's towing capability.

I note one person tows a 30' Airstream with an F-150 just fine. I guess there is a difference between "can it tow it" and "should it tow it". Thoughts?

I tow with a 2012 F-150 5.0 V8. It's only rated at 7,700 lb towing because of the 3.55 rear (wish I had the 3.73). I often lock out 6th gear and have had no problems thus far. You should know that I'm a "weekender" on the east coast. You may have different issues in the mountains. I get between 10 and 12 mpg towing. Sometimes almost 13 if it's flat. I do stay mostly at 60 mph and switched from the P rated stock tires to LT tires. That made a difference in feel.

My payload is just under 1700 lbs. I'll post pics in a new thread, but I removed the queen bed in front and travel pretty light so my tongue weight is low compared to most. 1700 lbs has been plenty for me.

[SCOTTinNJ]

Originally Posted by Amsterdamer

We went from a Safari 30 Bunk House (31 feet) to a Flying Cloud 27 (28 feet) with Twins.

Primary Reasons:
The 27 feels much more open inside and the BH is comparatively crowded.
The 27 has panoramic windows, front and back plus vista view, and the BH has none of these.

We really liked the Bunk House when the kids were younger but now that they are out of the house, the '27 is better for us. If you have kids, the Bunk House is great and not really any more trouble to own.

My 25' had panorama windows on both ends. I loved the views but we camp when we can, not necessarily when the weather is nice. Those windows are huge heat sucks and made the trailer very cold in the winter. With the big side windows of the 30' bunk we really don't miss them at all. In fact we prefer the "cave" feeling in the back of the 30' for sleeping.

We also found that we kept the curtains pulled on at least one side of the panorama windows when camping. Just seemed like too many lookie-loo's peaking in all the time.

[SCOTTinNJ]

With only one child, we decided that we didn't need all three beds in the bunkhouse so we removed the queen in favor of an office/play area (I work when on the road). That gives us a "huge" area to work with and frees up a lot of space that would have been used for lounging around in the kitchen. I made the side tables you see in the photos from the lower part of the removed bed. We aren't 100% sure we will keep those. For now they are there but I haven't secured them down. May not need to as they hardly move anyway. We store kids toys under one and a printer/office supplies under the other.

We also added a counter extension by removing one of the cushions from the lounge. We find that we need the food prep/storage area more than additional seating.

[franklyfrank]

Originally Posted by BigT Bruck

Thanks for the feedback. We're definitely leaning towards the 30'.

Here's a follow up question ... there seems to be a lot of opinion out there regarding towing. It seems straight forward to me.

I have a '13 Toyota Tundra capable of towing 10,100 lbs. I've used it to tow a 25' boat that weighed 6,500 lbs with fuel on board. It towed fine ... it was definitely tested up steep hills and consumed LOTS of fuel, but otherwise was o.k.

I'm under the impression that a new 30'FB is heavy ... like 8,800 lbs (not loaded with gear). I would prefer to have a 20-25% cushion. Seems like I would be maxing out the Tundra's towing capability.

I note one person tows a 30' Airstream with an F-150 just fine. I guess there is a difference between "can it tow it" and "should it tow it". Thoughts?

The 8,800 LBS is the max GVW of the Trailer.The most I ever weighed in with our 30' was 7,300 lbs with the water tank full. The gray and black tanks were empty. Tongue weight is right around 950 lbs the way I am set up.

[franklyfrank]

Originally Posted by franklyfrank

The 8,800 LBS is the max GVW of the Trailer.The most I ever weighed in with our 30' was 7,300 lbs with the water tank full. The gray and black tanks were empty. Tongue weight is right around 950 lbs the way I am set up.

BTW, I tow with a 2012 F-150 turbo and been over every pass in the Rockies and in between without any problems whatsoever.

[Foiled Again]

Swing a little wider when turning. Many minor things but take your time learning then have fun.

[Searun]

We looked at smaller ones but were SOLD on the separate bedrooms. We have a 5-yo and the bunk in the back has been great. Right now we utilize the rear "double" bed for his play area and a place to store the dog's kennel, but it will be nice for occasional guests once we're full-timing this spring.

We only have about three weeks of total use on her so far, but we rarely used both ACs (but we're in the PacNW). Once I got a 50/30a pigtail, I rarely drag out the 50a cable.

Can't speak for your Tundra, but I dealt with "borderline" capacity TVs on our previous trailer and boats and decided I was DONE with that...too much stress creeping in from those thoughts in the back of my head every time I towed. I decided to get a truck that could EASILY handle the trailer and I have no regrets.

Towing the 30' requires a little more diligence than our previous SOB (swinging wider on turns, etc.) but that's the only difference I've noticed. Current combination actually pulls better than any of our previous smaller trailers (could be the Airstream design, could be the truck, but probably a combo of two).

Once we start full-timing, we may start to regret the additional length in our 30' as it may keep us out of some National Parks that we would want to stay in. But with a child, it is always a balance of give-and-takes. Having the separate Mommy and Daddy vs. kid area was high on our list of priorities when we started our journey to upgrade from our SOB to a full-time trailer. We fell in love with the 30FB Bunk on first sight...assumed we would have to buy new until we found a locally-owned USED one on the market!

Go for it and see how the truck works out.

Good luck!
Jeff

[Rhonda1210]

Hey guys! I love what you did with the bedroom area! That's so practical. Our 4 y.o. son will be sleeping in the top bunk. Do you use a normal sized twin sheet set & comforter up there? He got a "twin/full"comforter for Christmas, but it is huge, but yet his toddler bed comforter is too small. Wondering if a normal twin is too big, or just right?? TIA!