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alreardon · 05-10-2021, 07:07 AM

Would it be possible for you to share your shelf pattern with me! I would like to install.

Possibly post a FULL SIZE PDF?

Looks perfect for my mini espresso.

Thanks!

RoGo · 05-10-2021, 09:28 PM

I just took a look in the basement. Unfortunately, I no longer have a copy of the template I used. (I did this mod 2 years ago and only now posted). Sorry.

OTRA15 · 05-15-2021, 06:41 PM

FYI an interesting discussion and photos about a leak when opening a 20' for the season:

https://www.airforums.com/forums/f16...pe-222705.html

LNBright · 05-31-2021, 04:49 PM

Home from an extended weekend trip down to the Smokies (Thursday until today). We have a longer trip up to Maine in a couple of weeks, hadn’t ‘planned’ to do a Memorial weekend trip, it was a bit of a impromptu, ‘hey, we can camp if we can find a spot’… not having planned in advance, I expected and found all the regional national and state parks booked, started checking campgrounds and found one that said they’d work us in, was a convenient spot. Rainy weekend, but didn’t deter us from seeing bears in Cades Cove, hitting antique shops off of Wears Valley, etc. Even got the wife to go fly fishing yesterday with me.

This was only our second trip w/ our FC20. First trip to Mammoth was good, but we were still getting used to things, decided to change some things (replaced plastic plates with enameled ones, as they rinse off so much easier; changed our dish drainer for one that collapses so it still packed small, but expanded, did a better job holding plates; different camp chairs, different cooler, etc.). Even though we had a few ‘oh, we forgot such n such’ moments, it actually went very smoothly, but provided a good test-run for the upcoming trip (which will be much farther away and three times as long).

It’s still ‘interesting’ to see folks eyeing the AS, either walking by in the campground, or noticing them looking as they pass around us on the road, etc. They do catch attention.

But the thing that struck me… yesterday afternoon, after dinner before we made s’mores, I really noticed that the camper was feeling bigger. We loved the 20’ anyway, but having gotten a single-axle, we still had the question in the back of our head, should we have gotten a 25’? I still like the idea of a wider bed and larger tanks, and even if I don’t need it I love the idea of a rear hatch, but…. But I sat there and the roominess of this 20’ camper really hit home. Parked next to us was a couple with a huge 5th wheel that we looked out the dinette window, and just couldn’t fathom having anything that size, but started mulling it over, did we really need anything larger than what we already have? No, we have all that we need right here, already… a bed, a dinette, a shower and toilet, a great kitchen… it’s fine, as it is….

Anyway, just something that had hit me yesterday, thought I’d share w/ this particular sub-group, that you’d possibly understand…

OTRA15 · 05-31-2021, 06:34 PM

Thanks for the report . . . glad you got away, and ditto to your thoughts on our 20'-footers. We had a 25' back in the 90's . . . please see the next couple of posts.

Peter

OTRA15 · 05-31-2021, 06:40 PM

Leslie here is Post #2728 about our old 25' layout -- click on orange arrow in the quote to go directly there. Without a fixed dinette there is tons of room as you can see. There is also a recent classified ad with a very similar trailer, and a photo or two of the rear corner full bed. We did a 7-week trip to San Diego, Napa and back one winter. Good memories!

If I had to travel a lot with 2, the 25' would get my vote for us [especially in winter!] . . . sorry to say . . . for shorter trips the 20' is great. [especially in good weather!]

Peter

Quote:

Originally Posted by OTRA15

Not sure, Darrell, if you have seen my various posts on the 1985 Sovereign 25' we had back in the 90's with a rear corner bed? No fixed dinette, panoramic windows all around, etc., but it was a great floor plan IMO. The rear corner bed might be more challenging these days, but less so than our 2014 FC20 front bed.

If we ever want to move up, I would be tempted to find the old 25' in PA, get a used one, or order a new one without a dinette, or something like that.

I can't find a good link for the floor plan, but these photos should give you an idea of the space. The flip-up table seated 2 just fine, and could be flipped again to seat 4. There was a small flip-up table on the curb side, that added another 2 seats, for a total of 6 or so, but the folks on the couch were somewhat trapped for the meal.

There was a small cubby next to the fridge which held 2 good Zip Dee chairs for dining [and outdoor use]. Unless you have to have a dinette, for 2 folks this layout made for a very comfortable "living room" with good TV viewing.

[no flip up table in this one]

I can't find a good shot of the rear corner bed on the street side. The side bath was much like our FC20, but a little larger IMO.

The new 25' have a lousy round sink, and very limited counter space . . . a pain to cook in IMO.

Cheers,

Peter

OTRA15 · 05-31-2021, 06:49 PM

And here is that recent classified ad with a similar 25' . . .

[click on orange arrows to go directly to these posts]

Quote:

Originally Posted by OTRA15

Oh boy . . . this brings back lots of good memories, as our 1985 25' Sovereign had exactly the same floor plan, with rear corner bed. A great set-up . . . fairly priced IMO.
. . .

Quote:

Originally Posted by Docosage

. . .
View this ad at Airstream Classifieds - 1994 Airstream Excella 25 - Texas

Ad link again here: https://www.airstreamclassifieds.com...5-texas-362297

. . . and the rear corner Full bed, which seems much larger because the person on the wall side can't roll out of bed!

Lots of room for just 5' more of trailer!

Peter

LNBright · 05-31-2021, 07:08 PM

Thanks Peter.

At one point a few years ago, I’d gotten it in my head I wanted a 21’ Sovereign, as I believe it is the smallest dual-axle Airstream that had been made. It would have the tank capacity that I’d like, but…. The sofa and a corner bed reminds me of that era of a 25’…. Part of wanting a newer 25’ would be to get a 25FBQ and not a corner bed: the corner bed in the 21’ was no wider than our 20’. And, I find I really do like having a dinette to sit at… I realize I could have torn out a sofa and put in a dinette I suppose, but on the other hand, I lean towards just finding a model that matches what you want as opposed to having to buy one then seriously remodel it. I like doing small tweaks, ‘improvements’, but if I really wanted something different, I think I’d prefer to trade out and start closer to, instead of a huge remodel.

So sticking with our FC20, it’s just a matter of learning to manage tank capacity for the most part. I topped off our fresh water before we left, and we didn’t empty it: I had a blue 5-gal cube in the bed of the truck I’d brought along as backup, never needed it. We still had some gray tank capacity left, and black too. On our upcoming trip, I’ll make use of dumping tanks where I can along the way (first four nights will be at different campgrounds each night, then four days in Bar Harbor, then two in Freeport). I think we’ll be fine.

Anywho, I’ll wrap up before I ramble too far…

OTRA15 · 05-31-2021, 07:13 PM

Sounds good thanks . . . have a great trip to Maine.

Peter

LNBright · 05-31-2021, 07:13 PM

Oh! PS: something I thought I’d understood was about the kitchen window that some folks have doesn’t have the mechanisms for keeping the window open, that a wooden spoon was frequently used for such…. But ours does keep the window open…. Is that actually normal, or is ours odd?

Also included a pic of the kitchen corner: we used a suction cup paper towel holder in the corner, then leave the stovetop drip coffee pot on the counter once stopped (it gets packed into the space under the sink for traveling).

LNBright · 05-31-2021, 07:15 PM

(Those were rightside up on my phone, sorry they rotated sideways… )

subfan1 · 06-04-2021, 06:24 PM

I wanted to do that when we had a 20 but Airstream would not sell my 3rd party dealer the parts to do just that. Good for you

OTRA15 · 06-05-2021, 01:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LNBright

Oh! PS: something I thought I’d understood was about the kitchen window that some folks have doesn’t have the mechanisms for keeping the window open, that a wooden spoon was frequently used for such…. But ours does keep the window open…. Is that actually normal, or is ours odd?
. . .

Same here with our 2014, as in your 2015 Leslie. I had thought it was because the "fire escape" function of that window was required by law to exclude any latching hardware IMO. We use a wooden spoon also, or simply remove the glass [which is very easy by lifting it up way-high] if the weather is good. Did the previous owner do yours maybe?

Quote:

Originally Posted by subfan1

I wanted to do that when we had a 20 but Airstream would not sell my 3rd party dealer the parts to do just that. Good for you

Please remind us, Jose, what year was your 20' ?

How about everyone quoted below? Do you have the "hold open" hardware on your rear window at the galley sink, and in what model year? [Sorry to quote you out of context . . . just hoping to get your attention if you have alerts toggled on in your User CP for following this thread.][Apologies also for not putting your model year even if it is in your ID to the left -- it will be helpful IMO to see it again with a "yes" or "no" to the question.]

Quote:

Originally Posted by alreardon

Would it be possible for you to share . . .
. . .

Quote:

Originally Posted by renderit

That's where we stuck the paper towel holder.
. . .

Quote:

Originally Posted by Camano20

Nice Modification . . .
. . .

Quote:

Originally Posted by centennialman

. . .
As you know, our models are one of the most popular floor plans.
. . .

Quote:

Originally Posted by CruizinDux

. . .
Nice detail.
. . .

[Apologies once again for quoting everyone out of context, and for no model year.]

Do you have the rear window "hold-open" hardware, and in what model year please? Did you ever attempt to add this function?

Thanks,

Peter

PS -- RoGo is in the next post.

OTRA15 · 06-05-2021, 01:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RoGo

As we inspected our then new 2015 20 footer at the dealer, I was convinced the rear window (over the sink) was installed incorrectly because there was no way to leave it latched open (like all the other windows). Here's my solution that I gladly share.
. . .

Thanks for this to add to the survey in the previous post.

Peter

LNBright · 06-05-2021, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OTRA15

Same here with our 2014, as in your 2015 Leslie. I had thought it was because the "fire escape" function of that window was required by law to exclude any latching hardware IMO. We use a wooden spoon also, or simply remove the glass [which is very easy by lifting it up way-high] if the weather is good. Did the previous owner do yours maybe?

I suppose it's not impossible that the PO had done it, but it doesn't look like a retrofit, it looks original. Thing is, the window at the dinette closest to the bathroom is the one that has the escape-pull-loop on the screen (and I'll admit, I'd have a much easier time going out a dinette window, I don't know that I'd easily make it out the window above the kitchen sink).

I know who the previous owner was, but, he passed away, so I can't ask him. But, he did change out the Shurflo for a Flojet water pump, and added a second tv (on the wall of the bedroom), and changed out the radio, so, he did do some changes. (Thus far, we had the additional awnings and the lift kit added, replaced all the tires, added the LevelMate, and I swapped the USBs for BlueSea's. That's it thus far, aside from décor and gear, like a portable solar panel and the surge protector, etc. I've contemplated a SmartPlug, but haven't gone that far yet; may eventually install solar, but the portable has done fine so far... we'll see...)

Camano20 · 06-05-2021, 11:09 AM

Peter
I have not tried the rear window modification on our 2007, though there is no way I would be able to exit through that rear window above the sink. It is the door only for me. It
would be nice to be able to open that window for improved air flow. By the way I just completed the install of a shelf between the cabinet over the sink and the cabinet over the stove. Pictures to follow.
Jerry

LNBright · 06-05-2021, 11:11 AM

PS: Peter, my escape window at the dinette, does have the mechanism for holding the window open, so.... I don't suppose there is a regulation preventing that.

Camano20 · 06-05-2021, 12:51 PM

Here are some photos of the added shelf

subfan1 · 06-05-2021, 02:12 PM

Our 20 footer was a 2012 model year. Funny thing is, our current 23CB 2019 has the same rear window with no way to open it. We use the same foam pipe insulation and cut to desired length.

Malia20 · 06-05-2021, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OTRA15

Do you have the rear window "hold-open" hardware, and in what model year please? Did you ever attempt to add this function?

My 2017 20' has hold-open hardware on both sides of all opening windows, including the galley sink window. The escape window is the aft window at the dinette. Nimble as I am (or was) it would be a trick to get out over the sink.
Safe travels!
Fred