20-footers

[CruizinDux]

Originally Posted by subfan1

Sol Duc Falls in Olympic National Park
[ATTACH]
Absolutely beautiful

Awesome pics, thanks! Lots of snow for sure in the high country for CA and OR/WA.

Is that blue sky I see in the first Olympic NP pic? Weather must be really good!

You mentioned the GYE's were running cooler that expected. Are you at 80 PSI per he tireman9 discussion on the GYE thread. That certainly gives a whole lot of...about 300+ or so lbs...extra payload.

[subfan1]

We have had absolutely beautiful weather on this trip. No rain at all a bit cold though. This morning in Olympic National Park at 7am it was 41f I actually turned the heater on just to get ready for the day. I know, we are So Californians and it was cold for us.
The Goodyear tires started off at 78psi and dropped to 74 and I refilled them to 78 three weeks into the trip they are down to 74 again and will look for air soon. BTW my Defenders have also lost about 2psi thus far.
Because of air lose I'm thinking of buying a portable air compressor. I've read about Vlair brand? Any thoughts?

[OTRA15]

Thanks for the great photos and update. Could your tire pressure changes be related to elevation and temperature changes?

Happy Trails!

Peter

[CruizinDux]

Originally Posted by subfan1

We have had absolutely beautiful weather on this trip. No rain at all a bit cold though. This morning in Olympic National Park at 7am it was 41f I actually turned the heater on just to get ready for the day. I know, we are So Californians and it was cold for us.
The Goodyear tires started off at 78psi and dropped to 74 and I refilled them to 78 three weeks into the trip they are down to 74 again and will look for air soon. BTW my Defenders have also lost about 2psi thus far.
Because of air lose I'm thinking of buying a portable air compressor. I've read about Vlair brand? Any thoughts?

a quick search amazon/WM all with 4+stars for reviews.

My OLD 12VDC Coleman indicates a range up to 150....wonder how many days it would actually take to get to 80 PSI. That would be my only concern for a smaller 12VDC inflator. A portable 110VAC may be the E ticket The reviews should be a good indicator.

Have a great trip South. Weather in Oregon is awesome lately.

Bob

[cedonly]

We bought the viari 90p and it works great. Temp will change the psi by 4-5psi. Also I got a psi vs load chart for our 16" tires:
I can't remember who shared it with me from this board:

80psi 2,680 (E)
75psi 2,560
70psi 2,440
65psi 2,335 (D)
60psi 2,190
55psi 2,060
50psi 1,940 (C)
45psi 1,790

[subfan1]

Thanks everyone. I started at sea level at home and I think that if I go up in elevation and after a days run that the tire pressures would go up rather than down. I had the tires aired up in Oregon and they are all good again when I checked them this morning at Redwood NP.
I find it bazar that I can't fill up my gas tank or fill my tires with air in Oregon.

[CruizinDux]

Originally Posted by subfan1

Thanks everyone. I started at sea level at home and I think that if I go up in elevation and after a days run that the tire pressures would go up rather than down. I had the tires aired up in Oregon and they are all good again when I checked them this morning at Redwood NP.
I find it bazar that I can't fill up my gas tank or fill my tires with air in Oregon.

I find it bazar...welcome to Oregon


or fill my tires....well this is news

Wow Redwood NP already?...the downhill run to Papeete (CS&N ~ Southern Cross)

[subfan1]

We need to make it home because I'm due in Yosemite on July 30th.
We cut it too short this year. I'm not going to have time to rest before my volunteer month begins. This might be my last year volunteering especially since my wife will retire at the end of this year!

[OTRA15]

So what size AS are you going to move up to, after she retires?



Thanks again for the great photos and updates. Have a good weekend.

Peter

[Gail Valenti]

What's the 3' rule? Sounds interesting.

[CruizinDux]

Originally Posted by subfan1

We need to make it home because I'm due in Yosemite on July 30th.
We cut it too short this year. I'm not going to have time to rest before my volunteer month begins. This might be my last year volunteering especially since my wife will retire at the end of this year!

WooHoo congratulations to your wife. Retirement will certainly open up the calendar a bit.

Since you're in (were) RNP I presume that you jumped over to CA 101 via 199 from Grants Pass to Crescent City, I'd love to hear your comments on 199 & towing down the Smith River Canyon as your approach Gasquet. I have a cousin the lives in Smith River and we may take the TT down for a visit.

Just an aside since the SB leg may have been a scouting trip post complete retirement, you passed the Hwy 1 turn at Leggett which takes you down the Mendo/Sonoma coast. IMO the most scenic and hiking accessible section of the west coast. Salt Point SP/Gerstle Cove SP (my favorite)

Have a great time in Yosemite this summer. Thanks for the pics of your trip too!

Bob

Bob

[weirdstuff]

After deciding on a 28'....then deciding on a 27'....then deciding on a 23'.....we have FINALLY (barring any warnings not to) decided to buy a 20' FB.

We saw a 2017 yesterday at the dealer, and loved almost everything about it.

Our major concern, is that it is a single axle. I'm worried about having a blow out, and hence, a huge disaster. We've never towed before either.

Before we return to dealer to make our deal, I'd love to hear your comments about the single axle, in particular.

As far as options, we know we want the rear view camera, and awning package.

Factory solar? I know we can get a portable unit to plug in, so not sure if we want the factory solar at all.

Auto awning? Expensive, but easier to use. And in case of wind gusts, it will retract to avoid doing damage. We had one on our Interstate. Was a little annoying that it would retract at the slightest wind though.

Thank you for any advice on these things!

[CruizinDux]

For the two of us (I'm 6'2" and wife s 5'4") with 2 dogs (70lb and 15lb), the 20 is perfect. Can't beat the kitchen layout and the bathroom roominess. You have to kinda work through the TV sitting options but that's minor. (bed, dinette, dinette down). The bed is a climb-over which is a bit of a challenge but that too is minor. We often trade off. There was no other AS model we were interested in.

Bambi...and tires. The single axec is fine but make sure you don't get GYM's, load rated at 2540 per tire with a 5K GVWR & GVAR (2500/tire) so nut much margin of error. Many have opted to upgrade with 16" rims and mich defenders. I have heard different stories of whether the 16"/Defs are OEM now (or an upgrade) or in fact JC has converted to the NEW GYE's rated at 2830 (about). We'll keep the 15's and swap the GYM for either the GYE or likely the Nokians with a similar load rating.

Can't help but root for the 20's.


good luck.

BTW if you really want to hear all there is about the pro/cons of the 20's, start at the beginning of this thread.

Bob

p.s. I'd insist on a fresh set of batt's. No telling how they have been treated

p.s.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f438...ml#post1981276

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f438...sa-157249.html

[subfan1]

Hi Bob, since we're trying to get home this weekend we stayed on 101 and are currently in Mendocino just North of SF. Trying to be home Sat night or Sunday
Sorry couldn't help you.

[TinCan Betty]

We love our FC20. Ours came with all manual awnings, 80W solar roof package, and rear view camera. The 3 awning package is a must if you camp in the sun w/o trees. The solar is good but would rather have a 200W portable set that can be used when parked under trees. The rear view camera is disappointing, poor refresh rate and low quality video, probably could do better after-market for half the price.

Use a check list when doing the inspection at the dealer....we missed the entry door alignment and sealing, refrigerator and convection oven alignment, window shade alignment and other fit and finish issues. We did not have any system issues.

Bob

[subfan1]

Originally Posted by weirdstuff

After deciding on a 28'....then deciding on a 27'....then deciding on a 23'.....we have FINALLY (barring any warnings not to) decided to buy a 20' FB.



We saw a 2017 yesterday at the dealer, and loved almost everything about it.



Our major concern, is that it is a single axle. I'm worried about having a blow out, and hence, a huge disaster. We've never towed before either.



Before we return to dealer to make our deal, I'd love to hear your comments about the single axle, in particular.



As far as options, we know we want the rear view camera, and awning package.



Factory solar? I know we can get a portable unit to plug in, so not sure if we want the factory solar at all.



Auto awning? Expensive, but easier to use. And in case of wind gusts, it will retract to avoid doing damage. We had one on our Interstate. Was a little annoying that it would retract at the slightest wind though.



Thank you for any advice on these things!

Hi, good advice from Bob below. We have a 2012 which we bought new and it has been a pretty good trailer. We think it's a good size for the type of camping we do. We enjoy visiting national parks, state parks and BLM parks. We have stayed in some beautiful campsites that a larger trailer simply would not fit. I actually took out our steps in Mt Rainier 2 weeks ago but it was an absolutely beautiful spot. We had a solar panel installed about 4 years ago and love it.
As far as the tires are concerned, I change them every 3 years and last May I replaced them with the GY Endurance, which all recent new trailers are coming with. So far so good.
We travel for at least a month sometimes 2 and while at times it feels a bit small we have really enjoyed our 20. If I had to guess, I think we have close to 20k miles on it now. The only thing we might have to replace is our Tahoe, it's almost 10 years old and we replace our cars at 10 years but this one is running great.

[weirdstuff]

Thank you all for your comments.

WE JUST BOUGHT OUR TOW VEHICLE!! Ford F150, w/ max tow package and all kinds of other stuff. 5+ hours at the dealer, negotiating, test driving again, doing paperwork, etc.. Dang near gave me a migraine. But, we did drive the new truck home. So, I guess we're now totally committed to buying a trailer.

I have been reading this long thread...boy is it long! 135+ pages!! Have already learned a lot from it, and will continue reading everything.

BTW....so, if we do not do factory solar, which I don't think we're gonna do, then it sounds like the batteries they give you need some kind of maintenance. Is that right? I think one of the salesmen said that, with the factory solar, they upgrade your batteries to maintenance free AGM's.

We will be ordering our trailer, so no worries about the batteries.

We told salesman we want 16" Michelin tires/wheel upgrades. No response yet from him.

Anyone else have feedback about the rear view camera? If many of you say it's poor quality, then we'd skip it and do after-market.

We rarely ever watched the TV's in our Interstate. In fact, we removed one of them altogether. So, positioning of the TV and where to sit to watch isn't a big deal to us.

The bed...we'll see how that goes. LOL! We're both ok if we can't sleep together in the bed, that I'll just sleep on the dinette bed (because I'm shorter, I fit better).

Very excited! Hoping we have a deal by next week. We're dealing with 2 dealers, so hopefully one of them will meet the price we want.

Thanks again.

[cedonly]

Upgrade to the 16" and E rated wheels and tires. There is a definition of the exact specs in this thread. We did that this spring and the difference is amazing and you have extra margin ...

Also, add a tpms system just in case, and we did not go with the centetmax wheelbalancers because our tire shop was worried about torque retention.. we did the pellets inside the tire.. they are amazing and you never need to worry about them.. very smooth down the road


QUOTE=weirdstuff;1981183]After deciding on a 28'....then deciding on a 27'....then deciding on a 23'.....we have FINALLY (barring any warnings not to) decided to buy a 20' FB.

We saw a 2017 yesterday at the dealer, and loved almost everything about it.

Our major concern, is that it is a single axle. I'm worried about having a blow out, and hence, a huge disaster. We've never towed before either.

Before we return to dealer to make our deal, I'd love to hear your comments about the single axle, in particular.

As far as options, we know we want the rear view camera, and awning package.

Factory solar? I know we can get a portable unit to plug in, so not sure if we want the factory solar at all.

Auto awning? Expensive, but easier to use. And in case of wind gusts, it will retract to avoid doing damage. We had one on our Interstate. Was a little annoying that it would retract at the slightest wind though.

Thank you for any advice on these things![/QUOTE]

[weirdstuff]

Originally Posted by cedonly

Upgrade to the 16" and E rated wheels and tires. There is a definition of the exact specs in this thread. We did that this spring and the difference is amazing and you have extra margin ...

Also, add a tpms system just in case, and we did not go with the centetmax wheelbalancers because our tire shop was worried about torque retention.. we did the pellets inside the tire.. they are amazing and you never need to worry about them.. very smooth down the road

Great to know. I'll look into this as well. Thanks!

Oh, what do you mean by "pellets inside the tire?" I just googled, and can't find anything pertinent. Hoping you can give me a wee bit more info! Thx!

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by weirdstuff

After deciding on a 28'....then deciding on a 27'....then deciding on a 23'.....we have FINALLY (barring any warnings not to) decided to buy a 20' FB.
. . .

Good advice so far from everyone. With your permission, I would like to step back from all the details, and raise a question about your decision-making process and your final choice of the smallest trailer you were considering.

The quote above raises red flags in my mind anyway, and I feel the need to say so.

We are all here because we like the size and floor plan of the 20' Flying Cloud.

But . . .

The compromises in choosing this model stare you in the face at every moment IMO, in particular the single axle and very limited sleeping space. The two of us almost always make up the dinette for one to sleep in, except for cold weather when we can snuggle. Hot weather without A/C simply does not permit most couples to sleep in the front bed IMO. In this respect the 23FB model looks very attractive in our shopping rear-view mirror.

The galley layout was the main reason we got our FC20, including a real gas oven. The dry bath stall shower was another.

Anyway, sorry if you were not asking for a comment like this, questioning your process, but the red flags went up right away.

Happy Trails!

Peter

PS -- In brief and IMO:

-- skip the solar upgrade but make sure the trailer is wired for solar -- OEM panel is very small
-- OEM batteries are fine for now -- upgrade as part of a solar upgrade later
-- awning package yes -- automatic awning never -- Keep It Simple, Stu
-- 16" Michelins incl., TPMS, and Centramatics Yes
-- rear view camera -- why? -- seems like a waste for a small trailer unless you solo a lot with nighttime backing into sites.
....Good mirrors on tow vehicle and spotter back there are fine IMO.
-- We have a busy weekend, so no time to fill in details right now. Happy Trails whatever you choose!