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Old 04-27-2021, 07:01 AM   #1961
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Thanks for that. It’s an interesting puzzle to put together, but I like having data. The calculation for tongue weight is an interesting part of this. When I look at the weight of the truck alone compared to the weight of the truck with the trailer and no WDH, the difference is 620 lbs. I assume that was the way to calculate my tongue weight. Is that right? The total weight of the WDH hitch is 63.4 lbs. if I subtract this amount, then I’m left with 556.6 lbs of tongue weight. For comparison, I’ve weighed my trailer tongue with my Sherline scale on a couple of different occasions, and it has been in the range of 500 - 535 lbs.

Overall, the truck drives well and it’s pretty close to level. The front end of the trailer is a tad lower than the rear when fully connected, by about 1/2”. I’ve considered adding one more link in the chain of the Blue Ox WDH to see if it levels things out a bit more, but I haven’t tried that.

The towing and weight dynamics of the 23FB have always been interesting to me. I often read here that 10 - 15% of the trailer weight should be on the tongue, with most people preferring 15%. The design of the 23FB seems to be much closer to 10%. In fact, the Airstream published specs for the trailer put it just over 9%.
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Old 04-27-2021, 08:21 AM   #1962
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On a related note, I was able to confirm my truck's payload numbers with actual weight from the CAT Scale. Weighing my truck allowed me to confirm that the payload figure on my truck's door jamb sticker includes a full tank of gasoline and no passengers.
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Old 04-27-2021, 01:32 PM   #1963
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Originally Posted by Dennis C View Post
Thanks for that. It’s an interesting puzzle to put together, but I like having data. The calculation for tongue weight is an interesting part of this. When I look at the weight of the truck alone compared to the weight of the truck with the trailer and no WDH, the difference is 620 lbs. I assume that was the way to calculate my tongue weight. Is that right? The total weight of the WDH hitch is 63.4 lbs. if I subtract this amount, then I’m left with 556.6 lbs of tongue weight. For comparison, I’ve weighed my trailer tongue with my Sherline scale on a couple of different occasions, and it has been in the range of 500 - 535 lbs.

.
DC, apparently I can't subtract... rather I failed with a calculator. Also, thank you for being diplomatic. You are right... tongue weight is 620#... Let me recalculate based on this new "finding". With WDH you moved 60# to the trailer and 160# back to the steering axle; sticking with that story. That leaves and 400# of the TW that's still on the drive axle. Your tongue weight ratio, if I dare risk another embarrassment, 10.6% (620/5840). I would also say that you have distributed the 620# well.

I have a Hensley cub that tips the scale at 160# and have seen TW, thanks to Sherline, about 740#, but take away the Hensley, stick it behind the rear axle in the bed (virtually), I come out with right 580#. Now because of my modding addiction, my 4805# FB has swollen to 5200# and loaded-for-bear weight has to be 6200 - 6300#... anything over 6K# is overloaded, as you know.

Carrying less fresh water and very dang little gray or black water, reduces total trailer weight, but also lowers TWR... has to be worse than 9.5% for me, depending on the load and where it goes. There is not many options in a 23FB where things go. But, you can move things to the truck and as far forward as possible. Much more of that and air springs may be in order.

Thank you for pointing out my error.
FE
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Old 04-27-2021, 01:42 PM   #1964
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By the way, ya'll, I am going to attempt to sell my 23FB. Because prices are up, maybe I can recover some of the $8500 I have spend on it, not counting labor. I am letting it go with all but personal items and things in it that's my wife's (Keurig, induction, pots and utensils, towels, etc)

https://www.airstreamclassifieds.com...florida-361908

Also, you can see a simple video on my Youtube channel. Clint's Tiny Trailer Conversions... titled, " How many things can I do to an Airstream 23-FB? ... let me count the ways."

FE
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Old 05-05-2021, 07:51 AM   #1965
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Hello 23FB owners. Does anyone have a suggestion on how to keep the sliding cabinet doors in the bathroom in place while towing? The two little sliding doors by the toilet tend to come off of their track and end up on the floor when towing, and often the items that are stored in that cabinet end up on the floor. I've been thinking about carrying a roll of painter's tape and simply taping them shut when towing. Does anyone have any other ideas for how to keep them in place? Thanks very much.

Photo added so you can see the sliding doors that are giving me trouble.
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Old 05-05-2021, 08:50 AM   #1966
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I ended up ordering some thin magnetic door catches. I'll try these and see how they work.
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Old 05-05-2021, 09:18 AM   #1967
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Maybe a small round dowel in the track?
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Old 05-05-2021, 11:22 PM   #1968
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Originally Posted by Dennis C View Post
Hello 23FB owners. Does anyone have a suggestion on how to keep the sliding cabinet doors in the bathroom in place while towing? The two little sliding doors by the toilet tend to come off of their track and end up on the floor when towing, and often the items that are stored in that cabinet end up on the floor. I've been thinking about carrying a roll of painter's tape and simply taping them shut when towing. Does anyone have any other ideas for how to keep them in place? Thanks very much.

Photo added so you can see the sliding doors that are giving me trouble.
Hi Dennis.
I just loosened the screws a bit on the bottom track and slipped in a bit of cardboard to tighten them up. Haven’t been a problem since.
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Old 05-06-2021, 04:32 AM   #1969
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Use a linch pin to keep the doors closed during travel. Drill a hole in the inner most door where the two doors meet and insert the pin. The head of the pin will keep the outer door from sliding over the inner door until the pin is removed.
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Old 05-06-2021, 06:10 AM   #1970
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My little sliders are actually hard to slide, so they stay in place. When I read your post the first thing that popped into my mind was, WOW, there has to be a whole lot of bouncing going on... too much bouncing. Or, are they just that loose?

If yes, the idea to slip something under the track sounds good to me.
FE
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Old 05-06-2021, 06:12 AM   #1971
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They seem pretty loose to me. They are very easy to remove. Thanks for the suggestions so far.
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Old 05-06-2021, 10:02 PM   #1972
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Twin conversion

Love our 2014 23FB, but we’re considering removing the queen and adding twin beds. I’d like to keep it OEM as possible. Does anyone know who makes the cabinetry for AS? My plan is to face the bed pedestals with the same veneer AS uses for the cabinets.
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Old 05-07-2021, 01:36 AM   #1973
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Love our 2014 23FB, but we’re considering removing the queen and adding twin beds. I’d like to keep it OEM as possible. Does anyone know who makes the cabinetry for AS? My plan is to face the bed pedestals with the same veneer AS uses for the cabinets.
I think Ultimate Airstream converts to twin beds. Last I knew it was about $10K.
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Old 05-07-2021, 07:58 AM   #1974
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HDMI cable to TV

Hi there, new owner of a 2018 FC 23FB and I managed to break the end of the HDMI cable that connects to the TV. Going to assume it’s for the DVD player. The cords and cables are quite the bulky mess with the standard TV and wall mount setup.

For now my problem is how to replace the HDMI CABLE, don’t think there is an option to splice a new HDMI head on the cable. I have no idea how the cable is wired or routed through the interior walls.

Thanks
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Old 05-07-2021, 11:21 AM   #1975
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Beautiful work! On the lower front panel where the two doors are mounted, were you able to source the same veneer AS used for the cabinetry? I’m doing a twin conversion on mine and would like to use the matching veneer.
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Old 05-10-2021, 06:01 AM   #1976
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Love our 2014 23FB, but we’re considering removing the queen and adding twin beds. I’d like to keep it OEM as possible. Does anyone know who makes the cabinetry for AS? My plan is to face the bed pedestals with the same veneer AS uses for the cabinets.
My hubby is hobby woodworker and we did the queen to twin conversion ourselves. He also wanted it to look like Airstream made it and match all the laminate. He reused the drawers he cut from the curbside wardrobe cabinet for the night stand drawer and purchased matching laminate to laminate the bed platforms he made. Ours is a 2019. The laminate, called Landmark, is made by Wilsonart. He actually found it being sold on Amazon by a cabinet supply company.
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Old 05-13-2021, 09:18 PM   #1977
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Removal of step

We are about a month into a six week road trip and the step on our 2018 23FB isn't staying completely up in the retracted position when we're on the highway. It comes partway down.
Anyway it looks like the shoulder bolt on the right side has backed out so it's not riding on the shoulder of the bolt but on the threads. Since its installed from the outside of the steps (inside the belly pan) I want to make sure I need to remove those rivets to remove that small black tin piece to get in there and add a little Locktite and cinch that bolt back down.
Anyone know for sure?
CJ
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Old 05-16-2021, 05:08 AM   #1978
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We are about a month into a six week road trip and the step on our 2018 23FB isn't staying completely up in the retracted position when we're on the highway. It comes partway down.
Anyway it looks like the shoulder bolt on the right side has backed out so it's not riding on the shoulder of the bolt but on the threads. Since its installed from the outside of the steps (inside the belly pan) I want to make sure I need to remove those rivets to remove that small black tin piece to get in there and add a little Locktite and cinch that bolt back down.
Anyone know for sure?
CJ
No help CJ. My steps are manual... built way back in the day when things worked and you didn't need a PhD to own a camper :-)
FE
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Old 05-17-2021, 05:05 PM   #1979
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Well FE, I guess some things are better and some are worse but those steps did take me a couple of years to memorize the process. Course I’m a guy who hasn’t remembered why I went in the basement for a about a decade.
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Old 05-18-2021, 06:05 PM   #1980
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Hi. There is a relatively easy way to reinstall the shoulder bolt without having to remove any rivets. If you need the explanation, please reply.
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