Turning Radius, Towing and backing in for a 22FB or 23FB

[Marchitect]

I will be new to towing later this summer, when I buy my first airstream trailer.
Currently, top of my short list, I am thinking about a 22FB or a 23FB.. primarily because they both will fit (length wise) in the parking space I have available at my house.

What is the turning radius' of this size unit?

Also, it's off an alley, so space is tight. I predict I will need to hitch up at a 45 degree angle.

Am I thinking about this the right way?

Comments, Advice?

[Rivet Rocket]

Have a 22FB Sport, don't know the turning radius, but jackknifing the rig may be a problem. At a 45 degree angle it will be difficult to hitch and get the coupler to seat on the ball. Unhitching may be an issue also. You will have to pull the unit out and get everything straight before you can attach the W/D bars.

I'll let the experts here on the boards comment further on how practical your plan is.

[SilverLife]

As Rivet Rocket has stated, coupling and uncoupling under your conditions, will be a frustrating, more time consuming event each time performed. Just me personally, I think that event on a "45 degree angle", done before and after each trip, would definitely began to crimp my enjoyment of camping. The "turning radius" of a trailer is non existent, but the ability to back into a space and or pull out of a space is directly related to your driving skills, the wheelbase length of your TV, and it's turning radius, in that order IMO.

[TRIPPPIN]

Put a hitch receiver on the front of your tow Vehicle if possible to drive it in or get a trailer mover like a Park-it 360.

[PKI]

As posted, key to rig radius is your TV turning radius. Coach tracks tighter than TV and will cut the corner, so take care.

Depending on WDH design you should be able to hook and unhook. Jacking up the tongue reduces force so the springs release easier.

Our rig will U-turn in a side street intersection or at the end of a parking lot. That is 42-45 ft.

Since the 22 is not as wide, it should turn into a tighter space.

The LoLoHo site back in video helps with how to do the back in. If you do a dip as you pass the site, that positions the back of the coach slightly towards the front of the site and your turn is started.

Don't believe it till you try it. Dealer should help. Pat

[Steamy1]

You may want to consider getting a Trailer Valet XL to back the Airstream with.

[Jacob D]

Originally Posted by Steamy1

You may want to consider getting a Trailer Valet XL to back the Airstream with.

This is good advice. You really don't want to learn backing and parking under the conditions you describe. There are a number of battery and drop cord powered parking devices that will make this much easier and safer. The less expensive ones work well on hard, smooth pavement but gravel, dirt or other softer surfaces may require bigger tires. I routinely back my 26 ft trailer into a narrow driveway from a street that is 23 feet wide. I reckon that is 8 or 10 ft. wider than a typical alley. It is very tight and hard work every time I do it. As I get older I am looking at buying a parking device.

[WestieHouse]

Originally Posted by Marchitect

I will be new to towing later this summer, when I buy my first airstream trailer.
Currently, top of my short list, I am thinking about a 22FB or a 23FB.. primarily because they both will fit (length wise) in the parking space I have available at my house.

What is the turning radius' of this size unit?

Also, it's off an alley, so space is tight. I predict I will need to hitch up at a 45 degree angle.

Am I thinking about this the right way?

Comments, Advice?

Avoid my very costly learning experience! I live near a 2 lane dead-end street and after picking up my new 23 FB in 2015 I had the same questions. I actually tried very careful tight turns and got out of the car and measured clearances and took photos every few inches until I felt comfy with the turning radius. I found what others above to be true (the shorter TV wheelbase on my Grand Cherokee EcoDiesel is actually more maneuverable).

Here is the $6k lesson I provide you at no cost: Tight FORWARD turns go very well. U-turns are quite easy, and the AS tracks a tighter turn radius than your tv.
BUT BE VERY CAREFUL BACKING UP. The forces are NOT the same as forward motion. I was overconfident from my careful measures and observations going forward. But when I backed up I jack-knifed the left rear of my Jeep into the left lower stainless steel panel. Because my new Equilizer hitch made lots of turning noises (before I learned to minimize these with grease and some plastic devices), I failed to comprehend gravity the very small noise made when I dented the SS panel, the left front corner aluminum panel, and the center panel behind the propane tanks. My Jeep had NO visible damage, except barely noticeable scratch on my tail light lens. The lens did not even break. But I inflicted considerable damage on my new AS before our maiden voyage.

Fortunately, my insurance company and local AS dealer took great care of me. All is repaired good as new and fortunately only cosmetic damage resulted.

Regarding hitching and unhitching: This was a significant source of frustration until I learned a few things for my particular set-up. Each situation (TV, AS, hitch type) will vary.
1) hitching is increasingly difficult as your TV and AS are angled. I try to have both AS and TV as straight as possible.
2) hitching is easier if the front of my Jeep is lower that the rear (I.e., facing down slop, and more difficult if the rear is lower than the front).
3) I have Quadralift air leveling in my Grand Cherokee. This made hitching and unhitching very difficult until I learned to place the Jeep in "tire change" mode before starting the hitch-unhitching task. None of the manuals or dealers at Jeep, Airstream, or Equilizer hitch shop seemed to know anything about this problem. Life is much easier and I no longer dread hitching, unhitching, turning, or backing up. Study and practice in undistracted, no traffic situations. If you have a traveling partner, include them and work out your communications (it is less expensive than a marriage counselor or divorce attorney).

It is all worth it - have fun!
D2

[BudandSissy]

I have a 22" Sport and I am able to back it not my drive way from the ally. Fortunately I use a little bit of my neighbors driveway behind me, if you are good you might be able to get around that. When I hook up I get close to straight but not quite I hook and pull into the alley to put levelers and sway bars on. I have used 2 different vehicles to back the trailer in, with different turning ratios. someone mentioned earlier about the TV turning radius and in your situation, in my opinion, that is a big factor. I think to make a god choice the parking space is not the biggest criteria. In my opinion you need to look at your lifestyle and how the trailer fits that, and look at your TV. The order of these 2 you look at first will be determined by how much you want or need to spend.

[fth]

Adding a Hensley or ProPride hitch will extend a foot from where the hitch ball on the trailer is now. Besides the sway prevention those hitches provide that extra foot adds two other features. It makes it easier to get into the back of your TV and allows you to turn more tightly before jackknifing.

[Scorge-ION]

Thinking out loud, here:
A compact tractor with either a receiver on the 3-point hitch or on the bucket, if it has one, is the handiest way I know. I recently sold my Ford 8N when I moved. They can be found for under $1,000. Ford quit building them in 1954 but ones that are still in use are as common as dirt and parts are readily available so one could almost build an 8N from the parts bin.
A receiver and ball on the front of the tow vehicle comes second. Dad used one back in the '70ies.
A thought just struck me; it still hurts! How do you folks handle the pain?
Anyway, a walk-behind 2-wheel tractor might be suitable. You'd need to adapt some sort of receiver-ball-jack to it but you could use it for other things like plow, snow blower, lawn mower, rototiller, etc. The receiver-ball-jack is one of the very few attachments I've never seen; if someone came up with a solid, usable, manufacturable version, I'm certain it would sell.

[Mollysdad]

Originally Posted by Marchitect

Comments, Advice?

Yes. Consider storing it off site.
I'm picturing an alley and a driveway off the alley. It will always be difficult to back in or pull out.
Any way to widen your opening? Take fencing down? Widening driveway?
If you pull forward across the alley, then turn hard left, your trailer is still in the driveway, it will scrape anything in it's path.

[pcskier]

My storage unit had another building in front of the entrance to my unit. Just looking at it, I thought there was plenty of room, and I could get started backing in with the trailer and truck at fairly low angle, maybe 20 degrees. (23 foot trailer). I can tell you that it was the most stressful exercise and took me 45 minutes to accomplish. A tight squeeze is always much tighter then it looks, that's for sure. (I fortunately was able to switch to another unit that opened up that had a straight shot to back in, thankfully).

[USAtraveler]

If the alley is narrow, you will not have enough width to maneuver your tow vehicle at a sharp enough reverse angle to turn the trailer in at a 45 degree angle.
After backing my 20' trailer up a narrow driveway, it has to turn at about a 30 degree angle to go into its parking space. It's almost impossible to do while attached to the TV. I move the trailer around with a small garden tractor once I get it into the driveway. I think your only viable solution is to buy something like a powered trailer mover (such as the Valet) in order to park your AS.

[Vantair]

Like others have suggested, consider a proper tow dolly. We had a parking and spin around issue with our home parking a 25ft requiring one. Couldn't have kept our TT at home nor able to use the TV to do so. Too long (47ft combined).

We use the Powermover brand electric dolly 4 in-line wheel version. Found used on Craigslist for 250.00. Gave it a new paint job and LOVE it. Attaches a ways back on the A frame and not under the ball hitch for improved traction/stability.

Highly recommend a dolly solution as we can do a precise, safe, controlled 180 degree in a 2point turn with much more accuracy, comfort and ease. No backlash as others have thought with a dual axel. Perfect.

[1590Denny]

How do you control the inertia of the AS if the driveway is sloping? Like stopping the AS. Are the AS brakes utilized some how?