Bambi Bathrooms -- Pretty Sad Design

[Fawudd]

On our 2007 19CB, the sink is outside the toilet/shower area. It allows some flexibility for 2 people IMHO. The toilet is a tight fit with the door closed to be sure, so I can see why they went the hinged door route. As for the corner bed, choose your side according to frequency ;-)

[kpfate]

Originally Posted by PSKM

Hahahaha so true!!! We love our Bambi but we are planning on getting a 23 just for the bed alone!

I don't mind climbing over the hubby and dogs in the middle of the night....it's a way to make sure everyone is still alive when I step on them! lol!

[fossil5775]

We have a 2017 fc 19', & fulltime in it! Yes, the bathroom is tight, but we wanted under 20' for the ability to go anywhere. Every time I think I'll trade bigger, I remind myself of all the places we could not go with something bigger. Is the bathroom tight? Yes, but not a dealbreaker. Is the bed a pitas? Yes, but I consider myself blessed I still have the capability to climb over my husband when I need to get out. He moves his legs for me without even having to wake up. Airstream is all about compromise as is all the rv industry. With an aerodynamic design, you sacrifice a lot of space. But the sob's are designed to last 10 years. Someday you'll find a campground that won't even take a camper older than 10 years, except for airstreams. You have to figure what works best for you. We put 36,000 miles on ours this year, & we know it's the best for us. We don't have the bifold door, but the straight one. At first I thought the new door was a great improvement. But when I thought about it, I have put over the door hooks on both sides, towels on bathroom side, coats, hats on the bedroom side. Probably couldn't do that with the bifold. So- you learn to make an airstream your own. You will have to maintain stuff just like a house. If you can't go bigger, then accept that. I would recommend you look at a nucamp tab 400, a canadian built escape, an oliver, or a lance before you buy. Maybe one of those will suit you better, & they are good brands & make small light trailers. Good luck!

[RFP]

Our 23D shares the bathroom design with the 19. The relative smallness of the bathroom is a total non-issue with us. Actually, we hardly use the angled door, preceding just to slide the accordion door across which nicely blocks the bathroom. Since I have been known to snore just a bit (!) the corner bed is The Queen's Chamber. I sleep on the great bed in the front lounge. Since we spend so little time in the bathroom, and so much time up in the front lounge, the small bath/big lounge is a great tradeoff for us

[PB_NB]

We have been quite happy with our bathroom layout and space.

The 22FB does offer an upgrade path to a larger mattress (queen size) if one was to add about 6" of framing to the end of the bed frame. Then a mattress to fit.

The Sport 22FB up to 2019 is easy to tow as it has a lower GVW at 4,500 lbs and has a low tongue weight (ours comes in at 500 lbs) but the tongue weight from Airstream is 422 lbs. Another advantage is that the format is 7'-4" wide rather than the newer Bambi 22FB which is 8'-0" wide. 8 inches narrower makes a huge difference.

This really makes the trailer fit better with these smaller tow vehicles.

The new Bambi's are heavier (expect the 16 footer) and tongue weights can climb over 650 lbs which is too much for most of these smaller SUV's.

[Native143]

#1 the Nest will no longer be made. Out of production announced last week or so
#2. If you don’t like the 19 foot door, take it off and hang a curtain across the area instead. Many people have done that modification
#3. Having had a Bambi 16 footer and now a 20 footer it’s a world of difference. The biggest change from the Bambi 16 was having a separate toilet and shower and a larger kitchen. But using the sink in the 16 foot Bambi was not a problem. It’s a 16 footer for a reason. You can put it anywhere.

I also towed the Bambi 16 and my Bambi 20 with my Toyota Tacoma. With proper set up.

There are enough choices out there, so pick the airstream that fits your needs and purposes. Or modify the one you have to make it so.

[Britbox]

I’ve seen better wet baths in Sprinters

Originally Posted by RJake1

I appreciate the feedback. I'm limited to the 16 or 19 due to towing capacity. The 19 has a sink but its the jointed door that I don't like. It just seems cheaply constructed and below Airstream standards (or perhaps below my expectations is more accurate).

The 16 bathroom is ok. I can live without the sink and probably will buy a 16 Bambi when they restock them. Its not a deal breaker. I just found it puzzling that AS didn't work in one of those folding sinks like you find in Winnebago Travata. Seems that could have been done pretty easily.

We've considered the bed limitations. Easy solution: Wife gets the real bed. Husband sleeps on the dinette bed. Problem solved.

I don't expect to recreate my home when RVing. If that was the case I'd simply stay home.

[Tiny Cloud]

Very interesting! Does your Beddys Bedding have the curves of the corner bed? If so, it is really brilliant

Look here too. https://www.ablifestyles.net

Excellent products, outstanding customer assistance.

[TheOhioSean]

Originally Posted by Belbein

I owned a 22 Bambi. If you're concerned about buying one because of the bathroom, you're missing a bigger problem. The bed is impossible. It only took us a few nights before we realized that one of us climbing over the other to get to the bathroom in the middle of the night was absurd. If you have any limitation mobility, that motion is damn near impossible. The problem eclipses the problem with a sink or lack of sink.

That's part of why I am presently hesitating on finalizing the design for renovation of my 1949 22' Liner. Most of the plans of that time call for a transverse full* bed in the rear and I do not want to have to climb over my fiance or vice versa. I'm also not sure she'd fit comfortably into the curved portion, and I probably wouldn't. Two twins would prevent that. I'm still debating.

* Almost, but only 52" wide, with about half of it curved.

[RFP]

Originally Posted by Tiny Cloud

Look here too. https://www.ablifestyles.net

Excellent products, outstanding customer assistance.

Yes, this is what we are using... but I'm always on the lookout for an easier way to make the bed.

Was hoping for an answer from a Beddy's user.

[Roundabouts]

I also looked at the 16' and 19' before purchasing a 20' Bambi Flying Cloud. The 16' was did not have any more space than my 17' Casita I had. I agree with the comments of the 19'. I really disliked the corner bed. Plus there was not a window in the bed area. I like to sleep in cold temperatures and sleeping with the window open right beside me is wonderful. As we knew from 10 years experience the full size front bed worked for us, the 20' was a perfect choice. The bathroom is spacious, the kitchen is huge, yet the 20' length is still small enough to fit into small National Park campsites. Choosing a camper with the right configuration for how you live is very personal and important.

[dbusse]

Originally Posted by RFP

Very interesting! Does your Beddys Bedding have the curves of the corner bed? If so, it is really brilliant.

Rob

No, but frankly, it's not a bad fit. Changing the sheets is a quick job with two people. We pull the mattress and stand it up on its side. Makes it about a 2 minute project once you get good at it.

DLB

[dbdreams]

RFP,
Beddys did not have a set for the corner bed last time I talked with them. One of the owners of a 23CB uses a full size set with the corners tucked under. We looked at it and decided to stay with the AB lifestyles.
Modifying a set of Beddys to fit should not be much harder than what you did so well on your curtains!! (waiting on the magnets to do ours)

[dbdreams]

As for the bath in the 19 and 23, it is very usable for us. One big plus for my better half is with the sink, mirror and bed placement it is a perfect spot for her to do her hair and make up etc.

[ParkTreader]

If towing is your problem you may want to look into a used 22 FB Sport, they are not making them anymore, but a great bathroom, and designed to be as light as possible, shorter height and narrower. We were towing ours with an older F150, then a Ford expedition (even older). No modifications for towing other than the necessary ones. In fact the 22 FB sport was lighter than the 16 cloud at the time.

[Native143]

[QUOTE=ParkTreader;2416560]If towing is your problem you may want to look into a used 22 FB Sport, they are not making them anymore, but a great bathroom, and designed to be as light as possible, shorter height and narrower.



The 22' FB is still made!!! Both as a Caravel and a Bambi. Same layout as before. Check the Airstream website for details

[Dennis C]

Many of the issues discussed in this thread resulted in our purchase of an International 23 FB. It has a relatively low tongue weight (439 lbs. per Airstream literature) and overall weight, it has a queen sized bed, and it has a big bathroom. It’s small enough to go into any state park or national park, but it’s big enough to give us the space we need. It doesn’t have the huge kitchen that you see in some of the 20 footers, but it works well for us.

Once you finalize your priorities, you’ll likely find the Airstream model that works best for you.

[Britbox]

I just looked at nuCamp and was amazed to see a wet bath with a fold down sink in their small teardrop camper! It looked pretty cool. Get with it AS ! Get creative

[fossil5775]

Nucamp does a nice job in teardrop campers & truck camper for far less money than an airstream. Check out their new avia 23' travel trailer. However, those are almost as expensive as an airstream. While the folding sinks are a nifty idea, beware they have their own set of problems with leaking & not draining. Google. While airstream is far from perfect, if you find a floor plan you can live with, the joy of traveling with your own little house far outweighs the inconveniences you encounter. How much time do you spend in the bathroom anyway? Having a fully functional bathroom while traveling these days could literally save your life! No public restrooms, no hotels, no restaurants! Social distancing comes included!

[lilboomer]

I have that as an option I occasionally, but rarely use. I also can connect from the 22FB quick connect with a long hose to my LPG Gen set.