Considering a 22FB Sport. Concerns about single axle.

[Ramble]

Hi. I'm new and my wife and I are talking about buying an Airstream in the next year or two.

We're really focusing on finding the best balance between a tow vehicle and a trailer. We'd like to have a tow vehicle that's relatively fuel efficient when not towing, and nice to drive in general. With it's very low dry weight, as well as hitch weight, we've begun focusing on the 22FB Sport. The lower price doesn't hurt either. We feel like it offers quite possibly the most bang for your buck in the Airstream lineup.

But there is one thing that sticks out to me as a concern. A single axle. I've seen a lot of talk about tire blowouts and have even seen them in various youtube videos from Airstream owners. Obviously a tire blowout at highway speeds on a single axle is a nightmarish scenario. I'd feel much safer with a double axle trailer, but then that means a big ol vehicle to tow it, which we'd really like to avoid.

So, how warranted are my fears about the single axle of the 22FB Sport? Would changing out the tires dramatically reduce the possibilities of this ever happening? Hopefully the 2018 Sport models gets better tires off the line this year?

Curious to hear others thoughts on this. We do intend to travel a fair bit in this trailer, so before we embark on a 3,000 mile jaunt we'd like to feel safe with what we're towing.

[Rich W]

We have a 23', the smallest of the double axle trailers. It is extremely stable behind our 4Runner. (Ours is a 2004 4Runner with V8, the new ones don't have the same capacity as ours.) We like having the SUV with its covered cargo but pickups can have caps, so there's that.

As for a blow out, that can occur on a double axle trailer too and do damage to the wheel well. I had a blowout on my boat trailer but never lost control, and that was without any anti-sway hitch.

I think if you get a good tow vehicle and anti-sway hitch you should be OK with single axle, just don't try to set any speed records. Keep it to 65 or 70. Get a tow vehicle that gives you room to grow, you don't want to have one that barely meets your requirements.

[Ramble]

Originally Posted by richw46

As for a blow out, that can occur on a double axle trailer too and do damage to the wheel well. I had a blowout on my boat trailer but never lost control, and that was without any anti-sway hitch.

Damage to the wheel well would be unfortunate, but it wouldn't keep me up at night.

I'm not a physicist, but my assumption is that if you have a blow out in a double axle, you've still got another tire on that side of the trailer to help you maintain control. With a single axle there is no help, and losing control of vehicle is a real possibility.

Check out this video of a small trailer having a tire blowout, and look at how violently it whips the tow vehicle around.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGZVwuThiUk

I fear a 4,000lb Airstream blowing out a tire may result in something far more serious than that.

[Piggy Bank]

If it gives you some peace of mind, Airstream has been making single axel trailers, such as the 22, for decades.

It is a proven design.

We have a 22 sport and find it easy to pull and a good size to use.

We tow at recommended speeds (60-65), keep the tires properly inflated, and do a touch-test on the tires when we stop to see if anything appears not right.

You could also consider adding tire pressure monitors (TPMS) to a 22 for additional sensing information. This would not be very costly.

If you like the 22, I would not let the single vs dual axel be a big factor in buying a larger, heavier, more expensive, and larger-tow-vehicle-needed dual axel unit.

With either type of unit you should be towing with a safe hitch set up and as others have said, you can't control for everything.

[interstateflyer]

The 22FB is a great trailer. I walked though one last weekend.

We had a single axle 19 and immediately switched out the stock 15 inch Goodyear Marathons for 16 inch Michelin LTX M/S2s on Sendel wheels. This is a very popular upgrade. It gave us the peace of mine of a much higher quality tire and I liked the additional ground clearance.

Two of our traveling companions had blowouts on their 22 Sports while running 15 inch Goodyear Marathons. One spun around 180 degrees at the top of the Tejon Pass on California I5 and came to rest facing oncoming traffic. The other had a blowout on a mountain pass and sustained damage in the wheel well. Both were running Marathons.

We experienced a left wheel brake failure on our 19 while coming down the pass below Tehachapi on California 58. It was pretty dodgy getting to the bottom. Two wheels of a tandem axle trailer braking on that side would have been much better. The issue was caused by dust and grit buildup on the brakes from driving on a dirt/gravel road.

This general topic may be the most heavily discussed on the AirForums.

[jdalrymple]

Looks like the cause of the problem in the video is oversteer of the tow vehicle, not the blow out.


Regards,


JD

[PKI]

We went 23FB. Similar layout to the 22, but dual axle. We think it is the sweet spot - a dual axle, all the appliances, a bed platform that will accommodate a full sized queen with no rounded corners and it is not so big as to require a mega-truck.

A single axle is not a sentence to a blow out. A set of premium tires, preventative replacement and careful maintenance combined with reasonable loading and a conservative attentive driving style should keep you rolling along safely.

The tire scrub and associated side wall loading which occurs when turning a dual axle coach contributes to tire damage. Consequently, the dual axle may be more prone to the type of degradation that might result in a blow out.

The value of the dual axle configuration is the lighter loading of the axles and tires coupled with inherent directional stability. A two axle coach also has the advantage that it can be moved on three wheels. That lets you proceed carefully at reduced speed to a safe location for wheel replacement.

With respect to tow vehicle, the smaller coach opens up options that are not suitable for heavier coaches. You have figured that out. Do your research and understand the compromises that work for you to achieve the family's goals. It is worth your time to research the posts and articles that Andy of CanAm has written on alternative vehicle solutions. You may or may not agree with his approach, but understanding the concepts that CanAm embraces opens up your options.

Warning - the weights and capacities listed by Airstream are not for a loaded and ready to camp condition. The gross capacity is what the axles will carry, but may not be possible if you do not balance the load on the left/right and front/rear with care. The tongue weight will increase. The mass of the weight transfer hitch will add from 80 to 180#s. If later on you want more battery capacity, that could easily add 50#s. So having some tongue weight headroom in the tow vehicles specification is a very good thing.

Good luck with your investigation. Pat

[Rich W]

Originally Posted by Ramble

Damage to the wheel well would be unfortunate, but it wouldn't keep me up at night.

I'm not a physicist, but my assumption is that if you have a blow out in a double axle, you've still got another tire on that side of the trailer to help you maintain control. With a single axle there is no help, and losing control of vehicle is a real possibility.

Check out this video of a small trailer having a tire blowout, and look at how violently it whips the tow vehicle around.

I fear a 4,000lb Airstream blowing out a tire may result in something far more serious than that.

I had a blowout at 75 with my 17' boat trailer (12 year old, 14" GYMs). Other than having to change a tire, there were no major problems. I do not use a WD anti-sway hitch. How a trailer is loaded and towed can make a big difference. I think I would feel comfortable with a single axle Airstream, properly loaded, with a WD anti-sway hitch.

[Whizzo]

We towed the non-FB Sport 22 for three years. I upgraded the stock 15 inch Goodyear Marathons to a higher load rating, kept maximum speeds around 62-65 MPH, and loaded the trailer very lightly. It was very easy to back up, and maneuver.

We did end up moving to a double axle, but that was based purely on space and layout.

The single axle, like all A/S, is a well-engineered coach. I wouldn't be overly concerned about the risk.

[Cannonball]

Get the Sport, dump the Marathons for any other tire, change them every 3 years or 12k miles, drive 60 mph, check pressure, you will be fine.

[Ramble]

Thanks to all of you for the input. I'm going to continue to compare models, and will take this information into those deliberations.

[leap-baby]

We were traveling on I-40 about 30 miles west of Albuquerque when we had a blowout on our 19' Bambi. We didn't feel anything, but my husband saw the cloud of smoke and we were able to pull off onto the shoulder safely. He was going 70 mph and there was no hint of loss of control. We have a sway control hitch. Since then my husband does keep his speed down between 60 and 65 mph. We also replace our tires every three years. We have had our trailer a little over 10 years now, and I have no concerns about safety with the single axle.

[B00merang]

Ramble
Choose the AS model based on what best fits your family and your TV. Like the majority of these responses, I switched to Michelin LTX and larger Sendel wheels after three years, and quit worrying about it. I've had my 20ft FC with single axle for 7 years now, and feel perfectly safe going cross-country annually. Safe travels. jon

[Howard L.]

Originally Posted by Ramble

Thanks to all of you for the input. I'm going to continue to compare models, and will take this information into those deliberations.

Talk to "Phoenix" here on the forum. He uses Mich XPS all steel RIB tires.


https://www.walmart.com/ip/Michelin-...&wl13=&veh=sem

[TBRich]

Blowouts in any form and on any trailer (or a tow vehicle for that matter) is never a "fun" experience... We do what we can to avoid them, of course, but they happen nonetheless. It doesn't matter how many axels you have. Granted, you have more flexibility on when and how to change the tire, but the fact remains that blows can happen to anyone and the tire has to be changed.

We tow a 19' with a 2016 Tacoma (before that a 2007 Tacoma, both with tow packages). We've had one blowout (yup, Marathons) and have never used Marathons since. The blowout was certainly nothing we wished for but the Bambi handled well in the situation, and we were able to stop safely and change the tire at the side of the road...and were back on the road in about an hour.

If you do end up with a single axle, consider getting a tire pressure monitor system for your rig. We did and it has saved our bacon a few times...just recently we were on I-10 and it alarmed...we were losing pressure fast (later found that we had a puncture from road debris of some kind)...with the warning from the TPMs we were able to stop and deal with it before the tire shredded. Had we not known we were losing tire pressure on that tire it would have shredded with potential wheel well and skin damage. TPMs are not going to prevent blowouts that are instant failures with no time to warn anybody of anything, but issues from low tire pressure, etc they help us mitigate the situation. (Ours are PressurePros, but there are a number of brands to chose from with different features.)

We are happy with the 19' (2006)... we sometimes look at the 23s and yearn a bit, but it's not because it has dual axles...it's the layout that draws us.

Good luck with your decision!

[Llittle54]

Hi all, I've asked on a number of the tire threads without reply! Maybe here? Will the 16" Michelins fit on the 2017 22 FB without lift or mod to the wheel wheel? I believe they do on the 19 but have not heard about the 22. Thanks!

[Urbanologist]

As you can see, you'll get much advice from this forum. At no time should you hit the road without inspection of ALL systems - NEVER. I am sure you can get better tires than what comes standard via the factory issue. However, your biggest concern will be road hazards as you journey. Debris from TRUCK TIRES ("Road Alligators") is very dangerous. Wind from passing BIG trucks is another; as a "Newbie" be prepared for this. For two, the 22' is nice - however, the dual axel 23' is what I would consider. Furthermore, if you do go with the 22' Sport, the 2009 (or newer) has a better side seating layout! Much easier for people to move through the galley. Lesson learned on our 22'!! With many of the Airsteam models, you don't NEED a Beast for towing. You DO need the proper tow hitch and sway control setup. I tow the 22' and 34' with a 5.7L Tundra Limited; others feel better with a "Beast" (any brand)! The majority will tell you this: Safe STOPPING is your main concern.

[Outdoors4me]

We have two axles, but also use a tire pressure monitor system. We pay close attention to our tires, as I'm sure all of these contributors do, also. I think whatever choice you make will be fine since you are so conscientious.

[HAschner]

I believe the video shows a case of overreacting.
We have a 20FB that had a blowout last year driving about 50 mph at the time. Nothing about it was or felt life-threatening, just pulled over.
The worst part was finding the tool to remove the nut covers. Just make sure you know where every tool you need is.

[USAtraveler]

Tires are the most important consideration. Michelin has a better reputation than many others. Check your tire pressure and watch out for any sidewall damage. Keep your speed below 60. Watch out for pavement potholes. You'll be fine with a single axle.