To go bigger or not

[cwf]

Oh... our 34' is just right... =)

[Jacob D]

Originally Posted by urnmor

I am looking for some advice. We have a 2012 FB Flying Cloud that we very much enjoy, however, I was wondering if we should move up to a 30 foot AS. I think the extra space would be nice and we have the vehicle to pull it (F250 Diesel). My concern is that my wife and I are in our seventies. I will be 73 in September. So my question is this: At our age is it a wise move to go bigger and has anyone done it out there when they were in their seventies?
Thanks

I'm 751/2 and the only reason I'm not pulling a 30' trailer is that I have a sentimental attachment to our vintage 26' since it is a family heirloom. I would have both but living downtown does not provide enough room to park both and I want to keep the convenience and security of parking near our back door.

[demijac]

I don't think age matters that much with regard to your 'go longer' question. It's more about the capabilities of your tow vehicle and the state of your individual health, eye sight, mental facilities etc. You definitely have plenty of tow vehicle to pull a 30 footer and probably won't notice much of a difference when driving vs. what you have now.

One thing to think about. If as you get older, you find that you are driving the rig less and spending more time where you park, then having the extra room might be nice.

As an example, we are in our high travel phase now. On most of our trips, it is rare that we spend more than two nights in any one place. As we get older, and decide that we have finished exploring the US and Canada, we plan to go revisit our very favorite places and spend a lot more time - maybe even for a couple of months. It's at that time, when we transition to more of a living in our rig vs. traveling all the time, that we might think about going from 27 to 30+ feet.

[JCWDCW]

If all of us in our 70s listened to all you young buck naysayers, Airstream wouldn't be in business. Age is relative.. If you're healthy and active go for it... I'm gonna live forever...but I will know when it is time to give up the road.
JCW

[wvstreamer]

In my experience...never noticed much or any difference. You may enjoy the room. Good luck and enjoy.
And Channing...where is that great campsite?

[MelGoddard]

Originally Posted by urnmor

I am looking for some advice. We have a 2012 FB Flying Cloud that we very much enjoy, however, I was wondering if we should move up to a 30 foot AS. I think the extra space would be nice and we have the vehicle to pull it (F250 Diesel). My concern is that my wife and I are in our seventies. I will be 73 in September. So my question is this: At our age is it a wise move to go bigger and has anyone done it out there when they were in their seventies?
Thanks

-My wife and I are in our late seventies.
-My current AS is my forth traiIer.
-My first was a StarCraft 'Centennial' 18' tent trailer. Too much work to set up. So.........
-I traded it for a 23' HiLo. Nice trailer, nice 'home'. However.......
It looked like upcoming maintenance costs would be too high, what with HiLo being out of business. So........
-I traded it for a 25' FC. however........
I didn't like that 'East-West bed, as too cramped, and storage space was not great. So........
-Gave it back to CanAm, and took a 30' FC, my current rolling home.
-Perfect! Bed is easy to get into, storage space is plentiful; it's comfortable......Easy enough to tow with the Ford F-150 Ecoboost..
-Wife says that this will be her last year out 'camping'.
(She'll be 80, me 77) She says: If I want to go out, I'll be on my own.
-Me? For me this thing is a perfect traveler.

Hate to have to sell it!

[Escape_Plan]

My wife and I are both 52, married 30 years this year. We've tent camped our entire lives, even since before we were married. About 10 years ago we got the Airstream bug. We looked and shopped and priced, but as usual, life happened and we put off that dream for several years; until a couple of years ago. We were close to buying a new Airstream, the Pendleton Edition, but I had just accepted a new job that had me living in an apartment in another state until my wife could join me when our daughter graduated from high school, and traveling home on the weekends. I missed the opportunity to get into the Pendleton because of the uncertainty of the new job. About a month into the new job my wife called me and said maybe we should wait another couple years. Another couple years! I said. We'll be OLD and UNABLE to get around in a couple years! Needless to say that phone call did not end well. The next day (Friday) after work and on my way to the airport to fly home, my wife called me and said she bought an Airstream. What!? How did you do that, I asked. She said she called *insert dealership name here* and ordered a 30' serenity in Espresso, put the down payment on a credit card, we'lI pay the balance out of one of the mutual funds when it comes in. Why else are we saving money, she says. I was like a stunned mullet, I nearly drove into the car in front of me as the news settled in. She said don't worry, we'll figure it out, we'll talk about it when you get home tonight. That was the longest 5-hour flight in my life. Since then we've bought a house near where I work, my wife and I are back under the same roof and the Airstream is parked next to the house. We've camped many weekends and several one-week trips and couldn't be happier with my wife's decision to throw caution to the wind and buy the Airstream. Which is totally out of character for her, I'm usually the one be reigned back in by her.
At any rate, the whole point of this is, I'm glad to see so many of with a few more years of, uhh, experience still hitting the road. Financially, I could walk away from my job right now and go full time 'streaming. Which is kinda what we planned because we didn't want to get "too old" to enjoy it. But we want to wait until our daughter graduates from the Naval Academy before we pull that trigger. And reading these post, I know we can just slow things down and relax. We'll get there.

[Gleverett]

Its not the age its your physical and mental health. If you've been towing a 25' FC comfortably then I doubt a 30' AS would be much different. I would think about my health status, are you diabetic? have you had previous heart attacks or strokes, do you have high blood pressure, do you smoke, are you obese, have you had cancer? All of these are factors to consider with longevity of life.
Retired Army PA age 71 Good Luck

[Alexander B]

Originally Posted by urnmor

I am looking for some advice. We have a 2012 FB Flying Cloud that we very much enjoy, however, I was wondering if we should move up to a 30 foot AS. I think the extra space would be nice and we have the vehicle to pull it (F250 Diesel). My concern is that my wife and I are in our seventies. I will be 73 in September. So my question is this: At our age is it a wise move to go bigger and has anyone done it out there when they were in their seventies?
Thanks

Hope you don't mind another take on your situation...if you do decide to upsize my wife and I are looking for our first AS, and a 25' FB is what I'm hoping to find. Please let me know if you make a decision to trade her.

[franklyfrank]

Originally Posted by urnmor

I am looking for some advice. We have a 2012 FB Flying Cloud that we very much enjoy, however, I was wondering if we should move up to a 30 foot AS. I think the extra space would be nice and we have the vehicle to pull it (F250 Diesel). My concern is that my wife and I are in our seventies. I will be 73 in September. So my question is this: At our age is it a wise move to go bigger and has anyone done it out there when they were in their seventies?
Thanks

I am 73 just replaced our 2013 30' International with 2017 30' Classic. I plan to be trucking for many years to come. Never gave a second thought to my age. Tooling around with my setup keeps my adrenaline flowing and keeps me in good shape.
The more you think about it the more you psyche yourself into thinking that you are too old to do just about anything.

[Philip Jones]

Originally Posted by Escape_Plan

My wife and I are both 52, married 30 years this year. We've tent camped our entire lives, even since before we were married. About 10 years ago we got the Airstream bug. We looked and shopped and priced, but as usual, life happened and we put off that dream for several years; until a couple of years ago. We were close to buying a new Airstream, the Pendleton Edition, but I had just accepted a new job that had me living in an apartment in another state until my wife could join me when our daughter graduated from high school, and traveling home on the weekends. I missed the opportunity to get into the Pendleton because of the uncertainty of the new job. About a month into the new job my wife called me and said maybe we should wait another couple years. Another couple years! I said. We'll be OLD and UNABLE to get around in a couple years! Needless to say that phone call did not end well. The next day (Friday) after work and on my way to the airport to fly home, my wife called me and said she bought an Airstream. What!? How did you do that, I asked. She said she called *insert dealership name here* and ordered a 30' serenity in Espresso, put the down payment on a credit card, we'lI pay the balance out of one of the mutual funds when it comes in. Why else are we saving money, she says. I was like a stunned mullet, I nearly drove into the car in front of me as the news settled in. She said don't worry, we'll figure it out, we'll talk about it when you get home tonight. That was the longest 5-hour flight in my life. Since then we've bought a house near where I work, my wife and I are back under the same roof and the Airstream is parked next to the house. We've camped many weekends and several one-week trips and couldn't be happier with my wife's decision to throw caution to the wind and buy the Airstream. Which is totally out of character for her, I'm usually the one be reigned back in by her.
At any rate, the whole point of this is, I'm glad to see so many of with a few more years of, uhh, experience still hitting the road. Financially, I could walk away from my job right now and go full time 'streaming. Which is kinda what we planned because we didn't want to get "too old" to enjoy it. But we want to wait until our daughter graduates from the Naval Academy before we pull that trigger. And reading these post, I know we can just slow things down and relax. We'll get there.

Fantastic story! Thank you for sharing.

[urnmor]

I have decided not to go bigger and stick with our 25 footer and instead by a 24 Yamaha jet boat with twin engines. I decided that the excitement of doing 50+ MPH on the water will be exhilaratingly.

[cwf]

Originally Posted by urnmor

I have decided not to go bigger and stick with our 25 footer and instead by a 24 Yamaha jet boat with twin engines. I decided that the excitement of doing 50+ MPH on the water will be exhilaratingly.

You are going to NEED a WD hitch for that thing to tow the AS with that thing... just put a little tape over the door to keep the water out!... Oh... reversing the vent fan may also help..