Questions on Classic 30' / 31'

[LVD&D]

I am very interested in your installation of the flat panel in the MBR. We have a TV shelf, but a more permanent solution would be great. Did you have the dealer install? Do you have any advice on going about this?

[TDITD]

We have the table and chairs and ordered 2 extra chairs for our two boy!!! The table can slide out of the way making run for bikes and toys

[cms4140]

This 3+ year-old thread is directly applicable to me.

I am looking to upsize from our 25 and deciding between a Classic 30 or 31. However, we don't have a decent dealer within 8 hours so I don't have the ability to touch/feel a 31.

To confirm what I am seeing here within this thread, the shower in the 31 is larger than the 30 with the split bath ?

My reaction to the floorplans as noted online and in the brochure is shower floorspace within the 30 would be a little larger...

-Chris

[2airishuman]

Originally Posted by cms4140

...To confirm what I am seeing here within this thread, the shower in the 31 is larger than the 30 with the split bath ?

yes, that's correct.

the bench is a fuller width and the standing space about 6 inches larger.

in fact it's possible to bend over in the shower of a 31/34 (they are the same mold)

and it's possible to towel OFF inside the shower with the door closed.

the bottle neck on the 31/34s is in front of the toilet and lav sink,

since the shower door opens OUT into that space.

the split in the 30 makes use of the hallway for standing space and has more room around the crapper.
_________

with the 31 and the free standing dinette,

it can be moved/repositioned to better use the sofa/bed.

and the chair FOLD if not in use.

with the standard dinette in a 31

about 1/3 of the sofa is tight like the back seat of a small car.

one loses the sleeping potential with a free standing dinette,

but a C or L shaped 'booth style' dinette could be fabricated with seating on 2-3 sides and open up the sofa area better.

while traveling west to the football game are there any dealers close to your route?

it could be fun to stop briefly an look, if any have them in stock.

cheers
2air'

[cms4140]

Originally Posted by 2airishuman

while traveling west to the football game are there any dealers close to your route?

it could be fun to stop briefly an look, if any have them in stock.

Great suggestion. Camper Clinic 2 near Austin has a 31.

This is where attending the CanOpener would have been helpful...

[Jammer]

I have the 30' and am quite happy with it and with the space tradeoffs involved. The shower is cozy but usable; I am 6'1 and it works fine for me standing up.

I always figured that the main advantage of a 31' is that, even if someone is conducting an extended transaction in the bathroom, it is possible to get from the bedroom to the front of the trailer without interrupting. This isn't possible in a 30' and it does become an inconvenience when traveling with guests.

On the other hand the 31' floorplan loses space in the front, which is equally critical when traveling with guests.

[withidl]

Concerning the street side "complete" bath on the 31' being cramped vs. the "split" bath of the 30' being open into the hall way; something that hasn't been mentioned yet is that with the 31' the hall way can be closed off using the "acordian" door at the kitchen (and also the bedroom door if need be) thereby allowing the bathroom door to be left open so that shower ingress/egress and toweling off becomes much less problematic.

[2airishuman]

Originally Posted by withidl

...with the 31' the hall way can be closed off using the "acordian" door at the kitchen (and also the bedroom door if need be) thereby allowing the bathroom door to be left open so that shower ingress/egress and toweling off becomes much less problematic.

yep this is what i do in the 34 and with the closets/drawers right there it works great.

some folks remove the street side hall wall/next to the toilet which opens it up even more.

another thing i failed to mention earlier is the fridge.

the 10 cf fridge is DEEPER than the 7? footer so, when the fridge is opposite the shower (as in the 34)

that creates a TIGHT SPOT in the hall.

looking at 31 floor plans the fridge is NEXT to the shower, which improves that hall width a bit.

i am reasonably sure the floor plan above is showing a 7 cf fridge, so the 10 ftr would reach another 6 inches or so into the hall.

IF the 10 ftr isn't standard issue now (on 31s), it is a very worthwhile upgrade.

cheers
2air'

[cms4140]

Thanks for all the feedback folks. Our lean is toward the 30. In addition to the bathroom layout, I think with young children, we would find the additional table and the extra floor space between the dinette and the lounge useful as offered with the 30. If I wasn't so scared of the additional 4 feet in overall length, I'd drive up to the "show me state" and get that 34'er with twins they have on the lot there at Bill Thomas.

Also, apparently a 10 cf fridge is standard issue now on the 30 and 31's.

Again, many thanks. BTW, let me know if you hear of anyone looking for a nice/new 25'er with twins .

-Chris

[2airishuman]

seems i recall (a while back) jammer posting the 10 cf was standard now,

but it's always good to confirm these things.

the 34 with twins is MUCH less popular than the queen,

which means for someone who actually WANTS/NEEDs or sees the value of twins...

pricing can work to your advantage.

(simply keep telling them how much of a 'sacrifice' you are making to accept the twin beds...

BT may not have any lookers or traffic on that 34 till NEXT april/may, so a live buyer now has the advantage.

have a good bowl game trip and let us know how the 31 in austin feels.

cheers
2air'

[cms4140]

The difference in pricing between in an ordered 30 from them vs. their 34 makes it tempting. I just remember thinking when backing in at Disney Ft Wilderness this past October, and looking across the loop at a 1990s 34, I don't see how he got that thing in here! Ha!

Thanks for the well wishes in Arizona. We are looking forward to it - But not before a little time down on the coast next week at Topsail for a little CanOpener of our own.

[JimW]

We love our 30'. It is very livable, especially with the larger lounge area. Three of our friends in the WBCCI have the 31' model, and those models seem very nice. None of these friends ever intend to be full-timers. They seemed to have chosen that model for the larger wardrobe. We found that more than two couples in the 31' model made the lounge area seem cramped.

Now don't kid yourself about the size of the 30' and 31'. These are big trailers that may very well keep you from camping in a number of National Parks, and may prevent access to some BLM, NF, etc. types of parks. But, our trailers pulls like a dream! Especially with the AirSafe hitch and Reese hitch.

We are now half-timers and plan to make the big plunge to full-timers in 1012. (It will take that long to clear out the basement of the house, and Medicare will kick in for me.) Having said this, we may have one of the best white elephant sales ever next year when we have a house sale.

Choose your trailer for the two of you and not for the once-in-a-while visit of friends and family. When people ask us how many does it sleep, we say, "TWO!" All others make do. Our favorite is to bring their own tent, and they respond saying that is preferable to listening to my snoring. Of course I don't snore because I've never heard me doing so.

See you in AZ next month,

JIMW

[Dwight]

@cms4140.....we have a 34' with twins (which we love the room) and have no problems at all getting in and out of small or tight areas....may be due to the Hensley or the drivers incredible driving skills!!

[Wingeezer]

Originally Posted by cms4140

Thanks for all the feedback folks. Our lean is toward the 30. In addition to the bathroom layout, I think with young children, we would find the additional table and the extra floor space between the dinette and the lounge useful as offered with the 30. If I wasn't so scared of the additional 4 feet in overall length, I'd drive up to the "show me state" and get that 34'er with twins they have on the lot there at Bill Thomas.

Also, apparently a 10 cf fridge is standard issue now on the 30 and 31's.

Again, many thanks. BTW, let me know if you hear of anyone looking for a nice/new 25'er with twins .

-Chris

We also had a tough time choosing between the 30 & 31. When we bought ours used, the dealer had both models available, same year, same price.

How many times we ran back and forth between the two!

The 31 was very tempting because of the huge wardrobe, but the lack of space between the dinette and the sofa really was a concern.

With the 30, we wondered if we would have enough clothe's storage space, I really find those shirt closets in both models nt a lot of use.

Also, with the 30' "Mrs Wingeezer" was not too sure about the fact that the toilet was so "exposed" when the sliding doors were open.

In the end, we opted for the 30' and are very happy we went that way - but then, who knows, we may have felt the same with the 30!

My biggest concern with the 30' hasn't proven to be a problem. I have worked hard to pare down the amount of clothing I bring along, and now find that our wardrobe is no more than half full.

Truth be told, probably all I should bring is a couple of tee shirts couple of pairs of jeans $ shorts and a jacket - thats about all I ever wear, the rest of the stuff just comes along for the ride and goes home never used!

Perhaps the 31' with its greater storage might be better for full timing - we have never been away for more than about 7 weeks at a stretch.


Brian.

[withidl]

Just thought I would post photos of the older 31' ASCL living area with tables & chairs deployed. The older units had a credenza which to me allowed for a more open living area and with tables & chairs deployed would comfortably seat six.

If purchasing new one could probably get the older credenza installed. My unit being a 2002 would have been produced with the "Hickory" interior, BUT I didn't like it so I ordered it with the previous "Golden Oak" interior at no additional charge.

[cms4140]

Thanks for the additional replies folks and the pictures (withidl). Very insightful - and I appreciate it. We are now flying out to AZ for the game so I won't get to check out a 31 in Austin afterall. While I am leaning heavily toward the 30, I do plan to make the trip to MO to check out the 34 before making a final decision. I am a tall guy and we have two small kids, so I think we will appreciate the split bath along with the additional floorspace between the dinette and lounge over the larger wardrobe and drawer space (we won't be quarter/half/full-timing any time soon so clothing space really not a big deal - I have 20 years of work left!).

-Chris

[ASwifey]

We've also had the 25FB floorplan. We just purchased the 30 ft Flying Cloud and are very pleased with the versitility of the lounge area. I purchased two cubes, that can be used for foot rests, storage, and extra seating.


We also prefer the split bath, just makes more sense for us. As a tall man, you'll appreciate the extra space in the bathroom. I can tell you that I'm gonna love the walk around bed with the closets on either side.

[cms4140]

Originally Posted by Wingeezer

We also had a tough time choosing between the 30 & 31.

In the end, we opted for the 30' and are very happy we went that way - but then, who knows, we may have felt the same with the 31!

Same here. I placed an order for a 30 yesterday. I found it to be a very difficult decision; and not having a dealer nearby to do a good bit of tire kickin' made it even more difficult.

We are very excited. It's too bad we have a 10+ week wait now....

Everyone keep your fingers crossed for me that it will be a good delivery experiece. My first crack at it with the 25 was an absolute disaster.

Thanks for all the good feedback here in the thread.

-Chris

[au_ee]

Last year we bought a 2007 31'. We looked at both models but decided we liked the extra closet space and extra set of drawers in the 31'. We really don't miss the extra space at the sofa. We also like the larger shower in the 31'.

We also found it difficult to find either the 30 or 31. I suspect since these models are heavier and more expensive than others that many dealers don't keep them on the lots. We ended up looking at new ones at the dealer in Missouri (west of St. Louis). They maintain a lot of models. In the NE, the dealer in NJ also seems to have a lot of units. THey are hard to find but if you're willing to hunt and aren't in a hurry, check for a good quality used unit. The classics have hardly changed since the 2007 models. We located ours in an ebay search. A dealer in Mich. was selling ours (not an airstream dealer) and we ended up with a very good price.

[JFScheck]

See - everyone has their favorites, because of the great selection offered by Colonial Airstream (love those guys, second Airstream purchase from them), I could choose either a '30 or '31 footer with same color interior (going from coco on my previous Classic to praline on my "final Airstream"). As we all know, for me, the '30 footer won out...