Airstream 22FB Bambi or Caravel?

[10Smiles]

We live in the woods in Washington State, so we have always had mice around. It took several years to get the trailer mouse tight. I used brass wool around the dump pipe/handle area, and expanding foam in all the voids. The hardest area was where the belly pan meets the structure between the wheels. But got it sealed. With persistence you should be able to too. The beauty of the Airstreams is the aluminum belly pan unlike the fabric one on our SOB trailer that the mice just chewed through.

[PB_NB]

We have a 22FB Sport and found some of the fit and finish to be lacking in minimum quality. We replaced the table top and exit window seal, shower mixing valve, television, stereo. But mostly we are happy with it. The bed size helps and if we wanted to put a queen size mattress, we could build a little frame as there is room.

I view this trailer as a blank canvas to do our own mods and in 3 years we have done a lot.

We don’t use the A/C so the noisy unit has not bothered us. We did change the thermostat so we can run climate control but I haven’t connected that part yet.

The biggest thing for us to wrap our heads around is that Airstream doesn’t make a lot of the components so when they fail, it isn’t a bad mark against them, however they chose the components so they need to take some responsibility for quality or failure.

If there was one thing that I want to copy from the Caravelle, it would be the interior lights. The interior lights are nicer in the Caravelle compared to the Bambi.

[Piggy Bank]

A few notes.
To the previous post that discussed bathrooms-the 22 is not a wet bath in either bambi or caravel.

We owned a bambi sport 22 and actually really liked those windows that move with the knobs. They are very sturdy and you got great cross ventilation with them. They are not prone to sicking as much as the regular airstream windows.

The one thing that is not so awesome on the bambi is that the overhead tambor door storage cabinets are very shallow and don't hold a lot. The overheads in our flying cloud are much deeper. It appears that the caravel cabinets are similarly deeper. That would be a reason to choose the caravel, especially for a more stationary unit that needed a bit more storage.

[Saluda372]

Funny, we have a friend that owns a Bambi. He loved his unit and actually got us interested in buying. We opted for the Caravel. After him spending time in our unit he is now reconsidering. The windows and flow they allowed were a factor. Try to look over each unit carefully.

[B17drvr]

You might consider the FC 23Fb. Same basic floor plan, but you get 2 axles. Tows better and you can get down the road a bit (to a safe spot to change the tire) if you have a flat.

[PB_NB]

Originally Posted by Saluda372

Funny, we have a friend that owns a Bambi. He loved his unit and actually got us interested in buying. We opted for the Caravel. After him spending time in our unit he is now reconsidering. The windows and flow they allowed were a factor. Try to look over each unit carefully.

Those windows are nice! I might try to change out a couple of them (maybe 3) if the holes cut in the trailer are smaller or the same.

[hannahrn]

I have the Caravel 22FB and love it. I think it depends on how often you’ll be using it. If I were just camping occasionally, I probably would have gone with the Bambi but I travel full-time for work so chose the Caravel for the added comfort and extras.

I haven’t had issues with mice but also haven’t stayed in a more remote area for a long period. I have cedar blocks throughout as well as the EarthKind Rodent Repellant packets in several cabinets. No issues with rodents or bugs so far (*knock on wood).

I would recommend actually looking at both models at a dealership so you have a better idea.

[Airtandem]

Looking at your situation; wife, 2 large dogs and using as a cabin, closeness is good but being TOO CLOSE is no so bigger IS better. I would suggest a GOOD used FC25FBT. The rear dinette sitting looking out would be great.
As for the mice, don't use anything that uses some sort of food to poison. It only attracts a chlorine based cleaner around the tires and jacks will deter them.
Also the dogs have to be considered
Just sitting at home drinking coffee and thinking and some ideas. Wishing was on the road but have a couple of weeks before that.
Have fun and be safe !!
mj

[One Smith]

Originally Posted by TROUTHAVENRV

Hmmm, that worries me a bit. Has anyone else had issues with mice?

You should watch the Long, Long Honeymoon series on You Tube! They have a couple older episodes from 2 or 3 years ago on what they did to mouse-proof their Classic after getting an infestation. This show is the longest running RV show on You Tube, about 13 years. You will get allot of other valuable information as well.

The best advice we have had about preventing mice is to park on hard surfaces, not in grass or gravel. So, you may need to acquire stock in a mouse trap company!

Good luck!

[GingerHaddad]

Originally Posted by TROUTHAVENRV

Hi Everyone,

I'm brand new to the forum. My wife and I (and our two golden retrievers) want to purchase a new Airstream in the 22 foot size due to the bed size (as we are both tall).

My questions are:

1. What's the main difference between the Bambi and the Caravel (besides the 10K extra for the Caravel)

2. We are going to put the trailer at our property in Idaho while we build our cabin and my concern is mice. This remote area gets a ton of mice, in fact, I have sold all my equipment that has enclosed cabs because the mice are rampant and they get in EVERYTHING and EVERYWHERE. The trailer will sit year-round so I'm wondering if anyone has knowledge as to how well the Airstreams are sealed at the bottom?

Any other advice you would give would be great. Thank you.

Mark

Lavender dryer sheets scattered throughout will keep mice out. Don’t ask me how, but it works!

[steilkurve]

We had a 22' Bambi which we eventually upgraded to a Globetrotter. Aside from the additional space, one of the top things we wanted was a quieter AC. While it is not completely silent, AS's ducted AC is something we can sleep with. The basic AC in the Bambi was, for us anyway, the equivalent of sleeping next to a jet engine. For that reason alone, we would personally have bought the Caravel over the Bambi if we were to go back to that floorplan. Other little things:

-We dinged the front of our Bambi with rocks. Rockguards, which the Caravel has, would have avoided that.

-The absence of an Inverter on the Bambi, although there are workarounds, was also an inconvenience.

-Windows. As others have mentioned, the Bambi windows only have a small opening. Caravel will have proper openings.

[JeffKim]

Originally Posted by Airtandem

Looking at your situation; wife, 2 large dogs and using as a cabin, closeness is good but being TOO CLOSE is no so bigger IS better. I would suggest a GOOD used FC25FBT. The rear dinette sitting looking out would be great.
As for the mice, don't use anything that uses some sort of food to poison. It only attracts a chlorine based cleaner around the tires and jacks will deter them.
Also the dogs have to be considered
Just sitting at home drinking coffee and thinking and some ideas. Wishing was on the road but have a couple of weeks before that.
Have fun and be safe !!
mj

I heartily concur. Before deciding on a Globetrotter 25' FBT we went down the Caravel path thinking it would be the logical upgrade to our Bambi. However, my wife in particular did not like the rear bathroom with no view out the back in the 22' Caravel. We looked at a used 2021 FC25FBT and for about the same price as a new Caravel it is a much better layout for us.

As an aside, our upgrade journey led us to the GT, the "forever camper", rather than a used FC since it has everything we want and rather than selling the FC at some point, we're set for life (or until we find out differently). It helped that the dealer made us an offer we couldn't refuse. (It also required an astonishing amount of rationalization considering the cost of these things.)

[safaridave]

I see from the photo, you already have your tow vehicle on site.

[tjdonahoe]

Mice will get in an airstream …be r y hard to get rid of the smell if the been in there,

[Steamguy]

Originally Posted by TROUTHAVENRV

Hmmm, that worries me a bit. Has anyone else had issues with mice?

Originally Posted by 10Smiles

We live in the woods in Washington State, so we have always had mice around....The beauty of the Airstreams is the aluminum belly pan...

I live on the side of a mountain in Washington State, and had serious mice problems before, a couple of SOBs ago. Since then, the first thing I'd do is DYI mouse-proofing. My trailer is parked in my upper meadow, and so is a target for rodents of all kinds. I had it written into our contract that the dealer would mouse-proof the coach, and so after signing, we went to the Service department and rather heavily impressed upon them the need for doing this properly (my wife was really good at things like that, having been a former Social Services supervisor).

During the delivery inspection, they invited me to roll under with them and inspect their work. They did a great job, and I have had no problems with the AS. But I also have a belt-and-suspenders approach: because of our location out here, we have periodic pest control work done on contract. (The house would get periodic incursions, otherwise.) As part of that, they maintain a BIG (Cork boot box size, not shoe box size) "monitor box" under the Airstream.

Hope that helps.