New full timer - question on AS classic 33

[Garrettjmu]

Hey guys! Long time lurker, first time poster. My partner and I are considering purchasing a 2019 AS classic 33 and had some questions that I haven’t found answers to by searching around.

About us:
- Full timing it while working full time (software engineer and marketing). So ability for both of us to work in the space is a must
- we love camping (coming from a Land Rover and Offroad trailer with a rooftop tent)
- we have a 30lb mini golden doodle
- tow vehicle is a 2019 Ram power wagon

Some of our hopes and dreams:
- obviously live in the AS full time
- we would love to be able to boondock 25-50% of the time assuming we have signal to pull a hotspot

Some of our concerns:
- is the AS classic too much of a power hog? Is it realistic to boondock for days/weeks without a generator?
- we love nature and hate the thought of a generator so looking at battleborn (or others?) lithium batteries and more solar up top
- 33ft is going to be too long to boondock places and find campgrounds

I’m hoping some of you all in the community could give us a little guidance on if this is the right direction or not as we’re stumped. Essentially push us over the ledge or talk us back off if it 😂

[moosetags]

Welcome to the Forums. We're glad to have you with us.

You should be able to to configure work spaces for each of you in a 33 foot Airstream. Boondocking could be a challenge both in the area of trailer size and power consumption without using a generator.

Your Ram Power Wagon tow vehicle may present some issues. Generally speaking, jacked-up trucks do not always make good tow vehicles. There are certain geometry issues at play with severe drop hitch bars that are not compatible with weight distribution/sway control hitch systems.

A 33 foot Airastream ready to camp will weigh in at around 10,000# with a 1,000+# tongue weight. If your Power Wagon is half ton with a gasoline engine, it may well be significantly overmatched by a 33 foot Airstream.

Brian

[wulfraat]

33' is a ton of trailer for "boondocking". I have a 30' (really 31' tip to bumper, so I am just 2-feet shy of the 33'). Airstreams are super low to the ground. Great for towing on pavement. Not so great for off-road use at this length - the break-over angles are horrible. With the 33' you will need to more or less stay on gravel roads bottom line and you need get a 2 7/8" Dexter lift installed, even if you stay on pavement IMO.

$5000 of lithium batteries (400amp hour) and $4000 in solar (plus install labor) will solve your energy issues for boondocking in the 33 classic, but you still won't be able to run your air conditioners off grid very long with $5k of batts (1-2 hours).

For that, you will also want a generator - and if you are really going to spend that much time (up to 150 days per year off grid) you will want a big generator to run your air conditioners non-stop during the day in hot months if you want to sit comfortably in your office and work in a 72 degree climate. At that point I'm not sure I'd bother with $10-$20k of lithium, solar, electrical upgrades and labor if you are going to be cranking on a genset anyways when its hot out.

But then again, you may get tired if listening to an obnoxious 4-5kw geneset running 24/7 outside of the trailer [emoji4]

Water will be your next constraint for boondocking once you solve the power issue. 54 gallons can go fast [emoji4]

You need a 3/4 ton or better truck for that trailer.

If you'd like more details in the ultimate "work from the road in comfort" boondocking solution here is my system install on my 30'. This install is in the $25-$30k range before you apply solar tax credits which are unfortunately being phased out.

GMFL on the forum also has a large install on his 30’... he is an installer in Alabama. If you are serious about making a large investment I’d give him a shout.

https://www.airforums.com/forums/f53...um-182406.html

Honestly I'd probably start with a $2,000 big generator and evaluate your power usage needs first. You can always sell the genset later if you do a large energy system upgrade.

[Gigler]

We just finished a week Boondocking in quartzite Arizona. We have a 2020 33’ Classic and you can last a solid week with your fresh water tank full and your grey and black tanks empty. You have to be conscience about your water usage no matter what size trailer you are in. The solar power is wired to certain outlets so you prevented from using every socket all the time which drains power. I have the dexter lift kit installed and I towed over washboard roads to get to the unpopulated are of Laposa east. Tow SLOW when off pavement and you’ll be fine. Slow being 10mph!!! Any faster and you’ll TRASH YOUR AIRSTREAM.

[coltnkat]

My wife and I both work fulltime from the road in our 27 FB. Realistically, you'll quickly discover that boondocking and remote camping is not something you'll be able to get away with most of the time (even with a cell booster like the WeBoost RV 65) if you're regularly on video calls, sharing large files etc. I probably average 3-4 calls a day and occasionally have to move some large files. What that means for us is that we only travel to parks that campendium/campground reviews can provide assurance on connection/speed. We often call ahead even still. While we do boondock from time to time, it's rare for two key reasons: 1) We don't want to have to move during weekends (our only free time in nature) to reload fresh and dump tanks 2) we don't want to have to run a generator all the time. Are we any less happy? No. Being in state parks, county parks, and the occasional RV resort is all fine and dandy. We still get to see what we want to see and go where we want to go. Plus, if you're anything like me, you don't want to make your work situation anymore stressful.

[switz]

We modified our 2014 31' Classic with nine (could add one more) 100 watt AmSolar panels on the roof and a 600 amp-hour lithium battery under the front sofa. Fully loaded for camping it scales 9,200 pounds with 1,175 pounds of tongue weight (down from 1,375 pounds when we had four GSM batteries mounted behind the propane tanks on the "A" frame). We also retrofitted disc brakes to better handle the mountains where we are based in the Southwest.

It is possible to run one A/C for a lunch stop. Every outlet was rewired to real commercial grade Hubbell 20 amp GFI outlets running off of the inverter. Our marine freon based system refrigerator runs off of 12Vdc and we have a Truma instant on water heater that is propane only.. The Classic came with 40 pound aluminum propane tanks compared to the 30 pound steel tanks in the other models. (Note the two sizes weigh the same due to different metal weights)

For us, our pair of Honda 2000 watt propane only converted generators are more than enough power to be off grid. Actually just one along with our solar system would do the job.

Lots to consider as you grease the wallet for the opportunity to be off grid.