Length of and Airstream

[Ed L]

I was just researching hitches when I came across a message that said "airstreams are measured from the tip of the front tow to the rear bumper". Does this mean that a 19' airstream is really only about 16' long????? And, a 22' is only about 19' from one end of the bubble to the other???

[RoadKingMoe]

The tongue is included in the length of the trailer. This is true for most travel trailer specs and the living area is about 3' shorter than the actual length.

See http://www.airstream.com for Airstream specs. They're often longer than their model number indicates.

[Ed L]

I went to the Airstream site to look at the specs for the Bambi. They give the exterior length but no mention of the interiior length. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

[InsideOut]

Yep...the interior is about 3' shorter than the stated length. But the "stated length" is rounded up some years and down others....

Go figure ~

Shari

[femuse]

We would like to know:

how long is the overhang behind the last axle (center of rear most axle to bumper) on the 34' and the 32' ?
We have a 29' and are on the final phase of deciding to buy a 32'. We are afraid of the 34' draging its tail & added problems from 3-axles. This dimension could be helpful in making-up our minds.
We are a looking at a 32' 1990 that we do not want to miss by waiting too long. On the other end, the 34' looks a lot more attractive. (see our post on 02/15 : length related problems: 29' vs 32' & 34' ).

Thank you for any input.

Chantal & Mike

[RoadKingMoe]

My 34' (34'10") is about 124" from the center of the rearmost axle to the end of the skids at the rear. The center of the curved bumper is maybe 6" further back than that, but the bottom of it is at least 4" higher than the bottom of the skids.

[femuse]

Thank you Maurice for your answer. Very useful.

Just want to check if we have the terms right:

My 34' is about 124" ... to the end of the skids at the rear.
The center of the curved bumper is maybe 6" further back than that

Our 29' measure 114" to end of the bumper, if we have it right, it is then 108" to end of the skids.
Now we have to compare that with the 32'.

Other question if we may:

Do you have problems with "scrubbing" and distortion of the tires when making tight maneuvering ?
I know, the best thing is to avoid that, but we find ourselves very often with no other choice but having to do a lot of tight maneuvering. This may point to the 32' as being the best choice for us.

Thank you again,
Mike

[RoadKingMoe]

My driveway is 20' wide by 41' deep (I just went out and measured it), off a 20' wide (if that) street, and I put the 36' trailer with Hensley over on the right side of it without the 21' truck going off the street. The curbside tires come within a coupla feet of the where the driveway hits the street on the left side, and given that I put the streetside tires an inch or two from the edge of the driveway, the rear does swing past the right side of the driveway a few feet as it's backin in or pulling out.

It's a pretty tight turn and you can see the front and rear trailer tires rolling sideways on the rims in opposite directions. It leaves a little rubber on the street and driveway both backing in and pulling out, but not much at all. I keep the trailer tires at max inflation to help with this, and its no problem at all on grass or dirt.

This means the tightest turning is turning right from one lane left of the rightmost lane, onto one lane left of the rightmost lane of the intersecting street. Sometimes, where a 2-lane road intersects a 2 lane road, that means going straight instead of turning right, finding a place to turn around down the road, and coming back for a left turn, which isn't a problem. Or turning left, finding a place to turn around, and coming back for a straight shot through the intersection. That's just life on the backroads with a big trailer.

This really isn't a big deal as far as I'm concerned, and I sure wouldn't sacrifice the room that comes with the extra length, or the smoothness and stability of the ride of the triple axles because of it.

[RoadKingMoe]

Another perspective:

[john hd]

hey moe

i just noticed you had vertical bottles on your trailer.

i thought the late model 34's had horizontal tanks.

john

[femuse]

Maurice,

Thank you again for the info and going to all that trouble.

Neat trailer! I wished we could afford such a nice one. We would have to settle for an around 1990 model.

As you can see from the picture, our parking problems are always interesting. In this case, I would say we had a rather loose fit. We often have a tolerance of 1 or 2" maximum. The curtain for the tent attaches over the trailer. We have to start from a front line for our tent, drawn on the ground, exactly 27'6" from the right side of the trailer. We have to park more or less on a dime. (the tent goes up after, and we better have the right amount of room left: impossible to reposition the trailer later). Sometimes, the ground is not as level as here. After 12 years of Airstreaming we have had more interesting challenges than most people will get in their lifetime !!!

A lot of experience with 2 axles, 3 axles still look scarry.

Thanks again,
Chantal

PS: hope to hear from somebody about the overhang on the 32'

[RoadKingMoe]

Mine's a 2001, here's a coupla pictures of a 2002 and they're still using the same pictures for 2003 so I'd assume at least the past three years they've been vertical.

Or maybe it's because I have the Limited package and the 40# bottles. Dunno.

[John]

Chantal,

32' is one of the least seen A/S within the forum.

You could email A/S from their web site and get this infor.

John

[femuse]

Thanks John, I will do that.

I am afraid they have only specs on latest models, but I guess they may have done mostly inside redesigning since the early 90's.
I could ask the dealer who is hoping to sell me a 32'. He knows we are looking at the 34' too, and he may not be too happy to help.

A few more days of research and I'll just flip a coin: 32 / 34

I am afraid to wait too long, miss this 32' which looks nice & at a price I can afford, and have more competition from buyers when the weather breaks. We are ready to jump when we can dig out our road from the latest snow & ice fall.

Chantal

[john hd]

hey moe

i looked at an old brochure i have and it looks like the excellas have horz. bottles.

john

[RoadKingMoe]

I've seen pictures of those... it appears they go in under the couch. No room in mine with the batteries and converter there. Wonder where the old ones had them?

[John]

John/Maurice,

I saw a 2000 34' model with the horz bottles in BC. Maybe they changed in 2001.

John

[RoadKingMoe]

That could well be. Did they ever offer 40lb tanks horizontal?

[john hd]

Originally posted by RoadKingMoe
I've seen pictures of those... it appears they go in under the couch. No room in mine with the batteries and converter there. Wonder where the old ones had them?

hey moe,

here is a scanned pic of a brochure from some time in the 90's

looks like they wedged it all in there on the wide bodys!

john

[John]

John,

That's how his was set-up.

John