23D FC or 26U?

[greenflag]

I had an 2007 25 International with the same rear corner bed. I found it to be inconvenient especially when changing sheets. The bed is a little narrow but we lived with it. My wife and I are not tall people. I am 5-7. My biggest complaint was the bathroom. I could not sit on the toilet and shut the door. it hit my knees. The toilet was also very high. I would look at a 23FB if you are determined to have that size. I would step up to a 25 foot which is the most popular size, that is your tow vehicle can handle it. We spent 5 months in our 25 with three dogs. We finally stepped up to a 30. We have to be a little more selective about our state parks now. National Parks we almost always stay at an RV Park nearby.
Anyway, welcome to the Airstream family. Choose the size that best suits your style and where you like to camp.

[Ajax1377]

My 2016 experience was to move from a 23D to a 26U following a 3 week excursion up the West Coast to Vancouver Island. We are also not large people but found the difficulty with the corner bed (both the challenge of changing the sheets and rising in the night), the small bathroom, and the limited holding tanks meant the 23D would not be our long term trailer. We had moved into the 23 D from a VW Camper so during our initial 3 or 4 day trips thought we had died and gone to heaven. Needless to say the financial penalty to trade up was significant between the depreciation hit and the twice paid California sales tax and our only regret was we didn't get a chance to test drive the 23D. We love the 26U and don't regret the decision one bit. If you will be spending extended time camping GO BIGGER.

[rodsterinfl]

Much of it has to do with your preferences. Consider that all the models basically have four functional areas - galley, bath, bedroom, sitting area. Then think of your needs within each area. The bedroom choice of a 23 is integrated into the bath- different from a 25, 26 or even other sizes similar (27 or 28). Some people share the need of being able to shower while someone else uses the commode without loss of privacy. Think through things like that. You will get more trailer with a 25 or larger- more than two feet- wider, bigger tanks, etc. That is what has made the 25 the most popular size.

My preferences are that I like the twin bedrooms, a nice counter in the galley- I cook, seating that faces a tv for evening tv watching and a table to eat at. From there it is all about comfort and the details. In my perfect AS, the bedroom would be just like it is, the bath would be a closed bath but with more floorspace, The galley would have a two foot prep space and the sitting area would be flexible to be home theater-like or a conversation pit without a table in the way. Airstreams are challenged in that last item just by the mere space without slides and that is why I am probably better off with a couch or recliner lounge model like I have.

[Debit]

The u-shaped dinette, relatively large bath and wardrobe, plus the front TV that moves out into the door way (for outside viewing) sold us in the 2016 model 26U. We had considered both and the international's also. Really wish they'd make a Serinity model 26U. We pull with a propride hitch and 1,400 lbs bars. Also, replaced the steel LP bottles with all aluminum to loose a few extra pounds on the hitch. No retrets in any way. However, as mentioned above, everyone will endorse the one they already have and love. Good luck!

[Offack]

My wife and I had a 23 with queen. Slept great. But......open on 3 sides is a fantasy unless you are4 ft tall and real skinny! We found not enought room to get around the bed without stepping on the dog(small) or wacking your head ( every day ) on the overhead cabinets! ( long learning curve.) it was also difficult to crawl , climb, or roll over your partner when the pee alarm goes off. (For either) also getting dressed in the kitchen dining area hampered food preparation.
But we did have a great time towing it with 1/2 ton, fitting it in smaller campsites without a problem, and lack of space made spending more time outside cooking and relaxing in good weather.
All in all, we traded up for a 25 forward bedroom with twins, afectionally called " the bowling alley". We love it , extra space worth it's weight in gold. While we towed with the 1/2 ton all last year coast to coast, ( did pretty damn well) we recently upgrade to 3/4 ton duramax. It's the 4th duramax I've had and I wish I had stayed with them all along . Great tow vehicle
Good luck
Rick

[dasams]

Originally Posted by NYgirl

... the bed. It's small and may just be the deal breaker for us. We are not large people by any means, we have a queen at home which suits us fine and is roomy enough.

We rented a FC 20 as a test run and didn't mind the small bed. But then it was cool enough that cuddling felt good. No way this would work on a warm summer night. Go with the bigger bed.

Originally Posted by NYgirl

We are also curious about resale in case we decide to sell in a few years. Are there certain sizes/layouts that seem to be easier from that standpoint?

The ones with the queen size bed are popular with those moving up

[LilBigfoot]

Originally Posted by Debit

. Also, replaced the steel LP bottles with all aluminum to loose a few extra pounds on the hitch..

Hello....was wondering how much weight you took off with using the Aluminum tanks? I could use some help. 1150lbs on the tonque of my 26U. Thanks. Don

[wbrisett]

Here's my take... First off we have the 23D. We seriously considered the 25FB, 26U, and the 23FB. We liked the sitting area that the 25FB, 26U, and 23D provided. We like the bath area of the 23FB. But the sitting area was a big deal for us.

Since we knew we would only have our daughter for one more year before moving off to university, the 23 footer was fine. In fact, I love the size. I liked the 26U, but overall it just didn't really seem to be what we were looking for... the 23FB had the bath and queen bed, and like the original poster, we were concerned about the size of the bed in the 23D.

However, at the time there were no 25FB with the right configuration in the area. So, it came down to could we live with the bed size...

Well, here we are nearly 8 months into the purchase and honestly I can say that it doesn't bother me. Is it a pain to find sheets? Yes. Is it a pain to put the sheets on? Yes. Do the sheets come off at times during the night? Yes. Does it bother me being on a bed that size? no.

Most important, would I but the 23D again? Yes.... with a caveat. If I could find a 25FB, with the right mix of appliances, I might do that just so I had a bit more room in the shower area. That's the one area that I do wish was done differently, but overall I would say, if the bed is the only thing holding you back, then don't let it hold you back.

-Wayne

[McDave]

We bought a 23D several years ago, and are happy with it for many of the reasons others have expressed. One thing I'm happy with that no one has expressed is the availability of a bunk bed over the main bed. I'm not sure if that was an option that was just available the year we bought ours, because the salesman said it was something Airstream was trying out on a limited number of units to see how people liked it. I bought it mainly thinking of grandchildren accompanying us, but that hasn't happened very often. So what we use it for most of the time is a wonderful huge shelf to store fishing rods, bows and arrows, clothes, coats, or anything else we just need a place to temporarily throw down. The 23' has limited storage without it, particularly for big bulky items.

Whoever ends up on the inside of the bed, which will probably be the shorter person, will definitely have a cold butt and shoulders from the aluminum wall, unless you buy an ensolite pad from an outdoor store and push it down on the back side of the mattress so it sticks up high enough to insulate someone's butt and shoulders. It is a must!

We definitely would not trade for a longer model. We have already had a tough time getting into some of the spaces that were available. My wife might be willing to trade down to a 22' or 19', but I like the convenience of the living area in the 23', and would miss it.

[Toutsi 1957]

Originally Posted by NYgirl

Hello to all

I am a new member, been reading posts for a bit while hubby & I are trying to decide on which size/layout to purchase. Spent last weekend at Colonial Airstream. Went there expecting to confirm our decision to purchase the 23D FC but... the bed. It's small and may just be the deal breaker for us. We are not large people by any means, we have a queen at home which suits us fine and is roomy enough. Curious if any 23D owners out there are comfortable with this bed and how they adjusted, assuming you have? We are tempted by the 26U. Great layout, storage, bigger bed. We really wanted to stay smaller but after reading so many posts on the forum it seems most people trade up in size. Any thoughts/advice would be helpful. We are not full timers, but do expect to be on the road for weeks at a time once we get going. We are also curious about resale in case we decide to sell in a few years. Are there certain sizes/layouts that seem to be easier from that standpoint?

The bed on the 23D is definitely too small. The 23FB is a better choice and has one of the best bathroom of all AS and is one of the easiest to tow. My parents bought a used 23D and move up to a new 25FB after one year because of the bed. The 25 is also 5.5 inches larger which make it much more comfortable. The advantage of the 23FB over the 23D and the 25FB is the hitch weight. 467 pounds for the 23FB, 779 for the 23D and 837 for the 25FB. The other advantage of any AS FB is to have the dining table on the back. It means that when eating you may have a better sight than the back of your tow vehicle. We bought the 27FB Flying Cloud because the price is not much higher than the 25FB. The Queen bed is perfect and the hitch weight is 791 pounds and the empty weight is only 380 pounds higher than the 25. Just to demonstrate how difficult the decision process is, the first time we visited an AS dealer we were looking at the Sport 22 and at the end we bought the 27FB.
Sitting in one in the show room for at least one hour will ease your decision process.

[wbrisett]

Originally Posted by Toutsi 1957

The bed on the 23D is definitely too small. The 23FB is a better choice and has one of the best bathroom of all AS and is one of the easiest to tow.

I don't think there's any argument that the 23FB has a great bathroom design, and having a real queen is a bonus, but the flip side is you loose the lounge area. We find ourselves enjoying that area quite a bit. We wake up, I'll make coffee, and we'll sit and enjoy it lounging around reading or watching things outside. While you can do all of those in the 23FB, you either have to do that sitting at the table in the middle of the trailer, or you have to do it sitting/lounging in bed. I prefer to do it in the open area.

When we get back from a long day's hike, we can lounge around and watch TV. The only real place to do that in the 23FB is sitting at that middle table area. I just don't find that an ideal solution.

We also find that by having the lounge area, my sister and brother-in-law (we camp together a lot) come over to our trailer more because we have more room to sit and talk (when the weather isn't cooperating, otherwise we're all outside)...

So, there are some pluses to both the 23D and 23FB, but in our situation we just found we had a higher priority on the lounge area. But then this is what camping used to mean to me before we bought the Airstream:

[OTRA15]

Welcome to the forum NYgirl! Lots of good feedback here, but I am wondering if you are still reading this thread, and whether you have made a choice? No word from you since your first OP post.

Thanks and good luck!

Peter

Originally Posted by NYgirl

Hello to all

I am a new member, been reading posts for a bit while hubby & I are trying to decide on which size/layout to purchase. Spent last weekend at Colonial Airstream. Went there expecting to confirm our decision to purchase the 23D FC but... the bed. It's small and may just be the deal breaker for us. We are not large people by any means, we have a queen at home which suits us fine and is roomy enough. Curious if any 23D owners out there are comfortable with this bed and how they adjusted, assuming you have? We are tempted by the 26U. Great layout, storage, bigger bed. We really wanted to stay smaller but after reading so many posts on the forum it seems most people trade up in size. Any thoughts/advice would be helpful. We are not full timers, but do expect to be on the road for weeks at a time once we get going. We are also curious about resale in case we decide to sell in a few years. Are there certain sizes/layouts that seem to be easier from that standpoint?

[NYgirl]

Thank you to everyone for sharing your thoughts and experiences. It has been incredibly helpful. Hubby & I are still debating which is the right size for us and we have until Spring to make the purchase. The 26 will require a larger TV, so that's another consideration.