2013+ Bunkhouse Owners Thread!

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by Tino643

For your info. it is the thermostat that is discontinus for the reading of the external temp. I no because I thouhgt mine have a problem and call dometic to change it....So just one reading the inside temp.....

The sensor for outside temp was located in the exterior portion of the air conditioner. Depending upon what the air conditioner was doing, the indicated temperature could vary wildly, and have almost no basis in reality. It was one of those good ideas that didn't work.

[PharmGeek]

Black UL = "black ultraleather"

[DCtraveler]

What's everyone pulling this with? Our family is growing and we will be looking to buy this model soon, but will need the right tow vehicle first. I'd prefer to stay away from a pickup, because I'll need the enclosed space for the kids and dogs. Thanks!

[PharmGeek]

DCtraveler...there are uhh...countless threads on this subject...it can be dizzying...but here is my own two threads that asked the same question for whatever that is worth:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f161...el-107177.html

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f463...-a-106337.html


From all the discussion I have followed about it, it is more useful to figure out how people are basing their decisions and what assumptions they are making:

From what I could glean I learned this:

1) max towing capacity - how much do you need? If you go by the book or the listed manufacturer numbers, then there is a number of vehicles that can pull GVWR of 8800 lbs...but largely these seem to be a number of 1/2 pickups, 3/4 ton pickups, a few 1/2 ton SUV's, and of course 3/4 ton SUV's....

There is other lines of thought about "going by the book"....some advocate only regarding those suggested manufacturer max tow numbers as relatively arbitrary and some seem to successfully break the "rule" and pull these with SUV's with lower tow ratings, and even with a specially riged minivan with the proper hitch setup....this is a controversial topic on this forum...you can see it in my threads and many others...im not taking sides here, just pointing that out FWIW...

2) payload - you have to add up the weight of the passengers, all packed items you bring along, and the actual *tongue weight* of your trailer fully loaded...the listed tongue weight of the trailer per specs does not include some of these variables including the weight of the hitch...

much may depend on how you run these numbers with weights...

There is debate about how "marginal" one should run...most seem to agree that running over this is a no no for sure....have not seen folks argue otherwise (unlike max tow rating).

THere are many other considerations of course, but these two are pretty fundamental to the debate...again not trying to take sides, just displaying them

good luck...it gave me a headache...even just a singular subset of the decision of which brand is enough to give a massive headache....much less all of it combined.

[Ridgerunner3]

Well said PharmGeek.

The other issue you get into with towing capacity is that the auto manufactures sometimes seem to pull towing capacity numbers out of thin air. There is a standard method now, determined by the Society of Automotive Engineers, of setting towing capacity (SAE J2807 standard). However, the auto mfg's seem to ignore the standard in many cases and just pull some extremely large number from nowhere.

[aphrodite]

PharmGeek
Great summary. Wish that monolith was available when I was deciding.

It is a relatively subjective decision in the end--one which you (the driver) need to make to be sure there's never something hanging in the back of your mind when it gets gnarly (which it will...)

FWIW-we ended up with a GMC 2500 oiler to pull our International 27FB.

[patentguy]

Tell you what - I have used the Hensley with my 3/4 ton Suburban on my 27 ft flying cloud and on my 30 ft bunkhouse - with the shorter trailer it was possible to forget the trailer while traveling - with the new bunkhouse I am acutely aware of the trailer - which is NOT a bad thing... Just my 2 cents.

[IggyWalker]

We tow with a 07 suburban 3/4 ton 4WD that has the 4.10 gear ratio. It does a great job and has worked very well for us for the past five years. FWIW, we are two adults, one kid and one dog traveling, so we removed the third row seat and use the back for lawn chairs and misc. We are not heavy packers.

On the last non-airstream trailer we used the Hensley hitch. On our new airstream we switched to the p3 due to several reasons. One of them being that on our suburban, the receiver is located high in the center of the bumper. Something like 26.5" if I remember correctly.

Anyway, when we called Hensley about trading our stinger for the correct length, we found out Hensley does not make one that would work. The fellow at Hensley proceeded to adamantly tell me to either flip the axles on the NEW trailer, (Yeah, RIGHT!) put really big wheels/tires on it to add about four inches height to the trailer (even possible??), or have a welder custom make a new receiver on the truck. Not sure how to do that with the molded rear bumper... so, we went with the new p3 and longer adjustable stinger. Overall happy with it so far and much happier with their customer service.

If you consider a suburban model year with this receiver height it is something to be aware of. Also, I think Pro Pride may be offering the stinger made for Hensley that would work if you already have one or have a preference for it.

Originally Posted by DCtraveler

What's everyone pulling this with? Our family is growing and we will be looking to buy this model soon, but will need the right tow vehicle first. I'd prefer to stay away from a pickup, because I'll need the enclosed space for the kids and dogs. Thanks!

[PharmGeek]

Originally Posted by IggyWalker

Hi PharmGeek,

A good trailer is worth the wait

And I just noticed we are nearly neighbors!!

Where do you live - pm me your info and perhaps we can get together after I get my trailer and you can give me any pointers

[Ted S.]

Just curious on the comfort of the upper bunk. We have a couple teenagers who are just going to get bigger. My daughter is 5'4" and I think she would go in the bunk, I don't think she will be growing much more. Do you think it is big enough to be comfortable? It would be great is she had her own little space. Thanks.

[PharmGeek]

I've only seen it and vaguely inspected it - 150 lb limit per sticker - looks ok I think for a teen - if not some foam tipper and be good to go I think

[MiTTco]

We took my daughter out with us for a weekend trip about a month ago. My step daughter (developmentally delayed 25 year old), normally sleeps on the lower bunk; wife and I in the front bed room, so my daughter ended up in the upper bunk. She is 31, 5'-7", but skinny as a rail (110lbs.). She slept fine and had no complaints.

I on the other hand am 5'-11" and 210 lbs., so I will not attempt to contort myself into that space.

[SafariSS]

We have a 05 Bunkhouse and the bunk is the same. Our third daughter has slept up there since the trailer was new and she is now 13 and 5'8" around 100lbs. She loves it up there. Her own space to read with the reading light etc. Bed below is awesome as well. We have the queen lower bunk and have had 3 kids in it with no issues.

We have slept 8 on many occasions and sleep 7 everytime we go out as we have 5 daughters.

[Skatiero]

SafariSS, that sounds like fun! I love reading the bunkhouse threads. We have a custom bunkhouse for our seven kids and we love to read about the new ones as well.

[SafariSS]

Our littlest Airstreamer

[IggyWalker]

Originally Posted by Ted S.

Just curious on the comfort of the upper bunk. We have a couple teenagers who are just going to get bigger. My daughter is 5'4" and I think she would go in the bunk, I don't think she will be growing much more. Do you think it is big enough to be comfortable? It would be great is she had her own little space. Thanks.

We are camping now so I climbed up into the top bunk tonight while the stuffed animals were out of the way. I was surprised that it seems longer and wider than it looks. I am about 5' 5" and 140lb. It was not that hard to get up there, and I could probably sleep comfortably with maybe a little extra foam on the mattress. Anyone sleeping there would have to remember not to sit up suddenly. I will measure it when we get home and post the dimensions.

[silver27]

That's good to hear about the upper bunk. Our 6 year old is the only one who has been up there at this point, and we were worried that it would start to get a little claustrophobic for him sometime in the next 5 or so years.

We tow with an F250, btw. Ours has 4 doors, and the back seat is surprisingly spacious. Works great for 2 kids and one small dog who sits buckled in the middle.

We're on an extended, unplanned camping hiatus, but love hearing how others are liking their new bunkhouses.
Pharmgeek, you must be so excited that yours is almost ready!

[PharmGeek]

Can hardly sleep - literally

(this also has to do with the insanely uncomfortable bed and pillows at my in-laws - worst sleep of my life hands down)

[silver27]

Originally Posted by PharmGeek

Can hardly sleep - literally

(this also has to do with the insanely uncomfortable bed and pillows at my in-laws - worst sleep of my life hands down)

I'll be curious to hear if you rank the airstream stock mattress better or worse...

What's your first trip going to be?

[m.hony]

The stock Airstream mattress is OK with a topper and a bunch of quilts, sleeping bags, blankets, what have ya-