Length from rear tire to bumper

[RileyTillman]

Hello

We are planning a switch from a 22” Caravel to a 27FB Flying Cloud. Two good summers in we realized that is the right size for our family and are excited to switch over. I do have one random ? and cant see a FC at this time.

What is the distance from the rear tire to the bumper.

We have a incline driveway and the Caravel almost bottoms out (the bumper) when I back in. I am hoping the distance is the same or the two axles help with that.

If there is a place for random specs like that LMK. Otherwise thanks so much for anyone who might have this info!

Chris

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Best guess is that the distance is about 1.2X the same measure on your 22'. ( = it scales with the trailer length ). The longer the trailer, the more likely the back end is to bump on a driveway or exiting a gas station.

Bob

[tbrowne]

A Dexter lift kit could solve the bumper scraping problem. My 30' FC used to just scrape my drive without a lift. I have since lifted the trailer about 3" and that eliminated the scraping. You might want to check into it.

[uraljohn]

Talk to your selling dealer about having lift installed before delivery. Should run you around $1k. It is AS approved and does not effect warranty. There are some AS dealers that scoff at the idea of raising your AS. Hope your dealer is not one of them. Mine was so I installed it myself. If your handy with a wrench you can do it. Or contact Ronnie (GMFL) and I understand he does exceptionally fine work. Good luck and Happy Travels.

[DaveP]

You can also impact the "scrap" by using different height hitches. We used to switch to a higher height (at the ball) hitch to go into and out of our driveway. You would have to experiment. It worked for us until we raised the trailer height by 3 inches. YMMV.

[1StreamDream]

I can't get you exactly what you asked for but I can get close. I have a 25' flying cloud, and the distance from the (approx) center line of the rear axle (the center of the wheel), to the rear trailer bumper is about 8' 6" I don't know the 27 but my best guess is that it is 1' longer in the rear, and 1' longer in the front ... so on that basis, it seems like the distance should come in right about 9' 6" for a 27' trailer. Hopefully someone who has a 27' can validate that.

[RileyTillman]

Thanks so much for all the advice/replies.

Turns out that the 22” Caravel is 8 foot 11 from the center of the tire to the bumper. Clearly the single axle make a difference here. It will be interesting to see what the 27 is!

25 might be a good option as well.

I also suspect that the dual axle will keep it a bit more level and that could help.

Will be back in a couple of days with a camper and I can see just how close it is to scraping when I put it in the driveway.

[Fungus]

If the bottoming-out is at the driveway entrance, maybe you can approach the entrance at an angle. That’s what I do. I have the Dexter lift. Releasing weight distribution will drop the tongue and lift the rear.

[SuperTrouper]

I know that I can fit my 27FB into a 20' pad so I believe that we have 8' from the back wheel edge to the bumper. I found this out quick when I found a spot at Lizard Creek CG in the Tetons that was 20' from the road to the log curb and we just fit. The 27FB is 27'11" from ball to bumper.

[LNBright]

I'm the other direction, have a 20FC; but the dealer put a 3" lift on for me before I even brought it home, as my driveway has a bit of slope to it, too, and I didn't want to worry about scraping, either.

Good luck,

[greg Dorsch]

My driveway has a steep incline and my previous International 23FB was able to clear it when backing in. Since I have sold my 23FB I wanted to upgrade to a International 25FBT but curious if it will clear the steep grade?
Can anyone provide an accurate measurement from center of rear axle to end of bumper for either the 23FB and or 25FB? The difference in overall length between the two is 26" - the million dollar question: is it added in front of the front axle or behind the rear axle or split evenly or some other combination of both??

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by greg Dorsch

My driveway has a steep incline and my previous International 23FB was able to clear it when backing in. Since I have sold my 23FB I wanted to upgrade to a International 25FBT but curious if it will clear the steep grade?
Can anyone provide an accurate measurement from center of rear axle to end of bumper for either the 23FB and or 25FB? The difference in overall length between the two is 26" - the million dollar question: is it added in front of the front axle or behind the rear axle or split evenly or some other combination of both??

Hi

Unfortunately it's a lot more complicated than one measurement. The difference in axle location splits roughly as the the length change ( = locations roughly scale to the length) if you are talking about a 23 vs 25.

Bob

[greg Dorsch]

Spoke with Airstream and there is not much of a difference in the overhang behind the axle on the 23' vs 25' international.
The 23' is 104.8" from center of rear axle to bumper.
The 25' is 106.45".
a difference of 1.65"
just wanted to share the info.

[twbucksr]

I just measured from the center line of the rear 15” tire to the outside edge of the bumper on my 2018 27FBQ FC at 102”