put down a deposit!

[kukula]

In 2019 we did quite a bit of traveling with our 10' square Springbar tent... next year we plan to bring our two dachshunds along... we're thinking a 25 foot airstream ought to do the job! Plus keep the two of us humans a lot more comfortable! We plan to drive coast to coast multiple times over a few years, visiting family & friends along with exploring ... there's a lot to explore!


Sounds like we should have a trailer, hmmm, be in a trailer, by some time in May. The next item on the agenda is to get a tow vehicle. So I would surely appreciate any tips!


Right now I am looking at a Nissan Titan XD 4x4. That would seem to have plenty of safety margin to get us over the Rockies or most anyplace we'd want to check out. Right now we have a Corolla. I have never owned a larger vehicle or towed anything at all... so I would surely appreciate any tips!


Ha, it's kind of an outrageous plunge, but I am 65 years old and I figure, if I want to do it, no point in putting it off!

[Camper Crazy]

Congratulations, and yes you are right; no time like the present. I really enjoy the challenge of towing our stock trailer and holiday trailers. For me, feeling like I can take the time I need, planning ahead for maneuver room, and taking it slow help with feeling comfortable. Nothing like experience to give confidence. You (and your partner) can do it! Happy trails,
CC

[Dennis C]

Congrats!

[rmkrum]

As another data point, wife and I travel with 4 smallish rescue doggies in a 22’ 2007 International CCD. It’s a front bedroom dual axle rig. We carry a Champion 3400 watt inverter generator that runs on propane from our airstream tanks in case we need air conditioning. It can easily handle Texas heat in September.

The dogs quickly decide the Airstream is their big silver doghouse, and consider it their home territory for the entire trip. To the point that if they get loose, they run right back to the Airstream.

We tow with a 2012 4x4 crew cab Toyota Tacoma and a ProPride hitch setup. It’s a bit underpowered in the big mountains, but does just fine in flatter territory. Admittedly a Tundra would be a better climber...and BTW, I’m in my 70’s.

[kukula]

Originally Posted by rmkrum

The dogs quickly decide the Airstream is their big silver doghouse

Thanks, this is going to be key! We want to be able to head out for say six hours and leave the dogs in the trailer just like we leave them in our house. I expect this year we will just take some shorter trips and gradually accustom the dogs to the new big silver doghouse. Then next year we'll take off on serious adventures.



The generator for the AC, that's an interesting option. I am going around and around on the tow vehicle. Right now I am thinking that a Ford F-150 has a million options and is super common all over the USA so maybe that is a boring safe option. The generator goes in the bed of the pick-up, I presume?

[rmkrum]

Yes. The Tacoma bed tonneau cover is a bit too short in height to completely close over the generator, so I just used bungee cords to tie it down.

The generator propane harness is modified to run off an Airstream low pressure propane port I installed. I can put the generator at the end of an extension hose for convenience.

For details on the modification I did, see the thread “Which generator” on these forums. The bottom line is that I can plug the big low pressure propane regulator from the champion into the airstream system. Dogs have sat in the air conditioning for a few hours with regular supervision.

[Jonmad]

Originally Posted by kukula

In 2019 we did quite a bit of traveling with our 10' square Springbar tent... next year we plan to bring our two dachshunds along... we're thinking a 25 foot airstream ought to do the job! Plus keep the two of us humans a lot more comfortable! We plan to drive coast to coast multiple times over a few years, visiting family & friends along with exploring ... there's a lot to explore!


Sounds like we should have a trailer, hmmm, be in a trailer, by some time in May. The next item on the agenda is to get a tow vehicle. So I would surely appreciate any tips!


Right now I am looking at a Nissan Titan XD 4x4. That would seem to have plenty of safety margin to get us over the Rockies or most anyplace we'd want to check out. Right now we have a Corolla. I have never owned a larger vehicle or towed anything at all... so I would surely appreciate any tips!


Ha, it's kind of an outrageous plunge, but I am 65 years old and I figure, if I want to do it, no point in putting it off!

Make sure whatever truck you get has enough payload for the tongue weight of your trailer and everything you want to put in the bed of the truck. You will max out on payload very quickly if you purchase most half ton trucks. Ask me how I know.

[kukula]

Originally Posted by Jonmad

Make sure whatever truck you get has enough payload for the tongue weight of your trailer and everything you want to put in the bed of the truck.

Thanks, I definitely need to understand these details. These fancy hitches seem to be key. I see the 23FB has a hitch weight of 837, but that's unloaded, right? So if I max out the trailer to 7300 and distribute it, that looks like say 1100 pounds. Looks like a propride hitch is about 200 pounds, so that's 1300 pounds. Two people and two dogs, call it 400 pounds, up to 1700. Sounding like I need about 2000 pounds of load capacity.



I'm staring at the tables for the various F-150 options and to be honest I don't understand what I'm looking at! But there are surely entries both above and below 2000 pounds... so I just need to make sure I stay above 2000... I figure in the end I will sit at the dealer and work through all the tables and they'll know there what the different rows mean!


Does that 2000 pound calculation sound reasonable?

[DoubleR]

Airstream advertised tongue weights are normally understated. You should add additional tongue weights to your estimates.

[Gibson3798]

Get more truck than you need, perhaps a 2500 series RAM diesel and you've bought enough truck for any trailer you move up to, in case you ever do.

Some here have been guilty of doing that. No further comment.

[grumblin]

Originally Posted by DoubleR

Airstream advertised tongue weights are normally understated. You should add additional tongue weights to your estimates.

Actually, ours (a 2021) was literally right on the money with the advertised tongue weight (w/batteries and full propane), but completely unloaded. As you load, tongue weight increases of course.

[TouringDan]

Originally Posted by kukula

Thanks, I definitely need to understand these details. These fancy hitches seem to be key. I see the 23FB has a hitch weight of 837, but that's unloaded, right? So if I max out the trailer to 7300 and distribute it, that looks like say 1100 pounds. Looks like a propride hitch is about 200 pounds, so that's 1300 pounds. Two people and two dogs, call it 400 pounds, up to 1700. Sounding like I need about 2000 pounds of load capacity.



I'm staring at the tables for the various F-150 options and to be honest I don't understand what I'm looking at! But there are surely entries both above and below 2000 pounds... so I just need to make sure I stay above 2000... I figure in the end I will sit at the dealer and work through all the tables and they'll know there what the different rows mean!


Does that 2000 pound calculation sound reasonable?

Welcome to the insanity.

You have come to the right place to get educated. The information you need is here. It will just take some time to digest it all. Don’t plan on the truck dealer helping you much. They just want to sell you a truck.

I believe a 1/2 ton truck will tow your 25’ just fine. You need to select one with a large payload on the door jamb sticker, probably in the neighborhood of 1,700 - 2,000 lbs.

Time to start reading the tow vehicle threads to start your education. Lots to learn.

Dan

[Saluda372]

Congrats.

[cathurston]

Originally Posted by kukula

In 2019 we did quite a bit of traveling with our 10' square Springbar tent... next year we plan to bring our two dachshunds along... we're thinking a 25 foot airstream ought to do the job! Plus keep the two of us humans a lot more comfortable! We plan to drive coast to coast multiple times over a few years, visiting family & friends along with exploring ... there's a lot to explore!


Sounds like we should have a trailer, hmmm, be in a trailer, by some time in May. The next item on the agenda is to get a tow vehicle. So I would surely appreciate any tips!


Right now I am looking at a Nissan Titan XD 4x4. That would seem to have plenty of safety margin to get us over the Rockies or most anyplace we'd want to check out. Right now we have a Corolla. I have never owned a larger vehicle or towed anything at all... so I would surely appreciate any tips!


Ha, it's kind of an outrageous plunge, but I am 65 years old and I figure, if I want to do it, no point in putting it off!

We have a 2009 25ft FB International, and we absolutely LOVE it. Our salesman was glad we did not purchase a 23ft, because he said we would be back the next year to trade up. The 25ft will get you into most state parks and national parks and has been a great change from the pop-up tent trailer we used to have. We tow with a 2009 GMC 2500 diesel truck. We were going to buy a Toyota truck, as we'd always owned Toyota vehicles. But our Toyota mechanic said that if we planned a lot of long-distance towing, we would be much happier with a diesel truck (Toyota doesn't make diesel). We have towed from Oregon to the Atlantic Coast. With a diesel, the engine doesn't even get really broken in until 100,000 miles. We now have 120,000, and it is running so well. With the 2500, it doesn't even know the Airstream is back there, even with mountain driving. A lot of people tow with a lot less power, but we prefer to have a lot of reserve.

[DCPAS]

I know just how excited you are. Very cool.

You didn't say whether you ordered a front or rear bedroom. Search here for threads on real world tongue weights. Weight gain on the front bedroom from loading is apparently a good deal more. One of the reasons we went with a rear bedroom is so we could tow with a 1/2 ton based SUV. We only have 1,552 in payload, but we are careful what we put in the truck and we stay within our numbers. We don't have a ProPride or similar hitch partially because of the weight. In the 5K miles we have towed thus far I have not sensed any sway, but then I've not had to do any emergency maneuvers either. Some folks have a huge bias toward 3/4 ton trucks. Good for them that they get what they want. I don't want.

[albret]

I agree with many of the others that say you really need a truck........Dodge, Ford, GMC 2500 or 3500 with a diesel. Many use a 1500 truck, but they too have their limits...pulling over the hills at 25 - 35 mph. The smaller vehicles are nice but you need the power to pull the trailer in any condition, not just on flat level ground, which is how the manufactures measure their vehicle's capacities. What happens if you want to purchase a larger trailer in the future? What would happen if you want to pull a 5th-wheel trailer? Bite the bullet now rather than upgrading later.

[Digdog]

I think your proposed choice of truck and trailer are Very good. We have 25’ airstream and the Titan XD 4wd and find it ideal. 12300 lb tow capacity and most importantly 2500 lb payload. Softer ride when unhitched compared to 2500 or 3500 full size trucks. We could not be more pleased with it. I would go with a used diesel if I could find one (they only sell gas powered new now). We have 45 gallon aux tank giving 750 miles between fills. These trucks also carry a 5 year warranty. Excellent value. Good luck with your deliberations.

[AmyB]

Fully recommend taking the plunge! Hubby and I had never camped or towed other than the occasional U-Haul. Hubby was Army for over 30 years. I wanted to travel & he loves the systems. We saw an Airstream & fell in love. 4 months later the house was sold, jobs had been retired from and we hit the road. We home base out of a rental we have owned for years but massively downsized. We now spend most of our time on the road in our 25’ International RBT with our kitty. We pull with a F350 Diesel extended cab long bed. Some will say it is overkill, but this truck can tow us up any mountain without a blink, we easily transport our generator, 2 electronic bikes and all our other needed items. We prefer extra to spare 😊 Have fun!

[Hans627]

I'll add my personal experience. My first AS was a 25' FBT and I towed it with a RAM 1500. It did fine.

I replaced the 25' FBT with a 27' FBT GT and towed it with the RAM 1500. It did OK. The biggest drawback was the transmission always "hunting" for the right gear. And the associated increase/decrease in rpm's.

I now have a 2500 with a diesel. I love towing with it. It just goes and goes.

My summation is a properly equipped 1/2 ton truck will do the job. A 3/4 ton will do it much better.

FWIW!

[Barretta2]

You’re about the age I was when I decided to bite the Airstream bullet...best decision! Go for it. No regrets.