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Old 10-27-2020, 02:45 PM   #1
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Rear Bed versus Front Bed

I'm a newbie on the site. I sent a thread earlier today and for some reason it didn't post.

Am I doing something wrong?

My early question was more detailed than this.

I'm buying a 25' Flying cloud and need to know which has the less tongue weight, the FB or RB. I have a 2017 F150 Ecoboost fully loaded but it has a moon roof and a truck cap. So I'm at the limit of my truck weight capacity.

Thanks.
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Old 10-27-2020, 02:47 PM   #2
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We have a 2018 22FB Sport with an appx tongue weight of 420#. We have no problem towing it with our 2018 GMC 1500. Bambi's however do have a lighter tongue weight than most.
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Old 10-27-2020, 02:57 PM   #3
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The Airstream web site says they are about the same:

https://www.airstream.com/travel-tra...lans=25rb,25fb


In reality, the FB tends to have more tongue weight when traveling because it has more storage in the front.


How much payload capacity is shown on the yellow sticker in the door frame of your Ford?
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Old 10-27-2020, 03:27 PM   #4
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If you're already at the truck's weight limit, then you're going to need a bigger truck. The Airstream tongue weight is without LP in the tanks and nothing else on board. Add some water to the fresh water tank for convenience while traveling and the normal load items and you're probably looking at 600 lbs tongue weight. Pay attention to the load limit on your tires also. An overloaded tire is a blowout waiting to happen.
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Old 10-27-2020, 03:38 PM   #5
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We have a '19 25 FC RBT. With a full fresh water tank, minimal black & grey water, 2 full propane tanks, and the 2 group 24 stock batteries it weighs (with a recently calibrated tongue weight scale) ~1050 lbs. Approximately because I averaged 5 weighs. I didn't expect it to come in that high, I was thinking 850 to 900 originally.

The 25 RBT or Q has a larger bathroom with a 'medicine' cabinet (that probably dates me). Also one less sitting place and window in the dinette area. The refer, if they are still using Dometic ammonia absorption refers, is double side vented. No roof vent.

Being in Texas and generally the SW the one less window is a benefit and the 2 A/Cs are IMO necessary. The double side vented refer took some work the replace the industrial and noisy fan and also keep enough air moving through the area to keep the inside refer & freezer temps proper (below 40F & 0F) & consistent. There are numerous posts and threads on some of the mods people have done to address the side vented refers. I posted my solution with pics somewhere on the forums?. The rear storage compartment IMO is easier to access.

I know you only wanted to know about tongue weight but I figured you might want to know that the 25 rear and front bedroom layouts are not an exact flip. AMHIK
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Old 10-27-2020, 03:43 PM   #6
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Our '14 25' RBT, fully loaded for camping, has a tongue weight of 720.

For us tongue weight wasn't the issue. We like the larger bathroom and unobstructed rear exterior storage.
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Old 10-27-2020, 03:48 PM   #7
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I did searches here on 25FB tongue weights. Those helped lead us to buying a 25RB. We liked the bigger bathroom anyway so it didn't require too much of a push for us to go that direction.
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Old 10-27-2020, 03:54 PM   #8
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front bed for us.
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Old 10-27-2020, 05:41 PM   #9
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Personally like the RB because it is easier to get in and out of the storage area.
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Old 10-27-2020, 05:53 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tbrowne View Post
If you're already at the truck's weight limit, then you're going to need a bigger truck. The Airstream tongue weight is without LP in the tanks and nothing else on board. Add some water to the fresh water tank for convenience while traveling and the normal load items and you're probably looking at 600 lbs tongue weight. Pay attention to the load limit on your tires also. An overloaded tire is a blowout waiting to happen.
Hitch Weight (with LP & Batteries) 835 (RB) 837 (FB) According to Airstream.com
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Old 10-27-2020, 06:04 PM   #11
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You will find, when camping, that there are many sites where the rear door of a FB trailer makes it harder to get a good trailer placement as far back in the site as you would want.
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Old 10-27-2020, 06:16 PM   #12
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Greetings from the Florida Panhandle

We have had two 25FB's over the past 14 years. We have a total of 2,180 Airstream camping nights. We prefer the FB as the view is most often better from the rear of the trailer. The RB's living room view always includes the LP tanks and often includes the rear end of the tow vehicle. The RB's living room view also includes the heavily tinted front window rock protector. Also, the RB's bathroom window is about as useful as a screen door on a submarine.

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Old 10-27-2020, 08:01 PM   #13
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As Bart Simpson likes to say, Au Contraire Mon Frère

We had a rear bed 25 FC and really miss that layout (we now have a 27 front bed FC).

We like to sleep with windows open, which means shades open too. We found that the rear bed gave us sounds of the river or lake, and pretty views out of our bedroom windows.
With the front beds, we have sounds of our neighbors and headlights.

I also liked the bathroom window because with its shade up there was enough light to see enough for those 3 am trips without turning on a light or using a flashlight. Plus it was an easier bathroom to fit in and use.

But the refrigerator is better with the front bed (roof vent vs noisy fan), and the extra dinette length and window is nice to have.

Guess it's true, you can't have it all.
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Old 10-27-2020, 08:24 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by waninae39 View Post
front bed for us.
ditto
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Old 10-27-2020, 08:24 PM   #15
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25' AS tongue weight

We have a 2019 FC 25 RBT. Fully loaded ready for travel it weighs 6400 LBS with a 940 tongue weight. We like the RBT for the much larger bathroom and of course the RB layout. I have Cat scaled our combo several times and always come up very close to this figure. We travel with full propane tanks, approx. 10 gallons fresh water and mostly empty black/gray tanks. Our FC 25 RBT has the full awning package and is a 30 AMP (single AC) unit. It is just the 2 of us with no pets. Our tow vehicle is a 2013 Ford E150 XLT Premium van. Specs are Factory Tow Pkg, 5.4 Engine, 3.73 Axle ratio with LSD, 8600 GVW, 2500 LBS cargo capacity. Its tows like a champ. Equalizer WD/Sway Control hitch and a Tekonsha Prodigy P2 Brake Controller. We have approx. 20k miles on this combo with zero concerns. We are well under the front and rear axle maximum weights.

As to the noisy refrig fan it is very easy, and highly recommended, to ditch the factory installed fan with a 2 fan arrangement with easily purchased quiet fans. Helps the refrig perform better also. This is a very common upgrade on any of the Airstreams with the 2 side vent doors for refrig.
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Old 10-27-2020, 08:29 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tbrowne View Post
The Airstream tongue weight is without LP in the tanks and nothing else on board.
Copied and pasted from the Airstream website:

Quote:
Originally Posted by Airstream website
Hitch Weight (with LP and Batteries)
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Old 10-28-2020, 09:14 AM   #17
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We had a 2015 FC front twin. We had a tongue weight if 1300 lbs. if you research the previous threads on this topic you will find that the FB have much heavier than quoted tongue weights. This is with propane, water, and all the lockers that are in the front of the trailer, inside and out
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Old 10-28-2020, 09:30 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Piggy Bank View Post
But the refrigerator is better with the front bed (roof vent vs noisy fan)
This is true and it is annoying.
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Old 10-28-2020, 09:50 AM   #19
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FB usually have door near rear while RB has door in middle or close to front. correct?
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Old 10-28-2020, 10:28 AM   #20
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We have owned 4 AS's now; 3 25's (both rear and front bed models) and now a front bed 28'. Everyone has an opinion on this, like TV's! There are times when you are backing in which is nice but most of the time, we are parked parallel to the view so front or rear is not an issue. We are outside most of the time anyway. Some models do not offer a choice...not an issue for us.
Twin beds, however, are a big difference/advantage over queen for storage, sleeping surface, and overall room in the AS...front or rear!

Also pulled 2 of the 25's we have owned with an F150 Platinum 4x4 Echoboost, but payload was only 1039 lbs we discovered 2 years after purchase...we were always over loaded, and did not know it till we learnedabout such things here on the Forum...Echoboost did fine, but doing it again, I would have gotten larger payload or 3/4T. Now with our 28', we have an F250 6.7L and love it for towing...YMMV
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