Resale value after 6-8 months / general Q's on FC

[Rfriebele]

Are you going to document your trip on a YT channel vlog? If that's your plan, please post your channel name before you hit the road! I'd love to follow your adventure..You could make some extra money off it along the way...!

[Piggy Bank]

I think your plan is excellent. A good used truck is never hard to sell. A 250 gives you payload and capacity for all your gear.

I hope you have a blast!

As to the generator question -- In your situation I would probably get a good pair of inverter generators or 1 lager one, depending on exactly how much stuff you have. Do look at the propane conversion options as well.

Take a look at the Long Long Honeymoon (LoLoHo) you tube on generators for good advice.

[captahab1]

Thanks again for all the advice. No plans to document anything publicly, but seeing so many helpful channels out there, we may want to give back and highlight some of the mistakes you can make as a first time airstreamer. Appreciate the tip on LoLoHo - great channel that we've been watching for the past few days.

We've found a couple used 2017/2018 F-250s with the package we want. I think we should be fine from a towing, tongue weight and payload capacity. According to the AS website - the FC 27FB has a GVWR of 7,600lbs and a tongue weight of 791 lbs with LP and batteries. Most of the F-250s I've found are the 6.2L V8s, 3.73 axle ratio with a towing capacity of ~12,000-12,500 lbs if I'm reading the chart below correctly.

https://cdn-ds.com/blogs-media/sites...ng-chart_o.jpg

For the tongue weight - there is a footnote saying it should be 10-15% of total loaded trailer weight so assuming 12,000lbs total loaded trailer weight, my tongue shouldn't weigh more than 1200-1800 lbs, correct? AS website has it coming in at 791lbs should we should be set there?

As for the payload capacity of the TV, I'm assuming we should be good, but having trouble finding the actual limit per the ford website. This document lists payload capacities on page 12, but it seems like they're for the "camper" option, which we're not getting - https://www.rvsafety.com/images/pdf/FordTG2017.pdf

I assume I just have to go to the dealership and look at the stickers on the inside of the door and bottom of the hitch?

[DewTheDew]

Originally Posted by captahab1

Thanks again for all the advice. No plans to document anything publicly, but seeing so many helpful channels out there, we may want to give back and highlight some of the mistakes you can make as a first time airstreamer. Appreciate the tip on LoLoHo - great channel that we've been watching for the past few days.

We've found a couple used 2017/2018 F-250s with the package we want. I think we should be fine from a towing, tongue weight and payload capacity. According to the AS website - the FC 27FB has a GVWR of 7,600lbs and a tongue weight of 791 lbs with LP and batteries. Most of the F-250s I've found are the 6.2L V8s, 3.73 axle ratio with a towing capacity of ~12,000-12,500 lbs if I'm reading the chart below correctly.

https://cdn-ds.com/blogs-media/sites...ng-chart_o.jpg

For the tongue weight - there is a footnote saying it should be 10-15% of total loaded trailer weight so assuming 12,000lbs total loaded trailer weight, my tongue shouldn't weigh more than 1200-1800 lbs, correct? AS website has it coming in at 791lbs should we should be set there?

As for the payload capacity of the TV, I'm assuming we should be good, but having trouble finding the actual limit per the ford website. This document lists payload capacities on page 12, but it seems like they're for the "camper" option, which we're not getting - https://www.rvsafety.com/images/pdf/FordTG2017.pdf

I assume I just have to go to the dealership and look at the stickers on the inside of the door and bottom of the hitch?

We have a 2019 F250 (diesel). The payload is specific for each set of options so yes, to really know the payload of the vehicle you purchase it will require a look at the door sticker. Ours is 2132 lbs (Platinum so pretty loaded, diesel, no 5th wheel hitch prep, snowplow prep). That works well for us and our 2017 27FBT. Without the diesel you will have higher payload because the engine is quite a bit lighter. Towing capacity should be fine. Of course a diesel will not even sweat pulling up mountains but the V8 should be fine. I got a diesel just because. Plus it was easier to find one at the time I was looking. I believe the 2017/2018 F250's are substantially similar to ours (aluminum body for HD Ford started in 2017).

Have fun!

[captahab1]

Originally Posted by DewTheDew

We have a 2019 F250 (diesel). The payload is specific for each set of options so yes, to really know the payload of the vehicle you purchase it will require a look at the door sticker. Ours is 2132 lbs (Platinum so pretty loaded, diesel, no 5th wheel hitch prep, snowplow prep). That works well for us and our 2017 27FBT. Without the diesel you will have higher payload because the engine is quite a bit lighter. Towing capacity should be fine. Of course a diesel will not even sweat pulling up mountains but the V8 should be fine. I got a diesel just because. Plus it was easier to find one at the time I was looking. I believe the 2017/2018 F250's are substantially similar to ours (aluminum body for HD Ford started in 2017).

Have fun!

Thanks for the help. I was actually able to get the dealer to send me a couple pictures. Final 2 ignorant questions from me - if I take the GVWR of 10000 lbs and then subtract the never exceed number of 3019 I should get the approximate curb weight of the vehicle, correct? I'm only asking because I don't fully understand if the 3019 'payload capacity' takes into account the actual features of the truck as you outlined above i.e. does this sticker get thrown on every F-250 regardless of features that the truck has - this is a lariat with a sunroof so it should account for that already.

Finally, how should I think about the Front/Rear GAWR - I can't bring my airsteam to the car dealership and hook it all up to actually weigh it, but assuming the trailer tow capacity, payload and tongue weight capacities are all well within limits, I assume I'll be good on the axle loads?

https://ibb.co/p2XdSW3
https://ibb.co/KKkPzZr

[DewTheDew]

Originally Posted by captahab1

Thanks for the help. I was actually able to get the dealer to send me a couple pictures. Final 2 ignorant questions from me - if I take the GVWR of 10000 lbs and then subtract the never exceed number of 3019 I should get the approximate curb weight of the vehicle, correct? I'm only asking because I don't fully understand if the 3019 'payload capacity' takes into account the actual features of the truck as you outlined above i.e. does this sticker get thrown on every F-250 regardless of features that the truck has - this is a lariat with a sunroof so it should account for that already.

Finally, how should I think about the Front/Rear GAWR - I can't bring my airsteam to the car dealership and hook it all up to actually weigh it, but assuming the trailer tow capacity, payload and tongue weight capacities are all well within limits, I assume I'll be good on the axle loads?

https://ibb.co/p2XdSW3
https://ibb.co/KKkPzZr

They payload number is specific to each truck and accounts for the options on that specific truck. So if you look at two F250s set up exactly the same aside from, as an example, 5th wheel hitch prep, the two numbers will be different. And yes, 10,000 minus payload should be the truck weight (I do not know if they include full gas tank, 150lb driver or what in that number). The numbers I used when I decided I was exceeding the capacity of my F150 was GVW with the trailer hooked up and truck/trailer loaded for camping. That number for my F150 was 7,000 lbs and I was exceeding that. Note that I was a bit below the axle ratings (I am assuming that the axle limits will become more important when the trailer is not well balanced by a WD hitch or, for example, adding a snowplow on the front). My guess (just a guess) is that a well-balanced load that does not exceed GVWR will also not exceed GAWRs.

With a 3xxxlb payload you should be fine unless you are planning on sticking motorcycles in the bed of the truck and so forth.

[captahab1]

Thanks again - that all makes sense. Appreciate your input. We're not planning on any motorcycles, haha, but I guess we'd have the weight for one!

Now I'm thinking through the hitch - from reading through the forums it seems like there are a ton of options. Based off the research I've done, I am leaning towards the Equalizer 1,200/12,000 LB. W/ PRE-INSTALLED HITCH BALL - does this make sense? The price tag is reasonable. I don't want to or feel the need to get a $3000 hitch given that my vehicle should be more than capable of comfortably towing our trailer with the Equalizer.

What's the general consensus on paying the dealership $500+ to install the hitch and train us on its use? It feels a bit steep to me considering I'm already paying them almost 6 figures for a trailer. I'm confident I can install this thing myself having looked through the manual, but I admittedly do not have a lot of experience with towing/hitches etc. so I don't want to avoid spending $500 on doing this right and have my trailer detatch and fly off a cliff

[tjdonahoe]

30% off list

[Shiny16]

Originally Posted by captahab1

Thanks again - that all makes sense. Appreciate your input. We're not planning on any motorcycles, haha, but I guess we'd have the weight for one!

Now I'm thinking through the hitch - from reading through the forums it seems like there are a ton of options. Based off the research I've done, I am leaning towards the Equalizer 1,200/12,000 LB. W/ PRE-INSTALLED HITCH BALL - does this make sense? The price tag is reasonable. I don't want to or feel the need to get a $3000 hitch given that my vehicle should be more than capable of comfortably towing our trailer with the Equalizer.

What's the general consensus on paying the dealership $500+ to install the hitch and train us on its use? It feels a bit steep to me considering I'm already paying them almost 6 figures for a trailer. I'm confident I can install this thing myself having looked through the manual, but I admittedly do not have a lot of experience with towing/hitches etc. so I don't want to avoid spending $500 on doing this right and have my trailer detatch and fly off a cliff

To clarify. Are you saying the want 500 dollars just to install and show you how to use the hitch? Or does this include the hitch?

[Foiled Again]

Amen. Too true.

Originally Posted by crh

for 6 months of use, i would buy another brand of camper. You can get a brand new one for around the money you have projected to lose on an new as.

[captahab1]

Originally Posted by Shiny16

To clarify. Are you saying the want 500 dollars just to install and show you how to use the hitch? Or does this include the hitch?

$500 to install, adjust, and train us on its use. Seems a bit steep to me, but to be honest it would be nice to have an experienced individual install the thing and walk me through how it works. Just don't think $500 is very reasonable given it can't take more than an hour or so. Or am I thinking about this wrong?

[Shiny16]

Originally Posted by captahab1

$500 to install, adjust, and train us on its use. Seems a bit steep to me, but to be honest it would be nice to have an experienced individual install the thing and walk me through how it works. Just don't think $500 is very reasonable given it can't take more than an hour or so. Or am I thinking about this wrong?

Is this from Colonial? I think they installed mine for free when I purchased the unit and hitch from them. 500 bucks is definitely too much. At most I would think an hour shop time rate. With that said it’s not very complicated to install or use and there are many videos to help you out as well as a few calls to Equalizer. My only question would be leaving the dealer using just a ball.Do you have far? I believe you said your buying a 250 so I assume you would be fine but I’m sure others with more experience can weigh in on that.

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by captahab1

$500 to install, adjust, and train us on its use. Seems a bit steep to me, but to be honest it would be nice to have an experienced individual install the thing and walk me through how it works. Just don't think $500 is very reasonable given it can't take more than an hour or so. Or am I thinking about this wrong?

Hi

Getting the whole thing set up and worked out is a couple of hours. When we got our trailer we paid a bit for the hitch *plus* install. If we had come with a hitch and wanted them to install it, there would have been a charge. No idea how much that was.

I'd look into exactly what the charge is for. If the entire hitch is included in the $500, that's a very good deal. On ours, simply buying one of the components can be the best part of $500.

Bob

[DewTheDew]

$500 seems a bit steep but having a well-set-up hitch is a good thing! We use the Equalizer with 1000 lb bars for our 27' FBT and that seems to work fine.

[aftermath]

Capt. I like your plan. You explained what you are going to do and then asked a few clear questions. As I read through this, the typical stuff started to pop up. Don't do this, do this instead, never buy new, you need a 3/4 diesel and on and on. It became quite comical in a hurry.


OK, to answer a few of your questions. Yes, you will need a WD hitch to pull your 25FB. Not a 23 or 27 as far as I remember your original post. The back hatch is not something I am familiar with. I am in the KISS camp and I would consider one of these as something that could cause trouble down the road. Of course you are not planning on keeping this all that long so my worry does not apply.


Both of your TV choices will work fine. I am a Tundra fan and have towed with one since 2008. I have a 2017 now and with my Equalizer hitch it has pulled us over many mountains out west without issue. They both have been dependable too and I am over 50K miles of towing. But...that said.....mine is not a daily driver. If I were to get something just to tow for 6 months or so, I would go with a Tundra. Mine is now 3 years old and I was offered $35K for it from the dealer. It cost me about $42K out the door in 2017. If I were going to keep a truck and drive it daily I would probably look at a Ford Eco Boost. Much better mileage when not towing.



If you buy a new trailer and take care of it you should be able to get a very good price selling it. Good luck. I am sure you are going to like your Airstream. You even might not want to sell it when the time comes up.

[captahab1]

As an update, we ended up purchasing a 2021 Flying Cloud 27FB. Towing with an F-250 with an equalizer hitch. First time towing was driving up the East Coast - there sure are a lot of places one 'cannot' drive with a trailer, propane etc. - see that we'll need to do some route planning ahead of time in order to avoid these restrictions. F250 towed the FC easily - hardly felt like it was there, even in windy conditions across bridges, passing or getting passed by trucks etc. Very happy we got a 3/4 ton truck vs. a 1/2 ton truck even though many might be fine with a 1/2 ton. Now we also have ~3k lbs of payload capacity to play with instead of ~1500 on the f150. If we were buying new, I might’ve gone with a custom-built F150 that could handle the FC more easily and have payload capacity to spare, but going used meant going with what was available.

Now we're in the process of playing Tetris with all of our stuff, trying to figure out whether we should get a tonneau cover or a cap and how we’re going to store the generator, bikes, gym equipment etc. We’ve all but settled on a retrax tonneau with the trax rail system, which will allow us to mount a couple bike racks along with another external storage rack for more gear. We toyed with the idea of storing the bikes on the front hitch, airstream bumper, on the tongue of airstream, on a leer cap etc., but settled on the tonneau configuration as the ‘least bad’ solution. Ideally, I’d prefer to get a leer cap and put the bike racks on top of that, but the wait for a leer top is ~8 weeks right now and we didn’t plan far enough in advance unfortunately. Also makes the bikes very hard to access and is the most expensive option.

Do you all who have tonneau covers just store your generators on their side? The f250 bed depth is only 21.1 inches and with a drop-in liner + a tonneau cover I think it’s going to be tough to fit a generator upright. We’re thinking of getting the 3100-Water Dual Fuel Inverter from Champion, which is 18.3 so it may just sneak under there.

[lsbrodsky]

I played that game with my 1/2 ton with a tonneau. What fits under, can I leave part of the tonneau open, where do I put this, etc? When I bought my 3/4 ton I put an ARE cap on and no longer play that game. I put a bed slide in and have been a happy camper ever since. My folding bike fits perfectly on the slide, under the cap. No issue with generators or anything. Not your plan but just suggesting the more expensive solution made me happier.
Larry

[aftermath]

Capt, thanks for coming back with your final decision. It sounds like a very good one. I live in a world of 27 envy. The 3/4 ton is perfect. You have so many more options with the heavier truck and putting on a cap is just one of them.



We live out west that has lots of open spaces. My wife gets a bit crazy when we "have" to drive through places like Denver, Portland, Salt Lake City and some others. We drive around most big cities and the thought of going up the East Coast with a trailer in tow makes me shudder. We drove from Louisville north and then all the way to Chicago. We did this in a rental car and I was always imagining having the Airstream behind us. You East Coast Airstreamers are my heroes. Enjoy the new setup. Best wishes.

[gypsydad]

Originally Posted by captahab1

Thanks to all for the comprehensive responses, much appreciated. This forum has been extremely helpful, great community. We ended up purchasing an FC 27FB with the hatch. We just wanted something new and this option plopped into our lap. Understand there are cost trade offs with going brand new with the intent to resell, but we can live with it.

In terms of the TV, we’re leaning towards a used F-250, Ram/Chevy 2500 etc. vs. an F-150, Tundra etc. Understand this may be a bit overkill, but given that we’re going to be driving around 6-8 months, and will be spending a significant amount of time in mountainous terrain, I’d rather be on the ‘safer’ side. I have towed trailers before, but nothing as heavy as this airstream and not for an extended period of time. We're also planning on putting a bunch of stuff in the back of the TV - generator (Honda 2000 seems like the one to get?), kayaks, bikes, extra water for extended boondocking etc so payload capacity is an important factor. Also, since we’re buying used, we can go with a ‘stock’ F-250 and don’t have to seek out a used F-150 that has the specific towing package we need.

Too bad your not here in Austin area...I am selling my "lightly used" 3400 Dual Fuel Champion. I just purchased a new Honda2200 propane powered generator from Genconnex which should arrive sometime today. Champion works great, drives the 15000AC unit, and runs fine in the bed of my F250; I just wanted something smaller and lighter to move in/out of the rear but still run propane. The Honda 2200 does the job at half the weight.

[gypsydad]

Originally Posted by captahab1

Thanks again - that all makes sense. Appreciate your input. We're not planning on any motorcycles, haha, but I guess we'd have the weight for one!

Now I'm thinking through the hitch - from reading through the forums it seems like there are a ton of options. Based off the research I've done, I am leaning towards the Equalizer 1,200/12,000 LB. W/ PRE-INSTALLED HITCH BALL - does this make sense? The price tag is reasonable. I don't want to or feel the need to get a $3000 hitch given that my vehicle should be more than capable of comfortably towing our trailer with the Equalizer.

What's the general consensus on paying the dealership $500+ to install the hitch and train us on its use? It feels a bit steep to me considering I'm already paying them almost 6 figures for a trailer. I'm confident I can install this thing myself having looked through the manual, but I admittedly do not have a lot of experience with towing/hitches etc. so I don't want to avoid spending $500 on doing this right and have my trailer detatch and fly off a cliff

my 2 cents: (worth maybe 1 cent!) The set up on these (assuming Equalizer type hitch or similar)should not take 2 hours...I negotiated my Blue Ox SP including installation into the deal on my last 2 AS's. Today, things a bit different for sure. My son taking delivery of 20X Basecamp model mid January in FL. They wanted to charge him $850 for the Equalizer and installation; I was able to get the new Blue Ox Track Pro locally for $560 with my Military discount last week....I talked the AS dealer in FLssales rep into installing the hitch for free, if we brought ours...at first she said no, but then said ok. Spoke with the service manager, and he said about an hour to set up. Easy installation if you look on line from which ever model you decide on. I would not pay $500 for installation unless that price comes with a "good" hitch.