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

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by 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.

Hi

Generator on it's side is a really bad idea. Oil pours out all over the place ....

Simple answer: get a generator that fits under the cover.

Bob

[Bill M.]

I use a fiberglass clam shell cover that adds about 4 inches of height to the bed. I would pick the generator I wanted and look for a bed cover that worked with it.

I am making a bet: I bet you do not sell this rig after 6 months. Sounds like you picked a good one.

[gypsydad]

Originally Posted by 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.

We have the tri-fold Xtang hard cover which we also had for our F150. It locks up with the tailgate closed but also folds up nice when you need to get in the bed, using the tailgate step. I would not get the slide out nor the cover, unless you really need that. Eats into to much payload... We put our bikes on the Fiama bike rack on rear of the AS; everything else, including generator fit nicely under the tri-fold cover. Generators don't store on their side...leaks. The Champion 3400 dual fuel or Honda/Yamaha 2200 series and others, fit nicely under the hard cover.

[DewTheDew]

Originally Posted by 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.

I grew up and lived much of my life just south of you in the Tri Cities. It has taken some getting used to, driving in cities and just an overall higher density of people and cars. But it's not that bad. I'm no hero or professional driver but I managed to pull our 27FC up I-95 yesterday from South Carolina and through DC evening traffic; in some ways it is less stressful than driving a car. With the Airstream I pretty much park in the right lane and go about 68 in a 70 but when I'm driving a car I am always wanting to drive fast and getting pissed at the left-lane riders also going 68 in a 70!! Basically I just imagine I am driving in snow and it works out well. I mean, I wouldn't drive in Manhattan but it's mostly just keeping a sharp eye out for lanes suddenly ending when driving on interstate highways through major cities (I'm looking at you, Atlanta!!).