Flying Cloud 23' vs Caravel 22'

[bgalakazam]

Sorry if wrong category. I am still doing my research on trailers and am set between a 22 Caravel or 22 Bambi. Right now we are 2 adults, 2 small children. Should a 3rd be on the way by the time I go back to the states to purchase, it makes the choice easy - FC 25' with a bunk.

For the thread purpose, what specific benefits will the FC 23' have over a Caravel 22' for my current situation? I can clearly see the Caravel over Bambi benefits. Not sure I see the ~$10k difference between the FC and Caravel, thought. TV is not in the equation or an issue. Use will mostly be weekend trips.

Thanks in advance.

[uraljohn]

2 adults and soon 3 kids. Buy your second trailer first. Go straight to the 25' AS at the very least. 5 people in a 25' AS on a rainy day can get real small real quick.
A 25' may be still just barley big enough. Think and purchase for the future. Way less expensive that way.

[Rich Jenkins]

Originally Posted by uraljohn

2 adults and soon 3 kids. Buy your second trailer first. Go straight to the 25' AS at the very least. 5 people in a 25' AS on a rainy day can get real small real quick.
A 25' may be still just barley big enough. Think and purchase for the future. Way less expensive that way.

This right here. ^^^

100% agree.

We've (just the two of us) owned two 23' trailers. A couple months ago we met some friends (just the two of them) that just bought a 22' Caravel. They liked it a lot. We looked at them before settling on the 23' floor plan, mostly because of the full width bathroom.

We previously had a 30RB we used for extended travel 2017-2018, so we know how useful the extra space it, but this time around we wanted a smaller rig.

I don't see how two adult and two kids could get along in a 22'/23' trailer, let alone with another baby added to the mix. Wow. But who knows, some families make it work, and work well.

As to the original question: The FC 23 will have dual axles, the Bambi/Caravel singles. I haven't looked at weights/capacities but they will have different values. (I'd have to go look at the spec sheet as to other differences, we didn't seriously consider a Bambi/Caravel very long.)

EDIT: Looks like the 23FC comes with 2 30 lb propane tanks vs. 2 20 lb tanks in the Caravel.

EDIT: Freshwater and Gray tanks on the FC are bigger.

EDIT: NCC is 1,000 lbs on the FC and 800 on the Caravel.

EDIT: Fridge is 6.8 ft cu on the FC, 4.3 ft cu on the Caravel.

[Dennis C]

I agree with your comments on a 22-footer or a 23-footer being tight for a family. My wife and I and our dog camp in our International 23FB, and it’s crowded for us sometimes. We wanted a small trailer and we are happy with it, but I can’t imagine having kids in it with us.

[Brian R.]

I have a 22' Caravel and love it. But there are only two of us. I think it would be tight for your family.


The Caravel has a narrower body than the FC, and--as already noted--is a single axle whereas the FC is a tandem. So the Caravel GVWR is lower. It will carry less cargo and have smaller tanks.


I agree you'll probably be happier with something larger than either of these units.

[hikingcamera]

A lot depends on your use case as well as your personal preferences. For us (2 adults, 2 young kids), 23 was big. Almost, perhaps too big. We use our trailer for camping, we don't live full time in it. We like small for it's flexibility and maneuverability. We get into smaller campsites, we don't have to plan as far in advance because we can fit in most places (in our old trailers, we could fit almost anywhere, even in tent sites). But we were able to get one of the last 23 CBB's (formerly the 23D). That floor plan is much better for a family. It can realistically sleep 5, especially if two smaller folks can fit on the corner bed. But if you are living in it full time, it would be hard, having to switch up the front cabinets all the time between living and sleeping. For us, camping, we can even leave the table down much of the time, we are spending a lot of our time outside. Less so in the winter. We do take long trips though (3 weeks has been our longest so far, and with the new 23CB, we plan to eventually do eve longer.)



A lot of people try to tell me why I should want something bigger (both TV and trailer). For us, 23 is as big a we'll go. Maybe someday when the kids are off to college, we'll upgrade to a smaller trailer. Or maybe we'll just remodel this one. (Caveat, we have not yet gone camping in this trailer, we just got it, but our previous trailers were 17 and 19 feet, so we knew that this step up would be plenty big for our needs.) We are willing to make the sacrifices to stay small, more fuel efficient, etc.


But I also have no judgement for those who want bigger for themselves. And you should think about what your tendencies are there. Certainly it is still good advice to think further down the road about what trailer will do right for you. For us, we had to think about the nearer term (kiddos growing up), because in the longer term we might want something smaller, or maybe just the same size with a different configuration.

[Rich Jenkins]

Originally Posted by Brian R.

The Caravel has a narrower body than the FC, and--as already noted--is a single axle whereas the FC is a tandem. So the Caravel GVWR is lower. It will carry less cargo and have smaller tanks.

Interestingly enough, the 23FC and 22 Caravel are both 8’ wide. It’s one of the reasons the 25FC feels much more spacious inside, because being 8’6”, it is.

[GetawA-S]

As of 2019, the 22’er was narrower. The 2020 was made 8’ wide,
We went from a Bambi Sport to a FC23’er. Biggest differences in terms of livability were more overhead storage, bed easier to make, bigger fridge, bigger tanks. I would consider these the most important for a young family, and agree that a 25’er may be the way to go. The hatch, if still available, with a screen room might be a sanity saver,
While using the trailer only for weekend trips will allow for reduced cargo, it may not make as much difference as you think. You may get tired of shuffling and repacking for each different destination.
If you do choose a smaller size, consider a heavy duty van for your tow vehicle. Some are available in AWD, if that’s a requirement. Our E350 made trips with our two kids (now grown) much more enjoyable.
Happy travels!

[Wazbro]

You should consider that if you're buying new/ordering, the last i heard some were saying up to a year to get the trailer they ordered. So if you come back to the states then order your trailer the third child may be born before you get your trailer.

[Dennis C]

As I recall, the 23 has a queen sized bed and the 22 has a full sized bed. This was one of the reasons we went with the 23FB.

[hikingcamera]

Originally Posted by Dennis C

As I recall, the 23 has a queen sized bed and the 22 has a full sized bed. This was one of the reasons we went with the 23FB.

Perhaps even more major, the 22 the inner sleeper has to climb over the outer sleeper to get out. There is no way to walk around the bed like in the 23. That was how our old trailer was, and it got real old.

[DogMomDeb]

We started at the 19 ft and worked our way up. I really liked the dinette better in the 23 CB model (more floor room for the dog) but the husband liked the bigger bed in the 23. So that’s what we ordered.

[hikingcamera]

Originally Posted by DogMomDeb

We started at the 19 ft and worked our way up. I really liked the dinette better in the 23 CB model (more floor room for the dog) but the husband liked the bigger bed in the 23. So that’s what we ordered.

Yeah, I hate how wobbly the dinette is in the 23FB. My wife and I plan to sleep in the dinette in our 23CB and the kids will take the corner bed and bunk.

[Dennis C]

Our dinette is rock solid. You can adjust/tighten it…

[DogMomDeb]

Originally Posted by hikingcamera

Yeah, I hate how wobbly the dinette is in the 23FB. My wife and I plan to sleep in the dinette in our 23CB and the kids will take the corner bed and bunk.

My husband keeps saying that I get to sleep on the dinette bed and he and the dog will take the queen bed. No.
We really want to convert the queen to twins as soon as we can.

[hikingcamera]

Originally Posted by DogMomDeb

We really want to convert the queen to twins as soon as we can.

Yeah, when we were looking at the FB, we were really disappointed with the lack of twin bed options.

[DogMomDeb]

Originally Posted by hikingcamera

Yeah, when we were looking at the FB, we were really disappointed with the lack of twin bed options.

At the time we ordered we could have still gotten the Globetrotter 23 with twins. We didn’t want to spend the extra $20,000-30,000 for that model. We didn’t want all the upgrades with the GT model just the twin beds. Of course if we had ordered the GT, the order probably would have been cancelled leaving us to order something else.

[hikingcamera]

Originally Posted by DogMomDeb

At the time we ordered we could have still gotten the Globetrotter 23 with twins. We didn’t want to spend the extra $20,000-30,000 for that model. We didn’t want all the upgrades with the GT model just the twin beds. Of course if we had ordered the GT, the order probably would have been cancelled leaving us to order something else.

Yeah, we were in the same boat. We also
Didn’t want the heavier Globetrotter. Luckily we were able to get in on the las of the 23CB’s even though they had already been wiped from the website.

[bgalakazam]

Thank you for the input. I am more and more leaning toward a FC 25’ After reading. Caravel 22’ will always be on my back mind, but for a family the FC 25+ seems better. Unless the 23cb unicorns come back

[Dennis C]

Glad to hear that you’ve chosen a direction. I have no idea about your tow vehicle situation, but make sure that you consider that many vehicles that are capable of towing a 22 or a 23 are NOT capable of towing a 25. Of course there are exceptions, but the tongue weight of the 25 is more than double that of the 23. Most half ton trucks will exceed their payload limits towing a 25 footer with a family and gear. I think you should buy the trailer that’s right for you and your family, but you’ll need to make sure that you can safely pull it, control it, and stop it.