Rented a 19 foot airstream last weekend for a short trip up to the eastern Sierra. Well within the towing ability of my stock 2016 200. It towed well but the rear end on my 200 was sagging badly. I didn’t have a weight distribution hitch. My question is whether I should invest in airbags, weight distribution hitch or beefier suspension? I’ve done some backcountry camping without a trailer and when fully loaded the rear sags badly also. I’m planning many more trips with my 200 and just want the best set up possible; not necesssarily the most expensive.
Do you tow an Airstream?
- Thread starter mark71
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Priority should be a weight distribution hitch. Surprised they didn't supply one? It's important for a number of reasons:
1) translates and restores weight back to the front axle (otherwise it will feel light and potentially be twitchy)
2) translates tongue weight back to the trailer axles
3) levels the tow vehicle
4) through the above and some other actions, WD itself is the biggest contributor to sway control and increased stability
Airbags can also be a helpful tool. One should rely on WD to level the vehicle, but airbags does help control the weight better as it effectively increases the rear spring rate.
Just remember if you mix WD and airbags, that you absolutely need to inflate the airbags first, then dial in the WD after. Might take several iterations to get the right mix. Doing it the other way around will cause the airbags to negate the WD tension/action.
For a smaller 19ft airstream, a simple lightweight Andersen WD would work great.
1) translates and restores weight back to the front axle (otherwise it will feel light and potentially be twitchy)
2) translates tongue weight back to the trailer axles
3) levels the tow vehicle
4) through the above and some other actions, WD itself is the biggest contributor to sway control and increased stability
Airbags can also be a helpful tool. One should rely on WD to level the vehicle, but airbags does help control the weight better as it effectively increases the rear spring rate.
Just remember if you mix WD and airbags, that you absolutely need to inflate the airbags first, then dial in the WD after. Might take several iterations to get the right mix. Doing it the other way around will cause the airbags to negate the WD tension/action.
For a smaller 19ft airstream, a simple lightweight Andersen WD would work great.
If you load up your vehicle regularly, I 'd suggest WD hitch first, new rear springs second, air bags third. For the springs look for a variable rate spring. The factory Toyota spring rate is 170#/in. I think the OME variable springs start at 170#/in and go up to 270#/in as they compress. That will keep the factor ride quality when unladen but keep the rear from sagging too much when loaded. BTW the sagging rear problem is why most US truck manufacturers leave about a 1-1.5" rake, so if you've lifted your truck or even installed the front strut spacers that will remove the rake and exacerbate the sagging rear problem.
I'm very happy with my BlueOx WD hitch with 1000# bars. I hear the Andersen WD hitches are good but I've heard have trouble transferring more than 150-200# off the hitch. I'm not sure the tongue weight of the 19' Airstream but if it's more than 650# or so (including battery and full propane) or if you might eventually buy a longer trailer you may want to look at the BlueOx.
I'm very happy with my BlueOx WD hitch with 1000# bars. I hear the Andersen WD hitches are good but I've heard have trouble transferring more than 150-200# off the hitch. I'm not sure the tongue weight of the 19' Airstream but if it's more than 650# or so (including battery and full propane) or if you might eventually buy a longer trailer you may want to look at the BlueOx.
It looks like the Airstream 19 is 4500lbs gross and 550lbs tongue for weights. That 550lb tongue weight, plus what's in the truck, will sag the rear a lot. Like those posts above, go with a WDH first. That trailer is within the capability of the Andersen WDH to provide both weight distribution and anti-sway. But, if you ever want to tow anything heavier, you might want another WDH. I use an Andersen on my 16' trailer with 450 lbs of tongue weight and I like it a lot for it's ease of use and lightness. If my trailer were heavier, I'd get a heavier duty hitch.
Airbags are great, and I'd go with those too. They provide a very flexible suspension support setup for the various uses of the truck, from no load to full load. Unless you always have a heavy load (bumpers, sliders, big tires, etc.), you may not need heavier duty springs/shocks in the rear. If you do end up going with new suspension components (beyond just airbags), I suggest looking at the suspension as a complete system and consider upgrades on all 4 corners.
Airbags in my LC make towing easy. The travel trailer has a WD hitch but the boat trailer doesn't and neither does the 16' "camping" trailer so the airbags are a must. No effect on ride when aired down and no sag when the trailers are hitched up. And the trucks payload doesn't effect anything with the bags in use.
Since this post we've rented a 23ft International Signature with Queen bed and we liked it, but found it too cramped side to side to change diapers and whatnot. We also fully realized that we want to be able to camp in places like Boreas Pass outside of Breckenridge a few times a year. So we could either go big with a 27ft international to give us enough room to take care of kids or we could back down to the Basecamp and get the Grandparents to babysit while we travel and stay in cool places like Boreas Pass. We opted for the Basecamp option while our kids and future kids are too young to remember these trips anyway. We may eventually trade in for a 27ft when they get older. Gonna try to get the Basecamp this week. I ordered a Eazlift WD and Sway hitch 800lb tongue at from Amazon which should come in Tuesday. Hope to pick up Wednesday, we'll see.
What did you get instead? I have three kids, and it's getting cramped, but I just love having an Airstream.
I stepped up to a 2015 Lance 2185 this year for our family of 5 + a (big) dog. We previously had a 2005 Forest River Surveyor 235RS with double bunks. The 2185 has triple bunks in the back so our kids (13, 10, and 7) don't have to double-up or sleep on the dinette, and the dinette is U-shaped so all 5 of us fit around it.
They don't have the classic Airstream design, but Lance did a fantastic job squeezing everything into a 21' box (the Surveyor was 20'), the slide-out dinette adds a ton of floor space, and the build is definitely much higher quality than the Forest River I had previously.
I love the look of an Airstream but with a family of 5 floor space is at a premium. As much as I prefer for everyone to spend time outdoors instead of inside the camper, after 5 seasons in the Surveyor and two multi-week trips out west I had to acknowledge that sometimes we do spend time in the camper and were tripping over each other.
I likewise rented a 23' AS on our maiden trip with an AS. While it served us well for our week long trip for my family of 4 (kids then 2 and 5 at the time), we likewise found it cozy. The other big thing that jumped out at me was water capacity (23 fresh, 21 grey, 18 black). We were still new to the experience, which is to say we probably weren't conserving very well, but we needed to fill and dump every 2 days.
From following various RV boards, it does seem the natural progression is to up-size. Some switching up 2-3 times.
When I bought, I focused on tank size. Also leaned on slightly larger than slightly smaller in trailer size. For Airstreams at least, their widebody (8.5ft width) starts at the 25' and up. Shorter ones are either 7.5' (<20') or 8' (22'/23'). Those half foot increments make a huge difference internally, much much more than it would seem.
After traveling in my 28FB AS the last couple years, it's a great size for us. It's basically two rooms (family and bedroom on either end), so there's enough space for people to escape into their own corner. I can say we'd be happy in a 25' also. AS's measure their lengths differently than every other manufacturer, as it includes bumper to couple. Versus all others that are quoting trailer body size.
The AS's do give up some functionality for vanity. Their curved bodies result in less storage, especially external storage.
Travel trailers are a very personal choice when it comes to preferences and how we use them. I think a Basecamp would be more than awesome, if boondocking and travel deeper into the backcountry is a priority. That when paired with a nice ground tent to host a family of 4 between Basecamp and tent would be absolutely workable in my mind (as I do a bunch of tent camping too). It would encourage more time in the actual outdoors rather than holed up in the TT.
In 2011 (kids 4 and 6 then) we switched from an airstream 27FB to a 2012 Outdoor RV BlackRock 22 BHS because we started camping much more and the airstream was getting cramped. The BlackRock has bunks that make a world of difference for the kids. It also has a slide out dinette and much more storage and headroom. And just feels so much bigger. Also it is 4 season rated, although we haven’t used it in the winter have been in the teens (F) hunting in the fall and it is very well insulated.
My wife and I really liked the airstream BK (before kids) and we got it before we moved to Alaska. But we had the airstream for 7 years and now we’ve had the ORV the same and I honistly have to say in terms of function the ORV is better in every way. The only advantage the airstream had was visual appearance and some will argue longevity although my ORV (and others like Lance) are extremely well built.
I would absolutely agree with @coleAK 's comments. I looked pretty hard into a Lance 2185 that @linuxgod has. That would be my vote for a larger family and pet. The Airstream makes several compromises on account of its architecture. Functional space and storage being a huge one. At best, Airstreams are a 2 seasons camper that can handle some extreme hot and cold in a pinch. Aluminum is rather known for it's conductive properties after all. It uses a ton of propane to keep warm in deep winter. On the flip side, for summer use I happen to be upgrading the A/C unit on my camper at the moment, since a 13.5k unit struggles with the size of camper I have. I've heard A/C's work better in well insulated campers versus the tin can I have.
Picked up the Basecamp X today. The rear sag is real. Looks much worse than it is because I installed the front spacers a while back. Planning on new Icon suspension in the next year.
The only things I've done to this 2016 is frontrunner roof rack, stock size bfg ko2, and front spacers. My MPG pulling the Basecamp has been 65mph/11.7mpg, 70mph/high 10's, 75mph/low 10's high 9's. Does that seem low for what I've done to the 2016 and pulling a Basecamp?
The only things I've done to this 2016 is frontrunner roof rack, stock size bfg ko2, and front spacers. My MPG pulling the Basecamp has been 65mph/11.7mpg, 70mph/high 10's, 75mph/low 10's high 9's. Does that seem low for what I've done to the 2016 and pulling a Basecamp?
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Picked up the Basecamp X today. The rear sag is real. Looks much worse than it is because I installed the front spacers a while back. Planning on new Icon suspension in the next year.
The only things I've done to this 2016 is frontrunner roof rack, stock size bfg ko2, and front spacers. My MPG pulling the Basecamp has been 65mph/11.7mpg, 70mph/high 10's, 75mph/low 10's high 9's. Does that seem low for what I've done to the 2016 and pulling a Basecamp?
Amazing how much sag is present for such a small trailer and low tongue weight. I’d look into some airbags.
Will need more pics of course! That Base-X and LC is a nice pairing.
Do you have a WD hitch on her? Not so much for sway resistance as it's not completely necessary at this size of trailer, but then again more margin of stability is always a good thing. A WD will do wonders for leveling the rig. I'd recommend something light, compact, easy to use, and pretty...something like an Anderson No-Sway WD hitch. I think you hit the nail on the head that it's largely due to the leveling kit that you're seeing this degree of sag.
Another easy thing you could do is to add 20mm trim packers in the rear to bring back just a tad more stock stink bug-ness to accommodate load without this measure of sag. Airbags could be a solid solution too.
In terms of MPG, it's seems about .5-1 gallon lower mpg than I would have imagined. I think more of it has to do with the nose high attitude of the LC than it would seem as it's non-aerodynamic bottom side is just gobbling air.
Do you have a WD hitch on her? Not so much for sway resistance as it's not completely necessary at this size of trailer, but then again more margin of stability is always a good thing. A WD will do wonders for leveling the rig. I'd recommend something light, compact, easy to use, and pretty...something like an Anderson No-Sway WD hitch. I think you hit the nail on the head that it's largely due to the leveling kit that you're seeing this degree of sag.
Another easy thing you could do is to add 20mm trim packers in the rear to bring back just a tad more stock stink bug-ness to accommodate load without this measure of sag. Airbags could be a solid solution too.
In terms of MPG, it's seems about .5-1 gallon lower mpg than I would have imagined. I think more of it has to do with the nose high attitude of the LC than it would seem as it's non-aerodynamic bottom side is just gobbling air.
Picked up the Basecamp X today. The rear sag is real. Looks much worse than it is because I installed the front spacers a while back. Planning on new Icon suspension in the next year.
The only things I've done to this 2016 is frontrunner roof rack, stock size bfg ko2, and front spacers. My MPG pulling the Basecamp has been 65mph/11.7mpg, 70mph/high 10's, 75mph/low 10's high 9's. Does that seem low for what I've done to the 2016 and pulling a Basecamp?
I think you’re about right on mpg. Hooking up almost anything to the hitch whacks mpg because of the aerodynamics. Nice base camp.
^^^Agreed, those MPG numbers are similar or slightly better than what I get towing our 3000 lb trailer around the Rockies. Also with KO2s in the stock size, no lift. Nice setup!
First trip out... this area has water on one side, timber on the other. Only two ways in and both are super soggy for about 50 yards. Land Cruiser and the Basecamp both sank a few inches into the mud the whole 50 yards. I got worried, but we made it through with no issue.
Ahh, I forgot I took this pic after disconnecting
