Towing Airstreams Sport 22FB

Curious, which one do you have? I'm trying to decide between 16' or 19' Bambi.

 

I have the Caravel 22'

 

Are you towing it with the taco? That’s one that’s on my maybe list.

<edit>. Saw that you are. In general, are you happy with the towing performance and are you getting over 12 mpg?

 

I primarily tow it with my Tundra if I'm taking the wife and our four dogs, BUT I have towed it with the Tacoma on a few trips and it does fine. Loaded with water, two propane tanks and gear it comes it at just under 5,000 lbs and the Tacoma handles it well. Any other 5k trailer and it might not do as well but the Airstream tows so nice and offers very little wind resistance and other than high elevation passes, keeping speed is also not a problem.

 

Spectacular! We’re likely to buy something in the next year or two, and I’ve been debating what to get. Wifey has the new full size Disco, so I have a backup plan. That’s a supercharged 3.0, but rated at 8.5k lbs I think. Other backup plan is ‘oh honey.... we can take yours or I can buy these turbo thingies’.

 

I looked for over a year for a deal. I’m frugal! I paid $16,300 last year. Sold it last week for $17500 because all our National Park reservations which took like a year to get were cancelled due to COVID. Had scheduled a cross country trip but trailer was sitting in garage. I don’t do “sitting money”.

 

Buy it if you want it. 3600lbs dry 22' trailer the Taco will be adequate. Upgraded rear suspension will be necessary IMO.

In the Rockies you'll be in 2nd gear near redline sometimes trying to pass the slowest 18-wheelers on the steep grades. You have to keep the revs up and plan ahead so you don't lose momentum.

 

I’m sorry man. At least you made some money. I’m with you too. I also hate when things just sit.

 

I’ve got a 2008 cruiser fun finder 19ft with a dry weight around 3000lbs but it has a pretty flat nose and catches lots of Wind hold back on my 05 Tacoma v6 dbl with auto trans. I’m not impressed with the setup and am planning to add a tundra to the collection soon hopefully.

 

Late reply, but thought I'd share that I've towed my Airstream Sport 22 FB from Bay Area California to National Parks like (Capitol Reef, Bryce, Canyonlands, Archies, and Zion) and Monument Valley. It works, but I highly recommend the towing package, an add a leaf (overload left in) or a leaf pack to avoid sag. I have an add a leaf and it works fine and plan to upgrade later. I have not have any over heating. Highest grade I've come across based on signs were 11% and elevations at 8300 u elevation.

If one were to choose a Tundra over a Tacoma for towing somewhere around 4K, I'd say that's the better option overall. I just didn't get the Tundra because it wouldn't fit in my garage. Maybe in the future. However, my Tacoma does fine. I enjoy seeing other Tacos tow. Towing is not a race. Safety first.

On a side note. The Sport 22 FB is the narrowest trailer in the Bambi line. The new Caravel line up is even heavier. I previously had the Sport 16 RB and it was a better towing experience because it was lighter. The new models out there now are slightly wider where you'll need to get towing mirrors.

 

Do you not use a weight distribution hitch?

Obviously it has its own caveats vs a stronger leaf pack, but having the detriments be temporary may be better than the detriments of a stiffer unloaded rear all the other time.

Full disclosure: I use a WDH with my stock setup and will also use it when I put in my new Dobinson leaf pack. Was just curious.

 

Yes I do. I use an Equalizer WDH. It definitely helps.

 

Right on.

We've got an Escape 19 due in March 2021 (assuming we are able to sell our NoBo before then) and it's only marginally smaller than yours (but it's also dual axle). Really curious to see how it tows relative to our NoBo 16.5 since it should be a bit more aerodynamic, but not as aerodynamic as your Airstream.

Once I'm in S4 with ECT, I really have no huge qualms about towing with the 3rd gen Tacoma. Granted, I haven't done any real mountain passes but definitely get a little elevation change being in Washington State. As long as you're okay with winding the engine up a bit every once in a while, it's really fine power-wise and even braking-wise with the trailer brakes doing their job.

I don't get any random gear hunting and after a little bit of experience, you know when the truck is going to want to downshift. So once I'm at the point where it's obvious I've used up all of my momentum on a climb, I just manually change it to 3rd gear until I crest the hill and while in 3rd gear the truck pulls as well as a V8; you're just at 3500-4000 RPM, but whatever.

Also yeah, going into the trip setting your expectations for 10mpg and planning fill-ups once you're at 1/4 tank of gas, it really isn't as dramatic as people make it out to be.

 

Yep. I’ve found 3rd gear to be a mini-beast when pulling hills at 4K+ rpm.

 

the OVTune really helps too. I pull a Grand Design 17MKE.

 

Dont understand the get a 3/4 ton comment. Going to be driving and vacationing a bit in the mountains. Ok. He will be slow for a few days or weeks. Thats not worth 30k more truck. Doong it daily. Ok. Thats a different story.