Anyone towed a 70"s 31ft Airstream?

In my experience towing is towing...after a few tows anything no matter the size and with the right setup is doable and you become comfortable with it. The right setup is the key.

With a 31 ft you'll want at least a 3/4 ton tow vehicle, pickup, van or suburban type vehicle. You can expect no more than 12MPG average when towing, I would use 10MPG as a rule of thumb for decision making process. Most TT owners report 6 to 12 MPG depending on their rig and driving style so 10MPG is a good figure to use.

As we have owned 3 Airstreams I feel qualified to comment. You would be impressed with how well they tow. The mpg is unknown as I don't know what tow v you are using. Your mpg will be better with an Airstream than any other brand of trailer or 5th wheel due to shape and design. The storage space is there it is just reachable from the inside of the RV rather than the outside. This reduces leaks and prevents theft. If I was going to full time I would either purchase a large class A or an Airstream. The Airstream will last much longer with fewer maintenance issues. I wish I had kept our first Airstream. I would have saved a lot of money as we have owned a class A, a 5th wheel, and now an Airstream again.

DownTheAvenue wrote:

donn0128 wrote:
Towing is about the same as towing anything else. Suitable for full timing? Not likely unless your used to the minimalist life. Theey have a mystique about them that just does not stand up to everyday life. Yea, they were built well, but still use the same appliances as every other RV brand on the market. The aerodynamic shape reduces storage to nearly nonexistant.

Not sure where these opinions come from, but having owned Airstream and conventional wood framed RV, I can tell you because of thoughtful design and engineering, I had more storage in a 25' Airstream than a 30' conventional RV.

Not sure what "They have a mystique about them that does not stand up to everyday life." means, but I can tell you I lived full time in my Airstream for many years quite successfully.

With all due respect, I bet donn0128 has never owned or even towed an Airstream.

Long story short, but friends went from a 15 foot Terry to a 25 foot AS. Parked door to door we helped them move stuff from old to new. After a couple of hours wife yells, "were out of room" so about 25% of the stuff from the old trailer went in the garage. Airstream because of their design have less sheer volume. Smaller overhead cabinets, less overall storage space foot for foot than a box shape trailer.

My mom and dad had a 31 foot 71 Airstream that they towed with a Chevy Suburban (454). They did not full time but spent 6 months a year in it and pulled it from Ohio to Florida, Nova Scotia and south into Mexico. The Suburban got around 15 mpg as an average and that dropped to about 11 mpg when pulling the Airstream. 454's were not known to be miserly, but pulled this setup effortlessly.

They really enjoyed their trailer and my dad was impressed with the low exterior maintenance that he had to do compared to other trailer owners they encountered. I have used the Airstream several times and alway thought it towed, setup and lived quite easily.

donn0128 wrote:
Towing is about the same as towing anything else. Suitable for full timing? Not likely unless your used to the minimalist life. Theey have a mystique about them that just does not stand up to everyday life. Yea, they were built well, but still use the same appliances as every other RV brand on the market. The aerodynamic shape reduces storage to nearly nonexistant.

Not sure where these opinions come from, but having owned Airstream and conventional wood framed RV, I can tell you because of thoughtful design and engineering, I had more storage in a 25' Airstream than a 30' conventional RV.

Not sure what "They have a mystique about them that does not stand up to everyday life." means, but I can tell you I lived full time in my Airstream for many years quite successfully.

With all due respect, I bet donn0128 has never owned or even towed an Airstream.

35 yrs ago a close friend had a 27 Airstream and I had a 24 Shasta.When we traveled together he got about 1 mpg better than I did.Both of us had 360 Ford trucks.

The only problem I've seen people have is that they are too low to the ground and tend to scrape when entering or leaving places like gas stations.
Some folks have them raised a bit.

Towing is about the same as towing anything else. Suitable for full timing? Not likely unless your used to the minimalist life. Theey have a mystique about them that just does not stand up to everyday life. Yea, they were built well, but still use the same appliances as every other RV brand on the market. The aerodynamic shape reduces storage to nearly nonexistant.