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Old 01-06-2020, 11:48 PM   #21
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Originally Posted by Ken in Washington View Post
I did not mean to raise hackles by mentioning Airstream. I wanted to talk about the Bigfoot trailer. There are much less hostile forums for talking Airstream if that was the intention.

Huh? Apparently i didn't read the same thread.
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Old 01-06-2020, 11:51 PM   #22
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Huh? Apparently i didn't read the same thread.
I agree. What hostility?
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Old 01-07-2020, 01:22 AM   #23
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I agree. What hostility?
Hostile to AS? I got a chuckle out of that...I like the AS the interior decor, I just like the BF more overall.

I have a 2019 BF and put in the onboard Cummins Onan 2500 LP generator. It is very convenient, I just wish it were a bit larger. As it is we are adjusting to having to pick and choose which electric appliances to run. I had the dealership install a Microair Easystart and have no problems at all with the AC. Still and all, I really like my Honda eu3000is...
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Old 01-07-2020, 06:09 AM   #24
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Originally Posted by Rzrbrn View Post
Tom the 25RQ is a 30 amp unit. Did you upgrade to 50 amp service? If not, will the 30 amp service handle the 15K AC unit you plan to install?
Good question. Can you upgrade to a 50 amp service?
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Old 01-07-2020, 07:09 AM   #25
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Our neighbor has has an Airstream International that is a couple years old, his dream to begin with has turned into his nightmare. I suggest joining the owner's forums for both units and listening to firsthand accounts. Airstreams before the Thor purchase are a good investment, after that they are just like every other unit that Thor produces under a variety of names. Have you heard that Forest River is bad? If so, Thor has a worse reputation. At best, Airstream is a 3 season trailer, and the neighbor cooks in the summer sun of Kansas. "Eye Candy"? Would you buy a house for looks only? What about an auto/truck because of the way it looks even if it had a bad reputation for functionality? Your choice as you will live with it, and take a look at the number of used Airstream units that are almost new on RVTrader. We have had 9 RVs or 10 maybe and quality has not gotten better over the years on any of them.
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Old 01-07-2020, 08:35 AM   #26
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Originally Posted by Rzrbrn View Post
Tom the 25RQ is a 30 amp unit. Did you upgrade to 50 amp service? If not, will the 30 amp service handle the 15K AC unit you plan to install?
Back again after some research. I went through Bigfoots feature list and a 50 amp service is not mentioned and on thinking about it it's not the type of thing that could be easily done.

All of the AC units use a similar amount of electricity. More specifically less than 15 amps. The Bigfoot is prewired for roof air so I would think any roof air would work.

There was a thread about not being able to run the electric side of the water heater and the AC at the same time because they shared the same breaker. Since you have a 25 RQ what size is the breaker for that circuit.

The Atwood unit I am most interested in has capacitor start and if that wasn't enough I could install one of those soft start rigs that I think you mentioned. This was a very good question and I am glad you brought it up. I will be more careful now before I make a purchase. One of the main reasons that I am going to the Florida RV super show is to research ACs and Solar systems.

Here is an interesting tidbit. Over at etrailer.com they let you filter their AC units by amps.

11.3 amps for a 13,500 BTU Advent
13.9 amps for a 15,000 BTU Advent
14.6 amps for a 14,500 BTU Furrion
15.4 amps for a 15,500 BTU Furrion
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Old 01-07-2020, 08:37 AM   #27
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MYTH: Mega-RV-maker Thor bought and ruined Airstream.

REALITY: Wade Thompson and Peter Orthwein owned the Hi-Lo trailer brand. They incorporated as Thor (Th-Or) in 1980 when they bought Airstream. Airstream was then owned by Beatrice Foods and in danger of bankruptcy (Wikipedia).

You might as well say Thor saved Airstream.

Since then Thor has expanded tremendously and become a “mega-RV-maker.” Early acquisitions focused on higher-end brands, but they later moved into low-end products. The 90’s saw the greatest growth.

Clearly Airstream suffered in the expansion. The decline in quality seems more of a gradual slide than a single event.
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Old 01-07-2020, 11:39 AM   #28
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ThomasC View Post

All of the AC units use a similar amount of electricity. More specifically less than 15 amps. The Bigfoot is prewired for roof air so I would think any roof air would work.

There was a thread about not being able to run the electric side of the water heater and the AC at the same time because they shared the same breaker. Since you have a 25 RQ what size is the breaker for that circuit.

The Atwood unit I am most interested in has capacitor start and if that wasn't enough I could install one of those soft start rigs that I think you mentioned. This was a very good question and I am glad you brought it up. I will be more careful now before I make a purchase. One of the main reasons that I am going to the Florida RV super show is to research ACs and Solar systems.

Here is an interesting tidbit. Over at etrailer.com they let you filter their AC units by amps.

11.3 amps for a 13,500 BTU Advent
13.9 amps for a 15,000 BTU Advent
14.6 amps for a 14,500 BTU Furrion
15.4 amps for a 15,500 BTU Furrion
Tom,

Let me jump in here, as I think you are still not understanding the loads and the 30 Amp shore power.

The reason you can not run the electric water heater and the AC at the same time, or the microwave and the AC at the same time, is not because they are on the same 15 amp breaker, it's because the starting load of the AC takes all of the shore power available in a startup surge. This occurs every time it cycles, which is repeatedly during a cooling period.

The shore power breaker is a 30 amp. The 13,500 BTU AC takes about 41 amps to start. The shore breaker can stand this overload long enough that the AC can get up to speed, about 1/2 second, but that's it. If the water heater is on at the same time it is already pulling about 12 amps. So, you would need 12 + 41= 53 amps, and that is too much. The same is true for the microwave, which can be a similar load to the water heater.

The Easy Start unit reduces the AC starting load from about 41 amps, to about 17 amps. So you would have a combined load of 17 + 12 = 29. This is still twice what a 15 amp breaker can carry, but below the rating of the 30 amp shore breaker. In this case, the two could run from shore power if they were on separate circuits in the trailer.

Also, a small generator cannot handle the surge load required by the AC to start, even if it can handle the running load. So, small generators will not start the AC, as the shore power connection will. But with the Easy Start, they will if they are at least a 2,000 watt unit. Again, the AC, with the Easy Start, draws about 17 amps to start. The 2,000 watt generator can supply 16.6, or so. Just enough. But if any other loads are on, it will not be enough.

The thing to remember here is that motors require about three times their running load, to start. And small generators are not capable of being overloaded to that degree. So it's not just a matter of adding up the running loads and matching that number with the generator output.

I'm not familiar with how the 25RQ is wired. But if one breaker runs two appliances, you might be able to add a breaker in the panel and then have separate breakers for each appliance. If the plugs for each appliance are daisy-chained, then probably not. But either way, you have to manage the power draw and realize it's different with a generator than from the shore connection, and it's not a matter of simply adding motor amps to resistance amps.
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Old 01-07-2020, 01:55 PM   #29
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Good post and I agree with most of what you said. It got me looking at the AC in my Styrofoam box. It is an original Brisk-Air, 13,500 BTU and it requires a 20 amp breaker. I checked in my panel and it has a 30 amp main and a 20 amp AC breaker plus a few other 15s and another 20 labeled misc. So obviously if you max out the AC and one other circuit you will trip the main.

My old farm house and barn still uses fuses and I quite naturally only use one heavy load item at a time. If I forget the air compressor on in the barn I will notice the lights flickering in the house. I do the same in the camper. AC, toaster, and microwave always run by themselves. I installed a proper shore plug in the barn for the camper and I still don't double up using my appliances.

I'm going to search the site for AC threads. Maybe I will start a thread for my up coming AC installation.
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Old 01-07-2020, 04:43 PM   #30
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We just stopped in an airstream dealer for the first time today. We saw it from the highway and circled back to check it out.

I make a distinction between being a camper vs. being an RV person. We are campers, and we are very happy with our Bigfoot for camping (getting out in nature, but able to dry off and have some heat).

I think the airstream is for RV people, those who want to take home on the road. The interior design is much more refined, and less suited to store all the accoutrements that a camper needs for an extended excursion.

In summary, It sounds like you want to have home on the road, and I think airstream is much closer to that.
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Old 01-07-2020, 07:17 PM   #31
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken in Washington View Post
I did not mean to raise hackles by mentioning Airstream. I wanted to talk about the Bigfoot trailer. There are much less hostile forums for talking Airstream if that was the intention.
Heck Ken, we don't even know you well enough to get hostile yet! Okay, that was just kidding. More seriously, I think this forum's pretty well moderated and folks mainly lean pretty well to the friendly side.

As for asking about one thing (Bigfoot) and folks getting focused on another (Airstream), well, drift happens.

I don't have a lot of Bigfoot knowledge, or know what all your needs and wants might be. Personally, I've fallen for some of the older 'moldy' fifth wheels, (check out these comfy-looking little swivel chairs!), but my restoration projects take so long that the dear wife would be justifiably distressed if I brought one home.

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Civilguy View Post
I was also very taken by the Airstream design aesthetic, long before I had any real interest in RVs or travel trailers. We looked closely at the 23FB; compared to the "similarly sized" molded fiberglass units, the 23 came up short on gray/black storage tank capacity, refrigerator capacity, and carrying capacity as best I recall.
Oops, that was a 22FB we had compared back in 2017. Out of curiosity, I added a couple of newer model 23FB's. Naturally, this is not in any manner comprehensive or even an apples-to-apples comparison. You might even reverse the color coding for some criteria, with a wider trailer being green and a narrower one red.

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Old 01-11-2020, 11:46 AM   #32
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AC + water heater

There was a thread about not being able to run the electric side of the water heater and the AC at the same time because they shared the same breaker. Since you have a 25 RQ what size is the breaker for that circuit.

We have owned a 2018 25RQ for 1.5 years. We run the water heater and AC together all the time, we are warm weather campers so the AC pretty much run constantly where we go. I don't think we have a soft start on our AC.

Maybe we've just been lucky.
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Old 01-11-2020, 12:03 PM   #33
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Jim, I have a 2019 BF 25RQ with 11K AC and look forward to seeing responses to your question regarding the running of both AC and water heater at the same time. We have not run both yet it but expect to this season. I do have a micro air softitart installed.
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Old 01-11-2020, 12:46 PM   #34
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The first paragraph was supposed to be a quote from ThomasC, for some reason it did't highlight.

Second paragraph was a response about our camper. I will check the AC though because I think some AC do come with soft start.
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Old 01-11-2020, 02:51 PM   #35
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RV Super Show next Week

I will have to see what kind of information I can get at the show. I assume any 30 amp camper will have similar limitations. You can only do so much with 30 amps.

The fact that you are running the water heater and the AC at the same time has me thinking there won't be any problems installing any roof AC. It is better to be safe than sorry though. After the show I am going to start a Bigfoot AC thread.
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Old 01-11-2020, 03:41 PM   #36
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Jim you are correct. The BF comes with a soft start capacitor. I mis stated. I had the dealership install a Microair Easystart, which is a bit different and hopefully, easier on the AC.
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Old 01-11-2020, 05:33 PM   #37
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I also always wanted an Airstream. Until I saw first hand what 3/8" hail did to one in Texas.

The Airstream web site is a good read:

Hail damage pictures finally♦ - Airstream Forums

IMHO, if you are planning on being where hail falls, go fiberglass.
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Old 01-11-2020, 05:40 PM   #38
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I've owned my BF 21FB 06 for 14yrs . It came with a full size RV fridge and separate freezer. I consideed selling my FB for the Oliver but stopped when I realize the fridge in the size I wanted was half the size of my BF fridge. It would mean I would have to bring a large cooler to hold all the food. I would reconsider the Oliver again once they have a full size fridge part of their design plan. Such a beautiful trailer indeed.
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Old 01-11-2020, 06:53 PM   #39
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We owned a 17ft Casita and my wife and I decided to “ Upsize”
We looked at Bigfoot but decided we could live with something less and that exactly what we ended up with
Bigfoot’s 4 season capabilities when you live in a cooler climate are worth far more than a single season trailer at a slightly lower cost .
There is truth in the old expression “ You get what you pay for “
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Old 01-11-2020, 07:29 PM   #40
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AC + water heater+microwave

On the electrical side of the BF 25RQ the water heater and microwave cannot be used at the same time. There is a three position electrical switch under the DS dinette table, Microwave, Off, Water Heater.

We can run AC with either one at the same time but not all three. In the Escape 21 if we had we the AC running with electric water heater and you used the microwave when the water heater and AC were running it would trip breakers. Our fix for that in the 21 was to just leave the water heater off until 15 minutes before we needed hot water.

We are thinking about doing away with that switch and just use the same practice we used in the 21.
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