FIRST TEST I Airstream Flying Cloud
FASHIONABLE GLAMPING WORDS SCOTT EVANS PHOTOGRAPHS RENZ DIMAANDAL, DARREN MARTIN
ot many products actually deserve the label “iconic,” but Airstream travel trailers have earned it. Most people can’t tell a matte-white Starcraft from a Chinook or Gulf Stream being towed behind a truck. But catch a glimpse of one of those big aluminum Twinkies going by, and you know exactly what it is. Airstreams are so associated with the golden era of RVing that boutique “glamping” resorts have popped up around the country consisting entirely of refurbished Airstreams. With the constraints of life in 2020 bringing a desire for socially distant, self-directed escapes, RVs and travel trailers are as popular as ever. What better time, then, to test an Airstream Flying Cloud. We used it as our dead weight in our towing tests for Truck
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of the Year. We also lived in it, for a long weekend in the country. Airstream offers the Flying Cloud in five lengths and 14 floorplans ranging from 23 to 30 feet long and priced from $78,900 to $102,400 to start. Depending on configuration, it can sleep up to eight. Our 23FB test unit was the smallest and least expensive model, configured with a queen bed at the front, a full bathroom
with shower at the rear, and the capacity to sleep four if you convert the dining table and banquette into a small bed. Officially, the dry curb weight is 4,806 pounds as configured, though with a full tank of fresh water and full propane tanks, ours weighed in at 5,200 pounds, leaving 800 pounds of cargo capacity. The tongue weight is listed at a relatively light 467
AN IDIOSYNCRATIC ICON DELIVERS THE AURA OF CLASSIC RV LIFE, BUT AT A COST
40 MOTORTREND.COM FEBRUARY 2021
