[A/S] Re: New Member; full of questions..

[hilty@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Welcome to the list, Stephen. I can't tell you to much about prices
on new Airstreams since I bought a good used unit, but perhaps I can 
comment on the Mountaineer, Hensley, and the airbag idea. For two 
years I have been pulling my '90 25 foot Excella with a V8 Ford 
Explorer w/ tow package, 3.73:1 rear gears etc. The Explorer is rated 
to tow 6,800 lbs. - exactly the GVWR of the Excella. I bought a 
Hensley shortly after buying the Excella because the short wheelbase 
of the Explorer lends itself well to sway created by the wind
envelope of passing large trucks as the rear and then the front of
the trailer is pushed to the right and then left and the front of the 
tow vehicle and steering wheel move by themselves in concert with the 
wagging of the trailer. The Hensley does away with all that. I looked 
into the airbag idea because the suspension on the Explorer 
(/Mountaineer) is soft and it is difficult to get the weight 
distributed back to the front with the hitch spring bars. Other 
Explorer owners have told me they also have this condition and the 
hitch receivers will actually bend to a higher-in-the-rear position 
due to more strain being put on them in an attempt to get level. 
Firestone (maker of the most available airbag setup for light trucks) 
does not make a setup for the Explorer. Presumably, if they make one 
for the Ranger it might work for the Mountaineer. Air shocks are 
frowned on buy some of the engineer types due to the strain that they 
put on the shock mounts - a poor spot for weight bearing loads.

With respect to your 19' Bambi (?), if its gross weight does not 
exceed 4,000 lb. you might use the new Draw-tite single bar weight 
distribution setup ( see 
http://www.draw-tite.com/prodinfo/products/p13_s09.htm ) with 
conventional sway control. The 19 footer may escape the sway problems 
of a longer trailer with a short wheelbase tow vehicle. If so, it 
would certainly be less expensive than the Hensley. It makes no sense 
to buy something to fix a problem that you don't have.

John H.