[A/S] Subject: Re: Pulling an Airstream trailer

[lcastojr@xxxxxxx]

>   I purchased a 32' Excella in Aug. 2004. The previous  owner had been 
> towing 
> it with a 1996 1/2 ton Chevrolet  Suburban. He was using a Reese hitch. I'm 
> just wondering why you had  such a bad experience with your Suburban.



Just to add  to the discussion - In 1970 I  purchased a 1962  24'  Airstream 
Tradewind which had only 1  axle.  I towed it with a brand new 1970 1/2 Chevy 
Camaro with a 350/250 4  speed manual Herst shifter (stock).  I towed that 
trailer up and  down  the East coast, from Georgia to Nova Scotia and never 
experienced any sway  problems and I had plenty of power.  The combination always 
proved to be an  item of interest at rallies.  I was young and in my 20's at 
the time and  believed the A/S dealer when he said I could pull that 24'er he 
was selling. I  remember him crawling under the car to make sure his man could 
weld the hitch  on.  In the end, he was right.  I even lost one of the A/S 
wheels  traveling 65 mph on Interstate 87 near Lake George, NY in '73 and never 
lost  control of the trailer.  (Maybe I was just plain lucky.) I kinda remember  
most tow vehicles back then were passenger cars.  I'm sure they were built  a 
lot differently then.
Here's a link to a photo of the rig:
http://rehobothboardwalk.com/wbdelmarva/images/memberairstreams/62tradewind2.gif
More here:  http://rehobothboardwalk.com/wbdelmarva/membersairstreams1.html 
 
Another point of note - I bought a 1996 1/2 ton  Suburban in 2002 and pulled 
a 31' 1979 A/S with it.  I thought I was going  to get killed on the way to 
Florida on I-95 in the fall because every tractor  trailer that went by made the 
rig sway to the point  where I almost lost  control.  Looking back, I am 
thinking that I should have had the Suburban  and the Airstream thoroughly gone 
over before I left for that trip.  Most  likely the shocks on one or both were 
in serious need of replacement.  I  now pull a 1987 32' A/S Excella (which I 
had thoroughly gone over and fixed)  with a 3/4 ton Avalanche with the 8+ liter 
engine and find myself looking  in the rearview mirror at times to make sure 
it's still there.  What a  great combo!
 
Jack
wbcci 4697