2017 Airstream Flying Cloud 23FB Review: Our Home

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, RVs have been flying off dealership lots. Now, with the end-of-year quickly approaching, even more people are rushing to cash in on deep discounts. Most people do their homework before making a large purchase, but few have actual experience in their RV of choice before buying it. And since many wannabe RVers think about the Airstream when considering a tow-behind, we thought we’d give you our personal take on the pros and cons of owning one.

With the current atmosphere and mega sales taking place right now, there’s never been a better time for us to publish our 2017 Airstream Flying Cloud 23FB Review. We’ve also included a walk-through video of the inside of our Airstream at the end of this post.

First, A Little History

We knew during our search for the perfect RV that we weren’t looking for something to accommodate us on weekend getaways or family vacations. We were looking for a new full-time home that would travel across the country with us many times over again. This meant we were only interested in a quality product with certain features for convenience and livability. It also meant we needed to get it right the first time! The thought of making such a large purchase, and then realizing it was the wrong one, haunted us.

Fear is what drove our research, so we did more than our fair share of it! We reviewed RV’s online, joined online RV forums, followed RVers on YouTube, went to dealerships and toured RV’s in person, and even traveled to other states to tour more niche models. Fast-forward several months… and we chose the Airstream Flying Cloud 23FB. But did we get it right?

Well, we’ve now lived in it for almost three years and the answer to that question is, Yes. We do believe we got it right. But just because we did our due diligence, doesn’t mean we wouldn’t change a few things if we could. These are things we could’ve only known after living in our Airstream for as long as we have. This post is, of course, our opinion, but it’s also based on three years of experience in full-time traveling and living in an Airstream. This is a great post for anyone researching Airstreams, considering a purchase, or simply curious about what it’s like to live and travel in one. This is our 2017 Airstream Flying Cloud 23FB Review. We’ll start things off on a good note with…

THE PROS

This is not a complete list of everything we love about our Airstream. It represents some of the things we consider priorities and must-have features, and weighed heavily on our decision to purchase the unit. They’re also why we still love it!

The Tow

What’s not to like about towing an Airstream. Its aerodynamic shape makes this an easy task and an enjoyable ride. Our 2017 Airstream Flying Cloud 23FB hugs the road even in heavy semi-truck traffic and with high winds. The height of our Airstream (10ft) also makes for less bridge clearance issues and setting up camp in tree-lined National Park and Forrest campsites a breeze. The width of our home is also a plus. Coming in at only 8 feet, a mere 1.5 feet wider than our Ford F-150, seeing around the trailer while it’s in tow and avoiding obstacles is simple. The ease of this unit’s tow ranks high on our 2017 Airstream Flying Cloud 23FB Review.

Construction

When it comes to rating the construction of the 2017 Airstream Flying Cloud 23FB, we only have our experience from living in it to draw upon. So, let us tell you where our Airstream has been and how it’s served us over the last three years.

Our Airstream has been in the middle of the desert in temperatures exceeding 115 degrees, and in the coldest states within the US in temps well below freezing. We’ve run both the A/C and furnace non-stop for extended periods of time, several times, and have never had a problem with either. Our Airstream has been pulled over various terrain, up and down steep grades and through severe thunderstorms and snow, and has come through it all victoriously without internal or external damage.

(Wear & Tear)

All of our appliances are still in tip-top shape, as is the plumbing and electrical as far as we know. The flooring is extremely durable. The exposed areas (not covered by rugs) is walked on hundreds of times a day and is still free of scuffs, scratches or gouges. Neither the countertop, dinette table, nor furnishings have faded or sustained damaged from heat, light, extreme temperatures or moisture, and none of the cabinetry has faded, warped or cracked.

When we think about the miles we’ve put on our Airstream and some of the conditions in which we’ve camped, it’s amazing we haven’t experienced anything beyond a screw or two coming loose on the inside (knock on wood). This seems like a good place to remind everyone that we travel with and live in our Airstream full-time. Meaning, it’s in constant use. This is significant when considering the construction of something that was never intended to be used in this manner. We’ve been very impressed! We rank construction very high on our 2017 Airstream Flying Cloud 23FB Review.

(Full Disclosure)

Because RV’s are not meant to be used as full-time residences, we fully expect some repairs as the years pass. Only a fool would think otherwise. Additionally, conducting regular RV inspections and performing regular maintenance can prevent a lot of headaches and heartaches down the road. It can also save you a lot of money!

Bathroom

After touring all other Airstreams (trailers) and narrowing our choices down to three, our unit was the only one that didn’t have a split bathroom. Meaning, our toilet, sink and shower are all confined to the same space. This was a huge plus and ticked off one of those “must-have” features boxes for us! The alternative is a toilet and sink on one side of the trailer, and the shower on the other. This means you have to leave one to get to the other. It also means you cut off access to other parts of the rig when combing the the two halves. We prefer having one room only and think it provides more privacy, convenience and space.

Double Sink

Specific to our rig, and maybe one or two smaller units, a double sink was important to us. It’s also another reason we chose the Airstream Flying Cloud 23FB. None of the Airstreams, in our opinion, come with much counterspace. But to make matters worse, many of them only come with one sink. This means you have to use precious real estate (counter space) to accommodate a dish drainer. Because we have two sinks, however, we can wash dishes in one side and let them dry in the other while never taking away from the limited counter space we do have. We also have sink covers, which extends our counter space. Having two sinks, in our opinion, is more practical and convenient, and helps reduce clutter.

Vent Fans

We’re gonna take a shot in the dark here and guess that most rigs have vent fans. But… if you’re looking at a rig without them, you might want to reconsider. Vent fans are great for so many reasons! They save your A/C from wear and tear, they quickly dissipate any odors in the rig, they prevent your fire alarm from sounding while cooking, and they let in a nice breeze by simply opening one window and turning on one vent fan.

Vent fans are standard on Airstreams, as they are on most rigs, but they rank high on our 2017 Airstream Flying Cloud 23FB Review. They’re just one of those little things that make all the difference in the world.

Internal Storage

If you’ve ever heard that Airstreams have a ton of internal storage, you can believe it! Just in our little 23-footer, we have two hanging closets, two large pull-out drawers, two huge over-the-bed cabinets, and plenty of wall hooks on both sides of the entry door for backpacks, keys, hats, headlamps, dog leashes etc. And this is just for our clothes and misc. items.

There’s storage over and under the kitchen sink and stove, over and under the dinette, under the bathroom sink and counter, and a massive amount of room under the bed. Now, we know there are plenty of RVs with more, but for a 23’ trailer this is pretty impressive! Internal storage ranks high on our 2017 Airstream Flying Cloud 23FB Review because we’d rather have it and not need it, then need it and not have it. Ample storage also helps keep things tidy and organized. The external storage is an entirely different story, however. You’ll read about that below.

Fit and Finish

Yes, we’re drawn to shiny objects… it doesn’t take much! And yes, that was meant to be funny. Seriously, though, during our search for the perfect full-time rig, aesthetics were just as important as anything else. We knew it was going to be hard to beat the Airstream in this category. After all, Airstreams are classic and beautiful. Very few other travel trailers rise to their level of fit-and-finish. Well, there is one travel trailer that gives Airstream a run for their money in this category. We’ll list it at the end of this post.

The Airstream’s look, feel and livability are equivalent only to that of a higher-end quality product. But make no mistake, you will pay for it. And we mean that quite literally. We would have listed the price of an Airstream as a “con,” but we truly believe you “get what you pay for.” Fit-n-Finish easily ranks very high on our 2017 Airstream Flying Cloud 23FB Review.

And there you have it!

We don’t have a single bad thing to say about the Airstream Flying Cloud 23FB’s construction, tow performance, layout, features or aesthetics. This wouldn’t be an honest review, however, if we said there was nothing we didn’t like or wouldn’t change if we could. So, lets move on to the…

CONS

Unlike the “PROS,” this is a complete list of everything we dislike about our Airstream. We’ve learned to adapt to each of the items (except for one, which will be modified) and feel the compromises we made were worth the benefits gained.

External Storage

As implied earlier, the outside storage on our Airstream is practically non-existent. As a matter of fact, we can’t think of another trailer, even ones that cost less than a quarter of the price of an Airstream, that has less storage. The alternative, of course, is using the bed of our pickup truck. This isn’t really a big deal since we didn’t have other plans for it, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that external storage scores extremely low on our 2017 Airstream Flying Cloud 23FB Review.

No Walk-Around Bed

This one really needs no explanation. Whether or not you have a RV with a bed you can’t walk around, you already know, or can imagine, how frustrating it is to make it. If we didn’t travel with dogs, we’d probably be less annoyed by this because we wouldn’t put forth as much effort in tidying-up the bed. That’s just not the case, however. We make our bed every morning, which includes draping a flat sheet over it (and tucking it in) so that our dogs don’t get fur and dirty paw prints on our bedding. We’ve been doing this for three years now, so we’ve gotten pretty good at it, but it’s the first thing we would change about our Airstream if we could. It’s a good thing we’re in decent shape!

Shades

Let me preface this with the following: Tinted windows neither prevent people from seeing into your rig, nor allow you to see out of it, at night if your lights are on inside. OK, now that we got that out of the way… While the shades in our Airstream are fine for blocking the sun during the daytime, they provide less than the desired amount of privacy at night. Even when completely drawn, the shades don’t snug the windows. They sit about an inch away, leaving a gap along the edges large enough for anyone to see directly into our bathroom. People can also see us sitting at our dinette, but that probably sounds less concerning in comparison.

Some may not think this is a huge deal, but we, as I suspect many others, sometimes shower with the bathroom door open to gain a little more room to move around. We’ve even been known to pee with the door open, too. But while we may have low expectations of privacy amongst ourselves, we’re not really into showing everybody else our “business,” if you know what I mean. So, if you’re faced with the same problem (you Airstreamers know you’re inspecting your shades right now) you can follow the simple steps below for a quick and temporary solution:

Take the smaller, square, back cushion from the dinette and wedge it between the table’s edge and the windows/shades. This will push the gap closed. It’s not genius, but it works! You’re welcome. It would be nice if the shades just performed their intended duty, however. Tell us this isn’t creepy…

(Shades Cont.)

We feel this is a detail that shouldn’t have been overlooked. It’s bad enough when you have to modify something just to gain nighttime privacy, but it’s even worse when it’s not immediately obvious. We just recently noticed this gap in the shades, which means we’ve been unwittingly participating in public nudity for some time. All we need is for our nudie pics to end up on the internet! Well, mine might find their way there but Sal’s wont. Needless to say, nighttime privacy, from the dinette to the rear of the trailer, scores extremely low on our 2017 Airstream Flying Cloud 23FB Review.

Bathroom Lighting

The amount of lighting in the bathroom isn’t the issue. It’s not like we’re knocking things down or groping the walls because we can’t’ see. The issue comes into play when we have to use the wall-mounted mirror. The light fixture in the bathroom illuminates the area around it very welll, but fails to distribute the same amount of light everywhere else. This causes shadows. As a result, it can be a little frustrating using the mirror at certain times of the day versus others.

Dinette Table (this one is two-fold)

First: Our table has always had a very slight slant. This may be due to a certain amount of slack required in order for the table to move up and down and to swivel. It’s not noticeable unless you’re looking for it, and our plates aren’t sliding off the table, but it’s very annoying to one of us. I won’t mention which one (and it’s probably not the one you’re thinking), but there was no way this post was getting published without adding it to the “Cons” list.

Additionally, and this one we both agree on, we’re not fans of the post bolted into the floor that holds up the table. We have a U-shaped dinette, so the post is necessary, but we would’ve preferred a typical 4-seater dinette with the lever/arm attached to the wall. We never use the seating area situated against the interior wall, so we feel like it’s a waste of floor space we could otherwise use for a dog bed.

Second: While the dinette cushions are of great quality, very durable, and still look practically new after three years, the 90-degree angle of the cushions provides nothing in the form of lumbar support. A pillow behind the back easily fixes this problem, but there’s another issue. While the cushions are soft enough and comfortable enough to sit on, this isn’t the case if you plan on converting the dinette into a bed. Unless, of course, you prefer an extra, extra firm mattress. Oh, and you can’t be taller than 5’9”. Because the slant of our table is bothersome to one of us, and comfort is important to both of us, these two things score on the lower end of our 2017 Airstream Flying Cloud 23FB Review.

Wrapping It Up

We’re very happy with our Airstream (AKA “The Willy Wagon“). Are there things we would change if we could? Sure. But this particular model ticked the most boxes. So, as with most things in life, a compromise was made. If we had to do it all over again, we would choose the same model. Why? Because in order to improve upon the items on the “Cons” list, we would have to sacrifice some items on the “Pros” list. And many of the “pros” just happen to be our must-haves. So, it looks like we made the right decision.

The best advice we can give anyone thinking about purchasing a RV, is to take into account how you’ll be using it (weekends, long vacations, full-time travel, stationary residence) and what you cannot live without. If it will be used for full-time travel or stationary living, the quality of the unit should be at the top of your priority list.

As Promised

The RV we alluded to as competition for the Airstream in the fit-n-finish category is the Oliver. For the same price as our Airstream, we could have purchased a true four-season 23.5 foot Oliver travel trailer fully equipped with solar panels, 30 gallon propane tanks, a WiFi Booster and an incredibly stunning interior. An interior that trumps the Airstream’s, in our opinion. Why didn’t we buy it…?

Thanks for reading and don’t forget to like and subscribe! Until next time…

(We’re also on Facebook and Instagram!)