RIP Airstream Flying Cloud Office

The Goldilocks Trailer

Four years ago last summer, Jill and I went on a two-week road trip all over Colorado. Our transportation was a 2017 Tacoma double cab long bed, equipped with neither a tonneau cover nor a topper, cap, shell, or whatever they’re called in your part of the country. The bulk of our belongings were stowed within the open truck bed inside a thick vinyl “bed bag” that offered protection from the elements, but not from an opportunistic thief armed with a sharp knife. At every stop, we unloaded everything out the truck’s bed and into our hotel room. Then, prior to each departure, we’d reload everything right back into the truck bed. To this day we laugh at what a ridiculous ordeal it was constantly moving all that stuff back and forth, occasionally even up and down flights of stairs. The open truck bed also seriously dampened my enthusiasm for unplanned stops while moving from one destination to the next. One beautiful day we passed through Ouray, Colorado and couldn’t resist a stroll up and down the quaint downtown strip. It was a lovely area filled with interesting shops and inviting restaurants, but all I could think about was the vulnerability of our unsecured cargo. We power-walked a half mile up and back, then returned to the truck and continued on our trip. Despite these myriad inconveniences, that trip—every moment of it—was spectacular. Even heaving our luggage around like a couple of clumsy bellhops seems only to have highlighted its magic.

That was the summer of 2021, when remote work was still all the rage. I remember a conversation with a ski store clerk in Boulder, Colorado several years earlier. In response to Jill and I playfully bemoaning our inability to ski more than ten days a year, he cocked his head and told us, rather seriously, that we should “just do our jobs remotely.” That way we could move closer to a ski mountain and hit the slopes pretty much whenever we wanted. I laughed. “I manage a team of six temperamental software developers. It’s not the kind of thing I could do remotely.” That conversation probably took place in 2018. Fast-forward a couple years and I was eating my words. Right along with most other white-collar workers, Jill and I both started working from home on a full-time basis. Turns out, I could do my job remotely—and so could Jill. Suddenly the prospect of working from almost anywhere became our reality.

By the time we embarked on that first big road trip, we’d already been toying with the idea of buying a travel trailer for a few years. We’d gone back and forth between Grand Design and Airstream, fifth wheels and bumper tows. During the first stop of our trip in Northern New Mexico, a friend of ours relayed a couple of annoying problems he was having with his Grand Design Reflection. One slide regularly failed to retract or deploy completely and a skylight had developed a substantial leak. He remarked that over his past 30 odd years of RV ownership the only brand he’d owned that was virtually problem free was an Airstream. That unsolicited comment looped in my mind as we trekked through Colorado, lugging all our belongings in and out of our Tacoma. At one point later on our trip, we crossed one of the two bridges that span the Blue Mesa Reservoir while Jill dozed in the passenger seat. Against the backdrop of brilliant blue waters and red-clay canyon walls, a heavy-duty Ram pickup with an Airstream in tow zoomed toward us in the opposite lane. The image of that rig glimmering in the summer sun, suspended above the reservoir, was mine alone to savor. It was one of many romantic images that gently and inevitably drew us toward the Airstream brand.

In August we were back home and while idling at my computer I googled something along the lines of “rv with an office”. Near the top of the first page of search results was a link to this press release¹, announcing Airstream’s introduction of a 30-foot Flying Cloud model with dedicated office space. I hollered across the house for Jill to come take a look. We couldn’t believe it. It was exactly what we needed to work from the road for extended periods.

We contacted our local Airstream dealer who—amazingly—already had a Flying Cloud FB30 Office on their lot. Another customer had ordered one sight unseen shortly after the floor plan was first announced. They hadn’t yet taken delivery, and in the meantime had graciously permitted the dealer to show it to other interested customers. The timing was uncanny. Within a week that unit would be in the hands of its new owner, and our opportunity to see one in the flesh (aluminum?) would be gone. These were peak Covid days with extensive product backlogs across many industries and Airstream dealers were impacted more than most. Across the nation, dealer lots were devoid of new inventory—especially for hot new floor plans like the 30FB Office. Although we probably would have ordered one regardless, being able to see, touch, and interact with a perfect replica instantly pushed us into the final stage of financial commitment. We handed over a $2,500 deposit and signed on the dotted lines.

Seven months later, in March 2022, our very own Airstream Flying Cloud 30FB Office was delivered. In the four years since then we’ve spent 355 nights on the road, spanning 56 parks and Harvest Hosts across 10 states and 52 cities. (Not counting that first night of ownership when “camped” in our driveway.) In September 2023, after only nineteen months of ownership, our beloved travel vessel was savagely beaten by a massive hailstorm, rendering it a total loss. We replaced it two months later with a 2024 Office model that turned out to be a nice upgrade in several key respects. Our inverter capacity doubled, going from 1,000 to 2,000 watts, panoramic windows replaced the two wardrobe closets that previously flanked the bed, an external ethernet port was added (woo Starlink!), we got USB-C plugs in addition to USB-A, and most accent lights were upgraded to LED. We also took the opportunity to add a three-inch lift and upgrade to lithium batteries. We joke that our first trailer was our “practice Airstream”. Plenty of newbie mistakes were made on that first one that shan’t be repeated EVER. AGAIN. (And we truly hope we can keep our current one at least another decade.)

As the tides have turned against from remote work, I’ve often fretted about the economic viability of the office floor plan. After our first trailer was destroyed, I was relieved to find that it was still part Airstream’s lineup. I felt the same relief when Airstream announced 2025 model year changes. But as more and more companies issued RTO orders—Return To Office, or lose your job—there could be no doubt that era of ever expanding remote work was over.

This past August I expressed my concerns about the future of the office model to some friends while having dinner at the Ouray KOA. Not two days later, they texted Jill and me a screenshot from Airstream’s 2026 lineup announcement² with one line circled in red:

In the Flying Cloud lineup, the 30FB Office floor plan is also retiring.

Sadly, my prediction had come true.

The Next Hailstorm

No other trailer on the market facilitates two people working remotely as well as the Airstream Flying Cloud 30FB Office. It has a decent-sized desk in the rear where Jill works, while I repurposed the dinette into a part-time standing desk. There’s enough space between us that we can both talk on meetings simultaneously without bothering one another. Of course, noise-cancelling headphones, strategic use of mute switches, and “quiet” work-voices are also essential tools in this regard. Most other rigs I’ve seen would require us to face each other, like sitting at a picnic table, which wouldn’t work well for two people who spend at least three to four hours a day conversing on meetings. With the Flying Cloud Office out of Airstream’s lineup, it’s not exactly clear what we’d do if we lost our current trailer to another unexpected disaster.

We could look for a used Flying Cloud Office. That’s certainly a valid possibility. But if sales of that model were only strong during its first year on the market, as I suspect was the case, finding one to our liking might be a tough proposition. While the model’s initial launch was very well timed, the subsequent corporate retreat from remote work has been perhaps more aggressive than anyone could have predicted back in 2021. It’s a good bet that the office model quickly became one of Airstream’s slowest sellers. If true, the pool of available used models will remain relatively small. Even if we found one that looked perfect, I’d be weary of driving a long distance to buy it. Recently I read a story about someone who did just that, only for the deal to fall through because of some misrepresentation by the seller. That would suck after, say, a three day drive.

The truth is, I’m just not that worried about it. Sure, we could get into a traffic accident, but I think the mostly likely scenario is yet another severe hailstorm that does significant cosmetic damage, just like before. Hail, it turns out, is a depressingly common meteorological event. And should we ever face that same dilemma again—whether to total the trailer or repair it—we’d almost certainly choose the latter.

So why didn’t we repair our first Airstream? Ignorance. At the time, we weren’t familiar with Vinnie’s shop or their unique ability to apply paintless dent repair techniques to the aluminum shells of Airstream trailers. In retrospect, I’m quite certain the damage could have been fixed without a single panel being replaced. Had the insurance adjustor assumed PDR repair work instead of panel replacement, the cost estimate would have been well below the threshold for totaling the unit.

Looking back, we still made the right call to total our first trailer because we had an attractive upgrade option. But today? Without another new and improved office model that we can upgrade to? As long as we’re both working full-time—and therefore need two workspaces—we will keep our trailer and make plans to go see Vinnie in Northern California.

Serendipity

There are a handful of remarkably fortunate circumstances that have come together for us, entirely by accident, and constantly make me think, “How did we get so lucky?” For example, somehow, without any planning or foresight, we ended up with two homes with driveways long enough to accommodate a 30-foot travel trailer. And because both driveways are on the “correct” side of the house, the trailer’s door faces the house, making loading and unloading easy. Both homes came into our lives well before the Airstream was a serious consideration.

Then there was the situation with my 2022 Ram truck. We custom ordered one during the height of Covid-era backlogs, around the same time that we ordered the first Airstream. Its delivery was delayed again and again. It got to the point where we just needed a truck because without it we had no means of taking delivery of our Airstream when it arrived. Desperate, I found a very similar truck in stock at a dealer three hours away. It lacked a couple options I wanted and included some I didn’t. But it was available now, so we canceled the custom order and pounced on the one in stock. Months later, my gratitude for this turn of events knew no bounds when I realized how thoroughly I would’ve regretted the RamBoxes I originally ordered. RamBoxes are clever storage boxes that are built into the the side rails of the truck. They sound awesome—my brother in-law loves his—but they significantly reduce the width of the truck bed. That’s a trade-off I didn’t consider. We pack our truck bed to the gills on some of our longer trips and I appreciate every cubic inch of real estate that’s available.

But the luckiest coincidence of all?

Airstream launched its Flying Cloud Office model the very same year that Jill and I embarked on that first unforgettable road trip, leaving us hungry for an RV that would allow us to work from the road. Our local dealer had one we could see and touch. And then we got a “free” upgrade right after exiting our rookie year of ownership. (Although I promise you it didn’t feel very lucky at the time!)

It’s hard to imagine life on the road with any RV other than the two office models we’ve owned. The fact that the perfect trailer for us came into being exactly when we were ready for it is nothing short of amazing.

We’re sad to see it go.

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1. There’s a reasonably good chance that Airstream will eventually take down their post announcing the introduction of the Flying Cloud office and its subsequent discontinuation. If that every happens, I’ve saved copies of both. You can download them here. ↩︎
2. See above. ↩︎