01 What makes it unique
The 27FB is Airstream's most popular traditional floorplan, here in Globetrotter trim. It shares the front-bedroom, mid-dinette, split-bath arrangement of the 25FB, but its two extra feet go into the things you use rather than the bed — more kitchen counter, a deeper pantry, and a hallway wardrobe. Queen or twins up front, an L-shaped lounge, and sleeping for six.
It carries the full Globetrotter package: exclusive HITCH upholstery, curved white fingerprint-resistant cabinets, a three-burner range with oven and a slide-out microwave, a Moen sink with a European Franke faucet, plus a powered awning, four powered stabilizers, and a standard rearview camera. A convection microwave is optional in place of the oven for buyers who bake less and reheat more.
At 6,258 pounds dry, a 7,600-pound GVWR, and an 871-pound tongue, it keeps a half-ton-friendly footprint with a strong 1,342-pound payload. Unlike the Flying Cloud 27FB, there is no rear-hatch option and no front-bunk family variant — the Globetrotter stays the couples' and style line. MSRP is $150,550.
02 Full specifications
Dimensions
- Exterior length
- 28 ft 2 in
- Exterior width
- 8 ft 5.5 in
- Interior width
- 8 ft 1 in
- Exterior height
- 9 ft 9 in
- Interior height
- 6 ft 7.5 in
Weights
- Dry / unit base weight
- 6,258 lb
- GVWR (max loaded)
- 7,600 lb
- Hitch / tongue weight
- 871 lb
- Net cargo capacity
- 1,342 lb
Capacities
- Fresh water
- 39 gal
- Grey water
- 37 gal
- Black water
- 39 gal
- LP / propane
- 2 × 30 lb
Running gear
- Axles
- 2 · torsion + shocks
- Tire size
- ST225/75R15
- Brakes
- Nev-R-Adjust
- Wheels
- Stylized aluminum
Systems
- Air conditioning
- 13,500 BTU*
- A/C type
- Heat pump · QuietStream
- Refrigerator
- 8 cu ft · 12V
- Shore power
- 30 amp · SmartPlug
- Monitoring
- Rearview camera (std)
Sleeping & layout
- Sleeps
- 6
- Primary bed
- Front Queen or Twin
- Bath
- Separated · 3-piece
- Lounge
- L-shaped
- Awning & jacks
- Powered
Verified specs, drawn to scale
Original graphics built from this floorplan’s own verified figures.
Loaded weight budget
Size, drawn to scale
Holding tanks
These graphics are generated from the same verified record that builds the table above, and are published under this site’s own licence — nothing here is traced from, or derived from, a manufacturer drawing or photo. Where a figure is not published for this plan, the graphic that would need it is omitted rather than estimated. The full record is in the published dataset.
What it takes to tow this
Built from this floorplan’s verified weights. We publish the trailer side only.
We do not publish tow ratings for specific trucks. A single model can vary by thousands of pounds depending on engine, axle ratio, cab, drivetrain and package — the only authoritative figure is the one on your own door jamb. Loaded tongue percentages are industry convention for travel trailers (10–15% of loaded weight), not a measurement of this unit. Hitch classes are not used here as a rating: SAE J684 covers trailers to 10,000 lb GVWR and does not define Class V, and capacity boundaries differ between manufacturers — read the rating stamped on your hitch. On this plan the convention band’s low end fell below the published dry figure, so the range starts at the published dry weight instead — loaded is never lighter than dry.
03 Globetrotter floorplan family
The current Globetrotter line — three dual-axle floorplans, each offered in queen or twin bedroom configurations. The 27FB on this page is highlighted; each other plan links to its own profile.
| Floorplan | Nominal | Bedroom | Sleeps | Notable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25FB | 26 ft | Front | 6 | Entry; L-lounge; front queen/twin |
| 27FB | 28 ft | Front | 6 | Most popular; biggest galley/storage |
| 30RB | 31 ft | Rear | 6 | Lounge seats 10; most capacity |
Globetrotter does not offer the rear-bath 23FB found in Flying Cloud and International, nor a family bunk plan or the optional rear hatch — it is the design-led couples' line. An earlier 23FB Globetrotter was discontinued and is documented separately.
04 What owners & reviewers report
Most popular layout
The 27FB front-bed plan is Airstream's best-seller; the Globetrotter version adds the line's design and finish.
Length goes to storage
The extra two feet over the 25FB expand counter, pantry, and wardrobe rather than the bed.
No rear hatch or bunk
Unlike the Flying Cloud 27FB, the Globetrotter offers neither the rear hatch nor a family bunk variant.
Strong payload
1,342 lb of cargo against a 7,600-lb GVWR is generous for the class and content.
05 How it compares
Two feet shorter with a smaller galley and less storage — about 180 lb lighter, same premium interior.
A rear-bedroom layout whose front lounge seats ten — more space, tank, and weight.
The same plan with rear-hatch and front-bunk options and a neutral decor, for roughly $15k less.
06 Loading it for a trip
This floorplan carries its water comfortably. A full 39-gallon fresh tank is roughly 24% of the 1,342-pound cargo capacity, leaving the Globetrotter 27FB with a usable gear budget even when you tow full.
| Weight budget | Figure | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Cargo capacity as published (CCC) | 1,342 lb | Everything you add: gear, water, propane, batteries, food, people’s belongings. |
| Fresh tank filled (39 gal × 8.34 lb) | −325 lb | Water is the heaviest thing most owners add, and it is added first. |
| Cargo budget left with a full fresh tank | 1,017 lb | 24% of this plan’s capacity is spent before a single bag is loaded. |
| Per sleeping position, water aboard | 169 lb | A rough share of what is left across the 6 berths this plan sleeps. |
The published dry tongue weight of 871 pounds is 14% of the 6,258-pound dry weight, which sits inside the 10–15% band usually quoted for stable towing. It is still a dry figure: loading the front pass-through and the fresh tank both push it up.
Nothing above changes the ceiling. Loaded to its 7,600-pound GVWR the Globetrotter 27FB is towing 1,342 pounds more than its 6,258-pound dry figure, and that is the number your vehicle has to be rated for — not the brochure weight.
Tank balance is generous here: 39 gallons of fresh against 37 grey and 39 black, so waste capacity keeps pace with supply and the fresh tank is the constraint that ends a dry stay.
07 Where this floorplan sits
Ranked by GVWR, the Globetrotter 27FB sits 2 of 3 in the Globetrotter line: 7,600 pounds against a line that runs from 7,300 to 8,800 pounds. That position is the useful thing to know, because the plans immediately either side of it are the real alternatives.
Either side of it in the same line: Globetrotter 25FB is 300 pounds lighter at 7,300 lb GVWR; and Globetrotter 30RB is 1,200 pounds heavier at 8,800 lb GVWR.
| Comparable travel trailers | GVWR (lb) | Dry (lb) | Sleeps | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Globetrotter 27FB | 7,600 | 6,258 | 6 | 28 ft 2 in |
| Coachmen Apex Ultra-Lite 242BARV | 7,600 | 5,772 | 4 | 28 ft 10 in |
| Campsite Ultra 19KB | 7,600 | 5,158 | — | 22 ft 4 in |
| Classic Frank Lloyd Wright Usonian LE 28RB | 7,600 | 6,800 | 4 | 28 ft 2 in |
| Flying Cloud 27FB | 7,600 | 5,950 | 5 | 28 ft 2 in |
| Coachmen Freedom Express Ultra Lite 22MLS | 7,600 | 5,602 | 4 | 26 ft 10 in |
| Hideout 25RDS | 7,600 | 6,122 | 6 | 29 ft 5 in |
Against the Globetrotter 27FB: the Coachmen Apex Ultra-Lite 242BARV sleeps 2 fewer; the Campsite Ultra 19KB is 6 ft shorter; the Classic Frank Lloyd Wright Usonian LE 28RB sleeps 2 fewer. Those are differences in the published numbers only — what they cost, how they are built and how they live are separate questions each of those pages answers on its own terms.
Those are the nearest travel trailers from other lines by weight — one per line, picked by proximity on that figure and nothing else. They are listed so the same tow vehicle can be checked against real alternatives, not because they are equivalent inside; layout, build and price diverge sharply across that group.
For scale, the Globetrotter floorplans profiled here run 6,074 to 6,990 pounds dry and 26 to 31 feet of exterior length across 3 plans. Where a floorplan falls in that spread usually says more about which vehicle can tow it, and which site it fits, than the layout name does.
Every profiled floorplan in this line, with the full weight table, is on the Globetrotter line hub.
08 Common questions about the Globetrotter 27FB
How much does the Globetrotter 27FB weigh?
It leaves the factory at 6,258 pounds dry, and its manufacturer-set loaded ceiling (GVWR) is 7,600 pounds. Real towing weight lands between the two and depends entirely on what you load. Use the GVWR when matching a tow vehicle; the dry figure is only useful for comparing floorplans against each other.
How much can the Globetrotter 27FB carry?
Cargo carrying capacity is 1,342 pounds. That is the whole budget: water, propane, batteries, gear and everything you bring. Filling the 39-gallon fresh tank uses about 325 pounds of that.
What is the tongue weight of the Globetrotter 27FB?
The published dry tongue weight is 871 pounds. It is measured empty; loaded, it runs higher, and it comes out of your tow vehicle’s payload rather than its tow rating.
What size tow vehicle does the Globetrotter 27FB need?
Your vehicle needs a tow rating of at least 7,600 pounds — this floorplan’s GVWR — and enough payload left over for the hitch load, passengers and anything in the bed. This site does not publish tow ratings for specific vehicles, because one truck model varies by thousands of pounds across engine, axle ratio, cab and package. The figure that governs is the payload sticker on your own door jamb.
How many people does the Globetrotter 27FB sleep?
It is rated to sleep 6. Rated sleeping positions include convertible furniture, so count the beds against how you actually travel rather than against the number.
What are the tank capacities on the Globetrotter 27FB?
Fresh 39 gallons, grey 37 gallons, black 39 gallons. Tank sizes set how long the floorplan can sit away from hookups, and the smallest of the three is what ends the stay.
How long is the Globetrotter 27FB?
Exterior length is 28 ft 2 in. Measure against your site length and your storage before committing — the exterior figure is the one that has to fit, and it includes the tongue or pin box.
Every figure in these answers is read from this page’s verified specification table. Where the manufacturer publishes nothing, the question is not answered rather than estimated.
09 What this page publishes, and what it does not
This catalog tracks 18 specification fields per floorplan. Named sources publish 16 of them for the Globetrotter 27FB. The rest are not shown, because the alternative is reading a figure across from a sibling floorplan or from what the segment usually does — and a number nobody published is worth less than an admitted gap.
Not published for this floorplan: slide count, awning. If you find one of these in a manufacturer document for this plan, it belongs on this page.
The completeness figure at the foot of this page (93%) measures the same thing on the full field set: it is a measurement of how much this floorplan’s manufacturer publishes, not of how much research went into the page.
Values on this page carrying an asterisk were derived by arithmetic from published figures, or come from a single source, rather than being printed directly by the manufacturer. The flag travels with the number into the downloadable spec sheet.
How every figure here was sourced and checked is set out on the methodology page.
11 NHTSA safety record
This floorplan belongs to the Globetrotter line, and NHTSA holds 7 recall campaigns and 3 owner complaints against that line. They are separate records and are not added together — a recall is a manufacturer-confirmed defect with a remedy; a complaint is one owner’s account, which NHTSA does not verify.
Too few reports to show a pattern. 3 complaints have been filed on this line — not enough to say what fails most often. They cover unknown or other and equipment.
Recall coverage is not complete — our harvest of NHTSA’s recall API ran 1,556 queries, of which 0 failed and 242 returned an explicit zero. A line can still be under-reported where NHTSA files a roster under a parent name, or where a match rests on the wording of the recall rather than its model field. Complaints come from the complete bulk file but are unverified and self-selected: a high count tracks how many units a line sold at least as much as how well it was built. Check a specific VIN at NHTSA before you buy. Full tables are on the Globetrotter line page.