Travel trailers, anyone?

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zercool

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The Mrs and I enjoy getting out for a weekend whenever possible - or even just a night. We generally "car camp" - big cabin tent, air mattress, coleman lantern/stove, etc - often at a state park or national forest. It's not bad, but definitely requires some forethought.

Often this forethought consists of, "Hey honey, where did you put _____ after the last trip?" Generally this forethought and pre-planning will take up most of the first day of our trip, and then we'll drive to wherever and set up in the dark, by which time I am cranky and tired and she is mad at me for being cranky. Regardless of how carefully we put things away after each trip, or try to keep them together, they seem to move around.

Now I'm thinking that maybe a small camper of some kind would be a good bet. We're not looking to spend mega-bucks for a gooseneck or motorhome, just a small trailer that will tow comfortably behind my truck (Nissan Frontier) and hold us and our camping stuff. Being able to store the camping stuff IN the trailer would be a huge plus - we could just hook up, stop at the grocery store on the way, and be done.

So I've done some digging, and two things have caught my eye:

Little Guy Teardrop Trailers

Aliner pop-ups

The "LittleGuy" are super-small and relatively inexpensive, the Aliners are larger and would allow some privacy inside. My folks have a pop-up/canvas ends camper which I've used a couple times and really don't care for.

So ... any input from the peanut gallery?
 
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We have a modest sized 21' 'Trail-Lite' hard sided TT. It's a little more than your looking at. It is handy to be self contained as you roll along. I'd do a little searching for a slightly used one, of the size your looking at. Of course get something you can pull safely with your vehicle. The 'Scamp' is another popular small TT. The forums at Trailer Life have more info than you could ever read.
 
In a previous life I was looking for a replacement for a Class A motorhome. I found a 'pop-up' that you could get in and use even when down.

If you get one with a built in bath (not a porta-pottie), kitchen (built in sink, stove or microwave), and sleeping it may count as a second home which may give you some tax breakes. Check the tax laws.

Make sure the zoning laws allow you to park it at home or you're going to have to pay for a storage lot, that you have 24/7 access to.

Look at joining 'Good Sam Club' and buying a Camping World Presidents Club membership.
 
RV.net gives a lot of information.

I like the choices you listed.

We made the transition over the years from backpacking to Alaskan camper to a variety of small TT. There's a TON of choices out there for every phase of the 'camping-out passion'.

Once you settle on such as "someone INSISTS on having a table without folding up a bed" or "shower/potty INSIDE" you're pretty well consigning your fate to larger rigs. Enjoy the various RV shows while you shop.

If you get old & fat & have a large dog, like some of us, you'll be getting a bigger truck to pull it with too.

Re: cranky, disagreements, lost stuff, etc. .....<-----good luck with that!!!
 
Gotta Love the A Liner!

Zercool; we got ours last summer and love it. Clean used models can be tough to find depending on what part of the country you are in. Found ours on Craig's list, 3 years old, less than 3K miles (almost NIB), for $7K. It has a nearly queen size bed in the rear, dinette seats 4 , always up in the front end. Came with 6 Cu' Refrig/Freezer (AC, DC, propane), 2 burner propane stove that mounts inside or out, air conditioning, sink w/10 gallon tank. We have, but don't use the porta potty.

All of this with 8' of headroom, solid walls and and a door that locks. Six large windows, 4 are screened = lots of light and fresh air. The whole rig weighs 995 lbs and takes about 30 seconds to set up/take down. We usually just unhook the trailer and spin it around to wherever we get the best view, least wind etc.. They really are that light and easy to maneuver. Check them out but don't bring your checkbook unless you are ready to pull the trigger. Don't ask me how I know this. (o;


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I have this one that I bought from U-Haul,works out real good for me.
Dick
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I've done it both ways and actually preffer the Tent route. The camper just sucks up to much in gas, tolls , rigging time and limits where I can camp. I also found my small camper had very little storage area so I still had to deal with the packing/unpacking/lost gear thing. My Camper, event though I bought it new, was also a constant ,maintenance headache in that every time I used it, I would find something that needed repairs, or that had been damaged by mice. ( They Are all built poorly IMHO)
I now organize and pack everything in large plastic bins and leave it there. ( Tent, Tarps, cooking gear, General Camping, etc). Only cots and coolers are separate. That way when I want to go, I just grab those half dozen bins , load a cooler and I'm god to go.
FWIW, I also drive a frontier CC short bed and can fit near a weeks worth in the truck (for two). If I want to take yaks / pile of rec gear along, I sometimes haul a small utility trailer behind me.
 
Be careful browsing RV.Net. I have been travel trailer RV'ing (hard to say camping with a queen size bed, microwave etc...) since the late 90's.

I started with a 24' Layton that was real nice. It didn't have a slide so it was a bit cramped.

I moved up to a 28' Prowler with a large slide in 2001.

I have towed the Prowler all over the western US (over high mountain passes) with my 2001 Tahoe.

Here's the warning: RV.net will swear that the Tahoe is too small for a 6000lb TT. You will see people that will rant and rave that one must have a 3500 dually to tow anything over 5000lbs.

So you can expect that the same folks will tell you that your truck is too small, too light, too short of a wheelbase.

I have the Hensley Arrow and really believe that the Arrow makes a lot of difference in towing pleasure and safety. It is a lot more than "another WD hitch".

I don't have any real headaches with my TT. I do routine maintenance and buy new tires based on age rather than mileage because the rubber dries out before the tread wears down.

Enjoy!
 
We have a 26 footer with a slideout- Unit made by Starcraft - We got it new in 2005. I am sure there are deals to be had these days. We use it - The Pix is at Kiabab National Forest in Northern Arizona - We like that we can fill the water tank, buy food and be gone. Besides a Refrigater, Microwave, Gas stove and oven, It is heated and has an AC - This past summer I added a 3500Watt generater to the maddness - it will run the AC, most everything else EXCEPT the microwave (all at once), and charge the battries - But what the wife likes is the flash water heater - a hot shower!! This is ruff'n it these day for us.

The only advice I followed was to get a tow vehicle with a tow capacity rating far greater trailer's total weight - water food supplies and so on. Glad I did - I can pass Semi's the mountains and putz along nicely out on the open road.
 

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truckemup97 said:

zercool, I sure wish I could help you, but all I know about travel trailers is that I want one and my wife doesn't

I had the same situation with my wife but kept on it until she gave in. Had it for two seasons, the happiest day was selling it. When all the unseen costs and expenses are figured in, and there are many, a motel room is soooo cheap and convenient. Never again, been there, done that, and my wife was right again!
 
My Outback by Keystone

Here is my 2007 22' Outback by Keystone. Shipping weight is 4565 Lb.

It's a great camper I purchased new. I'm a life time long camper and this is my 6th RV.

But, With the health issues in my family (not me) it's going to be for sale. $12,995 delivered within 1000 miles of home.:(

If anyone wants more information contact me at [email protected].

Bob

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travel trailers

I've been pulling tt for years. There are lots of ultralites you can tow with your truck. The ones with canvas pullouts offer very little security. Some of them are not user friendly. Be sure and check height of the sink(too low means a hurt back}, is the bathroom light centered in front and overhead on the mirror above the sink. If the light is off center, it's hard to shave, or the lady can't see to put on makeup. Physically get in the shower or tub, sit on the john, how is the elbow room in these areas. Mostly, when it comes to bells and whistles you get what you pay for. You do have a huge choice to make, when it comes to user friendly things. Don't be in a rush to buy, and you don't have to buy new, there are lots of good used campers out there. You will have more ultralite choices, in the newer ones. Mikey
 
Good insight from everyone, appreciate it. If I can convince the boss that this is a good idea, I'll be sure to share the news!
 
If your only complaint with tent camping is having to gather up everything, ....you might hate trailer camping. It's a lot of hassle in other ways, like maintenance, repairs, insurance, gas mileage, manueverability, etc. We love tent camping and what works best for us is keep everything simple. Tent, ground cover, Rayovac LED lantern, flashlight, knife, Glock entrenching tool, lighter fluid& lighter, air bed, pump w/batteries, bug spray, binoculars, battery fan, door mat,fishing pole, hand sanitizer, and paper towels all go in one big duffle bag. We grab it, bedding, lawn chairs, and cooler and we're on the road in a few minutes. We eat sandwiches, drinks, and snacks out of the cooler and the rest of the meals at local restaraunts. It makes for a great weekend and when we get home there's not much to unload or put away.
 
Those are both attractive and well recommended units. I have come across more people with the A-Liner however and no one has a bad word to say about it. The people you meet and the experiences you get from RV'ing are wonderful. We started with a truck camper and now have a small 5th wheel. RV'ing is our hobby and we occasionaly host at a State Park. We also use it when visiting two of our daughters homes and at some of our friends places. We have our privacy in their driveway :)
 
I bought a new 17 1/2 ft back in 1963. I had a job that involved moveing all over the states back then. Things were far different. I very seldom paid to park it! Back then you could get away parking in a empty field, a gravel pit or whatever. Life was good for me as I was single and got by.
Later when I was married the first time I had a tent camper. My ex wife wearing short shorts got mosquito bit and wouldnt go after the 1st time out!
When I retired I bought a real old class C dodge real cheap with visions of of bumming all over the country. Only drove it a couple times!
It was underpowered etc, plus a girl friend wrecked it for me!
My wife wont camp unless it involves at least a motel 8!
Years ago I spent many nights in the open with nothing but a sleeping bag, lived in a tent for 6 months once on a job, cant count the nights I slept on a miserable truck seat, many, many cheap dive motel rooms, and now we hardly go anywhere because I am too cheap to motel it!
I also have come to the conclusion you are only lieing to yourself from a money standpoint if you think you are going to save a penney on any kind or type of trailer, or whatever even if they GIVE IT TO YOU!
 
feralmerril said:
I bought a new 17 1/2 ft back in 1963. I had a job that involved moveing all over the states back then. Things were far different. I very seldom paid to park it! Back then you could get away parking in a empty field, a gravel pit or whatever. Life was good for me as I was single and got by.
Later when I was married the first time I had a tent camper. My ex wife wearing short shorts got mosquito bit and wouldnt go after the 1st time out!
When I retired I bought a real old class C dodge real cheap with visions of of bumming all over the country. Only drove it a couple times!
It was underpowered etc, plus a girl friend wrecked it for me!
My wife wont camp unless it involves at least a motel 8!
Years ago I spent many nights in the open with nothing but a sleeping bag, lived in a tent for 6 months once on a job, cant count the nights I slept on a miserable truck seat, many, many cheap dive motel rooms, and now we hardly go anywhere because I am too cheap to motel it!
I also have come to the conclusion you are only lieing to yourself from a money standpoint if you think you are going to save a penney on any kind or type of trailer, or whatever even if they GIVE IT TO YOU!
Click to expand...

Feralmerril - you really should write a book! Thread drift not with standing....I don't think the OP was looking to save a penny, per se. Sounds like he is looking for a quick, comfortable, convenient getaway which is a very large piece of the equation for us and our A Liner.

A few more thoughts, if I may, on why we went this route. First of all I have spent more than a couple of humorous hours watching folks erect the so called tent trailers. This usually entails about an hour or more and a fair amount of, shall we say, colorful language. The tent trailers generally weigh 2 to 3 times what the A liner does and you are still just a sharp knife or claw from greeting someone/thing you would probably rather not meet or greet at O'dark thirty.

Will we keep the A Liner forever? I doubt it, though we have met a number of 10 to 20 year owners who are still grinning all the way to the bank. We have a 4 week trip planned for September and following that we may yearn for a full sized bathroom/shower. When I bought the A liner we had a 4.2L V6 F-150. I now own the 5.4L F-150 that is rated to tow 8,600 lbs. If I do move it up it will be to nothing over 4K lbs and probably closer to 3K lbs. You can tow the A liner comfortably with just about anything given the weight and windage (or lack thereof). I fully expect to sell the A Liner for close to what I paid for it so there won't be that much additional $$ to make it happen.

When we are camping, other than sleeping, we are outdoors enjoying our surroundings most of the time. If the weather turns the A liner makes for a pleasant afternoon snugly tucked away with a good book or some cards. I think RV's, of any size or description are a lot like boats. You don't buy them to make money but to merely enjoy the ride. If motels/Hotels float your boat so be it, I have just never been a fan. (o;
 
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