Travel Trailer Advice

[Rich Riddle]

Do any of you have experience with a small travel trailer for weekend trips? I am looking at 22 - 24 foot used trailers and wonder what you folk think? The wife suggest renting one prior to us purchasing one and that seem quite reasonable. What experiences do you folks have?

[Tom M King]

We had one for a number of years that was used mostly going to dog shows. It was fun for a while, but for the cost of even a used trailer, the work on it and using it, along with the depreciation it cost us when we finally got tired of it.......we figured out that it was a lot easier just to pay motel/hotel fees, and probably no more money spent.

[Doug W Swanson]

We owned a tent trailer (pop-up) for a few years. Nice because it was smaller and easier to store along side our house than a regular travel trailer. Ours was fairly easy to set up and even had a slide out dinette so there was lots of room inside.

If a tent trailer isn't to your liking, I would look at a hybrid travel trailer. Basically it's a hard side travel trailer with beds that fold out. They give you features of a larger trailer but with a smaller footprint. They are also lighter so it's easier on the pocket book...

[Myk Rian]

22 to 24 feet isn't exactly small. You'll need a $500 torsion hitch for it. Electric brakes need to be installed also.

[Brian Elfert]

The single biggest issue with used travel trailers is water leaks from the roof and sometimes around the windows and such. Water leaks can potentially cause enough rot where the trailer is totaled. I would take any used travel trailer to an RV dealer for an inspection before purchase.

As others have mentioned the cost of a travel trailer per use can be very high depending on how often you really use it. If you are using a travel trailer to avoid hotel bills it can be cheaper to just use hotels. If you like the camping lifestyle in campgrounds then it can be worth it. I have a motorhome that doesn't get used much, but we take it out to the desert where there are no hotels and have a blast camping. (We do all cooking and everything outdoors so it is more like real camping.)

[John Stankus]

First question, is what type of tow vehicle do you have? That will determine how big of a trailer (weight) you can pull.

My wife and I used to have a 17 ft Casita, which is a small fiberglass trailer (they also make a 13 ft and a 16 ft, but the 17 is a nice size for short trips). http://casitatraveltrailers.com/spirit-16-17/
It was a very nice trailer, good for a week to 10 days. Originally, we pulled it with a 2001 4Runner, which pulled it no problem. We did not need a weight distributing hitch with it.

Somethings to think about: I would stay away from the wet bath arrangements (whole bath is the shower stall). There are annual/pre-trip maintenance with any trailer. Take into account the cost of storage if you don't have space on your property to store. There are only a handful of manufacturers for the RV appliances (Dometic, Atwood, etc) so that can likely be equivalent between trailers.


John

[roger wiegand]

We have a small truck camper which is a lot of fun, perfectly adequate for two of us, and easier to drive around than a trailer. I don't escape that though, because most of the time I have the camper on I'm also pulling a 24 ft, 8000 lb trailer with my fairground organ on it. The small camper allows me to hook the trailer directly to the hitch on the truck, without any kind of extension. Larger truck campers hang out over the rear end.

I worried about the wet bath, having heard many warnings against them, however in practice I've found that it works fine. It actually gives you a bigger shower stall, a place to sit while showering if you like, and a regular cleaning of the bathroom. I really don't see any downside to it in use.

I needed to pull a big 5th wheel trailer for a long trip a couple of years ago and was surprised at how much easier it was to maneuver than the tagalong trailer. If I were going for a camping trailer I'd seriously consider a 5th wheel.

All that said, for actual camping where camping is the activity (as opposed to having housing at fairs and festivals or on long trips) I still prefer a tent.

[Art Mann]

I owned a small 22 foot trailer for several years and enjoyed it very much. I kept a log of our travels for a while and we put over 6000 miles on it in a year and a half. In one year, we were gone a total of 30 days in it. Eventually, it got a little small so we upgraded to a 26 footer 2 years ago.

One thing that has already been mentioned is that using a trailer instead of staying in motels for the same trips is not necessarily a money saving strategy unless you use it a lot. RV living is just a different way to travel that I much prefer over even really nice hotels. It is more relaxed, the environment is more pleasant and the people you meet are just so much nicer.

I have had a lot of experience with travel trailers and would be happy to tell you what I know. Just post questions or send me a PM.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Art pretty well nailed it. Having a travel trailer is expensive unless you use it a lot. The main advantage is being able to camp at places where there are no motels nearby.

We bought a used 26' 5th wheel in good condition. Earlier I bought a used F-350 4WD, 460 ci, 4:10 rear end, to use for elk hunting and to pull a trailer. In 2 years we used the trailer 9 times. My wife worked at a local elementary school. After 2 years, due to aging parents, summers became trips to Illinois and the trailer set without moving for 4 years. We finally sold the trailer because it wasn't getting used. In a bad market, because the trailer was in good condition, we got about 33% of what we paid for it.

[Lee Schierer]

We have a 21 foot travel trailer made by Jayco called a Skylark. We pull it with a 2012 Honda Pilot. The trailer is rated at 3500 pounds, the Pilot can pull 5500. We get 10-12 mpg when towing. Most places you stay charge a fee for the night, except Walmart Parking lots. You can travel by car and stay in a Hotel for about what the travel trailer will cost you when traveling. The difference is with the trailer you can stay in state parks in the woods and not in a hotel.

With our pilot and trailer combination we didn't need any load levelers or torsion style hitch. It came with electric brakes and the Pilot was wired for towing.

[Joe Skinner]

I would rent a few and decide what you want. It's a lot of money just to be disappointed. I rented a class B, and two different size travel trailers before I figured out I like things a bit more primitive.

http://www.lifetime.com/gallery/trailers/lifetime-tent-trailer/sahara/65047

[Rich Riddle]

Just got back from the East coast.

1. Tow vehicle is an 2011 F150 with the tow and off-road package. It has the factory trailer brake controller installed and works well with utility trailers.

2. We would use it because she wants to go places where there aren't many hotels, like state and federal parks. We also have dogs and many places like hotels, resorts, cabins, etc. dislike dogs.

3. We thought we would rent one first to see if the trailer camping gig works well for us.

4. I like the old Airstream and Avion look in trailers.

5. Secondly I like the light weight ones like Casita, Burro, etc.

[Mike Cozad]

I have had quite a bit of experience with RV-ing in general and agree with much of what has been mentioned. I have been researching me next camper for the past few years as we move away from a bunkhouse style. In our opinion Jayco makes the best stuff out there at the price point most folks can get into. Plus their J-Feather lines are super light but are part tent trailer to get that weight trade-off. We started out in a pop up and loved it so we would be actually ok with that. We are however 5th wheel folks now and would never trade the room that comes with a fiver. We even carry our kayaks inside on top of the super slide.

Now if tent ends aren't appealing, the Jay flight stuff is light enough for the F150 and very nice as well. We recommend fiberglass sides over the corrugated aluminum. Much better looking, easier to keep clean, and far less easy to damage. Also, Jayco uses a vacuum press process for laminating the fiberglass sides vs. roller pressed which provides superior adhesion, so less chances of delamination. I have delam on my Keystone Laredo and have had since year 2. We have taken pretty good care of it so caught it before it got really bad. Another selling point for us on Jayco is the 2 year warranty vs the industry standard of 1 year.

Sorry for the long winded post. I would be happy to email or chat on the phone about it and give you some of the things we learned the hard way. We got into rv-ing for the same reasons you are. Hotels are a pita with fur-kids making an rv a perfect option. And, I travel a lot for work and find that hotel staff idea of clean and mine are very different. I only have to worry about my mess in the rv bathroom if you know what I mean.....

I recommend heading over to rv.net/forum to read through the posts there. In my opinion it is the SMC of the rv world.

Happy rv hunting and don't hesitate to pm me with any specifics you'd like answered.

Mike

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

Find an RV show to see all the different options available and determine what you like and don't like. The last time we went, we saw some nifty ideas with LED lighting that we plan to do.

We have a 31' Toy Hauler with slide-outs that we use on a regular basis. Regular maintenance is a must if you want to keep repair costs down. My Sweetheart and I have our system down for prepping to leave, as well as clean-up when we return. With teamwork, it has been much easier for us to maintain.

Features we will keep with our next purchase: 1) The ability to use the whole galley even when the slide-out is tucked in. 2) Two doors - they really do come in handy. 3) Hot & cold water access from outside.

Features we would change: 1) The ability for both people to get in/out of bed without climbing over the other person. 2) No cabinets or shelves over the bed (thunk! Ow!) 3) More comfortable couch - on the rare occasion we watch a movie on a laptop, it's simply not comfortable to have 2 people sit together on such a little couch.

Even with diligent care, we have dealt with rot & other repairs needed due to slow leaks caused by undetected improper factory installation. While it can be costly and a bit of extra work, we are very glad we have it.

[Art Mann]

1. Just about any F150 with a V-8 engine will tow a 22 foot travel trailer, especially if you use a weight distributing hitch.

2. We almost always stay in State and National Park campgrounds because we are after the camping experience. A lot of commercial campgrounds are just parking lots in which to park your small mobile hotel room.

3. Trying out different kinds to see how you like them is a very wise move. We knew what we were after because we have camped in tents, trucks and pop up trailers for 40 years.

4. Have you seen the prices of new Airstreams? It will take your breath away - 50 grand for a 22 foot single axle trailer. I wish I could find an old one to rebuild.

5. There was a time when we would have loved to own a Casita. We have just come to expect a few more creature comforts after all these years.

[Chuck Saunders]

I moved from a 27ft 5th wheel to a 19ft trailer once the kids were too embarrassed to be seen with their parents. The big difference is that now the small trailers have slide outs and it makes a world of difference in a small trailer. Probably the biggest perk of RVing versus moteling is that you stay unpacked, you know where your stuff is and what accommodations you will have at the end of the day. I think that is probably the biggest perk.
Chuck

[Matt Meiser]

We had a tiny popup we bought new in 2002 which we used a decent amount but not a ton. Most of the issue with using it more was about the time to set it up to pack it, set it up when we got to where we were going, and set it up when we got home to unpack. In 2008 we sold the popup for $1200 less than we had in it and I had 15 calls within 2 hours of listing it on Craigslist. We replaced it with a new 2007 model year expandable. We had an awesome family vacation to Maine the first full summer we owned it and spent fall weekends for a few years at a place about 2 hours away were we could leave it set up the whole time on one site and only pay weekends. Then our daughter got involved in sports making it tough to use late summer and fall. My wife is an accountant for an organization who's fiscal year starts July 1 so July and early August are out for travel so it was getting tough to use it.

More importantly, the 2007 was JUNK. Within a year I had to replace most of the plastic do-dads on the outside including an expensive skylight. Our dealer went out of business and when I'd call the manufacturer would say that a part wasn't covered under warranty for one reason or another. Sometimes they'd say I needed to contact the part manufacturer for warranty half of whom were impossible to contact (probably out of business.) Then the fiberglass skin started delaminating from the underlayment (which it turns out is basically worse than the junk underlayment the BORG sells.) Warranty denied because that can supposedly only happens due to improper maintenance. Trim parts were so poorly made and/or attached inside several were damaged by normal wear and tear. Tires--off brand junk, replaced within 2 years and we used covers. We had a wire burn up at the attachment to an outlet we never even used. Even the decals were starting to peel. One of my daughter's friend's family had a similar experience with a lot more expensive unit too. We've looked at displays and I see all the same poor design, materials, and workmanship in many different brands. We got out from under it while it was still salable and will never buy another.

The unit we bought was advertised for a great price and I negotiated that down a little plus that they'd include outfitting the truck I had at the time with everything I needed to tow it home including a brake controller and the weight distribution hitch. For a unit of that size you NEED a full size truck, SUV, or van to tow it no matter what the manual of your midsize truck, van, or SUV says about towing capacity. If nothing else you need a vehicle big enough that it doesn't appear you are towing a giant sail when viewed from the front.

[Art Mann]

You can buy fairly good quality travel trailers but you have to be willing to do a lot of research and inspection because the manufacturers don't tell you which ones are cheaply made. You also have to be willing to pay for quality - maybe 40% or 50% more than the least expensive ones. There is always a compromise between quality and price.

[Rick Potter]

Rich,

Over a 45 year period, I have owned various trailers and campers, and currently own a 29' 5th wheel. We liked to travel, and never really just went somewhere and parked. We have stayed overnight in dozens of freeway rest stops, wall mart parking lots, etc. We also belonged to Thousand Trails campgrounds for staying a few days at a time while we visited historical sites and such.

We moved up in size on campers, and later trailers, and I have to say that the size is nice when you get there, but the trailers we miss most are the little ones we had. Simple to hook up and go at a moments notice, we kept a couple changes of clothes in them. When traveling through National parks, they were easy to maneuver and park, especially in Federal campgrounds which are often very difficult to find a large spot in. 5th wheel trailers are great, but the hitch must be installed each time if you want to use the truck as a truck, and even without the hitch, the rails are in the way (mine are specially mounted from underneath to leave a clean bed).

Our favorite 5th wheel was a 22', which we took off road a couple times, pulling a dune buggy behind (trailer was raised several inches to fit the truck). Our favorite pull trailer was a 17', single axle, which we took across the country several times (with three kids).

For what you describe as your needs, I would recommend a pull trailer in the 18-20 foot range. The floor plan is everything, make sure you get one that meets your needs. Two people and dogs should be just fine in it, and it will be so simple to hook and go, that you will probably use it more often than if you go for one with all the bells and whistles. It will also be easy on your truck.

My two cents,
Rick

[Matt Meiser]

You can buy fairly good quality travel trailers but you have to be willing to do a lot of research and inspection because the manufacturers don't tell you which ones are cheaply made. You also have to be willing to pay for quality - maybe 40% or 50% more than the least expensive ones. There is always a compromise between quality and price.

But long term reviews aren't all that useful either, or at least weren't in 2008. Early-2000's models of the unit we bought were much better built than they were by 2007. Kind of like buying Craftsman tools based on 10 year old reviews.

[Rich Riddle]

I see from all the words of wisdom this will be an exercise of caution and forethought.

[Art Mann]

The kind of research I did was to inspect the construction methods, the materials, the quality of assembly, components used and other stuff like that for myself. The really low quality ones are easy to spot. The really high end ones are also easy to identify. It is the modestly priced ones that you really have to look hard to see whether they are well made or not. Manufacturers are experts at veneering over cheap construction with nice looking decor.

You are absolutely right that written reviews are not a very reliable source of information.

[Matt Meiser]

I wouldn't trust reviews either. What I was looking at archives and asking what people thought of them on various RV forums. Other than colors and minor details 2002-ish to 2007-ish didn't look to have significant changes but 2 years later the differences were obvious. For example that skylight I mentioned. Seems they switched from polycarbonate to acrylic which is much less UV-stable. Then they couldn't supply the non-standard part at all and I ended up buying a custom polycarbonate one for $200-something plus some expensive installation materials. Acrylic ones that were close were in the $50 range IIRC. Part of the problem too is the effort to make them lighter and lighter in an attempt to make them towable by smaller and smaller vehicles. That means thinner, weaker, more moisture damage susceptible materials (or very expensive high tech materials) and still even if the vehicle says it can tow 3000lb, a 2000lb box twice the height of the tow vehicle is going to be a big issue. I hope the industry realized this is not in their long term best interest and has reversed the trend. If not, the long-term result is going to make the mid-2000's look like a walk in the park for them.

You don't say where you are headed but many campgrounds, even state parks, are offering rental cabins ranging from a glorified shed to a nice vacation home as fewer and fewer people own campers. You can spend a lot of nights in a cabin or hotel room for what buying, outfitting, and maintaining an camper and tow vehicle will cost. That's not reason alone for not buying one as camping is a great way to spend a weekend but something to consider depending on your reasons for wanting a camper. If its just to make getaways cheaper, its probably false economy.

[Brian Elfert]

One of the reasons RVs in general went downhill around 2007/2008 is the recession. A lot of RV companies simply went under while the remaining ones retreated a lot. Material costs for making RVs have gone up a lot over the past dozen years. I bought a 2002 travel trailer in August 2002. The 2003 models were coming out and the MSRP for the same exact model went up by $5000. I ended up traveling 750 miles to buy a 2002 model to save a lot of money.

For a lot of people they can't mentally handle paying $200 a night to rent a cabin, but they have no problem paying $35 a night for a campground to camp in an RV that they pay $300 a month on. The $300 a month is already worked into their finances while the $200 a night may not be. Even if one paid cash for a $20,000 RV a lot of folks never think about they could save that money and pay for 100 nights in that $200 a night cabin. If almost never makes financial sense to replace hotels with an RV, but a hotel isn't the same for a lot of people as spending time in a campground. Most camping cabins at state parks are reserved for the entire season as soon as the reservation system opens while RV spots are often not as hard to get.

[Peter Kelly]

Teardrop trailer? Seems like a great choice for two-person weekend use. I'd imagine the investment is fairly minimal as these things go.

http://www.golittleguy.com

[Rich Riddle]

It's all about the dogs as well. Many places forbid even our little ones.

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

It's all about the dogs as well. Many places forbid even our little ones.

That's part of the reason we have ours. (The horse, goats & other farm critters stay at home but the dog comes with us.)

We recently sold a little Class C motorhome for a friend of ours that is an older, single woman. I posted the ad on Craigslist along with photos, details and a fair asking price as well as the notice it would not be sold until a new generator part had arrived. There were about 2 dozen legit responses all within 3 days time. All but 1 of the people asking about it said they were looking for their first RV because they wanted to travel with their dogs.

[Mike Henderson]

Teardrop trailer? Seems like a great choice for two-person weekend use. I'd imagine the investment is fairly minimal as these things go.

http://www.golittleguy.com
I looked at a teardrop trailer a while back. You can build them yourself on a trailer bed. To me, the problem is that you really live outside with that trailer. The cooking space is at the back of the trailer and you have to be outside to use it.

While this might be great in good weather, in rain, cold, or bugs it can be pretty miserable. The only interior space is to sleep in. If I were confined to the inside by bad weather, (or by lots of biting insects) I'd find it pretty miserable. Better than being outside, I suppose, but not nearly as nice as a bigger trailer or motor home that you could sit in and cook in - maybe even have an indoor toilet.

A teardrop is just one step up from tent camping.

Mike

[One other comment: A friend of mine wants a motor home. He commented that there are lots of low mileage used motor homes on the market for very reasonable prices. I told him, "There's a message there."]

[Caspar Hauser]

Or one could just take the house,

http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/

something like that might be a giggle.

Caspar

(no connection)

[kevin nee]

I am on my second Casita both 16 feet. 1991 and now a 2007 with AC. There were some nice
improvements from 1991 to 2007 and I am sure the 2015 models are fabulous. Camping for us
is a fire and a six pack. The Casita is all fiberglass with low maitanance and is light weight. It tows
like it is not there. Good luck on your decision.

[Matt Meiser]

I am on my second Casita both 16 feet.

I was trying to remember that name. A coworker bought one last year. By design it looks to solve a lot of the problems with the exterior.

[Lee Schierer]

It's all about the dogs as well. Many places forbid even our little ones.

We travel quite a bit with our Brittany and when looking for places to stay we do a search on one of the internet hotel sites, we specify we have a pet. There are lots of pet friendly hotels. Some do charge a fee for having a pet. There are also lots of Doggy day care places that will hold your dog)s) for the day for a nominal fee.

[Mike Henderson]

We travel quite a bit with our Brittany and when looking for places to stay we do a search on one of the internet hotel sites, we specify we have a pet. There are lots of pet friendly hotels. Some do charge a fee for having a pet. There are also lots of Doggy day care places that will hold your dog)s) for the day for a nominal fee.
We travel with a dog, also, and have not found it difficult to find places that will allow dogs. There's usually an added charge for the dog but I'm okay with that.

Some hotels have limits on the size of the dog but normally, any reasonably sized dog will make it under the limit.

Mike