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/trai...r/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.