Now have accumulated 500 miles on 2 different camp outings.Pros & cons:Our 2004 Trail Lite 23' has low range mileage (33000) on the 6L Chevy platform. I really like the way it drives & handles. Dual rear tires offers considerable stability in road condition to date. It also was quite nimble scampering over the 4800'+ Willamette Pass both directions. Don't have a hard mileage yet until next gas fill, but seems to be between 11+ and 13+, running to the Oregon coast & up to Newberry Crater/East Lake....(the OTHER "Crater Lake" in Oregon).I'm growing more pleased with the motor-vehicle aspects of the rig.Will be adapting to the nuances in type of camping as different from the "park the TT and leave" vs the "tuck stuff in and take it along" approach.Do NOT want a Toad, and have only about 2000# extra to stay below the GCVWR or whatever they call it these days. The rig with all supplies/fluids was right at 10,000# with the listed limit 12,000. Cons:Biggest negative is the bed lack of comfort. We've tried the queen size air mattress, which is a definite improvement, yet still not "good".Did the 'you use the table/space' and I'll use the unfolded couch bottom...which was better but still not what I'm after. Maybe change to bunk bed frame instead of the folding couch???The actual biggest issue is the noise of various cabinets, etc.We've got the household goods/pots/pans pretty well dampened down, but the sudden noises from various bits of cabinetry etc is annoying.On good roads, this is minimal. Usually. The noise volume grows and changes unpredictably. After over 400 miles, suddenly one of the drawers flings itself open multiple times...and not even on corners.Nothing sounds like cables/etc behind the walls, as a couple RVers posted.Tips/comments/hints/soothing sounds?

I like those rigs. Sqeaks happen. Drawers? Maybe ghosts.

When we bought our used trailer before we ever slept in it I bought the 4 inch pillow top for our short Queen. It wasn't cheap but we sleep better in our tt then our house. Very comfortable vs without.

I agree that you can avoid using a Toad with that compact RV.But, the GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) is the max the COACH (with contents and passengers) is allowed to weigh. You don't carry your Toad IN the RV.The GCWR (Gross COMBINED Weight Rating) is the sum of what your RV weighs and the weight of what it's towing. Be sure you're working with the appropriate rating. The GM chassis doesn't offer as high a GCWR as Ford, but I doubt it's as low as 12000. 12000 sounds like GVWR.

quietjake wrote:Tips/comments/hints/soothing sounds?As for the hidden noise makers - check under the dinette and couch and look for the seat belts. Often, these will be stored on the floor, and the metal edges will bang against things. If don't use the seat belts, wrap the metal ends with paper towels and use rubber bands to hold the towels in place.Then look under the sink and check the water lines - make sure they aren't rubbing up against anything. The metal connectors on water lines are often the heaviest part of the line, and tend to end up banging against a cabinet door or wooden floor.Another big noise maker is the window blinds banging against the metal window frames. You can resolve this by putting felt tabs on the bottom of the blinds frame.And another big noise maker is the tray in the microwave oven. Either take the tray out while in motion, or store paper towels in the microwave.Bill

quietjake - Nice report - Matches our experience as well. As "overbrook" explains nicely, it takes a little time to find those nuisance rattles. I let my wife drive and I spent my time in the back looking for the rattle culprits.We used a little bubble wrap on the water lines near the fresh water tank.Placed the styrofoam back in the convection oven to keep the metal rack and glass turntable from rattling.Also the fold-up leg under the dinette table needed a little tightening.The drawers have "no skid" between rattling objects and do have to be fully closed so the catch engages. On ours, when the drawer if fully pushed in, you need to raise the drawer slightly to get it to slide open.Probably the biggest improvement was adjusting the tire air pressure to only be inflated to that necessary to carry the load. Weighed the rig ready to travel and checked the tire inflation charts.

Field observations on our new Trail Lite 213 | Good Sam Community

quietjake
Explorer
Aug 13, 2013
Gene:
I can see the advantages of the slide; the only slide models I found locally were in the dealer lots and for considerably more $ than our private-sale model cost.

Do you carry the mattress there in place? And what of the sofa-side divots---how have you remedied that issue?

Currently I'm reviewing the archives here ferreting out various 'bed upgrade' solutions.

It's sort of amazing; having progressed over the years from back packs/tents to Alaskan to smaller/larger TTs and now finding an RV that is truly a pleasure to drive, that the simple 'bed' is so pathetic in the face of other well-designed features.

I'm on my way tomorrow to the nearest Trail Lite dealer for roof inspection and review of a couple of operational questions.

Thanks to everyone for their comments.
Gene_in_NE
Explorer II
Aug 12, 2013
quietjake - I'm posting a copy of your Model 213 floorplan to make it easier to see what you are contending with -

I'm also posting a copy of our Model 211-S floorplan to show how the dimensions differ -

Finally, Here is a photo of how we converted the dinette for one or our normal sleeping modes. The mattress is 100% foam and 39" x 75" before squished.
quietjake
Explorer
Aug 10, 2013
ah yes.......the Big House for social occasions and the Bungalow for a little personal down time....

I'm pretty new around here & will be picking up on what to pay more attention to as I stumble along.
Snowman9000
Explorer
Aug 10, 2013
quietjake, have you read the huge B+ thread? It's mostly about Trail Lites. You can't read it in one sitting, it's like a book. It's full of faults and fixes.

There is a way to search that thread, too.
Teacher_s_Pet
Explorer
Aug 10, 2013
Quietjake....if you will notice in my signature we also have a Tiffin 40QSH Phaeton. That's a 40' 4 slide, 350HP Cat powered, diesel pusher, our "house". The 213 is a get-a-way rig for summer exploring. The 213 is in secure heated storage most of the year and the Phaeton takes a rest and replaces it for an upgrade in storage fees when we want to take a break.
quietjake
Explorer
Aug 10, 2013
TP: thanks for the ideas. I'm going to your blog, hope to see photos of your set up.

Hooray for the 213! I know there's a few things I need to buff out but the rig itself is very pleasing.

Any extras you haven't posted here or there please make further hints on solving whatever long term issues you had to fix.

EDIT: Am I to understand you are doing FULL TIME in the 213???
Teacher_s_Pet
Explorer
Aug 10, 2013
We just returned from a 10,430 mile trip to Alaska in our 2004 213, which now has a total of about 23,400 miles on it. Used a queen air mattress on folded down sofa and knocked down dinette. We carried an extra mattress as backup. The 1st mattress lasted for 78 of 79 days on the road believe it or not, at that point it developed a leak. I made supports to slide under the angles at each end of the sofa. The supports consisted of a 2"x4" coupling adapter and a 2" piece of pipe both out of schedule #80 ABS pipe. The pipe was slitted 2.5" x 1/4" at the center, down from the end. I plan to cut 1" thick mats to place under the cushions of the dinette, when the bed is laid out the mats would be laid at the junction of the sofa bed and dinette for added "filler" when using the queen mattress. I also added a Camco water heater hybrid element. This cut the amount of propane used considerably. We only purchased $56 of propane for the trip and we arrived at our starting point with a full tank after filling the start of the last day on the road.
Snowman9000
Explorer
Aug 10, 2013
quietjake wrote:
(just back from scouting storage/sofa) ~~sheepish but grateful voice ON~~ Thank you Snowman, I was just checking it out today. Is there a used market for the stock folding sofa torture device?

If you're not in a hurry, I be someone would buy it off Craigslist. Maybe someone building out a toyhauler or something.
quietjake
Explorer
Aug 09, 2013
(just back from scouting storage/sofa) ~~sheepish but grateful voice ON~~ Thank you Snowman, I was just checking it out today. Is there a used market for the stock folding sofa torture device?
Snowman9000
Explorer
Aug 09, 2013
quietjake wrote:
Thanks for the destruco-view, I think our cargo-bottom is lower than this photo. Our under-sofa storage is open to the bay there, and I can reach down below floor level to grab stuff. Will have to look more and take a few photos.

I think the box out thing behind the sofa has confused your perception of where the storage space is. It's all above the floor, I guarantee it.

:)

The way to see it best is to open the outside storage door, then go inside and lift up the sofa seat and look under it.

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