20' or less; sleeps 6; no tent ends?

ependydad wrote:
The thing is 90% of the time, our camper is perfect for the traveling that we do. There is just that 8% where a "camping camper" would be nice over our "traveling camper" and then there is that 2% that the big camper doesn't fit where we want to go and then I tent it. This is a curiosity more than a need or even something that I feel strongly enough on acting immediately.

Nothing wrong with thinking it out.

We started with a 20ft TT which after we bought it we discovered major amount of rot damage.. Fixed it up with new interior including all ne upper cabinets.

Then we realized that the space and layout was not all that great so we toyed with the wish list of things we wanted like a queen bed in a bedroom, a full size bed and a twin bunk. We could not find anything in sizes under 31ft.

So, I spent a lot of time drawing out different layouts unit I managed to fit it into a 26ft length.

Then the plan was to build from scratch.. Had a frame builder lined up but before we pulled the trigger I found a 26ft TT for $800.. It was severely water damaged but it had most of what we needed (windows and all that).

So.. 2 1/2 years later we had a trailer which fits our needs, this Summer marks the 7th year we have been using our customized trailer!

OUR TRAILER REBUILD

So with a little luck that link will work for you.. Google kind of messes with pictures in that PDF so the only way to fully veiw the pictures is download to your PC and open with your Adobe reader.

The thing is 90% of the time, our camper is perfect for the traveling that we do. There is just that 8% where a "camping camper" would be nice over our "traveling camper" and then there is that 2% that the big camper doesn't fit where we want to go and then I tent it. This is a curiosity more than a need or even something that I feel strongly enough on acting immediately.

ependydad wrote:

Gdetrailer wrote:
If the OP doesn't believe me, then I would suggest the OP create a "mockup" outline of a trailer using the box size of 8ft W x 17ft Long (the max inside dimensions) in their yard or garage.

Mark out in string or chalk the outline then try fitting in two full size beds plus say two twin bunks. Try fitting one queen size, one full size and two twin bunks..

If you don't have the place to play with a full layout then get some quarter inch graph paper use 1/4"= 1ft scale and cut out beds and other furniture to the same scale and try placing it all within the trailer.

Then add in full bath, kitchen and storage..

So, I had some fun doing just that. My tool of choice was Visio- mostly because it's what I have available to me. It's a diagramming software. I used simple boxes to represent the different things (beds, appliances, fixtures, etc.). I drew everything to the scale of 1" = 2'. I used a spreadsheet to convert every number according to that scale:
target/to scale inches = original size inches * (1 / 24)

This was a fun exercise. I came up with the following:

Click for larger version

To make it all work, I had to include 2 slides and a murphy bed to make it manageable:

1. Assumed a 8' x 17' box; 3" walls inside of that (no idea how thick RV walls actually are)
   
2. Shower, toilet, sink, oven, refrigerator and bed sizes were looked up and shown according to dimensions that I found
   
3. The murphy bed must be in the up position for the living area to be useable; otherwise, access to the fridge and dinette are tight
   
4. The murphy bed must be in the up position for travel (not sure if that's how they're designed)
   
5. I haven't thought out the placement of furnace, water heater, water pump (potentially in the wardrobe at the foot of the bunks, linen closet in bath and possibly under the sink)
   
6. I've committed the cardinal sin that the fridge is wholly inaccessible with the passenger side slide in
   
7. Appliances and sink in a slide - TBD how problematic this could be
   
8. No thought to placement of axles or clearance of wheel wells needed (this alone makes me wonder if this is a non-starter)
   
9. No thought whatsoever about weight distribution or tongue weight
   
10. Allows for 3' from the end of the camper to the end of the coupler
    
11. No bumper provisioned
    
12. Very little thought to storage/cabinetry
    

Well that was fun. And now to forget about it completely because I totally can't afford a custom built camper and this is outside of the realm of my ability to build.

I'm curious what peoples opinions of these are. Thoughts, likes, dislikes, witty commentary?

Clearly illustrates as to why you can't find what you are looking for and was not a waste of your time.

Laying out all the things you want is a great way of discovering what fits and what doesn't fit..

I would doubt any manufacturer would pick up on a dual hard slide in such a small foot print as others mentioned weight and complexity come to mind. Typically folks looking at this small size are looking for much lighter weight and that isn't happening with two slides.

With that said, with your budget not allowing for custom build then your going to have to bend somewhere..

Hybrids, popups, toy hauler or even putting a cap on your truck (you can buy a cap and cut in a roof mounted A/C unit add in a few homemade curtains and a couple of cots and you now have sleeping space for two adults or kids)..

Alternately you might need to consider just ante up for the extra 20ft of storage space (giving you 40ft which WILL fit trailers which HAVE the sleeping space) and get a trailer that best suits your needs..

I'd buy that in a heartbeat if it didn't have the above mentioned weight concerns.

The marketability of this unit is pretty far out there. Given the dual slides, the weight of it would be significant, yet the size very small. I doubt many people are going to want a 3/4-ton+ truck for a 20' camper.

Gdetrailer wrote:
If the OP doesn't believe me, then I would suggest the OP create a "mockup" outline of a trailer using the box size of 8ft W x 17ft Long (the max inside dimensions) in their yard or garage.

Mark out in string or chalk the outline then try fitting in two full size beds plus say two twin bunks. Try fitting one queen size, one full size and two twin bunks..

If you don't have the place to play with a full layout then get some quarter inch graph paper use 1/4"= 1ft scale and cut out beds and other furniture to the same scale and try placing it all within the trailer.

Then add in full bath, kitchen and storage..

So, I had some fun doing just that. My tool of choice was Visio- mostly because it's what I have available to me. It's a diagramming software. I used simple boxes to represent the different things (beds, appliances, fixtures, etc.). I drew everything to the scale of 1" = 2'. I used a spreadsheet to convert every number according to that scale:
target/to scale inches = original size inches * (1 / 24)

This was a fun exercise. I came up with the following:

Click for larger version

To make it all work, I had to include 2 slides and a murphy bed to make it manageable:

1. Assumed a 8' x 17' box; 3" walls inside of that (no idea how thick RV walls actually are)
   
2. Shower, toilet, sink, oven, refrigerator and bed sizes were looked up and shown according to dimensions that I found
   
3. The murphy bed must be in the up position for the living area to be useable; otherwise, access to the fridge and dinette are tight
   
4. The murphy bed must be in the up position for travel (not sure if that's how they're designed)
   
5. I haven't thought out the placement of furnace, water heater, water pump (potentially in the wardrobe at the foot of the bunks, linen closet in bath and possibly under the sink)
   
6. I've committed the cardinal sin that the fridge is wholly inaccessible with the passenger side slide in
   
7. Appliances and sink in a slide - TBD how problematic this could be
   
8. No thought to placement of axles or clearance of wheel wells needed (this alone makes me wonder if this is a non-starter)
   
9. No thought whatsoever about weight distribution or tongue weight
   
10. Allows for 3' from the end of the camper to the end of the coupler
    
11. No bumper provisioned
    
12. Very little thought to storage/cabinetry
    

Well that was fun. And now to forget about it completely because I totally can't afford a custom built camper and this is outside of the realm of my ability to build.

I'm curious what peoples opinions of these are. Thoughts, likes, dislikes, witty commentary?

SkiMore wrote:
19' TT with bunk beds - put the kids on the floor

http://www.palominorv.com/productinfo.aspx?model=canyoncat&page=floorplandetails&floorplanid=4468&RVType=



or 18' tt and build a bunk over the queen bed
6 people in 3 beds.

http://www.palominorv.com/productinfo.aspx?model=palomini&page=floorplandetails&floorplanid=5365&RVType=

I don't think the length in the specifications INCLUDE the TONGUE length. Counting the squares the 18ft or so length is the BOX, the tongue WILL add an additional 3'-3.5' to the length..

OP is trying to find a trailer which the length from bumper to the tip of the TONGUE can not exceed 20ft..

19' TT with bunk beds - put the kids on the floor

http://www.palominorv.com/productinfo.aspx?model=canyoncat&page=floorplandetails&floorplanid=4468&RVType=



or 18' tt and build a bunk over the queen bed
6 people in 3 beds.

http://www.palominorv.com/productinfo.aspx?model=palomini&page=floorplandetails&floorplanid=5365&RVType=

To help put it into perspective I dug up a few pictures of the inside of my old 20ft TT







There was a bunk over top the front bed but I removed it when I was repairing the trailer from extensive water damage. We didn't need that bunk but I did put additional support in the walls so the bunk could be put back in..

Front bed in the pix was made up as a couch for seating during the day.

That is very tight..

You can sleep six with some of the bunk bed options on 16-foot molded fiberglass trailers, but at that length you have to give up the bathroom to get the 5th and 6th bunks.

A 19-foot Escape would work if you could get the factory to leave out the cabinets over the front dinette, and rig a pair of pipe cots over that space. That's how we managed to get beds for eight (we actually slept 10 first trip because you can put a lot of little ones onto a 60x80 inch bed) in a 18-foot Corsair, early 1960s.

It is not that the TT manufacturers can't build something like this, because they used to do it regularly. They don't do it now because there just is not a market for it, families that large want more space to move around inside when they are not sleeping, so bunkhouses tend to be 25-30 foot.