Hornnumb2 wrote:
Is a hybrid out of the question?
Is a hybrid one where it has pop-up style slide-outs or tip-outs?
If so, then I'm not sure. So far, I've avoided them, but here's why. With our pop-up, we cannot pack into the camper. The slide-out dinette and beds and tip-out kitchen pack into the interior space. So, we have to pack into luggage, bins, coolers, etc., load those into the truck, then load them into the camper once we setup camp. And coming home is the reverse. All that translates into touching each item six or more times per trip. And, all that fuss and bother diminishes our excitement about going in the first place. We're loving the idea of packing the camper out directly in the driveway and being setup and torn down at camp in minutes.
Those features of our current pop-up also mean the inside is inaccessible once we break camp. So, if we want to stop on the way home and have lunch, I have to plan ahead and pull out items that live in the camper (paper plates, utensils, salt, etc.) and be sure to pack the coolers and food at the rear of the truck. And, any items that belong on the camper (salt, extra plates, utensil boxes) have to make their way back into the camper. So, when we get home, we have to either pop up the camper to put them back or store them in a "put back into camper next time" bin in the garage. This dance is not fun and means we eat out more often than we'd like when we're en route. With the interior accessible, I could even see using it as a home base on a short day trip!
So, I think any design that involves beds (or whatever) that slide in and significantly impede internal use or packing of the camper are absolutely out. But, I think we're willing to consider designs where they don't. Several designs in consideration have short hard-sided slide-outs, usually in the dinette. We could still easily pack and use the campers with these designs. DH isn't too excited about climbing over a dinette to get into bed (as I've seen in some designs), but everything is a trade-off, right? If it was 100% perfect otherwise, he'd climb!
