Downsizing from TT to Hybrid

GamecockGal21 wrote:
Hello everyone. We just sold our 11 year old Travel Trailer (30 ft bunkhouse) and husband wants to go to a much smaller 15RB AR-ONE Starcraft Hybrid. He wants to tow less weight so we can travel further than before. We have had so many "mishaps" that come with camping (3 blow outs on one trip) that I am very worried about the "tent" end being trouble waiting to happen.

I'm also skeptical as I'm used to much more space and storage, but we definitely want a lighter weight camper. We don't spend a whole lot of time in the camper except for sleeping or when it's nasty outside, but when I do, I don't like to be cramped. I also really enjoy having my own bathroom.

We have a 16 yr old son (doesn't really get excited about anything) and 14 yr old daughter (excited about a "new" camper"). Also usually take our 2 dogs with us (35 lbs each).

What I'm wondering, is have any of you ever "downsized" like this and do you have any pros or cons about going from fully enclosed to hybrid? Thanks in advance!

Most hybrid owners were former popup owners and LOVE sleeping under canvas but want more amenities and less setup time.
They are willing to deal with the negatives of canvas to keep that "camping" feel.

Too many hybrid newbies never owned a popup but were drawn to them because of the open floorspace and sleeping capacity.
They end up selling it after one season because they never took the canvas in consideration.

And that Starcraft is a single axle and will be much worse to control when a tire blows.

I highly recommend reading through the above referenced thread. I have several posts in there so I don't really want to rehash it all here.

Just know that the biggest take away is that hybrids aren't for everyone. But isn't it great that we have so many choices?

Non-RVer these days, but we've had both a HTT and a TT. If you're thinking of daily stop/set up vs being in one place for a few days and then moving on, a hybrid can get old very quickly. We loved ours, but found on 2 longer trips that the daily set up/break down was a pain. Other than that, we loved our HTT. The TT took care of much of the daily chores and we loved every minute of it. Agree that you won't find much difference in fuel savings due to the frontal area. Somewhere around 10 mpg is a good day with either. We never had leakage issues, loved the openness of the HTT, loved the sounds of nature, never bothered with campground noise. No RV in our life due to a relocation to FL and other issues that came into play...miss it terribly, but that's the breaks. Recently noticed a resident in our community with an AR-one and it's a great looking smaller trailer...have not seen the inside. Strongly suggest you look closely at the must-have items you'd move from the TT to the HTT and consider storage space. That would be my only concern going to about half-size where you are now. Know going in that you'll definitely need to minimize, which we have found with our downsize move is a good thing. Less stuff = less maintenance = more time to enjoy life. Good luck.

There is actually another active thread in this forum discussing this very topic... lots of relevant info along with more opinions than people posting :)
http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/28805497.cfm

Don't be fooled that less weight will mean being able to tow further (ie better fuel economy). Frontal area and drag will have more effect on fuel economy than weight will. TTs and hybrids will have similar frontal areas unless the smaller trailer is also narrower (some are only 7' wide vs 8').

You won't see much difference in mpg between a 6k tt and a 5k htt. Even if you did, is it worth the extra set up and take down time, reduced security, noise etc you get with a hybrid? Don't get me wrong, we loved our old hybrid and a smaller trailer is easier to tow but I think you may be giving up more than you'll get in return.

I went from Hybrid to TT.
For you, pluses:
*Smaller so lighter weight
*Opening ends makes a lot of room and feels a lot bigger
*Lots of outside air - I argue this one since my new trailer has two doors and screens galore
minuses:
*Smaller doesn't always mean easier to tow. The front area is still fighting the wind.
*Canvas can leak but is easily fixed.
*Moisture builds on canvas when sleeping at night. Fixed with solar blankets on ends but something else to add during setup.
*Setup is longer. Takedown as well. In the rain stinks given you HAVE to open up immediately when you get home.
*More outside noise. Guy with generator or diesel truck doesn't care that you own a hybrid. :)

Just my observations, we loved our hybrid and I was sad to see it go. Looking forward to a regular TT though.

You may find that with the bunk ends extended, you have as much room as you did in the TT. We had one and loved it, but we just ran out of room with ours - there were 6 or 7 on each trip - so we upsized. Now we are part time - full timing (from May to September), and have a fifth wheel.

There is another thread currently running with all the pitfalls of hybrids and the water getting in is not really a consideration with the newer hybrids.

Here is the thread: Here