For those who have a small vehicle and love camping

BeckyIO wrote:
Not a Runaway owner myself but I find them fascinating. I belong to an owner's group on Facebook and have seen some pretty clever things done with the interior, can't post the pictures directly here since the group is closed but for those interested here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/RunawayCamperOwners/

Last month the company introduced a model that is tall enough to stand up in, the other two options are 4x8 and 6x8 and sitting room only. I'd call traveling in it "camping" over "RVing", but the benefit of that bare interior is you can customize it to have everything you want and nothing you don't, and you can always use a cot and plastic bins and such to get started with and upgrade as you go.

We were down in Ocala just after Christmas. We have a house down there that we are working on. We were going down the street and I spotted them on a lot....I had to turn around and go back and look. I think they are neat for those that like camping and not have a big vehicle.

rexlion,

We've had both also, a 6 X 10 flat front with rounded corners 6' high inside for years and our present long pointed Vee nosed enclosed trailer 6' X 12' X 6' high inside plus the point length floor. Empty trailer, approx 200 lbs heavier than the flat nosed. Got a full honest 2 MPG better fuel mileage behind the very same 05 Chevy I-6 Trailblazer (275 hp-275 torque) with the Vee nosed trailer with the same approx. loads on the same trips up to our Son's retirement home 168 miles north. Both trailers were loaded on the way up and mostly empty on the way back. 3 trips with the flat front and 2 trips with the Vee nose.

Always drive on cruise control at 60 or under (retired and no need to tow fast and besides, the speed limit in Michigan is 60 mph max when towing a trailer on Interstates and 55 mph on non-Interstates). The roads are close to half interstate and 2 lane highway. US-31 in West Michigan from Grand Haven area to the Traverse City area. Direct comparison! Must be the way you are/were driving with a nearly flat front vs Vee nosed trailer not to have seen a difference. Rockets, jets, airplanes and most anything else going thru the air/wind employs aerodynamics for a reason! Even vehicles today and think about it? A 5,000 lb boat on a trailer pulls much easier on the throttle than a 5,000 lb travel trailer and guess why?

We love "RV'n" in our big TT, but do sometimes want some more basic "camping" for a quick weekend away.

We don't tent camp (did for over 20 years while raising the kids) as we have gotten older and getting down onto the ground to sleep at night is the single biggest issue. We still love being outside and even the simple daily chores of cooking outside on a camp stove or over the campfire as you would while tent camping are no problem. So, a little hard-shell box with a better mattress and better weather protection to avoid that joyous experience of a windy storm tearing through camp at midnight while sleeping in a tent actually sound very appealing. Especially when you make it small enough that the little commuter car could even tow it and probably get more in the range of 20MPG and cost so cheap you can afford to buy a second camper.

I like the features in the Little Guy teardrops better than the Runaway, but the price difference sure does make it look pretty appealing - just spend a little cash and drive away to camp.
DW has already given the green light for "anything with a solid bed and heat / air conditioning for any cold or hot nights" I actually would like to build my own, but time for a project like that is the toughest thing for me as we have too many other irons in the fire already.

Not a Runaway owner myself but I find them fascinating. I belong to an owner's group on Facebook and have seen some pretty clever things done with the interior, can't post the pictures directly here since the group is closed but for those interested here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/RunawayCamperOwners/

Last month the company introduced a model that is tall enough to stand up in, the other two options are 4x8 and 6x8 and sitting room only. I'd call traveling in it "camping" over "RVing", but the benefit of that bare interior is you can customize it to have everything you want and nothing you don't, and you can always use a cot and plastic bins and such to get started with and upgrade as you go.

travelnutz wrote:
I can't see how those tiny cargo boxes make much sense at all. A tiny low height square end front wind pushing narrow box on a frame. For the same price and nearly the same weight, you can have a 6' X 10' with a 6' high interior so you can stand up in true V nosed cargo trailer that will render the same or better tow vehicle MPG's when towing and give double+ the room inside. Especially if an aluminum framed V nose cargo trailer is bought.

They can even be bought insulated in the side walls and roof. Our 6' X 12' X 6' high interior V nosed insulated cargo trailer with all steel construction, 3/4" pressure treated floor, insulated ceiling, aluminum skin exterior, 1/4" plywood interior skinned walls and ceiling over the insulation, with 8 tie down anchors in the floor, 30" wide door, and full rear door ramp weighs only 1380 lbs and it's 3 times the volume of interior than those tiny trailers. Cost new for ours was $2899. 3500# GVWR capacity. The little 5,000 BTU A/C unit can be bought in about any big box store for around $100. We thought about ordering the same with all aluminum construction and the weight would have been 920 lbs but the GVWR would have dropped to 3200# and the extra weight was not an issue for us. The V nosed trailer cuts right thru the air unlike a square ended trailer which pushes the wind backward (bucks the wind), a fuel mileage killer for small engine vehicles. We do not camp/sleep in our V nosed cargo trailer but sure could and be comfortable too! Yup, has a 14" X 14" opening roof vent also to vent heat etc.

Our V nosed was ordered insulated because we often carry things in it that could freeze but can't be allowed to. Lots of canned goods and liquids etc. We use a Lil Buddy propane heater inside hooked to a 20lb propane tank outside set on low (4500 BTU) and it keeps the inside of the trailer at about 50F when it's 10F to 20F outside. We used it in Northern Michigan many times in the winter and know how well it works.

These are the reasons I sure could not justify purchasing such an expensive tiny cramped trailer like these! Doesn't make logical sense! Aerodynamics is where sensible efficiency starts!

I would expect that a typical gas engine tug might get about 14 mpg with the Runaway, and 10-11 mpg with a regular height v-nose trailer. The former is admittedly a guess on my part, but the latter is not. I've had both flat-front and v-nose 6x12 cargo trailers, which I used extensively with the same loads on the same roads at the same speeds, and MPGs were virtually identical between the two. The v-nose didn't do a thing to help.

I like all these really small trailer ideas. This one looks cool. When I was fifty years younger I think my wife would have said go for it. Right after we spent a night in the back of our Chevy Citation trying to sleep because the tent was misting bad inside during a really bad storm.

The small hard sided ones are great for younger folks.

not too sure how long the interior is but a tall person might be cramped up just a bit.

aftermath wrote:
Mark and Linda,

There are many options out there for you. I suggest you concentrate on what you mean when you said, "we love to camp". Is your idea of camping crawling into the back of a closed up trailer and sleeping after you have removed all of the stuff you had in place? Are you staying put for any length of time? What does camping mean to you? Once you get this down, you will know what would work best for you.

I am an old guy who started in a tent, then went to a tent trailer which was GREAT and we had it for 17 years. I pulled it with a 4 cylinder Mazda pickup and we went everywhere with it. A tent trailer of some sort would be my first choice but then, I am not you. Good luck with the search.

I put it out for those who might like something like this. I started out tent camping when I was 4 years old in the mountains of California, spent a few months up there when I was 6 years old, as I progressed in age we tent camped on the coast many times. As I got older I camped with the Army, then later in years went back to tent camping once again. We bought a new Palomino PUP and loved camping in Tennessee and Georgia. I hated folding it up wet after having to leave the campground in a rain. Our next camping trip was in a 2009 Puma 25RS, we love it. We have had it four years now. I rolled out the awning earlier to let it dry out. The small trailers like I posted would be great for someone like my neighbor who is married, no children, like to camp but also like to go to many of the Nascar Races and not have to drag a big trailer with them.

Mark and Linda,

There are many options out there for you. I suggest you concentrate on what you mean when you said, "we love to camp". Is your idea of camping crawling into the back of a closed up trailer and sleeping after you have removed all of the stuff you had in place? Are you staying put for any length of time? What does camping mean to you? Once you get this down, you will know what would work best for you.

I am an old guy who started in a tent, then went to a tent trailer which was GREAT and we had it for 17 years. I pulled it with a 4 cylinder Mazda pickup and we went everywhere with it. A tent trailer of some sort would be my first choice but then, I am not you. Good luck with the search.

rbpru wrote:
The RV market has many niches, it is not my choice but it my well be perfect for another.

X2