Newbie -- Considering Hybrid Purchase
After many years in a tent, the wife and I are looking to upgrade to hybrid. Have been looking at Kodiak Express 172E, Jayco 16XRB, and Starcraft Launch 16RB. We'd love to get any feedback on thes...
Forum Discussion
We've owned 3 Jayco trailers we purchased new. A '93 1208 pop-up, an '03 Kiwi 17a hybrid, and our current X20E hybrid. All have been solid trailers. No major issues. The only issues were little things like misaligned door locks, a strip or door molding not glued down all the way, loose screws on the microwave bracket, stuff like that. What's going to be most important for you is floor plan and your dealer.
As said above a hybrid is not for everyone, but also speaking from experience, having owned 2 hybrids over the past 13 years and still own, we can't say we're ready to be cooped up in a box just yet. We've been sleeping under some sort of tenting since 1985. We're in our middle 50s.
You can't compare pop-ups to hybrids. Different animals, it's an apples to oranges comparison. We had a pop-up for 10 years before buying our first hybrid in '03. Night and day difference. We don't miss the work and hassle of a pop-up at all. Closing up wet is big problem with pop-ups, in fact we got mold in ours even after I was pretty sure it was dried out. Never completely got rid of the stains.
Speaking of packing wet, our hybrids and others brands I've seen are vinyl covered canvas. They don't/can't get soaked. If they are wet when packing, they get dried with a towel. If it's raining, they get opened at home and toweled off. Not once have we gotten mold or mildew. If you live in HOA or in a no-RV zoned city, you've got far more issues than just drying the ends off. I'm honestly not sure we would have ever bought any trailer if I would have had to store somewhere else. The cost alone would have made me question it.
Heating/cooling has never been an issue. Even in 28 degree weather, or in 100 degree heat in the NV desert. My wife now likes a heating blanket to supplement the heat, but it's due to a medical condition. Some folks use PUGs to cover the bunk ends but I personally think that would be little gain for a lot of extra work. Those that use them love them.
We've done many over nighters without disconnecting. If our daughter was traveling with us I simply dropped the back bed and we slept on the dinette. Otherwise we didn't open anything and slept on the dinette.
As said above a hybrid is not for everyone, but also speaking from experience, having owned 2 hybrids over the past 13 years and still own, we can't say we're ready to be cooped up in a box just yet. We've been sleeping under some sort of tenting since 1985. We're in our middle 50s.
You can't compare pop-ups to hybrids. Different animals, it's an apples to oranges comparison. We had a pop-up for 10 years before buying our first hybrid in '03. Night and day difference. We don't miss the work and hassle of a pop-up at all. Closing up wet is big problem with pop-ups, in fact we got mold in ours even after I was pretty sure it was dried out. Never completely got rid of the stains.
Speaking of packing wet, our hybrids and others brands I've seen are vinyl covered canvas. They don't/can't get soaked. If they are wet when packing, they get dried with a towel. If it's raining, they get opened at home and toweled off. Not once have we gotten mold or mildew. If you live in HOA or in a no-RV zoned city, you've got far more issues than just drying the ends off. I'm honestly not sure we would have ever bought any trailer if I would have had to store somewhere else. The cost alone would have made me question it.
Heating/cooling has never been an issue. Even in 28 degree weather, or in 100 degree heat in the NV desert. My wife now likes a heating blanket to supplement the heat, but it's due to a medical condition. Some folks use PUGs to cover the bunk ends but I personally think that would be little gain for a lot of extra work. Those that use them love them.
We've done many over nighters without disconnecting. If our daughter was traveling with us I simply dropped the back bed and we slept on the dinette. Otherwise we didn't open anything and slept on the dinette.
