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
Listen to what Dutchman said. It was a very honest summary.
I went from tent, to popup, to hybrid and now finally a TT. We started in the tent with two young children but the rain and confining space took us to our popup. We camped in this for 17 years and loved the extra space and the ability to ride out the storms. Once the girls left we wanted a fridge and a bathroom so we got a 21ft Starcraft hybrid. Man, there was a lot of space inside. We were in our late 50s by now and were looking into traveling after retirement. We tried the travel thing with the hybrid and it was not easy. So, we moved up (?) again to a trailer.
I said all of this just to let you know that you should focus on how you camp, when you camp, where you camp and what your camping plans are going to be. I loved our hybrid but here are some things I found to be true. You HAVE to dry it out. Ours had vinyl/rubber tops on the bed ends but the sides were not. Putting it away wet will cause big issues. I live on the dry eastern side of Washington so it was not hard to manage this because we almost always camped during the summer months.
Pulling into camp and setting up a hybrid is not difficult but it does take some time. We made a 5 day trip and had to set up and tear down every day. It got a little old. Also, while on the road, accessing the trailer was not easy. Now we can just park and have full use of the trailer and it doesn't matter if it is raining. This was never an issue for us when we were young. It is now.
I went from tent, to popup, to hybrid and now finally a TT. We started in the tent with two young children but the rain and confining space took us to our popup. We camped in this for 17 years and loved the extra space and the ability to ride out the storms. Once the girls left we wanted a fridge and a bathroom so we got a 21ft Starcraft hybrid. Man, there was a lot of space inside. We were in our late 50s by now and were looking into traveling after retirement. We tried the travel thing with the hybrid and it was not easy. So, we moved up (?) again to a trailer.
I said all of this just to let you know that you should focus on how you camp, when you camp, where you camp and what your camping plans are going to be. I loved our hybrid but here are some things I found to be true. You HAVE to dry it out. Ours had vinyl/rubber tops on the bed ends but the sides were not. Putting it away wet will cause big issues. I live on the dry eastern side of Washington so it was not hard to manage this because we almost always camped during the summer months.
Pulling into camp and setting up a hybrid is not difficult but it does take some time. We made a 5 day trip and had to set up and tear down every day. It got a little old. Also, while on the road, accessing the trailer was not easy. Now we can just park and have full use of the trailer and it doesn't matter if it is raining. This was never an issue for us when we were young. It is now.
