No Slide Out Travel Trailer

rjxj wrote:
2012 Coleman, You made me laugh. I was in the Denver area in November helping my son with a house renovation and knew it would be getting cold. Problem is it went down to -5 one night. I ended up putting house siding fiber board around my tank area and put an electric heater under there. I also had my furnace running all night and another electric heater inside the 5er. During the worst days I was burning 30 pounds of propane a day $26.00. As the weather backed off some, I went to a tank every other day.

I also had all the windows covered with that plastic bubble foil (reflexic???) from HD. It helped A LOT.

Hey - thats fine for a temporary situation. But you have people coming on here asking questions about living in a TT getting advised that it is doable while being totally ignorant of the inherent dangers of doing so. And as you deftly pointed out, the cost of propane per day. Added up, this amounts to rent.

Just trying to point that out

Some of the older trailers are far better suited for winter camping than the new ones.Water lines and water tank inside,not outside.My current trailer is the "Only" slide out model I have ever owned.

Some of the older trailers have excellent floor plans and plenty of room.Couch and two chairs in the front room/twins or single walk around bed and very livable years around.Been there done that a whole bunch in Idaho weather.

The downside is these trailers are longer and heavier to get the room one needs to full time it but as a single guy I full-timed in a 18ft Ideal..Perfect floorplan just like the Lance 1695(I think that is the number)

There are a huge selection of older floor plans out there as they changed alot then trying to suit the needs of the campers/RVers back then which is different then the way it is now.

2012 Coleman, You made me laugh. I was in the Denver area in November helping my son with a house renovation and knew it would be getting cold. Problem is it went down to -5 one night. I ended up putting house siding fiber board around my tank area and put an electric heater under there. I also had my furnace running all night and another electric heater inside the 5er. During the worst days I was burning 30 pounds of propane a day $26.00. As the weather backed off some, I went to a tank every other day.

I also had all the windows covered with that plastic bubble foil (reflexic???) from HD. It helped A LOT.

Look for a rear bunkhouse that you can convert the bunk bedroom into your work area. Take out what you don't want and install shelves and a table.
Lots of space in a bunkhouse if the floor plan is right.

These people thought it was "doable" too... Article

I had a TT with no slide. It served the purpose at the time but we quickly realized we wanted to head for warm weather each year we knew we absolutely had to have a slide model. I always say sure buy a non slide but get steel toes shoes for when you are stepping on each others toes. Maybe for one person it would be fine.

Go look at both models, sit in them and have the other person move around, pretend that you are living in it. There are couples who live in 16 foot rigs or even vans but.......

In this first example picture getting up from the dinette while someone is at the sink, or sitting on the couch and someone wanting to pass. BUT, it does have a basement and bunk area that could store stuff.

Steel toes

This example has enough room for that second person to be in a recliner. I'm not recommending either of these manufacturers or models, they are just random examples that I found. They are not mine. I have a 30 fifth wheel with 14' slide.

Kicked back

The bed, sofa and dinette are pretty much standard. As I read your post again I see you have a service dog. I dont know anything about that and I could be wrong but my assumption is that a service dog will not be like my toy fox terrier but something larger and more dominant and robust like a shepherd etc. Again, you will now have a third "person" who wants to move around now and then or at minimum has to have a spot of it's own like a dog bed off to a corner or something.

You didnt mention what your tow vehicle is. You need to start there. If you dont have a TV you can go buy any TT or 5er you like and then buy the TV but you may be surprised what you have to buy. It could be a used half ton for $8,000 or a new diesel 4 door 4x4 for $55,000.

Unless you shop in the top end you will not find well insulated rv's. It's probably more likely that you would find it in high end 5er's. Not a rule, just in general.

So Georgia wont be a terrible state to heat in but I think it would be a tougher state to cool in. A model with one ac unit may not work. Now when you get into 2 ac units we're talking 50 amp service etc.

So post more about your TV or what your budget is. It's not being nosy, it will give a base point to build from and there are people on here who have done this stuff for 50 years so you can get excellent guidance. Be patient and put a plan together or you will be wasting money by buying and selling again to get the right one

crochetdiva, I am with mrkoje and wondering why you are limiting yourself to that old of a trailer. I too live in GA and will agree that you will want something well built and I think you may find a newer one that is better insulated. Not sure where in GA you are, but as I am sure you know there is a big range in temps so will matter both Summer and Winter...

I have a TT that most would advise is too small to live in, but I believe I could live in it.. only by myself though.. I would definitely consider a variety of trailers and not be locked into a single one.

living in a TT is certainly doable in GA, but you need to be open to various floorplans and manufacturers so that you can get something workable at the price you are looking to spend. You need to really spend time in a TT to know if you can live in it full time.

IMHO, travel trailers are not intended to be permanant domiciles - espically in winter. Living in GA, will give you some slack, but you will still need to have heat in the winter - it was 17 degrees in Atlanta yesterday. People in your position often make fatal mistakes when using alternate methods to keep warm. TT walls are arounf 2 inches thick and not well insulated. Your choice of a non slide out unit is puzzling - have you ever been inside something like what your looking for? As you state, you will also be using this as a place to work with lots of supplies piled up plus a service dog. I urge you to reconsider.

Not sure how to respond to this. To answer most of your questions - yes there is such a thing. Actually most of the travel trailers you will see in the market have a queen (short) and have a dinette especially in the 25ft + size.

You can find trailers that are better insulated than others. Storage space is dependent on the floorplan you choose.

I would like to ask you why you put an arbitrary model year as a qualifier for your search - would you not consider a 2006 model year if it met your criteria?

Full-timing in a travel trailer, especially one with out a slide, might be possible for the well determined - for most it would be overly crowded. As with anything you could make it work with the right attitude.

As for recommendations - I would recommend you look for a Terry, Arctic Fox (Northwood MFG), Lance etc.. Those brands are reputable and well made (*cough *cough for RV standards anyways). Honestly, if you're limiting your search to pre-2005 you will just need to see what is on the market at the time you are ready to purchase. If you are looking for something very specific then it might take a long time to find it. If you are flexible - then some doors open for you.

Best of luck in your search - ask questions and the community here will try to help you with some answers.

P.S. if it is an option for you I would reconisder wanting to full time in a no-slide TT and instead try for a larger unit like a 5th wheel with a slide. Runner up would be a TT in the 28+ with a slide or two. The extra space might keep your sanity in check. : )