Ready to buy a hybrid but which one and how?
EDITED to slope of driveway - I actually have no idea what the slope is because I think I threw out the paper with the calculations! Oops! I think 21 degrees might be right. Hello, I posted a cou...
Forum Discussion
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I mean that - I honestly need to bounce ideas off people and this helps a ton. Let me respond to all the comments in one post:
DH camped in popups for years and doesn't mind them a bit. I have to have my own bed and toilet and a kitchenette wouldn't hurt. I've tent camped for years when young and it was fine. Didn't love it and I've developed some health problems so I think being more self-contained in a TT makes more sense now. I kind of worry a little about the condensation issues and noisy neighbors with a hybrid but if it's better than a tent I'll deal with it.
Jayco - I should have mentioned the 3-bed Jaycos as well. DH has some fears about our driveway - people who don't camp have said "how're you going to get a camper up that?" So we thought the shorter the camper, the better chance of not bottoming out if that makes sense. I looked at floorplans and videos and figured we could make a 2-bed hybrid work to save a couple feet in length. Wed just have to have 2 kids on the dinette every night.
That hitch weight mentioned above scares me. I'm trying to understand all the numbers and I've come a little way - I'm not looking at 9000 pound trailers ha ha! But yeah to get a smaller hitch weight and be able to sleep everyone - idk how to do that.
The big internet sellers - that is totally uncharted territory for us so thank you for the warnings and recommendations. Also the prices we should be budgeting on. DH wanted older but I think I'm convincing him that hybrids seem almost "disposable" with a 10-year lifespan and more maintenance issues than other types of trailers so it doesn't seem like it makes sense to buy an old one with an uncertain past. I will definitely check out the seller in Pennsylvania.
The technical aspects of increasing clearance - that's good to know. I just figured as long as bottoming out is an unknown, the higher the better? But we'd feel better not doing modifications.
And I will go read up on the Keystone Outback - we are closing in on 50 and I've got RA so the easier the better in my book. We went to an RV show in Atlanta and what a disappointment. It was mostly giant motorhomes. There was one hybrid an two popups. And one other TT that interested me - an Aerolite with THREE double bunks and a separate queen size bed in the front. But I've never heard of Aerolite or Keystone really for that matter. I need to "buy my second trailer first" as y'all say and with 2 boys and 2 girls I'm trying to picture how they're going to need to sleep as teens. But the Outback 250urs gives me encouragement to check out the shorter bunkhouse trailers wrt my driveway.
We've only got 2wd so we wondered if we would need to pull the trailer up forward then unhitch and turn the expedition around in the yard! I've read about transmissions overheating in reverse but out driveway is really short. Like 40 feet long maybe? I figured towing up then later backing down could be easier on us and the transmission.
UPDATE! I just asked DH and he can't find the calculations... and he did it last year so I'm not 100% sure if the driveway is 21 degrees or 21%. Probably whichever is steeper!
DH camped in popups for years and doesn't mind them a bit. I have to have my own bed and toilet and a kitchenette wouldn't hurt. I've tent camped for years when young and it was fine. Didn't love it and I've developed some health problems so I think being more self-contained in a TT makes more sense now. I kind of worry a little about the condensation issues and noisy neighbors with a hybrid but if it's better than a tent I'll deal with it.
Jayco - I should have mentioned the 3-bed Jaycos as well. DH has some fears about our driveway - people who don't camp have said "how're you going to get a camper up that?" So we thought the shorter the camper, the better chance of not bottoming out if that makes sense. I looked at floorplans and videos and figured we could make a 2-bed hybrid work to save a couple feet in length. Wed just have to have 2 kids on the dinette every night.
That hitch weight mentioned above scares me. I'm trying to understand all the numbers and I've come a little way - I'm not looking at 9000 pound trailers ha ha! But yeah to get a smaller hitch weight and be able to sleep everyone - idk how to do that.
The big internet sellers - that is totally uncharted territory for us so thank you for the warnings and recommendations. Also the prices we should be budgeting on. DH wanted older but I think I'm convincing him that hybrids seem almost "disposable" with a 10-year lifespan and more maintenance issues than other types of trailers so it doesn't seem like it makes sense to buy an old one with an uncertain past. I will definitely check out the seller in Pennsylvania.
The technical aspects of increasing clearance - that's good to know. I just figured as long as bottoming out is an unknown, the higher the better? But we'd feel better not doing modifications.
And I will go read up on the Keystone Outback - we are closing in on 50 and I've got RA so the easier the better in my book. We went to an RV show in Atlanta and what a disappointment. It was mostly giant motorhomes. There was one hybrid an two popups. And one other TT that interested me - an Aerolite with THREE double bunks and a separate queen size bed in the front. But I've never heard of Aerolite or Keystone really for that matter. I need to "buy my second trailer first" as y'all say and with 2 boys and 2 girls I'm trying to picture how they're going to need to sleep as teens. But the Outback 250urs gives me encouragement to check out the shorter bunkhouse trailers wrt my driveway.
We've only got 2wd so we wondered if we would need to pull the trailer up forward then unhitch and turn the expedition around in the yard! I've read about transmissions overheating in reverse but out driveway is really short. Like 40 feet long maybe? I figured towing up then later backing down could be easier on us and the transmission.
UPDATE! I just asked DH and he can't find the calculations... and he did it last year so I'm not 100% sure if the driveway is 21 degrees or 21%. Probably whichever is steeper!
