Too much work for short trips, too small for long ones

Many of the posts here mention loading clothes, provisions, water, and emptying the holding tanks and unloading at the end. This is the same in any RV. The only real difference between a camper and trailer is a camper has to be loaded, a trailer has to be hitched. If you are in a hurry that's the difference between 20 minutes and 10 minutes. A motorhome is a little quicker, twist the key and go. Except that a motorhome has to be maintained as a motor vehicle (tires, oil changes, smog checks, etc.) so much of the savings in time are lost over a year.

I would not consider the time required to go as a big consideration. Much bigger issues are: is it big enough to keep you comfortable, and will it go where you want to go? A camper sometimes looses the former, but is unbeatable on the latter.

I've had two van conversions, a 5th wheel, a large trailer, a class A motorhome, and 2 truck campers. Every one of them had pros and cons.

Short or long , it don't matter to me. Loading and unloading, not that hard but you do need to have a little mechanical inclination.

"Too much work for short trips, too small for long ones"

For me it takes the same time and effort to prepare and pack regardless of the length of the trip. Longer trips require more grocery stops, laundry stops, fuel stops, basically stops to replenish supplies , and obviously give me more good days away and having fun. That being said sometimes a short weekend can be just what the doctor ordered and totally justify the time loading.

Too small is a personal preference and how you use your rig. My wife would say too small due to the fact that she spends many hours in the rig. I would say just right as I spend many hours outside the rig.

Best solution is to have a dedicated rig that is ready to go and take advantage of every chance we get:):):)

Is that yellow grass?
When everything in life is a compromise, TC take it to extreme. Each inch of space has its designation and when you add that inch here, you have to subtract it there.
You want easy to load camper, where it takes 3 steps to load your undies, you will not have big screen in it.
You want big basement storage, not only you will have to pay more for fuel, but you will have to avoid some bridges and drive slower due to stability issues.
Than you have manufacturers doing more or less practical units, so yes, you can find a TC that fits the title description, but most of us have found what fits our needs.

Kayteg1 wrote:

billyray50 wrote:

Kayteg1 wrote:
You are mistaking pointing the facts for bashing.
Telling that Host owners with all those stairs - don't need treadmill would be bashing ;)

I just viewed videos on your Fleetwood model. Wow your right! So much more wardrobe space than a host mammoth or cascade. NOT....LOL

Let me count, 3 wardrobes on Fleetwood main floor, including 1 that is 24" wide and 0 on Mammoth main floor.
Do you feel OK Bill?

Feeling just fine.. Thanks for asking.

There isn't "one" Mammoth floor plan, so it's hard to compare to another TC without knowing the specific options. For sure, the basement storage on most Mammoths is massive.

No worries for me though, I still haven't used all of my storage on a trip yet in my "tiny" 9 1/2 TC. :)

Stable-Lift to the rescue! :)

Mayteg, who cares? Let it go. Has nothing to do with the topic.....
To the OP, yes a TC like any other rv has its advantages and drawbacks.
Sometimes the TC is the better rigfor where we head to, but sometimes it would be easier to latch up to a TT, drag it to wherever we’re camping and unhook it.
I’m certain it takes me longer to load the TC than it would to get hooked to a trailer. Like 400% longer. Say only 15 min instead of an hour....or longer if the TC is stored in the shop at the time.

Too small? Nope, took a month long trip last year with 4 of us. But now I have the kids in a tent. Magically we have more room again. BUT this doesn’t work all the time beciase sometimes the tent option is impractical.
There’s no right or wrong answer, rather just what fits your needs and wants better.

billyray50 wrote:

Kayteg1 wrote:
You are mistaking pointing the facts for bashing.
Telling that Host owners with all those stairs - don't need treadmill would be bashing ;)

I just viewed videos on your Fleetwood model. Wow your right! So much more wardrobe space than a host mammoth or cascade. NOT....LOL

Let me count, 3 wardrobes on Fleetwood main floor, including 1 that is 24" wide and 0 on Mammoth main floor.
Do you feel OK Bill?

We have clothes, bedding and dry food always packed inside. I typically pack enough clothing for over a week without having to do laundry on the road. Propane and water are refilled after each trip since we go out often. Typically we pre pack fresh and frozen the night before and take off as soon I fight the evening commute home. About 8-9pm we stop for dinner and bed the first night whether still enroute or at our destination.

Trips in poor weather, we leave the trailer and toys behind at home. Better weather, it comes along and we use fair weather vehicles to sight see. A 10-day trip in January of the Oregon coast was trailerless, but an upcoming 3-day trip of the northern Puget Sound will hopefully have it along. I may even drive one of our cars into the trailer if weather shows wet.