Forum Discussion

Proteus's avatar
Proteus
Explorer
Jun 07, 2018

Where are the modern euro style travel trailers?

After going to a few RV shows, it’s just incredibly frustating that we can’t seem to find a travel trailer that doesn’t look and feel like it was designed back in the 80’s.
Closest i’ve seen to what we want is Airstream, but they seem ridiculously overpriced.
Looking outside the US, of course there are some amazing options, all in the $30-40k range equivalent. Where are the US manufacturers who can come close to this?
http://www.adria-mobil.com/caravans/alpina/
or this
http://www.coachman.co.uk/vip
The fit and finish, interior quality all seem lightyears beyond what we have available here. And they’re around half the price of an equivalent Airstream
Anyone know if anyone is importing these anytime soon?
  • valhalla360's avatar
    valhalla360
    Navigator
    Jun 07, 2018
    SoundGuy wrote:
    valhalla360 wrote:
    Have you ever used a euro-RV?

    Low ceilings, narrow, no slides, no air/con, cassette toilet, etc...


    Have you? :h

    I posted in another concurrent thread these pics of an Australian caravan ...





    These beautifully constructed caravans hardly meet your erroneous description of so-called European styled campers, other than to say that slides are not favoured as they are here in N America. Quality of construction far surpasses what is produced here and even smaller units are fully featured, very often including built in washing machines, collapsing dinette table pedestals, huge windows, huge skylights, designer style lavatories that NA manufacturers could only dream of. :B The problem here is simple - NA buyers are just not willing to pay for campers of this quality. :R


    Yes, I have...hence my post.

    When did Australia get moved to Europe?

    And check out the specs on the Aussie models. They are generally narrower and shorter. Which is fine if it meets your needs but when you have small areas it's amazing what an extra foot of width will do to the feeling of space.
  • mgirardo's avatar
    mgirardo
    Explorer
    Jun 07, 2018
    SoundGuy wrote:
    valhalla360 wrote:
    Have you ever used a euro-RV?

    Low ceilings, narrow, no slides, no air/con, cassette toilet, etc...


    Have you? :h

    I posted in another concurrent thread these pics of an Australian caravan ...

    These beautifully constructed caravans hardly meet your erroneous description of so-called European styled campers, other than to say that slides are not favoured as they are here in N America.


    You are aware that Australia isn't in Europe right? The OP asked about European RVs.

    -Michael
  • Lwiddis's avatar
    Lwiddis
    Explorer II
    Jun 07, 2018
    Berkshire Hathaway didn't buy Forest River to assist with increasing competition.
  • SoundGuy's avatar
    SoundGuy
    Explorer
    Jun 07, 2018
    valhalla360 wrote:
    Have you ever used a euro-RV?

    Low ceilings, narrow, no slides, no air/con, cassette toilet, etc...


    Have you? :h

    I posted in another concurrent thread these pics of an Australian caravan ...





    These beautifully constructed caravans hardly meet your erroneous description of so-called European styled campers, other than to say that slides are not favoured as they are here in N America. Quality of construction far surpasses what is produced here and even smaller units are fully featured, very often including built in washing machines, collapsing dinette table pedestals, huge windows, huge skylights, designer style lavatories that NA manufacturers could only dream of. :B The problem here is simple - NA buyers are just not willing to pay for campers of this quality. :R
  • colliehauler's avatar
    colliehauler
    Explorer III
    Jun 07, 2018
    valhalla360 wrote:
    Have you ever used a euro-RV?

    Low ceilings, narrow, no slides, no air/con, cassette toilet, etc...

    White or other light color interiors to help show dirt when the kids come in from playing in the mud.

    They serve their purpose in Europe where tow vehicles have much lower tow ratings, power is 3 times the price and campground sites are a fraction of the size of American ones.

    Style is subjective. The average buyer particularly among bigger units are older and more conservative, so they probably aren't interested in the modern look.

    You might try something like the rpod for a similar look.
    Have to agree with the statement (The average buyer particularly among bigger units are older and more conservative).

    I looked at a DRV and did not care for the 80's interior. Love the build quality of the unit I seen but that was several years ago.

    Carriage had a very modern interior designed model and it did not sell well.
  • Proteus's avatar
    Proteus
    Explorer
    Jun 07, 2018
    Thanks. Did look at Livinlite, but the build quality isn’t quite there. Cheap vinyl trim, etc. Only thing in the US that I’ve seen to be competitive is Airstream, and they cost about 2x the price of the euro models I linked...and also heavier.
    The *one* exception I saw was the Jayco Skylark from a few years ago, but they’re no longer available and were a bit too small. I’d get a 24” version of that in a heartbeat.
  • valhalla360's avatar
    valhalla360
    Navigator
    Jun 07, 2018
    Have you ever used a euro-RV?

    Low ceilings, narrow, no slides, no air/con, cassette toilet, etc...

    White or other light color interiors to help show dirt when the kids come in from playing in the mud.

    They serve their purpose in Europe where tow vehicles have much lower tow ratings, power is 3 times the price and campground sites are a fraction of the size of American ones.

    Style is subjective. The average buyer particularly among bigger units are older and more conservative, so they probably aren't interested in the modern look.

    You might try something like the rpod for a similar look.
  • bob213's avatar
    bob213
    Explorer
    Jun 07, 2018
    I agree. Both of your links appear to be light years ahead of our choices. Our problem is we keep buying the poorly constructed, out of date products US mfgs. want to push out the door. Until we demand more we'll keep getting less. If they did import them, Coachman would have to start putting their doors on the opposite side to work in the US. Our Mfgs. need some real competition.

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