Which should I buy?
Hi everyone, I am new here and I'm looking for some advice. I currently own a Coleman popup, but we are looking to get a hybrid travel trailer. We have two adults and two little girls (6&3 yo). We ...
Forum Discussion
vivaster wrote:
Does anybody have experience with going from a popup to a travel trailer? Why are there so many nightmare stories with hybrids and leakage? Someone mentioned "buying other peoples problems". Is that true? Sorry about all the questions, I am unfortunately a little worried and also feel blessed that we have been so lucky with our Coleman popup.
We went from a Coleman to our current Roo. We didn't want to give up the "camping feel" of the popup, but it was time for more features - bathroom, AC, real kitchen, easy of packing & setup... No problems and we love it.
But, with a popup the roof curves over the walls all the way around - pretty simple. As stated, any light weight travel trailer is going to have a potential to leak - lots of seams and caulking on the roof. And hybrid bunk doors are another spot for water to get in. Manufacturers seemed to have learned as they went - the older designs have improved with experience to make better seals. And some manufacturers just got out of that segment all together. Forest River (Roo, Shamrock, Solaire, Coachmen, Surveyor) and Jayco/StarCraft seem to be the 2 most committed manufacturers still in the game. Some campers may have design issues, and others may just leak because the factory had a bad day and its a workmanship issue on a particular unit. No way to really know what % of hybrids actually have issues, but I don't think its "most" and I think over time the issues are decreasing with better seal designs.
They are great campers - just be careful. If you find one with a history of leaks, even if its fixed, there is probably hidden damage. If you find one that hasn't leaked, its probably not going to as long as its maintained.
