Opinions on Alto Safari Condo and Vehicle

[NYCgrrl]

I decided to put our summer tenting to the side, buy a small modified tear drop and tour the US for several months as a retirement present. It'll just be 2 of us and because we live in NYC this will be the first time we will own a car since..the mid '70's. As such we'll be buying not only a TT but a car at the same time. Strange how life goes isn't it?...content being car-less for decades and then BAM,change up LOL.

So this is the style we are prolly going to buy:

ALTO CONDO SAFARI R1723

Dry weight: 1725

I'm thinking a car with a towing capacity of 3000-3500 lbs would be about right. Haven't picked a car yet though I know of someone with a similar model that uses a Golf.

Anyway back to the TT.....any deficiencies noted in the layout or specs? Do the solar panels seem to provide a nice amt of power for infrequent TV use(maybe once a wk) and constant radio as well as charging smartphones and a tablet? I've done a lot of reading on te subject but I'm sure there are areas I've missed.

TIA!:)

[NYCgrrl]

I haven't read of any maintenance problems with either style roofs to date; reported mechanical probs seem to revolve around the heating system but not the cooling aspect. The electric roof is covered under the manufacturer's 2 year warranty(which appears to be longer than most RV warranties) and has been in production since at least 2008. I imagine the company's newer version w/ the fixed roof uses construction perfected in their well established line of MHs. I will certainly ask about end user maintenance of the sealed electric roof actuators-great question!

[NYCgrrl]

Bumpyroad wrote:
I note that the drop top one only has a 3.1 cu ft refrigerator. can't find specs on hard top.
bumpy

It seems all the models in this series have the same sized fridge:3.1

[ependydad]

NYCgrrl wrote:
I like the electric roof because it's "eye candy cool" much like slideouts;

No, slideouts offer much more space relative to the same towed footprint (at the cost of additional weight). They're not just "eye candy". 🙂

Kind of like this electric roof lowering the frontal area. There's a reason - you have to decide if the extra maintenance is worth the possible cost savings (I'm betting slim to negligible).

These are hella cool, though.

[Bumpyroad]

I note that the drop top one only has a 3.1 cu ft refrigerator. can't find specs on hard top.
bumpy

[NYCgrrl]

4monkeys wrote:
rexlion makes a good point, if you haven't owned a car for a while....if you're going to be driving a good bit when you're NOT towing - they make many models now that run on lower cylinders whenever it can. Our Honda Pilot is like that. It helps save on fuel economy, etc, when you're just toolin' around town and don't need the max power available.

We rented a few hybrids in the past...a Prius and maybe the other one was a Honda Insight. Luvved the fuel economy yet doubt any of them have any tow capacity to speak of:(. O and on getting gear back and forth from the campground our fav was the Toyota Sienna..fit all out gear with room for 4 passengers but am hoping we can get a smaller car than that w/ better fuel consumption
Errrrr but you are talking about a different animal aren't you,monkey and rexlion?:D.Sighhh...more homework ahead;):S

[Bumpyroad]

I just had another thought. unlike how it works on a HiLo, that moveable roof goes down inside of the bottom section. a lot of joints to keep watertight that are facing up, not down.
bumpy

[Bumpyroad]

and remember just like slides, that roof is something else to maintain, pay to rebuild, have issues, etc. some folks here are wary of having slides due to potential issues and they have been around what 30 years? 🙂
what is the $$$ difference between the two, stationary and moveable roof? unless you are planning on keeping moving the rest of your life I doubt it will ever pay off. and all of that extra glass, although tinted, will be a horrible heat sink and put any small AC to the test.
like a hi-lo was, it would be great if you lived in a subdivision with HOA rules against parking a RV outside, but once you get past the eye candy issue, just more to go wrong.
bumpy

[4monkeys]

rexlion makes a good point, if you haven't owned a car for a while....if you're going to be driving a good bit when you're NOT towing - they make many models now that run on lower cylinders whenever it can. Our Honda Pilot is like that. It helps save on fuel economy, etc, when you're just toolin' around town and don't need the max power available.

[rexlion]

I first saw the Alto on the web about 5 years ago and wanted one. Too much money for my budget, however... and back then they would not sell in USA anyhow, but it sounds like that has changed. They are attractive, innovative, useful trailers. If that's what you want and you can afford it, follow your dream.

Any vehicle that comes with a 3500 lb tow rating (and 350 lb hitch weight rating) should handle this trailer just fine. Realistically the Alto will probably weigh 2500 lb or more when loaded, and likely the tongue will weigh 300 or even 350 depending on where the water tanks are and whether they are full or empty. For a long trip there is just no use skimping on tow vehicle. You want a little extra safety margin.

I don't know if there are many cars with that tow rating. The Toyota Camry, perhaps? But there are plenty of small SUVs and crossovers and minivans that will do the job. And really the fuel economy while towing will probably be very similar among most of them... I would suspect around 15 to 18 mpg for a low profile trailer like that. One exception would be a small diesel such as in the Jeep Grand Cherokee, which might net you low 20s. Another type of vehicle that might save you gas would be something with a 4 cylinder and a manual transmission (Toyota Tacoma comes to mind, 3500 lb rating) but you certainly will be moving slowly up any long grades in mountain areas with something like that.

You might look at Ford Escape with the 2L Ecoboost, Hyundai Santa Fe, Toyota Highlander, Jeep Cherokee V6 or the Grand Cherokee, Mercedes ML series, or similar.

[NYCgrrl]

Bumpyroad wrote:

NYCgrrl wrote:
Re: pricing.They just re-did the web site recently so pricing is no longer listed. I did speak with their US sales rep, Dennis, and I'm wrong about the 25K. That's the price for the fixed roof model which I no longer want. W/ double solar panels, heat pump plus optional furnace(still deciding whether I need the extra propane furnace), upgraded hitch package, a custom microwave convection oven to replace the standard microwave; plus 1-12V jack and 2 extra electrical outlets, additional roof height storage, COM upholstery fabric, the price will be approx 29.5K.

The heat pump functions as an a/c as well as 'timed' heater and the 3 speed roof exhaust fan are standard. O and the standard black out curtains can be seen in one of the thumbnail pics of the website.

Thanks for all the good questions cause they are keeping me thinking and evaluating!:D

have you ever lived with only heat pump heating? I'd get the extra propane furnace. why did you decide against the hard roofed one? the hard roofed one seems nicer to me, but not as much eye candy. is that 29.5K for the moveable roofed one?
bumpy

just had a thought, the heat pump needs a back up heat system, like every other heat pump our there. can't be electric I would think based on current required so would have to be propane????

I like the electric roof because it's "eye candy cool" much like slideouts; the profile can be lowered thus less fuel consumption per gal. on the highway (this is up fer grabs; I plan to ask how much savings it produces over a specific time frame so I can do a cost analysis)and it'll fit in a standard garage if that option is needed.
Never lived with a heat pump...this is oil furnace country,LOL. Been reading the blog of a Canadian Alto owner who started out w/ only the heat pump and eventually retrofitted an additional furnace. You are right too- it's propane.

[Bumpyroad]

NYCgrrl wrote:
Re: pricing.They just re-did the web site recently so pricing is no longer listed. I did speak with their US sales rep, Dennis, and I'm wrong about the 25K. That's the price for the fixed roof model which I no longer want. W/ double solar panels, heat pump plus optional furnace(still deciding whether I need the extra propane furnace), upgraded hitch package, a custom microwave convection oven to replace the standard microwave; plus 1-12V jack and 2 extra electrical outlets, additional roof height storage, COM upholstery fabric, the price will be approx 29.5K.

The heat pump functions as an a/c as well as 'timed' heater and the 3 speed roof exhaust fan are standard. O and the standard black out curtains can be seen in one of the thumbnail pics of the website.

Thanks for all the good questions cause they are keeping me thinking and evaluating!:D

have you ever lived with only heat pump heating? I'd get the extra propane furnace. why did you decide against the hard roofed one? the hard roofed one seems nicer to me, but not as much eye candy. is that 29.5K for the moveable roofed one?
bumpy

just had a thought, the heat pump needs a back up heat system, like every other heat pump our there. can't be electric I would think based on current required so would have to be propane????

[NYCgrrl]

Re: pricing.They just re-did the web site recently so pricing is no longer listed. I did speak with their US sales rep, Dennis, and I'm wrong about the 25K. That's the price for the fixed roof model which I no longer want. W/ double solar panels, heat pump plus optional furnace(still deciding whether I need the extra propane furnace), upgraded hitch package, a custom microwave convection oven to replace the standard microwave; plus 1-12V jack and 2 extra electrical outlets, additional roof height storage, COM upholstery fabric, the price will be approx 29.5K.

The heat pump functions as an a/c as well as 'timed' heater and the 3 speed roof exhaust fan are standard. O and the standard black out curtains can be seen in one of the thumbnail pics of the website.

Thanks for all the good questions cause they are keeping me thinking and evaluating!:D

[4monkeys]

I think the prices came down. I think when I looked 3 yrs ago it was a lot more than $25K

[Bumpyroad]

I notice that the tank capacities are given in Liters so calculate out what they are in real numbers. 🙂
I would compare it feature/price to a 17 ft Casita which would be similar to tow, but has a real bath shower.
can you get it with an air conditioner? if not I wouldn't want it. after magnifying the fine print 7 times I see it has an option of a floor mount heat pump.
I think I prefer the F series unless you absolutely need the lower profile. and I still can't find the prices but are they given in US or CA $$$?
bumpy

[NYCgrrl]

Bumpyroad wrote:

bikendan wrote:
i've read that though these are very cool and unique, but very expensive for what it offers.

i've seen no one, on any of the RV forums i frequent, that actually bought and owns one.

where were the prices given? I would think that unless you can leave those curtains pulled over the windows when the top is down it would be a royal pain to have to shut them all the time. must be horrific heat gain in the summer/loss in the winter on those windows.
bumpy

Prices listed for each unit on the left hand side about midway down the page. I think the style I'm talking about is about 25K.