ENTRY LEVEL?

[djcjc]

I just read it again about how some trailers are considered entry level trailers by the elite of campers. I have a Jayco Jay Flight 29QBH this trailer has the layout we wanted the water and holding tank capacities we like but yet here is considered entry level. I has been to Florida ,Tn twice,Indy,& numerous trips here around IL and now that I am retired it is going to get pulled around alot more and many trips far frome home ( Tn in march Deadwood in June) I will not apologize to other in campgrounds for my aluminum sided entry level trailer I will just enjoy our trips and have fun. If this is entry level I guess it is where I belong I am not going live in it 24 - 7.

[boosTT]

I don't know... Do you look at pop up campers as entry level? Most RV'ers started with popups.

I agree with entry-level to an extent. Kind of like a starter house. You work your way up. Who can argue that more features, better quantity, etc is not better? Rubbing entry-level in or bragging about it is a sign of no class.

[rockhillmanor]

This is what 'entry level' used to mean....


...and this is why we upgraded!


:B

[rbpru]

It is easy to classify something as cheap when it is inexpensive. As we were deciding just what the heck we wanted, we looked at a lot of stuff.

Yes, I would call some of the single axle campers cheap in price, but they cost less than some decked out pop-ups; so what would you expect. 😉

However, I am sure they will provide as much fun as the 60’s vintage 14 footer we started with. We were a young couple, not much money, easy to tow and park, life was good. We eventually move into wilderness canoe camping and bought a pop-up for the more populated areas.

We also do reenactment where all of our gear is pre-1830’s but that is another story. :B

Now it is a TT and a shift in priorities. Time is much less of a factor so if it takes a week or two week or more it does not matter. The least of my concerns is what someone else thinks of my TT choice.

[rockhillmanor]

It's all relevant! :B

...""Thor Motor Coach Palazzo motorhome is a 34-foot diesel pusher that features ... If you are looking for an entry-level diesel pusher that has many of the options of...all for under $200.00....""
http://www.fmcmagazine.com/motorhome-articles/7161-thor-motor-coach-palazzo?tmpl=component&print=1&p...

[2oldman]

"Entry level" is like "new to us." They're euphemisms.

[AirForceAngler]

We're going on our 5th "entry level" trailer with a Grey Wolf 26BH! This includes 2 PUPs and 2 TTs in between. Fortunately, I've never had to experience anyone looking down on us for having any of these. One of the things I like to do in a campground is to just bike around and look at all of the different setups that people have. Someday, if I had the time and space, I wouldn't mind getting into restoring some vintage TTs or an Airstream just for the heck of it. Of course, it can be a full time job just keeping one TT water tight at times!

[dadmomh]

I do think "entry level" has a tad bit of snobiness to it. Maybe it's just my interpretation. My cousin and DH in Houston had a KZ "entry level" that served them extremely well for nearly 10 years. They recently sold it, got a nice price for a well maintained trailer and are starting their search for a replacement. Whether valid or not, her DH feels like the aluminum siding holds up better in the extreme Houston weather. Don't know, don't care. It's their trailer. There are lots of folks that appear to feel that if you don't have at the very least a 30' trailer, you are just not with the program. Don't know, don't care. We were happy with our HTT because it suited us and we're happy with our 2604 for the same reason. Buy what you like, what suits your needs. Folks who would consider your trailer to be "less" than theirs, you don't need around anyway. Happy Camping!

[dodge_guy]

You want the definition of entry level? walk through an Ameri-lite trailer. when we were looking we walked through these. these are as cheap as they come. I thought in a few spots the floor was going to give way! very little in the way of features other than the standard RV options.

This is in no way a put down to those that have one and doesn`t mean they are a lesser RV`er, but compared to other TT`s they are very basic which means cheap($). And no I wouldn`t tell them they own an entry level RV.

I don`t care if you camp next to me even in a truck camper :E :B. as long as you are not a crazy drunk I`ll enjoy your company!

[Timothy]

lizzie wrote:
So what is "Exit Level"? A pine box with handles on the side? lizzie

That would be an entry level exit level 🙂

My first home was considered a "starter home" hmmm.

[rockhillmanor]

Anyone that 'feels the need' to tell you that you have an entry level RV?
Trust me they are people you don't want for camping friends.

[jaycocreek]

Your exactly right. The floor plan is everything, especially when women are involved. I lived happily in my 20 ft Ideal travel trailer in McCall Idaho after a nasty divorce. Self contained/shower/toilet and TV.. Could take it anywhere in the hills without worry of size....What else does one need.:B

Now, whatever floor plan the boss likes is what we get...

[rbpru]

Over the years I have bought many “entry level items”; they were priced so people could see if they really they liked the idea or if it was a passing fad with them. Most of our camping involved a canoe and wilderness. It definitely is not for everyone.

Some of the items like my canoe, and fly rod I upgraded, other items worked quite well and I still use them.

As for my TT, it took us long enough to find the right floor plan at the price we set. I could care less if it was entry level of high end. It is what we wanted at what we could afford.

Yes, compared to our wilderness gear the TT is huge, but it is small compared to many others. After all a little trailer to one person maybe “just the right size” for another.

[jaycocreek]

I have lived full time for at least 1 year (mostly more) in the following stick and tin rv's without any problems.

29 ft terry/34 ft terry/24 ft beaver motorhome/35 ft jayco fifth wheel and my current 30 ft keystone and a 27 ft Dutchman about 6 months.

All except the Dutchman worked great. A high dollar alternative to any of them would not have done better. No leaks in Idaho winters and lots of snow/no mold/no aluminum separation or buldgeing and all were used in below zero temperatures with no roof damage.......

Maintained properly, most all rv's will give you reliability even if the manufacturer recommends not full timing in there unit.

[uintafly]

JBarca wrote:

As far as entry level, I started with a back pack and 50# in it. That is how I entered camping. I considered myself on top of the world going to places located in God's country in the wilderness with hiking stick or a paddle in my hand. We now haul 10,000# of camper and "stuff" and still go camping in God's country just the trail is little more paved. You will never find one stitch of trash or messed up campsite where we have camped due to respect for nature and my fellow camper. As far as the neighbor next to me, they can be in a 1960 VW camper bus with a peace sign on it or triple slide tag axle diesel pusher and I'll invite them over for campfire. How ever you entered camping, good for you. The world would be a better place if we all went camping and respected each other like we should.

Camp on!

Though my parents had a 29' Wilderness growing up, I always considered Rv'ing old person camping. To me "real" camping was carrying everything you needed on your back and being at least 10 miles from the nearest road. Though I still dust the backpack off a couple times a year, having kids changed my tune a bit. We did the tent thing for a while but with kids it's just too much work. A couple of years ago we bought a 19 footer and just this month we upgraded to a 26' foot "entry level" trailer. But a little piece of me still feels like a sell out. lol. I guess 32 years old is the proper time to do "old person" camping!

In all seriousness though, buying the RV was one of our best purchases. We used to go out with the family a couple of times a year, but last year we went 12 times and the kids loved it and they sure didn't care that we didn't have Corian. Buy what makes you happy as far as I'm concerned. I have found that the size or price of a rig is in no way connected to the niceness of the people.

[waynec1957]

JBarca wrote:
As far as entry level, I started with a back pack and 50# in it. That is how I entered camping. I considered myself on top of the world going to places located in God's country in the wilderness with hiking stick or a paddle in my hand. We now haul 10,000# of camper and "stuff" and still go camping in God's country just the trail is little more paved. You will never find one stitch of trash or messed up campsite where we have camped due to respect for nature and my fellow camper. As far as the neighbor next to me, they can be in a 1960 VW camper bus with a peace sign on it or triple slide tag axle diesel pusher and I'll invite them over for campfire. How ever you entered camping, good for you. The world would be a better place if we all went camping and respected each other like we should. Camp on!

I couldn’t agree more. I started camping as a Boy Scout in the late 60s. I’ve slept under the stars, under visqueen, under old musty canvas tents in just about any kind of weather you can imagine. I thought I’d hit the big time when I got my first nylon tent and the first time I used an air mattress I felt like I was cheating. We carried water in 5 gal. containers and every meal in those days was cooked over an open fire…the other half still makes a mean peach cobbler in a Dutch oven covered in hot coals. I could still build a latrine if I had to. THAT is entry level camping.

When I bought a pop up, I thought “this ain’t camping”, not with two beds, an “ice box”, cold running water, and air conditioning. Now, my cheap stick and tin entry level StarCraft has ducted central air, a ducted furnace, refrigerator/freezer, hot and cold running water, toilet, bathtub, kitchen sink, bathroom sink, 3 burner stove, oven, lights all over the place, microwave, built in stereo, flat screen TV, DVD/Blue Ray player, cable hook-up, and a queen-size bed with 4” memory foam mattress pad. Plus enough storage to take more******than I’ll ever use.

Now we’re getting ready to go to an even bigger stick and tin entry level TT. We looked at a lot of “next level” campers (5ers and TTs both) and we’re at a place in our lives where if that’s what we wanted we could afford it. But 99% of them had a lot of foo-foo that we simply don’t want or need. So it doesn’t make any difference to me what someone else calls it, we settled on what fits us.