GREEEN Couple... Some questions

We camp in a 14ft and always bring a 4 person Coleman InstaTent that is 8' by 7'. We put it behind the trailer so it is unobtrusive. Goes up/down in 5 minutes and is a spare room and/or a storage room if needed. It allows for some alone time if rainy - I often tuck a portable fan or heater inside and read while DH is napping in the TT.

Have only been to one campground where it was not allowed - they only allowed one trailer or one tent, not both on the site.

Most places have no issue with it since the trailer and the tent are still less length than most travel trailers.

TacoPuller wrote:

danimal53 wrote:

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dont mean to hijack the thread, but regarding mosquitoes, have you tried these? i've heard really good things, ordered some recently and have yet to try them out.

Very interested to find out how you fared with these...let us know!

well, just got back from our first camping trip, spent the weekend at Starved Rock IL State Park. I was very impressed with the mosquito patches! Not perfect, but neither is the spray. Spent a whole day hiking, and probably 2 bites. Instructions say it takes about 2 hrs to takes effect, and 1 patch is supposed to last 36 hours. I definitely noticed a difference when the effect wore off, which of course was while we were prepping to leave. In all, for about $1/patch, I would definitely recommend! No greasy/smelly spray, lasts most of the weekend.

My wife and I have a 2012 Jayco Skylark. They have discontinued the model, it was an expensive travel trailer but only weigh's 3000lbs and are single axle! Only has a max of GVRW of 3500lbs I just make sure to drop my tanks before heading out.

Dedicated bed, bathroom, huge kitchen high efficiency everything and lots of storage.We really like it but are looking to upgrade as we plan on camping 5 months out of the year now.

The smallest truck I've used to pull it is a 2011 4.7L ram v8 which only was rated to tow 7500lbs. It didn't even feel the trailer. (It stayed in OD 90% of the time!)

I used to own a V6 4.0L Ford Ranger and I know it would of had no problems pulling this trailer as i have towed 4500lbs with that. If I remember right it was rated less then a V6 Taco, around 5500lb vs 6000+.

I too wanted to buy a used Casita or Scamp to tow with my V6 Tacoma, but found used fiberglass shelled TT's are priced high compared to comparable TT's. I ended up with an 18ft Terry Resort that has a reported dry weight of 2880 (I doubt it's that light). When I look at how much room I have compared to a Casita/Scamp, I'm very glad I didn't buy a Scamp. The extra floor space in the Terry is so nice to have when you have an energetic child.

BTW: You'll find while towing, you'll probably get gas mileage in the 10 to 13 mpg range.

atreis wrote:

Stovepipe wrote:
Regarding the Casita floorplans, there is at least one 17 foot variation that has a small dinette on the side. This would allow the larger dinette to be permanently in "bed mode" if you wanted to. If I didn't have kids, this is the trailer I'd want for just the wife and I.

This is the floorplan I'm considering for my wife and I for after the kids are gone. Very practical, not too fussy-fiddly.

when I was looking, I think it was 16 ft, but they had two types of side tables, one with swivel chairs and the other with fixed.
bumpy

Stovepipe wrote:
Regarding the Casita floorplans, there is at least one 17 foot variation that has a small dinette on the side. This would allow the larger dinette to be permanently in "bed mode" if you wanted to. If I didn't have kids, this is the trailer I'd want for just the wife and I.

This is the floorplan I'm considering for my wife and I for after the kids are gone. Very practical, not too fussy-fiddly.

I share your enthusiasm for the eggs if they are big enough for your needs. I too have read about the nightmares of leaks in pretty much all stick built trailers made but went the stick built route anyway and have survived unscathed.

Your needs are very different than my needs for bunking a family of 4. But a couple things you might want to consider.
1) Power, You are going to need a source of power to run the AC to keep you cool. Most travel trailers especially the small ones do not have generators so you will either need to hook up at the ugly areas of a campground or bring a large generator with you. Pack the generator, unpack the generator, hook it up, go outside to start it when you want power, and hope no one steals it when you are out and about.
2) Water tanks sizes can make a big difference in the amount of time you can spend somewhere if you are not at a campsite with hookups.
3) When we go camping there are a lot of things we like to bring along with us, kayaks, bicycles etc...

For all of the reasons above our next travel trailer will be a toy hauler. I don't own quads or enjoy them enough to spend the huge amounts of money need to own them. But as a non-motorsports enthusiast a toy hauler trailer have a lot of benefits. Most have a generator or are generator capable. Most have huge tanks compared to conventional travel trailers. All of them are much easier to load and unload due to the huge swing down doors.

We are looking at 22'-24' toy haulers with dual drop down rear queen beds for the 4 of us. The small size lets us enjoy all of our favorite little camping spots. Not have to be tethered to a hookup. Have 120v electricity when we want it even if we are just pulling over to a rest stop to make lunch and want to run the microwave. Carry all of our favorite toys, bicycles and kayaks easily. Load and unload our toys and the rest of the supplies easily.

I am sharing this just to give you a slightly different perspective to consider. If an egg suits your needs then they can be fantastic little trailers. It just sucks when you spend a lot of money on a trailer and find it precludes you from a lot of the places you want to go and doesn't suit your need very well.

danimal53 wrote:

...
dont mean to hijack the thread, but regarding mosquitoes, have you tried these? i've heard really good things, ordered some recently and have yet to try them out.

Very interested to find out how you fared with these...let us know!

TomBong wrote:
First time poster. First time RVer.

We decided to find something our Tacoma V6 could tow. We do not wan't a "home on wheels" Just something small where spending more time outside is key. With that we decided after reading a lot the Fiberglass Casitas, Scamp, Oliver is the way we want to go. We do like the AirStream Bambi but $40K is a bit much for a small trailer.

To many horror stories and we don't know enough about what to look for with a stick built as far as leaks go.

Does anyone have any reason a 16' fiberglass TT would not be the best choice for V6 hauling

Thousands of used Airstreams out there. Aerodynamics, not weight, is what matters with trailers. Keep this brand in mind as ten years old barely qualifies as "used" much less "old". The other brands mentioned are nice enough, but be inclusive. Independent suspension on any trailer is worth having, trailers without it are lesser vehicles.

Finally, matching trailer to tow vehicle is backwards. Choose the trailer, and then fit the TV. For me, a wet bath and impermanent beds is too small. Same for tandem versus single axle. It isn't much of a size change, relatively, to have these in a "small" trailer.

Good luck.

3-days of forecasted rain may not require you to cancel a trip.

I'm a couple hours North of you in Southern Utah and this time of year most of our "rains" are showers and T-Storms that move through. All-day soakers are rare.

A lot of the cells are proceeded by gusty winds, so you'll have to keep tabs on your awning. Other than that, you're often left with the majority of the day being quite nice.