Hybrid expandable or not?

[wenkev02]

I am considering a hybrid expandable for my family of 5. Looking for feedback on this type of travel trailer. Pros and cons.

[joedekock]

We have a family of five and a dog. The three kids currently range in age from 2 - 7. I grew up camping in a family of 5 (Mom, dad and three kids), using a popup. It was tight.

After I married and started a career and family, we would borrow my parents Travel Trailer. It was a 28' Wildwood coach meant for couples as there was only one permanent bed.

Now that I am the family man, when it came time to choose our RV for camping, I wanted more room, something light, and nothing crazy luxurious. I loved the idea of the HTT and we have been looking at them for about 5 years now. We loved the Rockwood Roo 23SS model. Until we went out shopping for a RV, where we ultimately settled on the Coachmen 23TQX HTT. It is the same as the Rockwood Roo 23SS (both are made by Forest River RV). However, for me the Coachmen had the all aluminum cage where the Roo's still use Wood studs in the floor, front and rear of the coach making it slightly heavier and cheaper in my opinion. There were also a few other "niceties" about the Coachmen line we liked.

As far as Cons:

- Less outdoor storage space. Almost all of our outdoor storage space is shared with the indoor storage space. I had to get creative for wardrobe space for the wife and I by separating some of the shared outdoor storage.

- If noise is a factor for you and you have a hard time sleeping at night unless you have as much quiet as possible, then I would say avoid the HTT. Sleeping in the bunk ends is like sleeping in a popup. Your gonna hear whats going on outside. For me, I grew up tenting, and sleeping in a popup so im used to it.

- I have not experienced the "leaky bunk syndrome". Leaks are nothing new to ANY RV. You have general maintenance that has to be done, including checking your caulk around the outside of the coach yearly.

- Setup time compared to a regular Travel trailer where all you have is slide outs is going to be more. However, its not like your spending all day when you drop your trailer at the campsite setting it up. We are talking perhaps 30 more minutes and the more you do the setup, the faster it goes. My wife and I work great together with the duties we have assigned ourselves and from start to finish when we drop the trailer, we are setup in an hour. Thats including opening the bunks, making three beds, and putting the popupgizmo covers on the bunk ends. Really, that is the only "extra" work over a regular Travel Trailer you have. The benefit of the Travel Trailer over a HTT is that you can have the beds made already.

Pro's:

- Lighter than most regular Travel Trailers.
- Shorter than a regular Travel Trailer. (Makes it easier to maneuver at campgrounds).
- Roomier than a regular Travel Trailer. (Ill elaborate below)
- Faster to setup than a Pop up.
- When traveling, easy access to the fridge and other items when needing to make pit stops.
- Full size fridge and bathroom just like a Travel Trailer.
- Less outside area to wash.
- Still feels like your camping with the bunk ends instead of fully enclosed Trailer!

As far as the room goes, we looked at a few regular enclosed trailers. Every time we stepped inside a HTT we were impressed with how much more roomy it is. Mind you, we have a dinette slide out on our HTT as well. But the reason for this is that all of your sleeping space is on the "outside" of the coach. The bunk ends drop out putting the sleeping away from the inside space. So the interior space and floor space is 100% for living space. The actual "shell" of the HTT (24') in our case is 100% the "live-able" space and not bedroom space. on a regular TT if we wanted enough room for our family of 5 we would need a bunkhouse model for the kids. The minimum length TT we would need is a 29'. Thats only 5' more than I have in my 24' HTT!!! That means with the bunkhouse and the queen bed in the bedroom we would be losing valuable "living space".

HTT certainly are not for everyone. I for one am more of a minimalist and like the "feeling" of camping that the bunk ends provide on the HTT. I will also argue all day long that the HTT offe more space than a TT. The only exception is the outdoor storage.

[bikendan]

ryanb-72 wrote:
We did run into an issue that we had never had to deal with before until our trip to Yellowstone National Park. Food storage due to the bears was a big pain. Every night we were asked to empty food and anything with odor from the trailer into the truck because of the tent ends. It really was a pain. I would say if I camped in bear country on a regular basis I would have a different opinion on a hybrids. Being from Louisiana this likely, like for us, is a non issue.
Good Luck
Ryan

well, we camped for a week in Yellowstone, at two different campgrounds.
the Ranger told us that anything in the fridge/freezer could stay in it. just the opened bags/packages had to be put in the locker. but anyone in a tent or popup or even a MH/5th wheel/TT is supposed to do the same thing. if you've got opened food sitting on your MH/5th wheel/TT's table, i guaruntee you that a bear will smell it.

same thing for Yosemite, Glacier and Grand Tetons.

[Mr_Beebo]

We have camped next to and met folks with a Roo 183. Neat package that really maximizes the most from the interior. The difference in Shamrocks and Roos is about the same as the difference between Lincoln and Mercury or Chevy and GMC.
My 23SS is 23' front to back when I am going down the road, and 30' when in the campground fully opened up. I'm not a hybrid crazy, it is just my preference to own one and I'm glad I do.

[PAThwacker]

Biggest interior con of many htt is the front U dinette. Imagine crawling over your wife, step on a kid as you exit the bed. They need to start making models like mine again. 6 real beds, no one on the dinette, actual clothes and towels storage. Glamp it up like the starstream 22bh and add a slideout dinette. I guarantee to be able to market my spartan bh htt to anyone.

[wenkev02]

bikendan wrote:

wenkev02 wrote:
Bikendan, I was considering the 3 bunk model X18D | 2014 Jay Feather Ultra Lite. I will look into the Shamrock 183.

the Roo and Shamrock are twin brands. everything is exactly the same, except outside graphics and interior decor colors/patterns.

get a price from RVW and RVDirect on the Roo and Shamrock 183 and use those quotes to shop locally.

I hope to find something used.

[bikendan]

wenkev02 wrote:
Bikendan, I was considering the 3 bunk model X18D | 2014 Jay Feather Ultra Lite. I will look into the Shamrock 183.

the Roo and Shamrock are twin brands. everything is exactly the same, except outside graphics and interior decor colors/patterns.

get a price from RVW and RVDirect on the Roo and Shamrock 183 and use those quotes to shop locally.

[wenkev02]

Bikendan, I was considering the 3 bunk model X18D | 2014 Jay Feather Ultra Lite. I will look into the Shamrock 183.

[bikendan]

most hybrid owners are former popup owners who:
1. want more room and amenities/luxuries
2. want to still have the "sleep under canvas" experience and the openness that two canvas ends add to the interior.

they know the pros and cons of the canvas ends and are willing to put in the extra steps to combat heat/cold loss and condensation.
so, if you aren't in love with the "canvas experience", don't buy a hybrid.

it will get old having to setup the sofa/dinette every night/morning for the 3rd child.
a 3 bed hybrid would probably be better but you'd have a hard time finding one within the towing capacity of your v-6 truck.
IF you could find a used Roo/Shamrock 183, that would be within the Tacoma's capacity.

[happybooker1]

I had an HTT for 4 years. I had kids sleeping on the couch and/or made out dinette and they never complained. Kids will be fine! They can sleep on anything! LOL.

I replaced the thin mattresses with air mattresses and electric pumps because we never camp without electricity. I would suggest GOOD air mattresses like Aerobeds. Saves some weight too. They do have battery-operated pumps if you like to go off-grid and the batteries last a surprisingly long time.

I have seen an HTT with a U-shaped dinette and 3 pop-out beds (no slide) that will sleep 8-10 people. I had only 2 beds with a couch & dinette but I did have FIVE in there once. Glad it wasn't raining!!

HTT's EXCEL in having lots of usable floor space and beds combined with a light weight and small "footprint". In hotter climates you DO need something on the bunk ends in the summer to allow the AC to work efficiently. Or always get sites in the shade!

[ryanb-72]

Hybrids do have there pros and cons as the others have stated. We have enjoyed ours and will likely keep ours until we retire and move to a motorhome.
We did run into an issue that we had never had to deal with before until our trip to Yellowstone National Park. Food storage due to the bears was a big pain. Every night we were asked to empty food and anything with odor from the trailer into the truck because of the tent ends. It really was a pain. I would say if I camped in bear country on a regular basis I would have a different opinion on a hybrids. Being from Louisiana this likely, like for us, is a non issue.
Good Luck
Ryan

[dadmomh]

We bought an '07 ROO 23SS in July '06. LOVED IT!, and never had any thought of having anything different. Only leakage we had was 1 time driving in a monsoon - bad enough DH pulled off the interstate twice and we waited it out at a Flying J. Checked when we set up and a kitchen towel fixed the small amount of water. Usually just the 2 of us, but the rear bunk was always set up - let extra light in and in great weather you unzip the bunkends and it's wonderful having the breezes blowing through. Absolutely no complaints. We did turtle a couple of times and it's not the most comfy in the world for that, but for a night you can make do. DH got the sofa - he's 6'3" and I got the dinette and slept diagonal and we lived through the experience. Absolutely recommend Pop Up Gizmos....you'll find mountains of info on them and they're worth their weight in gold. Yes, it does take extra time setting up/breaking down and that's what finally did us in. It's only about 15 min extra, but age crept up on us - we're both sneaking up on 70 way too quickly - and the extra effort was making it less enjoyable. Have a 26' TT now and life is good again. As long as you know the details about a hybrid + the extra effort needed sometimes, you should love it. BTW, we never had an issue with noise at a campground.

[PAThwacker]

I added memory foam toppers, and super high wind gizmos to kick our units comfort level to the roof. Our family loves sleeping in it, kids bounce around of the bunkbed to side tent. Canoe on the roof, fishing poles, memories being made practically every weekend from April thru November. Hunting season ends the camping season, and before you know it deep freeze hits New England. You can camp year round in LA and romp throughout the swamps with whatever fits on the roof of the tow vehicle.

[PAThwacker]

I tow it with a k2500 sub loaded to the gills, 2 kids on second row captains, and 94 lb lab at their feet. The rear gets firewood, strollers, camper site box, while the roof gets a bike, canoe, or roof storage pod. Mt bikes, coolers, gray tanks, screenroom ride in the hybrid. Entire loaded up GCW is in the high 11k to 12K range.

[PAThwacker]

Nothing will be out there under 4klb that sleeps 5 comfortably. Comfort is eye of the beholder sleeping on the horrid couch or dinette. Ours might work but they are hard to find. It weighs 4100lbs wet/ready to camp and has a gvw of 5000lbs. Tent out the front, tent out the side, and rear bunkbeds for kids. Clothes go under front bench in bins, and under side bunk. Towels, and extra food in vertical pantry. Toys and extra bedding go in the bunkbed cubbies at the foot of those beds. 7ft 6 wide, and 1600lbs payload. 3 bed hybrids with out slideout such as the roo 183 or the rest of the 3 bed nonslides will work.
The downsides of 3 bed nonslide: you lose a ton of interior/exterior storage.
My floorplan and picture.