Kickin the tents out! And moving on up!

[ddlx]

We are looking to purchase a new, and our first TT and have narrowed down our options to: Apex 235bhs and the Tracer 240air. Before we make our purchase we are looking for as much info as possible on these 2 beauties and general info that some veterans of trailering might be able to share.
We like the bunks and the size (Due to storage mostly). Would like a well built unit over the flashy stuff.
Any way, let us know your thoughts. Thanks!

[Doug33]

I am an Eagle Scout and camped in tents for decades as a kid and until we had our first child. We moved up to PUs to get off the ground and because I didn't want to upgrade my TV. But then about 10 years ago we bit the bullet and bought a 24' TT (we had already bought a pickup truck a few years before that). Then two years ago we moved up to a 28' TT with a slide to get a little more comfort and features. When we camp and I see families in tents, I give them a lot of kudos, especially in bad weather. There is no way I could go back to a tent at this point, but yet it warms my heart to see people still doing it.

I am also an engineer, so I am fascinated by how RVs work in general. How designers stuff so much into a small home on wheels really intrigues me. It's even better if you are dry camping and relying on fresh water tanks with battery power and propane.

[Amyknits2]

We recently bought a new Prime Time Tracer Ultra lite and took it out for the first time last week. We absolutely love the quality, U-shaped dinette bump-out and outdoor kitchen! Hubby was not thrilled when I pushed for a new TT as he was happy with our pop-up. Now he loves it! No more hauling coolers, no extra shade canopy, no cranking up the roof and crawling under each bedend to lock it in place. So much more floor space and no crawling over each other to get out of bed!

Several campers near us were very curious to see the inside and were all very impressed.

Can't wait for our next trip in a few weeks!

[Jeff_and_Abby]

What the other posters said about the different experience is very true ....

After more than four years of looking at a lot of TT's, we retired the TC (Truck Camper) and picked up a new Tracer Air 235 this Spring. It is a rolling kitchen which is exactly what we wanted, and after spending as much as four plus months in the TC at a time, the convenience and space of the new trailer are wonderful.

Can't speak directly about the other make you are considering, but we are happy with the new Tracer. The mechanicals are what most of us are used to ... Dometic Fridge and A/C, Atwood Water Heater, Thetford Toilet, etc. and perform just fine. The build quality is "typical" Elkhart, Indiana ... there is lot of "evolutionary" thinking that has gone into RV building over the years.

The city water / fresh water fill interface on the Tracer is a nice feature, beyond being a sales point it has proven functional and very convenient in actual use.

We might describe the difference between the build of our TC (1993) and our new TT (2014 build) as the difference from one craftsman to his twenty year younger son. The Tracer is specifically built as an aluminum chassis as very light weight to tow, so while that might seem apparent if you want to thump the interior walls or slam the closet or bathroom door, be mindful that "light" is on-purpose.

We particularly like the relatively large tanks (30 fresh / 30 grey / 30 black) on the 235, imagine the 240 is pretty much the same ... a MAJOR step up up from the 25 / 11 / 11 we had before. Operation at the dump station was simple, quick, clean. The water interface mentioned previously also includes a built in black tank flush.

The slide out seems particularly well engineered and heavy-duty.

As another poster mentioned, the straight path from outside door to bathroom is smart. Overall, the floor plan is really well thought.

Again, not saying the other model you are considering doesn't have these or other plus points, this is just the comments from someone who has a new Tracer very similar to what you are considering and now has a couple outings under their belts.

Last comment, we did make this choice with the plan to do extended (multiple weeks at a time) boondocking on self-contained resources only.

Good Luck to you 🙂

[SilverEscape]

While I also tent camped for years and now own a smaller trailer, I don't own either of those models. But I took at look at the floorplans and found a few things you may want to think about:

• the Apex is 7.5' wide vs the Tracer is 8'. Not sure if the narrower model is narrower by enough to make any towing differences, but it will make some space difference
  
• check on the bunk width in the Apex. The web site doesn't seem to say what it is. The Tracer's bunks are 38" wide. That's what ours are in our trailer and I consider it the bare minimum. The 38" wide can at least sleep an adult comfortably. And the top single bunks can be a bit claustrophobic so having more width is nice.
  
• the bathroom in both models is at the rear. Do you have kids? I know that I'm super happy with having our bathroom just across from the door when you step in. That way a kid can run into pee without having to remove shoes, and dirt and gravel aren't tracked throughout the entire trailer. We don't wear shoes in the trailer normally, so I don't want dirt and gravel all the way to the back. It takes me less than a minute to sweep the bathroom and path to it when I step inside to cook.

Those might not be issues for you at all but just thought I'd toss the thoughts out there.

[rbpru]

To answer your question about two different models would be very difficult unless a person owned one or both of the same vintage.

Heck, each of us could tell you what we like and do not like about our TTs but others may have an opposite view of the same unit. We were so confused; we decided to rent a TT similar to what we thought we wanted for a week and in the end settled on a different floor plan.

The biggest eye opener was pulling a barn down the road, through towns and into campsites; then setting up and living out of out of TT, was a LOT different than with our PUP or our tent.

[wildtoad]

So far none of the responses address the op's questions. ?? mine doesn't either!

[ScottG]

It's all "camping" and nobody's notion of it is more valid than anybody else's.

[rbpru]

Keep in mind that moving from a tent or PUP to a TT you are gaining a lot of convenience but you are giving up a lot of intangibles. RVing is not camping.

The finest RV cannot come close to a canoe and tent in the wilderness, likewise the ability to back into a campsite with all the comforts of home and explore the local attractions cannot be met with a canoe. They are two way different goals and experiences.

Finding the right trailer is like the right wine, you can get recommendations but it is a personnel thing.

[Nvr2loud]

RoyB wrote:
We are avid tent campers from the 50s and only started camping in our OFF-ROAD POPUP setup since 2008. Our three room tents were setup pretty nice. Rugs on the floor and portable high beds with air mattress inserts. Watched HDTV every night.

If you like camping more then traveling I would stick with the smaller sized trailers that you can get back off the trails like in the Natl Forest areas. Some of us have different ideas of getting a bigger trailer is 'moving up'

We have all the modern appliances we like to have in our OFF=ROAD POPUP camper and our camper will go anywhere my 4WD TRUCK will pull it to. I get excellent gas mileage going down the roads and expenses and fees including maintenance are very low. Can make it to the Smoky Mtns south of Gatlinburg TN from Northern Neck VA on one tank of gas in my setup. Sometimes we are running the roads with other much larger RV setups and when we all get to the final destination at the end of the full day of travel the other drivers are all beat up big time from the trip - we are as fresh as you can expect... The bigger the RV UNIT gets the more work and expenses it is going to be heading down the roads...

I would think for us up to around 24-26 foot length RV Trailer units would be my maximum choice.

We enjoy our much smaller setup which is perfect for the two of us.

Roy Ken

Very well said...

I agree that everyone has a different idea of "moving-up" and size isn't always the deciding factor.

I camp with the family out of my 30 foot TT and it can go anywhere a semi-truck can go LOL.

I tent camp with my friends on paddle-in excursions and have just as much enjoyment

[RoyB]

We are avid tent campers from the 50s and only started camping in our OFF-ROAD POPUP setup since 2008. Our three room tents were setup pretty nice. Rugs on the floor and portable high beds with air mattress inserts. Watched HDTV every night.

If you like camping more then traveling I would stick with the smaller sized trailers that you can get back off the trails like in the Natl Forest areas. Some of us have different ideas of getting a bigger trailer is 'moving up'

We have all the modern appliances we like to have in our OFF=ROAD POPUP camper and our camper will go anywhere my 4WD TRUCK will pull it to. I get excellent gas mileage going down the roads and expenses and fees including maintenance are very low. Can make it to the Smoky Mtns south of Gatlinburg TN from Northern Neck VA on one tank of gas in my setup. Sometimes we are running the roads with other much larger RV setups and when we all get to the final destination at the end of the full day of travel the other drivers are all beat up big time from the trip - we are as fresh as you can expect... The bigger the RV UNIT gets the more work and expenses it is going to be heading down the roads...

I would think for us up to around 24-26 foot length RV Trailer units would be my maximum choice.

We enjoy our much smaller setup which is perfect for the two of us.

Roy Ken