New Sprinters 100" wide with 80 gal fresh water capacity.

[gonefishin_]

We are looking at the new Sprinter Travel Trailers as they have an 80 gallon fresh water capacity (includes w/h) and was wondering what your thoughts are on the Sprinters in general. We are looking at a rear lounge with opposing slides and bedroom slide also. We winter in Texas Jan, Feb, Mar & part of April. Thanks for your imput.

[dadmomh]

Is there room in the pantry or some other location, such as under the bed, to use organizer baskets for your extra kitchen gadgets?? Storage under the entertainment center - would be convenient to the kitchen? OR.....go "minimalist" and take a look at everything...if you haven't used it in 6 months and/or have no emotional attachment to it...out it goes. Just finished reading a Kindle book, The Joy of Minimalism, and have been on a major campaign to de-clutter our house...Rocky is fine. When we moved things from our HTT to Rocky we got rid of a mountain of stuff that had migrated in over almost 8 seasons. Don't know why we had 5 tablecloths...why had we carried a Cuisinart Ice Cream maker for 8 years and never used it once?? Carried a DO with us all the time and only cook in it once in the fall. You may have plenty of room to spare and just not know it yet.

BTW, just made almost $700 on our yard sale and the rest went to donation. Nice!

[DutchmenSport]

I looked at the floor plan for the 331RL model. We've looked at similar models, not the Sprinter though, and found we did not like the kitchen and entertainment center in the slide. Not because the kitchen is in the slide, but because you loose all those windows on that side.

That was the real selling feature of our Outback with the similar floor plan, all those windows on all sides. There are also other models with entertainment centers in the middle of the back with windows on either side. Even those seem claustrophobic, blocking the view. Maybe that's why we like the two slides with windows on both sides, to get away from that claustrophobic sensation. Our previous camper had no slides, and it always felt cramped. When we came across this one, it screamed at us... "buy me! buy me!"

There's always a trade-off in trailers. Almost all of our meal preparation is done outside, (so the outside kitchen on the Outback is absolutely great!) The kitchen is not that important to us. We downsized a LOT with this camper, and actually have lots of empty storage space now. That's kind of nice, after having a trailer with a lot of storage and it was still packed full! We evaluated what do we really use and need. Everything else got tossed, and we've not missed it at all. (That included a lot of kitchen stuff too and all that old Coleman Camp stove equipment that we no longer need because of the outside stove).

We're also packing a little smarter now, and slowly replacing bulky stand-alone items to items that are more compact and can serve multiple applications. Case in point... my wife just picked up a nice set of storage containers that all compact inside themselves, and store in the largest container, snap on lid and space saved. So we're tossing out all our old plastic storage containers and lids that hog space. (actually, we put them in the house). You get the idea. (Two items I will not compromise on though ... my set of kitchen knives and my potato peeler!)

Whichever Sprinter you finally choose, both are really nice campers! You'll be happy with either one, but do definitely consider the view you get with the windows all the way round vs the larger kitchen. Which ever is most important to you. By the way, I do like that center island... BUT ... before you buy ...

have the dealer pull all the slides in and see if you can still function in the camper. There are times when you really need to pull the slides in and still be able to live in the camper. Severe weather is one example, parked at home and perhaps limited width will not allow you pull all the slides out, or even in a storage facility. How functional is the camper with slides in. This was the reason it took years for me to finally agree to a trailer that had slides. All we looked at were not functional with slides in. We store our camper at home now, we live in the country and have lots of space to keep the slides out, and we LOVE driveway camping. We literally live in the camper all summer when home. Anyway, just something else to consider ... how functional is the camper with slides in.

Good luck with your decision. I think I've rambled long enough here.

[dahkota]

We have a 2013 277RLSS. We have had no real problems with it. We full time now (last four months) and feel we have ample storage. Ours is a little smaller than yours but the layout is similar. We use the overhead cabinets above the back window for pans, glasses, and tupperware. What you have labeled (in the pic above) as linen,we use for a coffee station. The upper cabinet holds all our cans and jars, etc.

The mattress isn't that good - we have a 4" memory foam pad on it - very comfortable.

We replaced the showerhead - definitely a worthwhile upgrade when trying to conserve water. The water heater gets the water VERY hot - we can take two showers on its 6 gallon capacity.

Ours had no 12v jacks - we added two and are considering adding a third. We also added 2 6V batteries and 400W of solar.

We have had no problems with pipes freezing. However, I will note that while the insulation is better than our last tt, it isn't as good as I would like. If one is parked in direct sun, the tt will heat up fast. This is great during the winter and really cuts down on the heating but during the summer, the one a/c we have struggles to keep the temp down to bearable. You might consider a second a/c in the bedroom if you will be parked in a sunny area.

[gonefishin_]

Yes we have looked at and actually are dealing right now on an 299RET and a 331RL. While the 331RL has more drawers most are not easy to get to however the 299RE drawers face the table to the right of the sink and only has 2 small ones.

There is a large pots and pans drawer under the stove; nothing by the fridge but a nice pantry next to the stove/oven. We are also opting for the bench dinette verses the table and chairs to add more storage underneath.

The storage directly under the sink is a small v-shaped cupboard where you might be able to stand up cookie/baking sheets but not big enough to hold a regular kitchen garbage can; the rest of the under counter storage is used up by the water heater and a drawer on the living room side of the counter that you could put items that you don't use much.

We are downsizing from a rear kitchen 2007 Challenger 29RK fifth wheel where we had so much storage to a TT and are really feeling the crunch. I guess that's why they call it downsizing.....ouch!

[DutchmenSport]

Have you actually looked at a Sprinter? In my Outback, there are 2 drawers on the living room side of the kitchen island and a door beside that (not accessible when the slides are in - this is the only cabinet not accessible when slides are in). There's one drawer on the end of the island (for silverware ... facing the table), there's a door under the sink, a door under the oven, and the pantry. We put extra wire shelves in the pantry. Above the refrigerator is a door (cabinet) too. So all in all, there are 9 compartments for storage for the kitchen.

Hope this helps. You're right about the water capacity.

[gonefishin_]

The Outback does look like a nice model also but we wanted the larger fresh water tank; the Outback has 53 gal verses 80 gal on the Sprinter and because we spend 3-4 months fill-timing we prefer the larger closet in the bedroom. What I am most disappointed in is that the Sprinter only has 2 small drawers in the kitchen. Looks like I'm really going to have to downsize. Pantry size is nice but what do I do with all the kitchen gadget that I can't live without?

[DutchmenSport]

From all I've seen and heard about Sprinters, they are a decent trailer, and becoming more and more popular.

About the width, 100 inches is stretching it a bit, depending upon your tow vehicle, using your rear view mirrors may be difficult, not to mention state restrictions on trailer width.

Although, if your driving through a state, I don't any police will be stopping you just to measure the width of the trailer. No. Indiana has a length restriction also, and I've seen hundreds of RV rig combinations that have exceeded that limit.

The problem comes only if your cited for a moving violation or involved in an accident. If you are too wide, "they" could claim you were liable for an accident because your trailer exceeded the state limitations. This is rare, but it could happen. (kind of like having no brake lights and someone rear-ends you.)

FYI (on a positive note) .... the double rear living room slide and bed room slide is absolutely WONDERFUL! We love ours!

Have you considered an Outback?

If this is the same one, here's the Sprinter and here's the Outback:

Sprinter 299RET WB (wide body):



Outback, not so wide body:



We have the 298RE outback, Absolutely LOVE it! You'll love either one too! We did not get the dinette. We got the free standing table and 4 chairs. We also changed positions of the two rocker chairs and the couch. This works much better when the slides are IN.

[AirForceAngler]

The only downside I can see would be that some states limit trailer width to 96".

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