Newbie: Hybrid trailer questions

[Red81]

Hi, I've found this forum because I'm researching purchasing a used hybrid travel trailer. 

It all started when planning a trip to Yellowstone. I was searching Facebook marketplace for a trailer to rent and stumbled across a few very old ones for sale.

I have very little money to put into one, but I'm intrigued. I've tent camped all my life and have never once used a trailer or RV. Total newbie. I like the idea of being able to "camp" in the cooler shoulder seasons and stay warm at night. And the convenience of a mini kitchen, a bathroom for nighttime, and a little storage space is really nice. 

But I don't know what I don't know. 

The two I'm looking at currently:

- 2005 Aerolite Cub 21tt. $4000. Owner says everything works. They actually lived it in for a year, and now it's been sitting in storage for a year. They had the black water professionally cleaned before storage. The trailer would need a deep cleaning, but that's okay with me. Also its missing the dining table. How easy are those to replace? It doesn't seem to have any pantry/tall cabinets at all. Could I add those without too much weight?

-2006 Wanderer lite 182dt. $4950. Owner (possibly a dealer) says appliances are functional, but the fridge isn't original and only runs on propane. The unit looks nice aesthetically and ready to use right away. But this one doesn't look to have as much outside storage. 

We're a family of 7, so both HTTs having 3 pull out beds plus the dinette is needed. But we'd just be pulling it with our 2012 Honda Pilot AWD so we couldn't get anything bigger (heavier). I'm already concerned if we could pull one of these with the weight of passengers and food/water/gear. 

I haven't seen either one in person yet but I've asked for lots of pictures and have been asking questions. One is 1 1/2 hours away, the other 3 hours, so really thinking about it first. 

With the research I've done, looks like both were made my Thor. I don't find a lot of information besides that. Anyone care to share some light for me? Should I run? Or is this a good opportunity for my family? Is there somewhere I should look besides Facebook marketplace?

Asking for advice, please. 

[nickthehunter]

Last I knew, hybrid trailers weren’t allowed in Fishing Bridge, YNP - hard sided only.

[aftermath]

We went from a tent to a tent trailer, to a hybrid and now  have a hard sided trailer.  There are benfits to all of them.  When they say a  hybrid is lighter I always questioned that.  For the floor space you end up with and the sleeping options you will have, yes they are lighter than a regular trailer.  But....they are heavy enough to consider.  The single issue I would pay attention to is the condition of the canvas.  While everything might "work" if the canvas is molded or torn, this will be an issue.  We moved up to our hybrid for the want of a bathroom and furnace.  It did open things up for us to camp in the "elbow" seasons.  It was easier to set up and take down than our tent trailer, but not that much easier.  We had our tent  trailer for 17 years and then our hybrid for another 6.  After retiring we knew we would be doing a lot of traveling and setting up and taking down day after day pushed us into our "old folks" trailer.

[QCMan]

Camp, not vamp!

[QCMan]

Nice idea with one caveat-do you really want to vamp in bear territory with a hybrid? Bears see hybrids as a candy wrapper because they can smell everything in it. I would be looking for a hard sided camper as you will at least have some protection from intrusion. Years ago when looking for our first camper and looking to go out west we found a large number of campgrounds that very strongly suggested hard sided units when in any bear territory. 

[Red81]

That's a good point. I'd talk with rangers before going and if we need to, we'll store our food in the bear lockers or close up the beds when we leave to hike each morning. 

[Red81]

My husband has been pretty good at finding videos on YouTube to do simple fixes on our cars. But my concern is that there won't be YouTube videos for the maintenance these would need. He's not mechanically minded enough and doesn't know trailers to just figure out how to do something that may be complicated himself. 

Our 18 year old son is a welder. He graduates with an AS in welding and 3 welding certificates in the spring. So that may be of some help. He's more likely to try to fix something even if he doesn't really know how. Sometimes that works, sometimes not. Lol. 

[ls1mike]

I have an 18 year old that graduates from welding this year to. He is pretty handy.  Sounds like your kid. LOL. The travel trailer stuff is pretty easy as long as there are no leaks.   If you have not done wheel bearings or trailer brakes before youtube it.  Pretty straight forward.   I have a 2012 32 footer Keystone product and have had to do just normal maintenance items. Reseals, wheel bearings and nuisance interior things like replacing the toilet, screws backing out of cabinet hinges.  Take someone who knows RVs when you go to look. Look for softs spots on the roof, ceiling and floor. Look for delamination.  To be honest unless you go big money and sometimes even then, they all will have their problems. 

[ls1mike]

I would say if you take a REALLY good look at it and make sure there are no leaks and the maintenance was done.  I wish I didn't have dining table, but you can get all the pieces on Amazon.  No leaks, everything works., repack the wheel bearings as soon as you can. With 7 and a trailer the Passport will be working.  I mean those are good prices for trailers as everything is pricey right now.   How handy is your family?

[Red81]

TLDR: Should I buy an old, used HTT?

(Tried to edit my post to put this at the top, but couldn't figure out how to do it)