Newbie need help with purchase decision
I am brand new camper looking at my local dealers for 18-22ft travel trailers. There are quite a few options and floor plans to choose. Within my size and budget, the dealer has recommended KZ Sport...
Forum Discussion
I suppose you'll get different opinions on your questions, but the decision to go with tent ends or not, is really a personal choice.
If you have been a tent camper in the past, you will fall into one of 2 categories when purchasing a TT with tent ends:
1. You will hate having to deal tent fabric, wet fabric, mold, mildew, and the pain the neck closing up shop when it rains. (yea, this really sucks!) ... same as a pop-up.
2. You will really LOVE the tent ends, because you have the advantage of the hard roof over the trailer, and still have the feel of tent camping, except you don't have to sleep on the ground.
If you have never experienced tent camping and/or pop-up camping, then you will probably REALLY enjoy the tent end trailer (hybrid) a lot.... for a while ... until you set up or take down in the rain a few times, and then you'll be rethinking your decision and my find yourself wanting to trade sooner than you had originally anticipated.
Like a tent, you can expect humidity and water droplets to form on the tent ends when you sleep. The colder is its outside, or in rain, the faster and more they form. And like a tent, don't touch the sides! Those drops will fall you you! So in your sleep, you rub up against them or kick them with your feet and you get a small shower. (condensation you know).
I've seen many, many folks have to cover their tent ends with tarps, plastic, all kinds of different covers to help prevent this. As with any fabric, insulation value will be NILL! If you plan to winter camp, or even late Fall or early Spring, heating will be costly, if the furnace can keep up at all.
Here again, you have to understand, I'm a former tent camper (for 30 years) and then a pop-up camper for 6 years. So my perspective on tent ends is not very favorable. I vote for the hard sided trailer. Especially for setting up and taking down in the rain.
Water is a tent trailer's enemy! Trust me.
If you have been a tent camper in the past, you will fall into one of 2 categories when purchasing a TT with tent ends:
1. You will hate having to deal tent fabric, wet fabric, mold, mildew, and the pain the neck closing up shop when it rains. (yea, this really sucks!) ... same as a pop-up.
2. You will really LOVE the tent ends, because you have the advantage of the hard roof over the trailer, and still have the feel of tent camping, except you don't have to sleep on the ground.
If you have never experienced tent camping and/or pop-up camping, then you will probably REALLY enjoy the tent end trailer (hybrid) a lot.... for a while ... until you set up or take down in the rain a few times, and then you'll be rethinking your decision and my find yourself wanting to trade sooner than you had originally anticipated.
Like a tent, you can expect humidity and water droplets to form on the tent ends when you sleep. The colder is its outside, or in rain, the faster and more they form. And like a tent, don't touch the sides! Those drops will fall you you! So in your sleep, you rub up against them or kick them with your feet and you get a small shower. (condensation you know).
I've seen many, many folks have to cover their tent ends with tarps, plastic, all kinds of different covers to help prevent this. As with any fabric, insulation value will be NILL! If you plan to winter camp, or even late Fall or early Spring, heating will be costly, if the furnace can keep up at all.
Here again, you have to understand, I'm a former tent camper (for 30 years) and then a pop-up camper for 6 years. So my perspective on tent ends is not very favorable. I vote for the hard sided trailer. Especially for setting up and taking down in the rain.
Water is a tent trailer's enemy! Trust me.
