Short List of Smallish TT's

[asautt]

Hi all. For various reasons we are considering getting out of boating and joining the life.

We have a narrowed down our search for a 17 ft TT to tow with my Colorado (7K towing capacity) to Nash 17K, Micro Minnie 1706FB, and Springdale 179QBWE. We arrived at these because we wanted something we could afford with a dry bath and full size (5/6 cu ft fridge).

We really like the rear dining floor plan. The Springdale is certainly affordable and we love the floor plan, but after reading page after page of horrendous reports on Springdale problems and factory indifference to those problems I am a little scared to go that route.
The Nash 17K seems to be a very good fit for us. Compared to the Springdale it seems to follow the "Buy your second trailer first" theory that I have seen so many times. And there are many good reviews on this and other forums.
The Micro Minnie is not a rear dining layout but meets our other criteria. They do make a MM with rear dining but it is only single axle so has a pretty wimpy cargo capacity. We are attracted to the Micro because overall the quality seems pretty good and it is only 7ft wide so should be easier to tow and maneuver. We are both in our 60s so considering that and my TV, towability is an important consideration.

Open to opinions.

Alan

[FrankShore]

These are some of the current listings from LOA:

2013 1575 $17,900
2012 1881 $22,000 (this model doesn't have a slideroom)
2012 1575 $15,000
2016 1575 $24,900
2016 1575 $25,900
2016 2185 $29,850

Seems that most people selling their Lance's are buying more of the same. Remember there is always room for price negotiation!

[asautt]

I appreciate all the inputs. Thanks!

To answer some of your questions in no particular order.

TV- 2016 Colorado Z71 crew cab long bed w/tow package.
Wheelbase - 11.7'
GVWR 6,000. GCWR 12,00. Max Trailer Weight 7,000. Max Tongue Weight 900. Gross Rear Axle Weight 3,500.

As for budget - I really want to drive off with TT,tax,title and license for $25Kish or less. The Springdale would come in well under that , the Nash and MiniWinni would both be on the hairy edge.

I looked over the Lances at the Seattle RV show. Very, very nice. I don't know that the 1475 would do it for us, the 1575 looked more appealing. In either case a new one would blow the budget! Probably say the same for a late model used one. I went to the owners site, but you have to register to even look at the for sale listings. I may go back later and do that.

I did look over the Starcrafts at the show. Not the one posted. We may have to make a trip out to Snohomish to take a closer look.

Will, do you have a buyer lined up for your 17K? Let's make a deal :B

Alan

[Passin_Thru]

https://gizmodo.com/5796327/the-worlds-smallest-trailer-can-be-pulled-by-a-scooter/

[JIMNLIN]

clicky link
Check out these folks RV trailers. Small company and been in the RV industry since the '60s. Bought our 1st truck camper from them in '72 when the kids were big enough to look forward to each weekend on the lake.

[FrankShore]

Also, keep in mind that all trailers aren't built the same:

Jayco

Lance - Materials & Construction

Winnebago

The RV Factory

[FrankShore]

Lance is a very well built and uses different than standard manufacturing and materials. I'm listing a few walkthrough videos. The largest that is posted is the 1685.

Lance 1575

2017Lance 1475 (the smallest)

2018 Lance 1685

1685

There are lot's of available used Lance's for sale. You'd have to go to Lance of America group. LOA and look at the classifieds.

Lance's Line Up

[OldShu]

If you are willing to us an east-west bed and the Neo shower like the MM. A Lance 1475 might be worth a look as well. The seats are much more comfortable than a dinette. Storage is very well thought out and it has good payload. Ours weighs in at 2850 with a 3700 GVW. TW Camp ready is 430, dry tanks. It is just so usable.

You will find 2 versions of it as they just did an update of the model but the inherent goodness is still intact.

Gen 2: https://www.lancecamper.com/travel-trailers/1475/

Gen 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNwKBzjXozs

[lawrosa]

What exactly are you looking for?

Price ( whats the budget)
Do you need an oven
Do you boondock
You want better seating like couch and dinnette
Dry bath ( yes you said)

The first trailer I had was an older model of this. Was the best trailer I owned IMO as the dinnette and coach were opposing.

Coachmen just started making these again... YAY..

I towed this with an s10 1996 small chevy PU with 4.3l

400 tw
4000 GVW



I myself would not buy a slide as IMO they will leak and cause issues sooner then later

Pic shows couch on wrong side. They always been on street side




http://www.coachmenrv.com/product-details.aspx?LineID=63&ModelID=2993#Main


Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xrwyEGansk

[jfkmk]

We like smaller trailers ax well, and currently have a 17' Starcraft. It's pretty much the same floor plan as the Nash.

We're looking to get a slightly larger trailer. We love our current trailer, but the little annoyances we have will be the same as the Nash. The dinette is the only place you can sit. The long seat bottom and short 90 degree seat back will be very uncomfortable in a short time. We don't spend a lot of time inside, but it takes very little time for it to be uncomfortable.

The "pinch point" between the bathroom and kitchen area is a pain for two people to pass each other. We are not big people, but it's a pain.

Lastly, the bed is a pain to make because it's not accessible from both sides. More my wife's peeve, but it's valid.

[Lwiddis]

"Micro Minnie 1706FB"

I'll wade in on the Minnie and I'm a Winnebago fan. Where will you sit other than the booth? That gets uncomfortable fast. Consider the 2106DS.

[asautt]

Good to hear about good experiences with Nash.

I did get a chance to look over some ORV trailers. Very nice! But we do have to watch our budget. I don't hunt, we don't forsee any major wilderness expeditions. We don't NEED a TT. But should we decide to get one, we really are looking for something that fits our needs and budget without a lot of "nice to haves" that drive the price up.

Looked at countless Jaycos. Always something that put us off - too big,small fridge,wet bath-nothing seemed to quite fit the bill for us.

[GordonThree]

I've been very happy with my KZ.

Chose it because it seemed to have one of the larger dry baths anywhere near that price point. Also had one of the largest beds, with a short queen but room for a full length.

Only downside, very low CCC

[Dick_B]

I don't own one and don't work for them but Jayco seems to get relatively high marks including a Gold rating for their Folding Campers and a Bronze rating for their TT's in the January 2018 Trailer Life annual readers choice awards.

[WillT]

We have had a 2015 17K for 3 years and just purchased a Nash 26N. About to sell the 17k so it will be sad to part with it. We really loved it, especially the big back window. It is also very easy to get it into even the smaller National Forest campgrounds. Being retired now we just needed a bit more living space for long trips. The 26N also has the big rear window although will be a bit harder to fit into the smaller campgrounds as it is about 7' longer than the 17K. The fact that we bought a 2nd Nash indicates how pleased we have been with the 17K. I did have to do a fair amount of minor tweaking when the 17K was new, few stripped screws and things like that but no warranty work was needed. Also added several modifications to fit our camping style. But the Nash is a very well built, solid TT and would be the best choice of your 3. It is a bit heavier than other TTs of the same size at 7,000 lbs. But we never had it loaded to that point and we don't skimp on what we bring. I towed it with a V-10 F-350 so we hardly ever knew it was back there except on the longest of mountain uphills. Highly recommend the Nash line. Arctic Fox, also by Northwood, is great too but larger and heavier and more luxurious so also more expensive.