What are the pitfalls of camping in a Hybrid?

[RVhavingfun_]

Versus camping in an enclosed TT?
I just want to know what I'm getting myself into before we decide what to purchase.
We are leaning heavily toward the hybrid as of now because I like the idea of still having that tent feel as well as the space for a family of 5, but I'm sure there are issues I haven't considered because I don't know enough about hybrids.
I'm no stranger to tent camping, but I've never camped in a camper of any kind.
Thanks!

[Juniorc]

I have a 2016 passport. I can set both beds out in two minutes by myself. We camped in the smokies on New Years. Nights were in mid 20s. The furnace did cut on all night. The next night we used a small electric heater and the camper stayed around 60 degrees with both beds open. I will never own a tt that isn't a hybrid.

[mileshuff]

Our Hybrid had a ton of sleeping room in a small, short light weight trailer. Two queen beds, a twin sofa bed and a toddler bed by folding the dining table down. No way to do that in a traditional TT in the same size and weight.

Folding up in the rain was never a huge deal for us. It takes only seconds to fold up the ends. If the canvas is wet then we open it up when we get home and dry it. Never a problem at all.

Rain causes the same issue with awnings on ANY trailer.

[Wavesprite]

I think the ONLY thing I don't like about our hybrid is the sleeping arrangements where one person has to climb over the person to get out if they want to get up first. I was always scared of folding up in the rain, but we had to a couple times last summer and it wasn't that bad. When we pack up normally it takes us about 15 minutes. Setting up I think the fastest was about 10 minutes. Not long at all (and we don't have the Rockwood type that is all attached. I LOVE the hybrid in the rain.....and we always use PUGS.

[PAThwacker]

I've been sleeping under canvas in pup htt and back to pup. I will get another htt once finances are in order. Currently 2 years into a divorce disaster with kids.

[cmcdar]

Regarding closing up in the rain - I ALWAYS have a tarp over my tent ends.

I do this to keep the vinyl clean, and to help control the temp in the camper. I use a tarp that is silver on one side and brown on the other. In warm months, the silver reflects the heat. In the cold, the brown helps to keep it warm.

Another nice benefit is I can open the screens (at the top) when it is raining out.

I'll see if I can find a photo.

[Burnt_Marshmall]

Anmacc2 wrote:
Closing up in the rain. Living in South Florida that was the deal breaker for us.

That's it right there. If you have ever tent camped any length of time you know what a PIA canvas can be.

But those canvas bunkends give you a huge living space in a shorter, lighter trailer. It's all about trade offs.

I'm personally tired of messing with the bunks but the newer models are easier to deal with so, looks like another hybrid for us.

[schiattfam]

We bought a Jayco x18d spring 2015. We love it except for the following

Rain- it's loud when it rains

Sleeping side ways meaning the inside person needs to clime over the outside person to get out.

And for me since I am the one that does it is making the beds. I open the beds before we leave make them then fold them back up.

We are looking at tt but can not find any with the sleeping space we have now, 3 queen beds. We are a family of 5.

[drenjoey]

joedekock wrote:
For me, I would love to get to the campsite, drop the trailer, level it, put out the awning and slide out and be camping. It would be nice to remove that 30 minutes of setup time and just have the beds all made up and ready to sleep in. The main reason I would like this is for the time saving. It would be nice to do shorter camping trips without so much setup time.

I don't know about other brands, but it takes us 5 minutes at the most to get those beds down and ready on a Rockwood Roo. Tent ends are sealed to the doors now (bungies or snaps are things of the past) and we use sleeping bags.
It actually took us less time to get ready than my sister and brother-in-law with their fifth wheel !!

[joedekock]

I love our HTT. It takes a little bit longer to setup and tear down than a TT for sure, but with a little planning, you can do it rather quickly.

I have three beds to fold down on my HTT. Th latches on my Coachment Freedom Express are high enough (actually the entire trailer sits higher than even a Rockwood Roo), so I have to take along a 6 ft. ladder with me to go around and open up the beds. I would say each bed takes a total of 5 minutes to open up. That includes, removing the mattress from its travel location and straps, to unlatching two latches per bed, dropping the bed, putting the rod in and putting the mattress in place. I would add another total of 5 minutes per bed for putting on my Popup Gizmo's. That includes unfolding them, and throwing them over as well as securing the bungees and clamps to the canvas. So a total of 10 minutes per bed, with three beds, im spending 30 minutes max setting up beds. Oh, and that doesn't include my wife making the beds behind me after I open them up.

Heating/Cooling is not a problem in a hybrid at all. With the popup gizmos and the reflectix cut for the windows of the canvas ends as so many do in a HTT, I can run a space heater and keep the inside temp at 70 degrees all the way down to an outdoor temp of 35 degrees. And thats with the space heater turning on an off, so I know it could be colder.

In my experience the true trade-off with a HTT over a regular TT is the beds. Like I said, Its an extra 30 minutes of setup time total on my HTT with three beds. However, the space that I get in a HTT is not matched by a TT because of the beds. In my 23 foot box, I have a dinette slide. And all the space is for living... not sleeping. Because the beds drop on the *outside* of the box, you can walk into my HTT and what you see for the living space is what you get. On a regular TT, most of the bunkhouses we would look at for sleeping our family of 5 means that we would end up with a 29 ft. box. Sure that 29 ft. box is 5 ft. longer than my 24 ft. box, but your chewing up that floor space with an 80" long queen bed for mom and dad, and 8-" of bunk beds for the kids. Thats a total of 13 feet! 29 minus 13 is only leaving you 16 ft. of that box for living space! So, my 23 ft. length box is all open as the beds drop to the outside meaning I have 7 more feet of that box for living.

I personally like camping and hearing the outdoors, so having the Canvas ends allows me to have that camping feel. Also, because of the canvas and their large windows that zip open, I get more natural light and breezes than a normal TT.

For me, I would love to get to the campsite, drop the trailer, level it, put out the awning and slide out and be camping. It would be nice to remove that 30 minutes of setup time and just have the beds all made up and ready to sleep in. The main reason I would like this is for the time saving. It would be nice to do shorter camping trips without so much setup time.

[JimNH]

Pop Up Gizmo - a silvered weatherproof blanket that covers the pop-out tent portions to keep them cooler or warmer, protected from the elements, etc.

You can google them and buy them or make your own.

JIM in NH

[bikendan]

Gruu wrote:

bikendan wrote:

Slamnslash wrote:
#1 noise. Like a tent you are going to hear everything.
#2 temperature. On those really hot days the sun will beat on the canvas and will raise the temp. Same for cold days.
#3 resale. Canvas is more maintenance and needs to be replaced over time and use.

Just my .02

#1- yes that is true. BUT you also get to hear nature, birds singing, creeks babbling, wind in the trees and so on.
#2- this is NOT true. using Popup Gizmos(or the generic solar blankets versions), temp control is quite easy, in hot and cold weather. also Reflectix in the tent windows helps too. many hybrid owners, by using these, are quite comfortable in hot and cool/cold weather.
#3- the canvas does take extra maintenance but they DON't need to be replaced. our canvas ends are almost 10 years old and still look nearly new because we use the PUGs on top of the tent ends. Hybrids get very good resale prices, if they are maintained and in good condition.

we've owned our hybrid for almost 10 years. we still love it because we like the openness and not being in a shoebox, like a regular TT.
most of us HAPPY hybrid owners were previous popup owners and are willing to do a little more to be able to have privilege to sleep under canvas. we just want more amenities and less setup.

since you haven't owned a popup, you may end not liking it. we owned two popups so we know the few cons.
but no RV is as versatile as a hybrid TT. you can "turtle" if you don't want to put out the tent ends. it's like a smaller regular TT.
you also have 2-3 queen beds that don't take up the floorspace.

it comes down to: do you want to sleep under canvas?
we do so we keep camping in our hybrid.
it's worth the minor extra work to be able to still feel connected to nature, instead of being sealed off from it, in a "shoebox" regular TT.

OK, so what is a PUG?

[cmcdar]

PUG stands for Pop Up Gizmo

http://www.popupgizmos.com/bunkcoverpage.htm

[Gruu]

bikendan wrote:

Slamnslash wrote:
#1 noise. Like a tent you are going to hear everything.
#2 temperature. On those really hot days the sun will beat on the canvas and will raise the temp. Same for cold days.
#3 resale. Canvas is more maintenance and needs to be replaced over time and use.

Just my .02

#1- yes that is true. BUT you also get to hear nature, birds singing, creeks babbling, wind in the trees and so on.
#2- this is NOT true. using Popup Gizmos(or the generic solar blankets versions), temp control is quite easy, in hot and cold weather. also Reflectix in the tent windows helps too. many hybrid owners, by using these, are quite comfortable in hot and cool/cold weather.
#3- the canvas does take extra maintenance but they DON't need to be replaced. our canvas ends are almost 10 years old and still look nearly new because we use the PUGs on top of the tent ends. Hybrids get very good resale prices, if they are maintained and in good condition.

we've owned our hybrid for almost 10 years. we still love it because we like the openness and not being in a shoebox, like a regular TT.
most of us HAPPY hybrid owners were previous popup owners and are willing to do a little more to be able to have privilege to sleep under canvas. we just want more amenities and less setup.

since you haven't owned a popup, you may end not liking it. we owned two popups so we know the few cons.
but no RV is as versatile as a hybrid TT. you can "turtle" if you don't want to put out the tent ends. it's like a smaller regular TT.
you also have 2-3 queen beds that don't take up the floorspace.

it comes down to: do you want to sleep under canvas?
we do so we keep camping in our hybrid.
it's worth the minor extra work to be able to still feel connected to nature, instead of being sealed off from it, in a "shoebox" regular TT.

OK, so what is a PUG?

[nogle]

I have camped in my 16' Hybrid travel trailer in bear country and feel quite secure inside. I use bear boxes when necessary , but I also camp with a large dog. I specifically bought my clipper rbd which each side folds down into a bed because I wanted to hear nature, such as the creek I camp next to as well as the sounds of birds and other animals walking around my camp. Don't leave food out, they won't bother you. I also felt closed in when looking at travel trailers and there wasn't much ventilation .When both ends are open a great breeze flows through and it actually appears larger than it is. I previously owned a pop up and this is by far much easier to set up and take down.