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!

[Wavesprite]

RVhavingfun? wrote:

drenjoey wrote:
And nowadays the hybrids are so easy to set up....no more bungie cords or whatever......just bring the doors down, install the poles and you're good to go. In less then 3 minutes, the beds are done.....wow !!!

I watched some YouTube videos of people setting them up and was surprised by how easy it was! I had been concerned because so many people mentioned what a pain to set up in the rain it was. I was thinking it was more complicated than I had imagined.
I mean, of course it's no fun to do anything in the rain, but a few extra minutes compared to a full hardside TT doesn't seem all that bad. I lived in Oregon, so I'm used to getting rained on from time to time. Lol!
Of course being a newb maybe there's something I'm not taking into consideration.

I should have said in my post that we have a 2003 StarCraft and so we still have the "old" style where we have the bungees under the end....the newer Hybrids are just open, pole and go.

[RVhavingfun_]

drenjoey wrote:
I almost wrote a reply yesterday but not as detailed as Dan.

My thought was:

You only live once.....so enjoy, and have fun. If you start worrying about any or all of the above, camping life is not for you

Dre

I couldn't agree with this more! 🙂

[frontin40]

This thread is starting to make me second guess a future hybrid purchase. I might have to do this one instead https://youtu.be/PaT2ptl6i90.

[poppin_fresh]

My 2005 Starcraft has never leaked when traveling in the rain in the four years I have owned it.

As far as bungee cords and children falling out, my boys 7 and 4 year old have been camping in ours for the entire time I have owned it and have never had any issues with the tent ends. I was worried about it at first, but after seeing how they have leaned on them while sleeping and playing, I no longer worry about them falling out (at least with the design on ours).

Dont get me wrong, a modern hybrid with cable supported ends (vs. mine which uses poles) and the permanently attached ends would be great. Honestly, they are not my biggest gripes with my hybrid, that is reserved for the fact that once we pull into camp we have to make the beds and when we leave we have to unmake the beds. I would love to be able to arrive and leave knowing our beds are ready to crawl into or could be torn down at some point later when I get around to it.

Jon

[drenjoey]

I almost wrote a reply yesterday but not as detailed as Dan.

My thought was:

You only live once.....so enjoy, and have fun. If you start worrying about any or all of the above, camping life is not for you

Dre

[bikendan]

bovellois wrote:
To me biggest issue is closing the tents in the rain, as it is difficult to not get the mattresses wet. It is the same problem as with a pop-up trailer, when you get home you need to open the tents and dry everything, outdoor if the weather is nice, or indoor if you are going through a rainy spell. Similarly, let's suppsoe you are traveling and every day you have to pack in the rain, the mattresses don't have a chance to dry.

Second issue, camping under tall trees in stormy weather. A large fallen branch could go rip through the canvas and injure someone. You have to pick your spot carefully, and that is not always possible when the campground is near full. Not the most likey situation but worth mentioning.

Third issue, which I read about but never encountered: Water seeping through the seals on the front bunkend when driving in relentless rain. To every problem there is a solution: Some guys have resorted to duct tape over the length of the seal!

Fourth issue: The tents are not thief proof, as even without a knife, the intruder only has to pull the bungee cord to get in. So when you leave the trailer for the day, you either have to close the tents or hope for the best.

Fifth issue: With older models, a young kid could fall off the tent, which stands 4 feet from the ground. The velcro that attaches the tent skirt to the board should prevent that, but it has happened. Maybe the new tent design gets around the problem as the canvas is sewn unto the base. This would also act as a deterrent to light duty intruders.

Sixth issue: Tents are not bear-proof. This is discussed at lenghth in the HTT forum archives.

Most of your points have been non-issues since around 2011, when nearly all hybrids were being made with pre-attached canvas.

So no wet mattresses when closing up in rain, canvas is clamped to bunk door so no easy bungees to undo and no danger of kids falling out along the sides.

Trees and thieves are threats to any RV.
Remember most RV locks use the same key. And a Class A is more tempting to a thief, than a much cheaper hybrid TT.
I've seen many pictures of motorhomes, 5th wheels and TTs severely damaged by trees or branches.

Hybrids, cost-wise, are just above popups.
They won't have a lot worth stealing that the much more expensive RVs can offer a thief.

My hybrid, which I've owned for nearly 10 years, is the old bungee style and I don't worry about any of the above issues.
The most valuable thing in mine is a $100 television.

And the bear issue is so old.
Most people with RVs dont camp in bear areas, backpackers do.
Even National Parks that have bears, have been allowing tents, popups and hybrids for decades.
Even Yosemite and Yellowstone and Glacier allow these.
ONLY one campground in Yellowstone has a permanent ban on soft-sided camping. That's Fishing Bridge CG.
All the other campgrounds there allow tents, popups and hybrids.

And I bet the majority of campers use tents.
So they deal with wet tents, falling trees/branches, thieves, seeping water and bears.

How often do we see people warned not to get a tent for these reasons?
And for how long have people been camping in tents?

[rwbradley]

bovellois wrote:
To me biggest issue is closing the tents in the rain, as it is difficult to not get the mattresses wet. It is the same problem as with a pop-up trailer, when you get home you need to open the tents and dry everything, outdoor if the weather is nice, or indoor if you are going through a rainy spell. Similarly, let's suppsoe you are traveling and every day you have to pack in the rain, the mattresses don't have a chance to dry.

Second issue, camping under tall trees in stormy weather. A large fallen branch could go rip through the canvas and injure someone. You have to pick your spot carefully, and that is not always possible when the campground is near full. Not the most likey situation but worth mentioning.

Third issue, which I read about but never encountered: Water seeping through the seals on the front bunkend when driving in relentless rain. To every problem there is a solution: Some guys have resorted to duct tape over the length of the seal!

Fourth issue: The tents are not thief proof, as even without a knife, the intruder only has to pull the bungee cord to get in. So when you leave the trailer for the day, you either have to close the tents or hope for the best.

Fifth isue: With older models, a young kid could fall off the tent, which stands 4 feet from the ground. The velcro that attaches the tent skirt to the board should prevent that, but it has happened. Maybe the new tent design gets around the problem as the canvas is sewn unto the base. This would also act as a deterrent to light duty intruders.

Sixth issue: Tents are not bear-proof. This is discussed at lenghth in the HTT forum archives.

I think this is why HTT's are not more popular, because this is what many people believe about HTT, because early generation HTT's had a bad reputation which has stuck...
1) As discussed, rain is an issue when putting it away but not a big deal for most HTT owners.
2) A tall tree falling will cut an aluminum or fiberglass trailer in half as well, heck it would cut most stick and brick houses in half too.
3) it probably depends on the design or age. In my case I drove thru the most torrential rain I had ever seen thru Toronto and Montreal one weekend and did not have a drop of rain on the front bunk.
4) modern HTT do not use bungees, the tents are held on with a spline, which is a plastic tongue and groove type track that attaches the canvass to the wall, a knife would be the only way in, but you would require a second person or ladder to boost you up the 4' to get inside once you cut a hole. But the crowbar I keep in my trunk would pop any hard shell trailer door with little effort.
5) kids falling out is not an issue with modern design, the spline will prevent this, it keeps the kids in and the bugs and rain out.
6) as mentioned previously in this thread, fiberglass and aluminum trailers are also not bear proof, heck in Yosemite and Banff there have been cases of cars that were not bear proof as well.

[bovellois]

To me biggest issue is closing the tents in the rain, as it is difficult to not get the mattresses wet. It is the same problem as with a pop-up trailer, when you get home you need to open the tents and dry everything, outdoor if the weather is nice, or indoor if you are going through a rainy spell. Similarly, let's suppsoe you are traveling and every day you have to pack in the rain, the mattresses don't have a chance to dry.

Second issue, camping under tall trees in stormy weather. A large fallen branch could go rip through the canvas and injure someone. You have to pick your spot carefully, and that is not always possible when the campground is near full. Not the most likey situation but worth mentioning.

Third issue, which I read about but never encountered: Water seeping through the seals on the front bunkend when driving in relentless rain. To every problem there is a solution: Some guys have resorted to duct tape over the length of the seal!

Fourth issue: The tents are not thief proof, as even without a knife, the intruder only has to pull the bungee cord to get in. So when you leave the trailer for the day, you either have to close the tents or hope for the best.

Fifth issue: With older models, a young kid could fall off the tent, which stands 4 feet from the ground. The velcro that attaches the tent skirt to the board should prevent that, but it has happened. Maybe the new tent design gets around the problem as the canvas is sewn unto the base. This would also act as a deterrent to light duty intruders.

Sixth issue: Tents are not bear-proof. This is discussed at lenghth in the HTT forum archives.

[captnjack]

Wavesprite wrote:
I haven't read all the responses, but I think for us, it's the "possibility of rain".

Here's the thing. We don't mind camping in the rain in the hybrid, if we're setup and ready to go, rain all you want! BUT, the possibility of having to setup in the rain and more importantly put the tent ends in wet is something that steers when we camp or not. If there is imminent weather, we don't do a spur of the moment trip like we might if we had an enclosed trailer.

Opening the tent ends constitutes a small fraction of the time involved in setting up the trailer from the outside. Unhook two latches and swing em down. Literally takes less than 30 seconds per tent end. Positioning mattress and putting up support pole is done from inside.

If you have to put the tent ends away wet you just open them back up when you get home. They will dry on their own.

Full disclosure: My hybrid is newer (two years old). Older ones may be more of a problem.

[mdcamping]

With a Hybrid you need to be more vigilant with maintenance vs a regular TT. Flexing from travel and usage on bunk ends can sometimes cause problems with leaks, inspect all seals after every trip, including roof.

My 2 cents, This has become even more important with the "Environmentally" safe caulks & glues that the RV mfgs are now using. If a leak were to accrue it could cause MORE damage in LESS amount of time.

Mike

[SoundGuy]

dewey02 wrote:
I've never owned a hybrid, but I read through this entire thread.
I've learned a lot and a lot of my misconceptions were (somewhat) put to rest.
I'm not in the market, but I appreciate all the info. Thanks to the OP for asking the question, and for all of you owners for providing answers.

Aside from the responses posted in this discussion which are predictably much in favour of the hybrid concept also keep in the mind the "messenger" - i.e. posted on a hybrid forum mostly by those who currently own a hybrid. :R Post this same query where others who've long ago "been there, done that" but have since moved on to some other style of RV and you may discover some of your "misconceptions" may not have been so misconceived after all. 😉

[dewey02]

I've never owned a hybrid, but I read through this entire thread.
I've learned a lot and a lot of my misconceptions were (somewhat) put to rest.
I'm not in the market, but I appreciate all the info. Thanks to the OP for asking the question, and for all of you owners for providing answers.

[drenjoey]

All I could afford wrote:

bikendan wrote:
One point about hybrid TTs.

The first hybrids were made by R-Vision and debuted in 1998 model year.
Other manufacturers started their own, the following year.

Those early hybrids had many issues because it was a new design/concept.
So dealers got negative about them because of all the warranty issues.

So eventually hybrids developed a negative image.

But since about 2004, changes in design have dramatically reduced these issues.

But the rep is still out there.

You are making me want to upgrade to a Roo 233!
I guess my R-Vision is the second model year!
Other then being a little too small for two adults and three children comfortably, I love it.(except for the tiny tiny bathroom)

Make sure you talk to your wife before upgrading.......HAPPY WIFE HAPPY LIFE !!!!:)

[All_I_could_aff]

bikendan wrote:
One point about hybrid TTs.

The first hybrids were made by R-Vision and debuted in 1998 model year.
Other manufacturers started their own, the following year.

Those early hybrids had many issues because it was a new design/concept.
So dealers got negative about them because of all the warranty issues.

So eventually hybrids developed a negative image.

But since about 2004, changes in design have dramatically reduced these issues.

But the rep is still out there.

You are making me want to upgrade to a Roo 233!
I guess my R-Vision is the second model year!
Other then being a little too small for two adults and three children comfortably, I love it.(except for the tiny tiny bathroom)

[RVhavingfun_]

drenjoey wrote:
And nowadays the hybrids are so easy to set up....no more bungie cords or whatever......just bring the doors down, install the poles and you're good to go. In less then 3 minutes, the beds are done.....wow !!!

I watched some YouTube videos of people setting them up and was surprised by how easy it was! I had been concerned because so many people mentioned what a pain to set up in the rain it was. I was thinking it was more complicated than I had imagined.
I mean, of course it's no fun to do anything in the rain, but a few extra minutes compared to a full hardside TT doesn't seem all that bad. I lived in Oregon, so I'm used to getting rained on from time to time. Lol!
Of course being a newb maybe there's something I'm not taking into consideration.