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Re: My Aliner Experience
gerrym51 wrote: sounds to me that a trailmanor would have been a better choice. We looked at Trailmanors but did not like the floorplans (too much unneeded sleeping area, lack of a dedicated eating space in the smaller floorplans, time to setup, and the somewhat primitive nature of the bathroom). Their availability was also very limited in Virginia (only one dealer) and we did not want to have to drive hundreds of miles for warranty or dealer repair work. We are very happy with our Idea i15Q and only wish that we purchased it first.3.6KViews0likes0CommentsRe: My Aliner Experience
Lowsuv wrote: to the OP , thank you for your experiences . i had no idea that the aliner was so confining. the obvious advantage of the aliner to me is that you can get buy with a minimal tow rig . what is your tow vehicle, please ? is that same tv adequate for your new trailer ? Our tow vehicle is a Jeep Grand Cherokee 6 cylinder 3.7L engine with the factory tow package (includes a transmission fluid cooler). The Aliner had a dry weight of 2020 lbs and our new Idea i15Q's dry weight is 2585. We do not carry any water and only a few lawn chairs, hoses, food for 2-3 days, minimal clothes so I estimate that we carry a few hundred pounds extra. The tow capacity rating for the Jeep is 3500 lbs and we have had no trouble pulling both the Aliner and the Idea. Our reasons for initially selecting the Aliner were ease of towing (low wind resistance and good visibility), simplicity of systems (easy to fix ourselves and lack of complexity/things to go wrong), and ease of storage. We discovered that sometimes simplicity just makes things more complicated!3.6KViews0likes0CommentsMy Aliner Experience
I have been lurking here since January researching Aliners and other Aframe campers. I know that others lurk here attempting to learn about these unique campers and would like to share our recent experience. My husband and I purchased a 2013.5 Aliner Expedition Titanium Edition Front Dinette Rear Sofa with toilet and shower in February. We took it on a road trip to Florida spending 5 nights (2 nights going and 3 nights coming back). We never went off road and never intended to - we always planned to camp with water/electricity/sewer (for the grey water). We are retired and travel with our two small terriers. Upon returning home we both decided that the Aliner was not for us. Problems: lack of storage, lack of a real bathroom, plumbing issues - in particular drainage and water pressure/sink, poor use of space (dinette too large, bathroom takes up too much of the available floor space), lack of good fit and finish, difficulty in setting up the bed and taking it back down, etc. Pluses: easy to tow, easy to hitch, and the cute factor. While I believe the Aliner is a great idea in theory, it did not work out for us from a liveability/practicality stand point. On other RV forums the advice to buyers is always to buy the floorplan that most closely meets your needs. The Aliner seems to appeal to people that want to change the Aliner to meet their needs, i.e., people that want a project. This is not what my husband I wanted - we just weren't aware of this until we actually tried to use it. We have no tolerance for visual clutter and for trying to adapt ourselves to a camper. We realized that we want the camper to suit us - not the other way around. We found out the hard way that we were unwilling to spend the kind of money we paid for the Expedition only to immediately have to tear it apart to make it suit us. We traded in the Aliner yesterday on an Idea I15Q travel trailer with the Genius Package upgrade. We absorbed a significant financial loss but ended up with a 13,500 BTU roof mounted air conditioner, wardrobe closet, a real bathroom with a door, cherry cabinets, electric awning, wall mounted 19 inch television with a digital antenna, 30 gallon fresh, grey, and black water tanks, and the list goes on and on. All of this for less than the Aliner cost and the actual weight was pretty close to the Expedition. I still love the idea of the Aliner and am not trying to bash it at all - it just wasn't for us. In all of my research I didn't come across an analysis written by someone who actually experienced living in an Aliner. Most of what I read was either an overly critical commentary complaining about leaks, axles, etc. or a cheerleading one that made it sound like the greatest thing since sliced bread. Again, I'm not trying to be overly critical so no flames please! This is just my experience which I hope will be of some benefit to others down the line. If you think that you want this type of camper you really need to do some soul-searching regarding what your expectations are and where your interests lie. Hopefully our Tiny House will find a good home with someone who will love it and appreciate it for what it is and for what it offers. We clearly were not its forever home!35KViews0likes23Comments
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