TomBong
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Re: GREEEN Couple... Some questions
WOW Lots of information. I went to a couple RV centers and learned a couple things. I don't think I want any stick builts as the "economy " models seem too cheap with pressboard doors and who knows what's in the walls. If water ever got in the walls they would buckle like paper. Strengthened my resolve toward the "boats." Boats are trashed on the water and the hulls seem to be strong. I saw some paper thin trailers and realized they would be in 50-60 MPH winds just moving. They just did not seem strong. Light comes with a price and I am afraid that is a lot of maintenance. So back to Casitas. I am 5"8 and the wife is 5"3 so we are no hindered by space and height. I know the 16/17 is small but we get along, and rain never kept us inside. We sit under an awning in the rain at home. Being from LAs Vegas , I love the rain. but if we got a three day rain forecast we would stay home. Pop Up is out of the question. We really want the climate control of a TT. The old Casitas have in wall AC , the new ones have roof air but people prefer the non automatic Demetric Refers of the older ones. I think a 16.17 foot Casitas, Oliver will do the trick. Love the Olivers, like land yachts. lots of "boat" features, Very hard to find these used which is another reason I like them. They seem to hold their value as they are in a separate "class" of TT whereas the stick built are all the same type and I would not know what to look for when buying used and they take a huge dump in resale from what I see because there are so many for sale. I think paying a premium for the 'eggs" is worth the downsizing. Plus my Tacoma will tow those with ease and plenty of headroom. Thank You I will keep the board updated,. Casitas has their own forum and it seems there are no shortage of people WTB them used.536Views0likes0CommentsRe: GREEEN Couple... Some questions
danimal53 wrote: Very much in the same boat, new to RVing, did a ton of research, wife and I decided we wanted something very similar to what you're saying. Small but cozy, definitely NOT getting a new truck to tow a wheeled house. Most of our time will be outside so we figured keep it small and light, no slides, and we did not want a hybrid. We went to an RV show at a convention center near us to actually walk thru various trailers, help us decide what we wanted for space, etc. We went with Coachmen Clipper 17BH, pulling with a Jeep Liberty which is a V6. I've had no problems towing at all (clipper weighs in at 2900 dry, max is 3700). Check all the specs on your vehicle (max towing weight, tongue weight, payload, trailer frontal area) and get a WDH and anti-sway. Seems there's a ton of options these days for people like us looking to tow something small and light with an SUV. Thanks I like that unit. The one without the bunks. YEah we both do not want a "second home" We both enjoyed tent camping so this would be a huge step up even in a 16'330Views0likes0CommentsRe: GREEEN Couple... Some questions
Doug33 wrote: You say you will be outside except to sleep, and that if it rains you will go home. Unless you live in a desert, that really limits your camping experience. 9 times out of 10 it rains (or snows...LOL) sometime during our camping trips, so we like to be comfy inside if there is inclement weather. An awning helps to keep you dry if you want to hang out during rain. Sometimes we bite the bullet and use ponchos outside and when we go for hikes. We owned popups for 15 years when the kids were little, and they got the job done, despite the hassle of dealing with canvas during rain. We now have close to the biggest TT that can be towed with a 1/2 ton pickup, and still fit on the side of our house. Not having to assemble/disassemble a bedding area is crucial for us, but everyone has their own priorities. I would think you would be able to pick up a decent used TT in the 16' range that can be towed with your V6. Our problem in the past when looking at used units is that a majority of them are not maintained well or kept clean. Many of them smell awful inside, whether it be from cooking grease or mold, etc. I won't buy anything used except a fiberglass or 2014+. We are not campers in the strict sense of the word (anymore than class A folk are campers, They are travellers. If I had a class A i would be moving a lot and over long distances and planting for weeks or months and moving on) My neighbor has a class A and they go about five miles to a beach resort. I can't see owning a motorcoach and doing that. The TT does have to be stored off our lots due to HOA. So the size is hindered by the towing vehicle. I want to stay under 3000lbs +1000 Cargo. We will go into North Carolina and east to Blue Ridge parkway and South to Hilton Head Nothing too far away. My wife is more enthusiastic about this than I. We already live in a nice place a few miles from the beach with a huge fishing pond and woods out back.....She wants to Beach camp.. We already live in nature355Views0likes0CommentsRe: GREEEN Couple... Some questions
QFamCA wrote: A little about our situation...we have a 15' Coleman bunk house. Weight little less than 3k and fully loaded we can't exceed 3800 I think can't remember off hand. In any case we pull with a half ton so could of went bigger but we wanted the same. Didn't get want a house on wheels but wanted a hard side for heat, cooling plus toilet and shower for kids. I didn't want the dinette bed conversion but settled with it as everything else lined up for our needs. Honestly it bothers us less than we thought. We are almostly always outside and eat outside for the most part as well. We keep table out during the day or keep bed out and have a plastic table outside. During bad weather we store table in bathroom fold bed up eat using lap trays, etc. Some would get cabin fever but we bunker down and make do with kids even. In my opinion its what you expect going into it. With us it was a simple step up from tent camping adding a small amoumt of climate control, bathroom and convenience of keeping trailer prestocked instead of loading truck up with camping gear during trips. So with us we are in heaven and loving it. Maybe down the road we may move to an 18' with right lay out but we've decided that's the biggest we want that will work for us. I think you are where we are at. We will never need anything larger for relatively local three day camping trips. I don't care for any classes with motors or fifth wheels.355Views0likes0CommentsRe: GREEEN Couple... Some questions
korbe wrote: Hey Tom, is Bong your last name or your life style? I would spend some time looking at the used line and see what fits. Many small trailers will fit your style. Enjoy. Hee hee First four letters of my last name...Yeah we will be looking for late model used. We did find a 10 year old Casitas Liberty Elite though for $10K. Really like the fiberglass TTs The new Shasta Retros are nice...LOL Kinda gimmicky for $18Gs355Views0likes0CommentsRe: GREEEN Couple... Some questions
rbpru wrote: We looked at A-liners for easy setup and a more "camping" like feel. However we wanted storage and cabinet space with minimal setup so we purchased a TT. Yeah I thing the TT would be better all around. I have not seen any pop tops yet though356Views0likes0CommentsRe: GREEEN Couple... Some questions
JimNH wrote: We have a V6 Tacoma, and we tow a KZ 16RBT Sportsmen Classic. There are many makes and models of small (under 21') trailers that would work for you. A Casita would tow a bit more easily as it's a bit more aerodynamic, I think. Oliver and Scamp make similar units...but Casita seems very well thought of. We liked the KZ floor plan with the twin tent areas - makes the small trailer seem much larger when set up, and the weight is still under 3000#. I just looked at the Livin Lite trailer site, and they have one model with a tent type slide out. The Tacoma V6 with the tow package is rated at 6500# but I don't think I'd want to tow much more than 3500 or 4000#...you can feel it back there. We rented a pop up once to try out and we liked it a lot, but the hard shell with the heater is better for cold mornings, and we are sure we will be using the air conditioner this summer as well. If you can get a Casita or an Oliver with a slide out tent (a hybrid) that might be the best of both worlds. The KZ was a lot cheaper than the Oliver - we paid about $10K for a 2013 model that was barely used. Casitas don't seem to exist on the east coast, but we have seen some Scamps. WOw yours is nice as well. I read Oliver was expensive and I did not care for the Scamp as much as Casitias. I think we want a hard shell as well although we could save $35 a month in storage with a pop up as we could keep that on property. The Casitas will fit in the garage. Definately want to stay under 3500lbs if possible. Even though the Tacoma has the tow package with coolers and HD Battery355Views0likes0CommentsRe: GREEEN Couple... Some questions
I don't want to by a larger truck or a huge camper. This will be a 3 dayer. Mostly within 200 mile radius. Our neighbors have a $80K used Class A and they stay local. I think the larger units are too much like a home. I don't mind the small space as it will get us outside where the real camping is.. We were thinking of a popup as well But the heat inside a "tent" may be too much for sleeping. The biggest thing is I have been researching and researching more before going to a dealer , and decided the fibreglass units would be the best way to go initially. There is a 16' Liberty Deluxe for sale close to me for asking $10K its a 2002!! Apparently the fiberglass campers hold their value? I watched a YouTube video that scared me away from used stick built units. LOVED the Airstream but we won't be camping enough to warrant that price. Thanks for the quick responses... Dakota98 wrote: Most of us spend the vast majority of time outside the RV. The point here is, be as comfortable as you can when inside. I agree with the above statement concerning sleeping arrangements. The last thing I want to do is take down the dinette to make the bed & vice versa. Exacty why we don;t want a big unit. Cooking and eating is outside. Only inside to sleep. If it starts raining, we will just go home.355Views0likes0CommentsGREEEN Couple... Some questions
First time poster. First time RVer. We decided to find something our Tacoma V6 could tow. We do not wan't a "home on wheels" Just something small where spending more time outside is key. With that we decided after reading a lot the Fiberglass Casitas, Scamp, Oliver is the way we want to go. We do like the AirStream Bambi but $40K is a bit much for a small trailer. To many horror stories and we don't know enough about what to look for with a stick built as far as leaks go. Does anyone have any reason a 16' fiberglass TT would not be the best choice for V6 hauling9.4KViews0likes46Comments
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