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Old 02-19-2015, 04:11 PM   #61
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I haven't ruled out the possibility of owning an Alto someday. They seem pretty nice. The expansive windows attract me, but at the same time I wonder how hot it would get inside there during sunny summer.

So many trailers, so little time...
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Old 12-11-2023, 12:43 PM   #62
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Name: Jonathan
Trailer: ex-Casita, now Alto R series
Massachusetts
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Re-animating an older thread to offer my opinion and insight as an owner of one of these retractable top (“R” series) Alto trailers from Safari Condo.

Re: “import duties”. Safari Condo has had plenty of experience in this. They acted as middle-man with the brokerage house they selected for us and our importation through Quebec-Vermont. All we needed to do was not lose the paperwork between SC handing the package to us and our presenting that paperwork to US Customs. As a bonus, that allowed use of the 'commercial' lane, no waiting when we went through, versus the ½ mile line at the other lanes.

Re: “sales tax”. Our home state charges a sales tax at the time of registration. There's no US federal sales tax, and the Canadian GST and Quebec PST aren't applied to 'exports'.

Re: “shower stall curtain”. We chose the R1713 layout so it has the toilet, but not the inside shower of the R1723. Both have hard walls up to the lowered ceiling height and are open above that height. The R1723 has fabric curtains for use when showering.

Re: the 'new means nothing to do to personalize' issue. I still found a number of assembly oversights and cover-ups that I was compelled to address. None were discovered before crossing back to the US. None were serious enough to prompt a return to have Safari Condo address them for me.

Re: “water leaks” at the top to fixed wall. I also had concerns. None of the owners reported any issues. None could explain how. Now I see why.
When raising or lowering
The top of the fixed wall has an inward facing wiper seal that reaches to the glass of the raising top. The lower edge of the glass has an outward facing seal to similarly press against the inside of the fixed wall. That lower edge seal is shaped such that it is a gutter and any water wiped by either seal is channeled to drains at front and at rear.
When fully raised or fully lowered
The lower glass edge seal presses up against the inward facing seal of the fixed wall top
or
The bulb rubber seal on the roof, just outward from the glass, presses down on the fixed wall top
In either position the gutter of the lower glass edge seal is still present.

Re: roof actuator durability. The actuator is no more than a glorified nut on a screw. OK, it's 12VDC motorized, and pulse count synchronized to maintain equal left and right extension, but if you understand the premise of crank-down corner stabilizers, then the actuators are no more black-magic voodoo than those. Except they're inside and sealed against contaminants. If only jetliner wing flap actuators were as well protected...
The owner's manual has instructions on how to disconnect the jack screw and manually thread the actuator to permit manually lowering the roof.

Re: bed to seating change. In the R1713 and R1723 the rear bed to rear seating area necessitates 2 (two) pieces be moved. The seat back cushions, with integral rigid backing are lifted out of the 'bed' center and moved to the wall. Whew! I'm beat! And the rear bed is usable when the roof is lowered,... but not recommended. When the top is lowered the emergency exit rear window is not accessible.
The front table to bed is more involved as there is a pedestal post to consider. For just two of us, we leave the table set up, no need for a front bed.

Re: solar gain. I expect there will be more greenhouse effect heat gain than we had in the Casita. The dark tint glass will hopefully limit that heat rate. We had that condition in mind when we ordered the heat pump + AC unit and Maxxfan. On a sub-freezing morning this November that light and heat through the windows was welcome.

Re: front window on R series. That is an option, and one that I'm pleased we selected, even though delivery issues of the window to SC added to our pick-up date slipping.

Re: Roof raise (or lower) time. It's about 45 seconds each way, and one can stand inside out of the elements, during actuation.

Re: thermal insulation. The fixed walls and the roof are two sheets of aluminum that are thermally bonded to a ¾ inch high honeycomb of what I suspect is polyethylene. The dead-air within the cells of that are an ideal thermal barrier. The aluminum, not so much, but keeping the interior skin and the exterior skin ¾ apart go a long way.
The tempered glass has no better nor worse thermal insulation than any other single pane glass window in another camper, or your house.

Re: R series floor plan / central toilet location. Kind of had to put it there. The curved front cuts head-room to stand and pull up your drawers. The dropped roof height at the rear completely eliminates that location as a possibility. The use of the toilet stall walls as a 'box section' for fixed side wall bracing are entirely valid, if only ours actually had all the rivets installed to fasten it to the outer wall (one of the oversights I was compelled to address myself). The kitchen sink and cabinet opposite provide that same boxing triangulation for the road side fixed wall.
oh, the toilet is accessible with the top lowered for those gotta-go-NOW times.

Re: Alto forum, specifically the retractable roof “R” series. I haven't found one. There is the semi-secret Faceplant group, but it's “members only”, leaving the curious, those not ready to commit, in the dark. That's one of the reasons I brought this thread back from stasis.
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Old 12-11-2023, 01:05 PM   #63
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jon MB View Post
Re: Alto forum, specifically the retractable roof “R” series. I haven't found one. There is the semi-secret Faceplant group, but it's “members only”, leaving the curious, those not ready to commit, in the dark. That's one of the reasons I brought this thread back from stasis.
So join, don't like it, leave that group. It's not hard. That's what's easy about Facebook. You're likely to get more and better answers in an Alto Facebook group than you will here.
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Old 12-11-2023, 04:58 PM   #64
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Good writeup on an interesting trailer.
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Old 02-11-2024, 09:52 AM   #65
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Name: William
Trailer: Scamp
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Originally Posted by Jon MB View Post
Re-animating an older thread to offer my opinion and insight as an owner of one of these retractable top (“R” series) Alto trailers from Safari Condo.
Thank you for the reanimation. I would love to hear any updates or developments as I've had my eye on these Rs for some time. Watched the prices double, and the waitlist too, but still can't stop checking them out. They pretty much check every box for me.
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Old 02-11-2024, 06:36 PM   #66
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Name: Jonathan
Trailer: ex-Casita, now Alto R series
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