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Old 02-06-2016, 01:07 PM   #41
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Originally Posted by Jon in AZ View Post
Donna, Donna… I knew what he meant!

I believe Airstream has not only gone wide, but has even caved to market pressure and offered a slide-out. I saw one in a campground last year.

O, wretched excess!
Actually all of Airstream's trailers 23' and under in length are only 8' wide and their 23' Sport model is only 7' 3" wide.

For comparison purposes the Bigfoot 17.5 is 8' wide Bigfoot 21' is 8' 4" wide. The Escape 21' and 5.0 are 7' 4". Seems to me the smaller airstreams are not as overly wide as has been suggested.


Airstream did make a slide out trailer for a couple of years but that was about ten years ago ;-) I think it was offered on some of the 25' and bigger trailers but they have not made them for several years now. Slide outs add a great deal of weight to the trailers and anyone who has ever had a trailer with a slide out knows that maintaining them is a problem!
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Old 02-06-2016, 02:01 PM   #42
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Originally Posted by Jon in AZ View Post
You made me curious, Carol. Here's what I see…
1. Bigfoot 25B21FB: full-sized bed, 4-person dinette, dry bath, 6CF fridge, 4450# dry, 7500# GVWR, base retail price…??? (here's one for $39.5K USD, $55K CAD)
2. Escape 21: full-sized bed, 4-person dinette, wet bath, 6.7 CF fridge, 3140# dry, 4500# GVWR, base retail price $31.8K CAD ($22.9K USD)
3. Airstream Sport 22FB: full-sized (crawl-over) bed, 4-person dinette, dry bath, 4.2CF fridge, 3634# dry, 4500# GVWR, base retail price $51.9K USD ($72.2K CAD)

I guess it's not surprising Escapes are selling so well.
Yup price defiantly gives it the BIG advantage.

But keeping on topic, if one puts the price aside for a minute and starts to go through their got to have list they are very different trailers and may have a short coming or two depending whats on your must have list.

Having been inside all 3 trailers you have listed, each does come up short on my list one way or another. The Airstream sport for example would fall to the bottom of my wants/needs list. It has a pretty nice layout for a week-end warrior but may not be very comfortable for someone looking for a trailer for much longer trips. The table for example can sit 4 but its not going to be very comfortable for at least 2 of the people at the table. It also comes up short in regards to interior and exterior storage compared to some of the other trailers in Airstreams line up in the same size range or smaller. And the other similar sized models offered do not weigh all that much more than their sport model. The Bigfoot also goes to the bottom of my list simple due to its weight!

Everyones must haves and can live with list is going to be different, so at the end of the day we will each purchase what every trailer we think will meet our needs & be most comfortable in.

I simple commented as I happened to agree with the OP that most of the current line up of fibreglass trailers 21' and under do come up short as far as the interior layout comfort/efficient goes when compared to some of the offerings in the same size range by non fibreglass trailer manufactures. And yup I have gone and looked inside a few stickies of 21' and smaller trailers as well ..... wouldn't buy one but it is interesting to compare the interior layouts of similar sized trailers.
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Old 02-06-2016, 03:56 PM   #43
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Darral are you saying the company now has new owners and not the Oliver family? I wonder because just yesterday I learned that Robert Partee recently left the company and Alicia sometime before the end of last year.

I am aware of the suspension, and not trying to justify it but unlike the other companies making FG trailers Oliver only had less than 50 of them at that time on the road. Barely an unknown company at the time, while Scamp, Casita, Escape had been in business for decades. But from what I was told by a local dealer that sold Bigfoot's they also pulled the plug during this time.
Escape is barely over its first decade,Scamp is well into its fifth.
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Old 02-06-2016, 04:01 PM   #44
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Yup price defiantly gives it the BIG advantage.

But keeping on topic, if one puts the price aside for a minute and starts to go through their got to have list they are very different trailers and may have a short coming or two depending whats on your must have list.

Having been inside all 3 trailers you have listed, each does come up short on my list one way or another. The Airstream sport for example would fall to the bottom of my wants/needs list. It has a pretty nice layout for a week-end warrior but may not be very comfortable for someone looking for a trailer for much longer trips. The table for example can sit 4 but its not going to be very comfortable for at least 2 of the people at the table. It also comes up short in regards to interior and exterior storage compared to some of the other trailers in Airstreams line up in the same size range or smaller. And the other similar sized models offered do not weigh all that much more than their sport model. The Bigfoot also goes to the bottom of my list simple due to its weight!

Everyones must haves and can live with list is going to be different, so at the end of the day we will each purchase what every trailer we think will meet our needs & be most comfortable in.

I simple commented as I happened to agree with the OP that most of the current line up of fibreglass trailers 21' and under do come up short as far as the interior layout comfort/efficient goes when compared to some of the offerings in the same size range by non fibreglass trailer manufactures. And yup I have gone and looked inside a few stickies of 21' and smaller trailers as well ..... wouldn't buy one but it is interesting to compare the interior layouts of similar sized trailers.
Saying 21' or smaller as a group is simply an obfuscation. Its like lumping sports cars and mini vans together and touting the wonders of having more room in the latter!
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Old 02-06-2016, 04:38 PM   #45
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Over on Airforum, they frequently use the term “two foot-itis” to describe their desire for a larger travel trailer. Coming from tent camping out of a kayak, my Oliver Elite II on order seems huge to me. Maybe in a few years it will not seem as large. Interestingly, I do not see a larger RV on the market which would meet my future needs for more space.

We know Airstream is planning a new product announcement in May 2016. Their news release speaks to a travel trailer which may serve the younger buyer. It is planned to be made out of a material other than aluminum, lighter, and priced around $35,000 as a base unit. No one knows for certain what the material will be, just that it will not be aluminum. It is hard to tell how this new product will affect existing RV manufacturers.

Maybe we will see new products being released over the next few years and the resulting competition will benefit the consumer.

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Old 02-06-2016, 06:25 PM   #46
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Escape is barely over its first decade,Scamp is well into its fifth.
Yup Escape is only 6 years older than Oliver
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Old 02-06-2016, 06:45 PM   #47
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Carol H, what does the 21' Escape not have that you want?
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Old 02-06-2016, 06:45 PM   #48
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Saying 21' or smaller as a group is simply an obfuscation. Its like lumping sports cars and mini vans together and touting the wonders of having more room in the latter!
:lout :lout your right in most cases but on this topic not so.

In this case the question is how/why is it that non fibreglass trailer makers seemed to be able to pack more functional/comfortable layouts into similar length trailers? I think most here are well aware the bigger the trailer the more comfortable it is going to be regardless of what its made out of.

It may be simple be a greater width &/or height that gives the none fibreglass more to work with or it may be as has been suggested the some of the fibreglass manufacturers have remained in a bit of a time warp ;-)
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Old 02-06-2016, 06:56 PM   #49
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Carol H, what does the 21' Escape not have that you want?
As much as I am an big fan of the Escapes I will admit I was not on the list of folks who wanted the bed orientated as it is, so its what you see as you enter the door - nor am I a big fan on the bathrooms beside the bed.

Wish it wasn't so as my search for the perfect trailer would be much simpler :-(
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Old 02-06-2016, 07:24 PM   #50
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Originally Posted by Carol H View Post
As much as I am an big fan of the Escapes I will admit I was not on the list of folks who wanted the bed orientated as it is, so its what you see as you enter the door - nor am I a big fan on the bathrooms beside the bed.

Wish it wasn't so as my search for the perfect trailer would be much simpler :-(
I was also against both when we had our 19'. Didn't want a 21'. Now that we have a 21' though, I like it.

There is a curtain that goes across the door so no problem if someone is up before the other. We had the bath wall reinforced. The bath is definitely bigger than in our 19' so that is an improvement.

Of course, we also have a long list of options we wanted that we added.
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Old 02-06-2016, 11:14 PM   #51
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There are tons of fiberglass trailers with slides...
; ) I luv the three slides on our 21,000lb 43 foot beast of a _fiberglass_ trailer. . . as I type on our leather sofa in the ~16ft x 15ft great room. And yes you can slug any wall with your fist...i'll have the ice cubes ready to tame the bruise.

-----on a serious note... I remember visiting a Northern Lite dealer in Seattle years ago during our research phase. They had a nice ~? 17ft molded fiberglass trailer. Sure was a beauty. If I recall it had the nice dometic dual pane acrylic windows and skylight. I think they shut down that line when the economy went south also , ( They sure make nice molded FG truck campers!

: ) Thom
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Old 02-07-2016, 08:52 AM   #52
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As much as I am an big fan of the Escapes I will admit I was not on the list of folks who wanted the bed orientated as it is, so its what you see as you enter the door - nor am I a big fan on the bathrooms beside the bed.

Wish it wasn't so as my search for the perfect trailer would be much simpler :-(
I too had thoughts along the same line. It is great it works for others though, as there is a lot of other huge positives about it.

I guess you will need to go with the 5.0TA then. Bigger bed right out of the way, and the bathroom separated. This is what sold me on it, have all the great features of the 21, with those two features working better for us.

I love a lot of the features built into the Oliver trailers, lots of good thought has gone into the design. I really like the upgrade in quality components that they use. I have only been in one though, and I felt like I was in a hospital room. If they would do another colour to the interior shell other than white, I bet there would be lots more interest. I know in talking to the factory in 2008, and asked about this, at the time they were unwilling to change colours.
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Old 02-07-2016, 09:30 AM   #53
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If one chose a trailer on layout, features , standard & optional equipment , interior space , storage and price per Sq ft you can see why the stick built trailers lead the industry. I like my molded fiberglass trailer but I have often wondered why fiberglass trailers
are so much more expensive . My wife and I have looked at getting a bigger trailer and would like to go fiberglass but the choices are limited and the prices are more limiting.
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Old 02-07-2016, 02:17 PM   #54
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; )

-----on a serious note... I remember visiting a Northern Lite dealer in Seattle years ago during our research phase. They had a nice ~? 17ft molded fiberglass trailer. Sure was a beauty. If I recall it had the nice dometic dual pane acrylic windows and skylight. I think they shut down that line when the economy went south also , ( They sure make nice molded FG truck campers!

: ) Thom
Northern Lite has made big head ways in regards to capturing the attention of the west coast fishing community in these parts for sure!! Very nicely finished camper inside and out! I actually know of 2 parties who where pulling a very popular fibreglass trailer here who have made the switch over to a Northern Lite truck camper.

Its another good example of what can be fit into a fairly small space. They managed to put in a full bed plus comfortable seating for 4, bathrooms with separate showers, kitchen counter space, pull out kitchen pantries etc etc
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Old 02-07-2016, 02:40 PM   #55
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I guess you will need to go with the 5.0TA then. Bigger bed right out of the way, and the bathroom separated. This is what sold me on it, have all the great features of the 21, with those two features working better for us.
Had hoped to stick with a pull trailer but the 5.0 TA is currently the one that has my attention in so far as meeting my want list in their lineup - even though I would prefer a bit shorter trailer. Waiting to see what the big changes are going to be that they hinted they will be announcing, before pulling the trigger any which way.

No issues with waiting as the current state of our dollar has pretty well slowed me down at looking at other options anyways. As you know in the last six months everything for sale south of us has gone 35-40% to us Canadians.

In the meantime I will continue to love the one I have!
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Old 02-07-2016, 02:43 PM   #56
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No issues with waiting as the current state of our dollar has pretty well slowed me down at looking at other options anyways. As you know in the last six months everything for sale south of us has gone 35-40% to us Canadians.
Yeah, I sure feel it in the things I have had to buy from the US. Ouch!!!
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Old 02-07-2016, 02:53 PM   #57
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Yeah, I sure feel it in the things I have had to buy from the US. Ouch!!!
Cancelled a planned extended road trip south for this winter due to it :-(

On a positive note it may be the push I needed to spend more time exploring northern BC & NWT this summer. Having my old trailer may be a good thing as the rock dings will not be as hard to take as they would be on nice new trailer ! :-)
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Old 02-07-2016, 05:11 PM   #58
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...Northern Lite truck camper...Its another good example of what can be fit into a fairly small space...
Absolutely Carol.

Cari and I would spend as much time in the NL TCs at the Portland RV shows as the sales-peeps would allow before making crazy faces at us! I believe we would have a NL/TC in the driveway IF they had offered a design that allowed crawl through from truck cab to camper. The van conversion was the solution for us in that respect, but not near as roomy or _at home_ feeling as the NL.

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Old 03-12-2016, 07:16 AM   #59
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I agree with your wife about the narrow aisle. I will go to TN to test the Elite, Legacy 18.5 to see if my big dogs can make a U turn!
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Old 03-12-2016, 07:23 AM   #60
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Alicia left in June, shortly after we picked up our Oliver. Haven't worked with Karen much, but Anita is incredible to work with, as is the whole team at Oliver.
I've been emailing and speaking with Alicia right up to 2 days ago! She has been very helpful. Perhaps she's working from a remote location? I'll ask her next time we speak.
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