Camplite brand trailers

[MC1]

On another forum someone posted the link to the Camplite brand of smallish TT's for use with lighter TV's. LivinLite All Aluminum Ultra Light Campers, Ultralight Campers, Lightweight Campers, Ultra-Lightweight Campers
They seem very light and well built with aluminum frames, etc (no wood).

Guessing these smaller models would a bit of a competitor to the egg style of trailer.
Right up front the eggs have an aero advantage which I can appreciate. Any thoughts/opinions?

[jwcolby54]

I looked at them. VERY rugged, very well made, more expensive by quite a bit. Probably all the aluminum as well as the welding involved to make them. Slightly heavier than an equivalent FG.

I wanted one but couldn't afford it. Hardly any available in the used market and what there were were expensive.

[cpaharley2008]

cold in the winter and hot in the summer

[Brian B-P]

An Airstream owner probably has an opinion on the use of rivets; I think most egg owners would prefer to minimize them. I would tell you how many rivets are in a Camplite, but I can't count that high.

I like much of their design philosophy, but I can't help but thinking, perhaps irrationally, that I would end up cutting myself on an aluminum edge or injuring myself on a sharp metal corner. They have the look, inside and out, of a carefully constructed home metalworking project.

[cpaharley2008]

I read someplace that the average A/S trailer has 3000 rivets!!

[Cathy P.]

I looked at them on the web and got the info sent to me as well as a couple questions answered. The one thing that disturbed me was the possible hail damage. I learned that with hail damage, the entire panel is replaced and put over the top of the damaged one. I couldn't decide what I thought about that. There is no insulation in the floor but they have a rubbery spray stuff, something like that, you can get as an option. I read one review where the owner spilled something on the floor and what he spilled froze. They are rather tall I thought compared to the FGRV. They appear sterile inside which could be a plus for some with allergies. If you can find them online for a more fair price, they are usually one of the more "interesting" colors but they can be had.

[carlkeigley]

I looked at them on the net as I looked at everything I could find in my search.
I don't think they will ever be "competition" to the fiberglass. It's still what it is.

The more I searched, the more I found I was an "egghead."

[Ken C]

Livin’ Lite Reporting 82% Rise in Sales for 1Q

Livin’ Lite Reporting 82% Rise in Sales for 1Q | RV Business

[Thomas G.]

Originally Posted by Ken C

Livin’ Lite Reporting 82% Rise in Sales for 1Q

Livin’ Lite Reporting 82% Rise in Sales for 1Q | RV Business

So production went from what to what?

[frank_a]

Any of them could be substantially damaged by a good hail storm. When I replace our trailer, it will be an egg of some kind. I'm done with metal sided trailers of any kind.

Off to look for a new tow vehicle this weekend, then next year it's egg time.

Frank

[Cathy P.]

Well, even the fiber-glass sided stickies would not be as damaged as the Camplite and with an aluminum roof versus the crappy rubber roof most use, another liability in a hailstorm. It would be SO pelted. We have been in a few hailstorms and had serious damage. Keep in mind that they do "off-road" and most manufacturers don't plus they do a toy hauler, all lighter weight than most so I could see how their sales would increase.

My concern was the lack of insulation in the floor with only "lizard skin" a spray on insulation available as an option. It seemed for the size of the trailer that the storage space wasn't very good thus contributing to the light weight but driving me nuts when everything had to sit out on the counters and floors.

[glennco]

Quality built camper though, that's more than you can say for most these days.

Everything is easy to clean.

I can see why folks are drawn to them.

[frank_a]

In their defense, one of livinlite's advantages is that I can drive down to the Boat 'n RV Warehouse & look at new models. Only way we can look at new eggs is at a factory, & they're all a long ways away!

[Bob Miller]

I couldn't find and construction pics to show how it's really built, but what's a "Composite... board" as in this clip from their website:

"Obviously, the "entire" camper is not aluminum. The vast majority of the main construction components of this camper are made of aluminum and composites, which backs up our claim of being 98% recyclable. There are steps and stabilizer jacks made of steel; composite wall and ceiling boards; and plastics used in trim, tanks and bath areas."

[frank_a]

Composite board is generally plastic. I used all plastic stuff recently building a rear seat platform for our classic speedboat. Used plastic wood from Lowe's for the frame, and plastic plywood from Best in cow comfort! Offering cow mat, cow mattresses, horse arena footing, horse stall mats, horse mats, arena fotting, horse matting, equine stall mats, horse floor mats, rubber arena footing, and more for the platform. Only wood now in my boat is the glass-enclosed transom!

Frank

[Cathy P.]

I have the brochure here. They use "azdel" composite. I looked it up: AZDEL onboard and Hanwha Azdel Composite & Material Solutions. I'm not a fan of anything sandwiched. It tends to "unsandwich" at least with our luck or lack of it. I do really like it but the hail is a deal breaker. We had a mobile home years ago in a hail storm, cars pelted, a new pop-up camper with an aluminum roof that was beaten and had to be replaced and it was never right, windows broke out of our house by hail............ We had hail in every state we have lived in.

Also, they have not passed "the test of time".

[Ken C]

With 450% growth over the last three years, Wakarusa, Ind.-based Livin’ Lite Recreational Vehicles LLC ranked in the top 1,000 in Inc. Magazine’s Top 5,000 fastest-growing companies for 2013.

Wakarusa’s Livin’ Lite RV makes Inc. Magazine’s top 5,000 fastest-growing companies list | Business Beat

[frank_a]

Originally Posted by Ken C

With 450% growth over the last three years, Wakarusa, Ind.-based Livin’ Lite Recreational Vehicles LLC ranked in the top 1,000 in Inc. Magazine’s Top 5,000 fastest-growing companies for 2013.

Wakarusa’s Livin’ Lite RV makes Inc. Magazine’s top 5,000 fastest-growing companies list | Business Beat

Only problem is they are still prone to hail damage. We looked at them at the Boat n RV place 10 miles from where we live, and they are great looking trailers and seem to be well thought out and very sturdily constructed. If I wasn't going egg, it would be Livin Lite.

Frank

[Mike Magee]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

An Airstream owner probably has an opinion on the use of rivets; I think most egg owners would prefer to minimize them. I would tell you how many rivets are in a Camplite, but I can't count that high.

I like much of their design philosophy, but I can't help but thinking, perhaps irrationally, that I would end up cutting myself on an aluminum edge or injuring myself on a sharp metal corner. They have the look, inside and out, of a carefully constructed home metalworking project.

Since the frame is all welded, and I can't see any rivets on the side panels, the only places that might have rivets are the window/door frames and perhaps at the panel edges. But then again, perhaps they are screws... I can't tell. Do you have any info on this?

Camplite has a good idea, and it looks like they are concentrating on quality. They're vastly different from molded FG, and they'll drag wind like a stickie, but overall I find them appealing.

[Donna D.]

Something to remember, a lot of people buy RVs with the same mind set as they buy the tow vehicle. They don't look at it LONG TERM, like "in the will to the kids." Lots of folks buy something like this RV, thinking may be 5-6 years and don't really expect to recoop any dollars when sold. WE are all a very small group, in the grand scheme of things, in fact, LOTS of RVers have never seen, or heard of most of the brands of trailers owned by members here.