Intro and height question

[Vic Redding]

Both my wife and I grew up camping and for the last 5 years we've had a Sunlite pop-up truck camper. With the recent addition of our first baby last spring, we are looking to move up to a trailer. My parents and I camped for about 15 years in a 13' Cascade travel trailer and I'm a big fan of small, easy to tow trailers.

The one catch is that whatever we get has to fit inside an 8' high garage door (actually 7' 11" measured). I started out looking at Hi-Lo's and while they are nice, they are not a budget-conscious alternative! So my question to you is... Burro, Casita, and Scamp all advertise a total exterior height of 7' 10''. Is that a true total height or just to the top of the body, not including vents? I've got emails into the manufacturer's, but I'm hoping for some real world experiences here.

I'd love to get a vintage trailer and rebuilt it to my spec's, but realistically our daughter would be out of highschool before I finished it, so we'll be looking for a 1-5 year old unit. We've got 2 tow vehicles, one rated at 10,000 lbs and one at 5,000 lbs, so weight isn't really an issue for me.

Thanks all - I'm learning lots off of this site!

-Vic

[Gina D.]

You won't get an answer from Burro. Dead. Finished. No longer makin' them.

Things like air conditioning, tires, axle height and solar panels will change those #s, so look carefully at anything you buy.

I tried to put mine in an 8 foot garage once, no go. And all I have is a roof vent up there. Stock axle, and at that time smaller tires. Even letting the air out wouldn't do it.

[Kent]

My Casita 17' Liberty Deluxe has high lift axle and AC. At its highest point it is 8'9" which is the top of the AC unit. Casita advertises the height for my trailer at 8'11". There 16' and 13' models are advertised at 7'8".

Scamp advertises the 13' at 7'4" and the 16' at 7'10".

If you emailed Casita you most likely will not get a reply. You will have to call them for actual heights of each model and size. As with everything depending what options you get will change the height. With my trailer, I ordered every option except the microwave which will make the trailer heavier and make the trailer sit lower.

I have read where some owners of Casita 13' and 16' models were able to get them into there garage. Obviously I would not know the height of there garage and options on the trailers.

Hope that helps!

[RonMayo]

I can say with some certainty that the stock 2005 Scamp 13' trailer with no A/C is very close to 7'-4" tall. In fact I bought the 13' Scamp because of this. You see I ride on the Washington State Ferry System and if my trailer were over 7'-6" it would double my ferry fair. Like from $40 to $80 for a round trip in the San Juans.

Most ticket booths actually have a little marker that says 7'-6" so they can check you out.

[Tom Trostel]

Compact Jr. is about 80" tall. Tom Trostel

http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/ViewPhoto?...0373&p=73125484

[Mike Watters]

Kinda out of the mainstream... but...

The '72 Boler American we had would fit into our garage - and we've only got 6'10" of clearance. The old Bolers were build REAL low to the ground however, for just that purpose.

The '72 PlayPac we had wouldn't fit - so the rear section was probably more like 7' - peaking to 7' 4-6" at the top of the bubble. With some coaxing it likely would have fit into a 7-4 garage.

I've read of some folks rolling trailers into their garage by keeping a set of rims without tires handy. Pull the wheels off the trailer - swap on the raw rims (loosing quite a few inches in the process) and roll it in. Obviously not something you'd want to do after each outing - but might be tolerable once or twice a year. If it were me - I'd only be willing to tolerate it in order to shove it in for the winter - and even then I'd be more likely to rig a shelter over the trailer instead.

mkw

[Gina D.]

Have you considered Aliners?

Not as cool as an egg, but not as expensive as a Hi-Lo. Hard sided to keep the baby warm and dry, and folds easy enough.

Still kinda spendy tho.

[Vic Redding]

Thanks for the input everyone. The perfect trailer is out there somewhere, we just have to find it.

Sorry to hear that Burro folded up. I liked the concept of finishing it myself.

-Vic