Looking for purchase advice on a Travel Trailer

[jennykatz]

The Lil Snoozy has no front door .I believe one of the Snoozy's had a crack across the back above the door . I don't see that as a problem with only one Snoozy?

[Bob Miller]

Originally Posted by stude

: one needs as much home comfort as possible when on the road for 3-4 months out of the year, sometimes just missing a Tornado is exciting. We pack 60 Gallons of Water, 75 gallons of gas and in the hold another 50 bottles of real good drinking water right from the tap. Because down the road the 60 gallons is gone and were back to the tap water then it is gone then were back to bottle crap. Not many places in the world have water like British Columbia has where u can drink from the tap.
Stude

Let's not start the great water snob battle.
I have travelled all across the U,S, and Canada and have only found water with bad taste on a very few occasions. A few years back the EPA did blind taste testing on about 100 sources of municipal tap water and bottled waters and Los Angeles tap water came out on top.

But, with that water weight and space requirements, you will never be happy with a FGRV.

[stude]

Originally Posted by Bob Miller

Let's not start the great water snob battle.
I have travelled all across the U,S, and Canada and have only found water with bad taste on a very few occasions. A few years back the EPA did blind taste testing on about 100 sources of municipal tap water and bottled waters and Los Angeles tap water came out on top.

But, with that water weight and space requirements, you will never be happy with a FGRV.

: has been trying for years to get our water, maybe someday they will but only after I'm dead and gone. I think the only who got it free was Nestle's but now they are paying because of the letters I wrote.
Stude

[Glenn Baglo]

Good job Stude. Nestle now pays $2.25 per one million liters. The cost must be killing them. I assume that's in Canadian dollars.

[redbarron55]

As I understand it Los Angeles water comes from almost anywhere else.
Without imported water from elsewhere Los Angeles would be dry.
Perhaps judging the water there is really judging water from far far away mixed with water also from far away.

[Bob Miller]

Yep, like many wines, it's all in the blend,

[Mike Magee]

There's nothing in the Livin' Lite that can rot, but it still has seams. So you have as much chance of a leak as any boxy trailer, however those leaks don't harm the trailer like they would in a wood-based stickie.

A Lite House or a Weiscraft Ponderosa should accommodate a queen mattress. The 17' widebody Burro would allow the 80" queen length but, alas, falls a few inches shy on the width.

[accrete]

My wife and I did ponder the Livin'Lite TTs for a while. As another mentioned, there should be nothing in the all-aluminum model (the one with interior aluminum cabinetry, not the sticky-woody-optional interior) that should allow for rot. But it can still leak. Also, one of the salesmen we spoke with at the ~2009 Portland RV show said he and a buddy took one out as a base camp for a week of elk hunting in Oregon and it was basically a rain forest inside with condensation. He actually said it was like living in a tuna can. . .

And I like aluminum!! I was actually looking forward to getting one , (

Anywhooo, best wishes on your hunt for the perfect-for-you trailer. As others have said, there may be a few compromises in order.

Thom

OH, as a PS...don't know if the below fiberglass trailers are available for build/purchase by US customers, but they can custom build nearly anything it seems within the boundry of their FG molds:
trailersunlimited.com

[ninklink]

We've only ever owned a Bigfoot 17'5" trailer 2007 model year. The rear bed makes it cozy but its not your queen bed. Yes its expensive but then it holds its value well.

[stude]

Originally Posted by ninklink

We've only ever owned a Bigfoot 17'5" trailer 2007 model year. The rear bed makes it cozy but its not your queen bed. Yes its expensive but then it holds its value well.

Champ one year from Vanouver, BC to Omaha Nebraska and back home again, went up and saw the stone Presidents, but better still is the making of Crazy Horse. sure I hope I can live long enough to it finished.
Custer's last stand, to bad the others had to die for his stupidity as he had the Opportunity to take a Gattling gun with him but said he did not need it or so I was told.
All in All that was a good trip, somewhere in Wyoming on I90 we hit a wind storm beyond anything I have encountered before or after we went 100 miles and used up 15 gallons of gas, what a day I swear there times we were over sideways.
Only Problem with this kind of unit one has to crawl over the other person to go to the Loo, the person who did that said were selling this and getting a walk around Queen Class A but a C came into the picture first, then the A showed up. Well never go back to less than 29' if we go bigger we cannot get it in the covered area we have for it.
Stude

[Roger H]

Originally Posted by RobertH

I am in the market for a fiberglass travel trailer. A couple of the items I must have is a bathroom/shower/AC as well as a unit that can house a full size Queen bed. I have a sleep number queen size bed in my current unit. The bed will be down / made 100% of the time.

It appears the following units are the only ones that could have a full size queen bed.

Bigfoot 25B25FB
Casita Liberty Standard/Deluxe (kingsize)

Ive looked at some airstream as well but I just cant help but think the fiberglass is the way to go.

Thank you

I had Airstreams continuously for some twenty years. I've had a number of fiberglass trailers also. The last one I had was an '06 Bigfoot 25B25RQ. I bought it new late in '06 and had it for nine years. I just sold it last summer after I bought a motorhome.

I replaced the 76" mattress in the RQ with an 80" visco-foam mattress just like the one I have at home. The sink in the bathroom is nearly useless, but the shower is of adequate size. The trailer was almost maintenance-free; especially compared with Airstreams. Here's a link to my Bigfoot thread on the Airstream forums...

Report: Five years with a Bigfoot 25RQ - Airstream Forums

I gave reports at five years and nine years... and there's a link to my original post when I bought it.

My advice would be to find a 25RQ. I don't think that the FB model will accommodate an 80" queen.

They're hard to come by used, so be ready to travel at the drop of a hat when one comes on the market and have cash available. I sold mine without it hitting the market with any advertising at all.

Good luck!

Roger

[RobertH]

Originally Posted by Roger H

I had Airstreams continuously for some twenty years. I've had a number of fiberglass trailers also. The last one I had was an '06 Bigfoot 25B25RQ. I bought it new late in '06 and had it for nine years. I just sold it last summer after I bought a motorhome.

I replaced the 76" mattress in the RQ with an 80" visco-foam mattress just like the one I have at home. The sink in the bathroom is nearly useless, but the shower is of adequate size. The trailer was almost maintenance-free; especially compared with Airstreams. Here's a link to my Bigfoot thread on the Airstream forums...

Report: Five years with a Bigfoot 25RQ - Airstream Forums

I gave reports at five years and nine years... and there's a link to my original post when I bought it.

My advice would be to find a 25RQ. I don't think that the FB model will accommodate an 80" queen.

They're hard to come by used, so be ready to travel at the drop of a hat when one comes on the market and have cash available. I sold mine without it hitting the market with any advertising at all.

Good luck!

Roger

Roger,

Thanks this is excellent as I have been trying to decide between a Bigfoot 25B25FB and a Oliver 23 Legacy Elite (I would leave it in bed down mode and might have to buy a new RV sleep number which is shorter.)

Ultimately I think the Bigfoot is probably my best bet but Im trying to get the general feel of its build quality vs Oliver. I have seen some videos on the Oliver and they seem built strong and with quality.

I am hoping this purchase is the last trailer I will ever have to purchase.

I have noticed it seems next to impossible to find either used but Im a patient man. Its winter and I have some major projects going so Im extremely busy and wont likely have a chance to go camping or traveling anytime soon so I will continue to watch the forums and keep my fingers crossed.

Thanks again

[Bob Miller]

Just a tip for snagging a hard-to-find trailer:
Never stop looking, at least twice a day on C/L and fiberglass-RV-4sale.com


What will happen in the spring is that there will be 10X more peeps looking that you will have to compete with, and prices will be higher.

[Roger H]

Originally Posted by RobertH

Roger,

Thanks this is excellent as I have been trying to decide between a Bigfoot 25B25FB and a Oliver 23 Legacy Elite (I would leave it in bed down mode and might have to buy a new RV sleep number which is shorter.)

Ultimately I think the Bigfoot is probably my best bet but Im trying to get the general feel of its build quality vs Oliver. I have seen some videos on the Oliver and they seem built strong and with quality.

I am hoping this purchase is the last trailer I will ever have to purchase.

I have noticed it seems next to impossible to find either used but Im a patient man. Its winter and I have some major projects going so Im extremely busy and wont likely have a chance to go camping or traveling anytime soon so I will continue to watch the forums and keep my fingers crossed.

Thanks again

You're welcome. I suspect that "build quality" is subjective. The Bigfoot trailers are the highest-quality build you can find... in a production trailer that is reasonably affordable for the features, like the four-seasons package. The structure is sound. The interior is in the same league as the lower-priced Airstreams. The Oliver is a no-expense-spared trailer... but it's really over-built for the real-world. I admire the construction for what it is, but when you consider that there are forty-year-old Scamp trailers still in service, how much "over-building" is really necessary?

Bigfoot is well built. As I wrote in the link I provided, I only had a punch list of a half-dozen small things to have them repair at delivery, and did almost no maintenance on the coach in over nine years. That's a pretty darn good track record. Of course, all trailers require maintenance as they age. Tires need to be replaced. Sealants dry out and need to be replaced. Torsion axles sag. Spring shackles wear out. The only thing in a trailer that can really be claimed by the manufacturer is the frame and box. Everything else, axles, lights, appliances and upholstery are manufactured by someone else and merely installed.

I'd say either the Oliver or Bigfoot are competent to be "the last trailer" for you.

Happy hunting!

Roger