Need Info about Buying a 15-17ft trailer

[Margaret C]

We have a 13 ft 1978 Trillium. We wish to buy a "modern" 15-17ft trailer with a toilet and air conditioning, used if in good shape or new. Please tell me what you have and why you like it.

[Robin G]

Margaret. We have a 17ft 2007 Casita and love it. The only thing I would/will change is the upholstery ( Casita has limited choices, so I can't blame the first owner for choosing it) and carpet on the floor (ick! I can blame the first owner for ordering carpet) or myself for buying a used trailer with carpet on the floor. So if I were to order new, I would get every option you would want to start with no matter which brand I bought. As for why I like the Casita, it's just very comfortable for what were doing. Easy to use, Easy to travel around with. The only thing I truely don't like is the carpet and upholstery. Other than that, it's a great trailer. Good luck in your search. Robin

[Sandra L]

http://www.escapetrailer.com/ Check out this website. I'm getting a 17' soon. This choice was made after quite a bit of research. Happy hunting.

[floyd]

We have a 13 ft 1978 Trillium. We wish to buy a "modern" 15-17ft trailer with a toilet and air conditioning, used if in good shape or new. Please tell me what you have and why you like it.

A 16 ft "Scamp deluxe" with a front bath and side dinette is very popular among those who own them. You must look at an "Egg Camper" also before you buy, or an "Oliver" if you can afford one.

[Roger H]

Truthfully, you can't buy a 'bad' 16 or 17 foot trailer if you're buying new. They're all high quality and have similar features and appliances. Where they differ is in construction, and some fit and finish issues, and that becomes a matter of choice and how much you want to spend. I have had a veritable parade of fiberglass trailers over the past few years. I really, REALLY liked my '02 Scamp 16 Custom Deluxe side dinette with oak interior, but the Burro had it all over for room and bed size. Were I going to buy new, I'd seriously be looking at Jim Palmer's EggCampers.

Roger

[Steve Dunkel]

...Were I going to buy new, I'd seriously be looking at Jim Palmer's EggCampers.

Roger

You caught me by surprise with that comment Roger. I hope you don't mind if I ask why. Please elaborate on your reasons.

[Roger H]

I should have said a new 17' trailer... as I bought my Bigfoot 25 new and love it!

Having had the Burro 17' wide body, I find the EggCamper's feature set appealing. Jim modeled the EggCamper after the original Burro, but improved it in a number of areas. It's a wide body, and has a huge bed, which, at 6'5" tall, is very important to me. It's also double walled and insulated without rivets. Jim will build one to suit with the appliances and features you want, and they're reasonably priced.

Roger

[Alf S.]

Hi: Margaret C... I don't think you could get better than an Escape 17B. Reace and Tammy are great to work with and will custom fill your needs. The problem is time line as they will not sacrifice Quality for Quantity.
Then again I am very biased in my opinion.
Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie

[RachelW]

we love our 16 foot scamp. Got it last year.

What are you needs? How many will you need it to sleep?

We love our awning and big fridge (holds a gallon of milk). We also added extra lights and storage cubby.

[Roger H]

I should also add that if you're looking for a true four-season trailer, Bigfoot is your only option with it's four-season package including dual-thermopane windows, heated and sealed tanks, and excellent insulation. Frankly, it's great in the summer as well.. it only has an 11k btu a/c unit that'll freeze us out of our 25'. But in the 17' variety the beds and shower are small-ish... a drawback for me, even though I loved the 15B17CB I had (and Bob B. now has).

Roger

[Adrian W]

We are very happy with our 16' Scamp with side dinette (not a Delux, delux has all wood inside & one can order different arrangement of the interior with them). I like the lighter weight and better insulation of the Scamps. Would like a wider bed in the one we have. Like the side dinette, we keep the rear table make as a bed. We like the front bathroom (shower & head). We mainly travel/camp with the two of us. But have spent two week long camping trips with our daughter as well.

16' Scamp a good unit.

[floyd]

I should also add that if you're looking for a true four-season trailer, Bigfoot is your only option with it's four-season package including dual-thermopane windows, heated and sealed tanks, and excellent insulation. Frankly, it's great in the summer as well.. it only has an 11k btu a/c unit that'll freeze us out of our 25'. But in the 17' variety the beds and shower are small-ish... a drawback for me, even though I loved the 15B17CB I had (and Bob B. now has).

Roger

A couple more points to ponder...
1] the Bigfoot is as fine a trailer as there is but they no longer have factory support due to going out of business earlier this year, you may still find a new one though, if you hurry.
2] Like your Trillium, both the Escape and the Bigfoot are square to squarish, offering more frontal area as well as more rear drag than the equivalent Scamp or Casita.
This would require noticably more HP when towing. Having owned a Trillium, and a Compact Jr, I can say that our Scamp and Lovebug, in comparison , offered less drag and more stability.

[Geoff Spero]

We were in the same boat. We had a 74 Boler (13') and it was great, but need to move up a little. In the process we looked at Scamp, Trillium and Escape. We decided to go with the 19' escape. Our T.V. is a 2004 Honda Odyssey, Reese insisted on the stabilizer hitch, and it pulls like a dream!

We actually prefer pulling the new trailer than the old trailer. The extra weight and tandom rear axel, make it very stable on the highway, and the cross winds don't seem to affect it as bad as the boler. There were no issues pulling the unit around in BC, and some of those hills are crazy! With a full belly of water, we found that it dropped our gas mileage by about 1/3, and once we droped the water, there wasn't much of an impact. We still passed all the boys and their big fifth wheels.

I don't think that you can go wrong with any of the current makers. The biggest issue will be your comfort level with the people and their processes. Tammy and Reese are very nice and helpful. They helped us book a campground, and ensured we had the paper work to register the unit before pickup, heck, it was a 3 hour orientation with both of them when we picked up! Can't ask for better commitment than that!

Happy shopping!

G

[Chris Z]

I have seen a survey here on bed sizes. You may want to look at it. We would have kept our 16' Scamp except for the 44" wide bed. Our 17' Casita has a 54" wide bed. The deluxe Scamp is 54" too (I think)
Might make no difference to you but it was to us. The Scamp was lighter to pull.

[Donna D.]

I have seen a survey here on bed sizes. You may want to look at it.

Here's the chart: Bed sizes, What are the dimensions of the main bed in your egg?