Whats MOST important item to you when buying a new unit

[Chester Taje]

Hi All
My wife and i are looking to buy a new unit.What would be the deciding factor for you in your purchase.

EG---Bed size is # 1 on our agenda.

PS
Keep in mind it would be 13 to 17 foot unit.
Thankyou

[Bigfoot Mike]

Because we camp year round at least once a month, for us it was two things. This gives us the ability to Snow camp, Desert Camp, Boon-Dock at truck stops, RV Park camp, Nat’l Forrest camp, etc. Think “Date Weekend”.

1. Livability
2. Bathroom

Livability - What happens where and are we going to be in each other’s way in such a small space.

Bathroom - Is it large enough to be comforable, and functionable. Not just a closet.



We sold our 17’ Casita Freedom and bought a 17’ Casita Liberty for just those two reasons. It turned out to be the right decision for us. It has worked out great.

[Byron Kinnaman]

Keep the systems to a minimum.

No bathroom
No A/C
No electric water pump
No water heater
To start with.

[james kent]

We also like the minimum, but would like
1 larger bed size
2 more closet space
3 As we cook mainly outside an awning/screenroom

[Nick]

We have a Casita 17 foot SD which we love. Moved to a larger trailer from our Casita 13
Patriot Deluxe.

Two or three week at a time was about enough for us in the 13. The extra four feet made all the difference in the world. Living in the Casita six or eight week at a time is now very enjoyable.

It is our home on wheels that takes us wherever the road may go. Four lane, two lane, or two tracks through the woods.

Been the sleeping bag under a plastic tarp and a hole dug in the woods route too.

Was seduced by indoor plumbing and a real bed.

[Gina D.]

Since I am a small little bugger.. managability. Can the systems be lifted, emptied, hitched up etc by one person with somewhat limited strength.

Generally, nothing out there fits the bill exactly, so I have to modify for my need anyway.

The 13 is perfect for me in those aspects, but... I would like a bigger trailer eventually.

[Lizbeth]

A queen size bed so my husband doesn't end up on the floor.

And an oven.

[Loren G. Hedahl]

Keep the systems to a minimum.

No bathroom
No A/C
No electric water pump
No water heater
To start with.

Byron,

We must be kindred spirits regarding simple systems.

I do have a bathroom -- I actually made it larger to accommodate a Composting Toilet. The one I installed ia a Sun-Mar Compact. To provide venting and air flow, I use a 12 volt computer fan in a plastic pipe vent line that vents through the floor.

[Gerry]

Everyone has their needs.
Just my wife and I do most of our cooking outside and mainly used the camper for sleeping so the most important thing is for us is:

1 It is dry inside

Other then that, our 13 ft Boler has everything we want along with the porta potty that slides under front bunk for those late night urges.
Gerry

[Jan Adams]

Keep the systems to a minimum.

No bathroom
No A/C
No electric water pump
No water heater
To start with.

That's the way I feel too. Less systems, less problems and maintenance.

I do agree with a comfortable bed - minimum queen size.

[Suz]

1. Bathroom

Since you are talking maximum of 17', I think I could manage that. As far as livability, I've learned that I can make easy ajustments to take care of that.

Because I had tent camped, I really had no plans on a trailer with a bathroom. It just so happened that the one I got had one. I planned on never using it ... until one cold rainy night in January. Still, I held off using the shower until one very long travel day, I was hot, had the dog with me and I decided that it would be better than nothing. Best shower I've ever had. How nice it was just be be able to crawl under the covers without having to drag all my stuff back to the trailer.

Now, the first thing I look at is the bathroom. I like having a stand up shower and I like being able to turn around. It doesn't have to be huge, just adequate.

I also realize that for two people, it's entirely different than it is just for one. IF my husband were to go with me, I'd probably go with the Bigfoot. But for just me and the dog, I really don't know if I want an 8' wide trailer. I'd definitely need a bigger bed and taller ceiling height if he was with me.

[Brian B-P]

I can't get this down to one factor, but I can list one which no one else has: towability. That is, the trailer must be within the safe and comfortable towing capacity of the vehicle which I have, or which I am willing to buy and operate. That's how we ended up with a quarter-century old egg: nothing new and otherwise meeting our requirements was light and narrow enough.

[RonnieV]

I was going to say weight, but then I guess we must assume that has been considered so that the class of molded fiberglass rv's is being searched. I would have to say, then, that in my (our) case a bathroom was necessary.

Given the short "formal" camping season in New England, much of the time we would like to use is when state and federal facilities in campgrounds have either not been opened for the season, or have been closed for the winter. We have spent months living out on the road with nothing but bicycles and a tent. We know how to go to the bush, but given our hard years of work and savings, not to mention advancing age, who needs that anymore?

I've lived in my van, hitchiked the country, and lived for months in a tent. No big deal to me to deal with maintaining my own bathroom. It provides sanitation, dignity, and freedom from the weather.

[Mike Watters]

I'm gonna back Chester on this one... Bed size is a major consideration for me.

I'm spending 8 hours a day laying there - it darn well better be comfortable or I'm not gonna be a happy camper (LITERALLY!).

What I want is a nice honest-to-God queen-size bed (60" wide by 80" long (or so)). Unfortunately, short of the Casita Liberty or one of the 5th wheels (forcing me to buy a truck, which I don't want to do), nobody wants to build a small trailer with a decent-size bed.

You could always try to talk Reace at Escape into building a custom one for ya!!!

Things I'm not so concerned about:
Headroom (it's not like I'm dancing inside the trailer... I'm either sitting or laying.)

Assorted gas/water features (prefer cooking and cleaning outdoors and I'd rather have the additional storage space inside)

Bathroom (well, a privacy room for a pp would be nice, but who needs the hassle of waiting in the poop-dump line on Sunday afternoon. Besides, the campgrounds we go to have perfectly good flushing toilets and roomy showers.)

Mike

[Roger H]

Ches,

I'm not sure any of OUR choices fit YOUR needs! As you know, the use to which I put my 17' is very different from that of some of our other members, yet this current trailer is nearly perfect for me. It wouldn't do at all for half the folks who've responded to this thread.

Other than the largest bed possible (which BTW we have a full 80" queen in the 25'), what you look for needs to suit your travelling style.

Roger

[Gina D.]

I thought about your question again today.

One thing to consider, which I DIDN'T with my first two trailers, is how you can "live" comfortably in it. I had to live in my first bare bones tent trailer for a couple weeks, and it .. well.. was not fun. I was protected from the elements, and I was able to function, but it was a LOT of work and I was never quite happy, or rested.

It's one thing to enjoy camping when the weather is perfect, the spot is perfect and everything is inline with joy...

BUT, if it's miserable and freezing out, or in a noisey RV park and you want to escape, or you are sick and can't make it out, or in some other unsavory situation...

Are you comfortable cooking and eating in it, cleaning up and working in it or being in it for long periods of time?

I had to spend a lot of time in mine over this long weekend for a variety of reasons. I was in the same spot for 5 days, which is rare for me. I thought to myself, as I lay on the bed with my back propped up on pillows and watching a movie.. "How comfortable this is". It felt like home.

I had plenty of space, didn't feel like I was closed in or wallowing in camping dirt and compromise.

[Frederick L. Simson]

My wife and i are looking to buy a new unit.

Fresh from the factory new? Or, new to you?

Livability - What happens where [b]and are we going to be in each other’s way in such a small space.

A queen size bed so my husband doesn't end up on the floor.

And an oven.

Having had both a Compact Junior, and a Fiber Stream, each with larger-than-the-average bed, I would offer that bed size alone is not a be-all/end-all.

Mike's observation (getting in each other's way) was the spark that got me looking for a larger trailer when WE used the Compact Junior. Opening contract negotiations every time I wanted to "have my turn" to accomplish almost ANY task got old very quickly. Such a large bed in such a tiny trailer left no room for anything else. We did not have a stove in it, just a coffeemaker. We never "Boondocked" with it.

Having said that; the one thing we did right with the Compact Junior was to use a premium quality, slightly firmer foam when we made the cushions. I have heard many comments about how comfortable it is from the guys we sold it to.

Robert votes for the Full bathroom. Having a separate sink next to the toilet is as important to him as having a shower. I did not have a sink in the porta-potty closet I made in the Compact Junior. Baby wipes were a poor substitute.

All I can say Lizbeth, is nya-nya-nya!

[Chris B]

1. Get something that is easy to tow. So many people have 22+ foot trailers and it's a chore to take them out.

2. The bed....must be comfy and big. ...Casita Liberty.

3. I never thought that I'd say this, but the shower....it's wonderful. We were camping with some "sissy" friends a few years ago and went on a long, hot, sweaty hike. The public showers were closed by the time we returned! Our "sissy" friends had a trailer....we had a camper shell. We were boondocking and our friend offered to hook up his trailer to his car to provide power and we all got a hot shower. Needless to say, we turned into sissies shortly a year or so later.

We can easily do without the a/c, cable connection, built-in furnace, but the three items above sure make it nice!

[drews60]

1. Storage

Storage has always been a problem to some degree or another.

I can't store everything I want in my 13' camper. So, I have to use my tow vehicle for extra storage, in a number of plastic tubs.

Now, if needed, I can bring the outhouse tent, coleman hot water on demand shower, extra clothes, plenty of food, 10' X 10' awning canopy, chairs, gas lanterns for boondocking, Mr Heater, etc.

If I ever move up to a 16 or 17' model, it will be for more storage.

[Byron Kinnaman]

1. Storage

Storage has always been a problem to some degree or another.

I can't store everything I want in my 13' camper. So, I have to use my tow vehicle for extra storage, in a number of plastic tubs.

Now, if needed, I can bring the outhouse tent, coleman hot water on demand shower, extra clothes, plenty of food, 10' X 10' awning canopy, chairs, gas lanterns for boondocking, Mr Heater, etc.

If I ever move up to a 16 or 17' model, it will be for more storage.

Someday I'll come up with a good name for this syndrom.
One starts a hobby or activity and grows the amount of stuff to take up all the available space. Then adds more space and continues to grow until you forget what the hobby or activity was all about because it's chanaged to being about the stuff.

I caught myself looking at more stuff recently then stopped when I realized that the stuff would not enhance the activity just enhance the stuff.