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Old 07-01-2019, 07:22 PM   #41
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"Meanwhile, I guess I'll just keep working on that molded fiberglass, collapsible pop-top, Bowlus Road Chief-inspired travel trailer design... "

Now that's a great idea. Keep the center of gravity low and make wind resistance a non-factor. Make it 23"-25" and it could be real comfy.

Seriously I think the Escape 21 or 5.0 could work for me. Although I love the Bigfoots they are a thousand pounds heavier than the Escape. I've been looking at that Classic 5.0 for sale over on the Escape forum so we'll see. I did just install a 5th wheel hitch prior to heading for Maple Ridge BC last week so maybe there is some kind of Karma going on.
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Old 07-01-2019, 07:23 PM   #42
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What's the difference between 16' and 17' Casita's

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Originally Posted by Civilguy View Post
...Meanwhile, I guess I'll just keep working on that molded fiberglass, collapsible pop-top, Bowlus Road Chief-inspired travel trailer design...
Sign me up!... but only if I can tow it with a Mini Cooper. [emoji3]

EDIT- Just looked at the Meerkat for another thread and saw the improvements they’ve made to the interior. They may have beat you to the punch.
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Old 07-04-2019, 12:45 PM   #43
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Beds?

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Originally Posted by Steve Hammel View Post
Dave, the main reason the Oxygen bed didn't work was with the kitchen on one side and the bathroom on the other the opening to the bed was less than 2 feet wide. With the gel mattress topper, although comfortable, you tended to sink and there was nothing to grab onto to pull yourself out lol. Not a lot of room for maneuvering. I think if we were young and skinny and frisky it would have been fine. But two old folks heading for the bathroom in the middle of the night not so much.
Our 2018 Casita Independence Dlx 17' has two twin beds in the rear..31"X83" separated by the center aisle. WE put 3" memory foam on top of each, and they are very comfortable, plus...WE can easily get up to use the bathroom at night w/o waking each other.
Downside is no real "dinette" but we do not often eat inside anyways. There are two table tops w stansions wh can be used, but we hardly ever do and do not even pack along both. One time our grown daughter camped w us and we packed both table tops [so we could make a full King size rear bed for the 3 of us]
If you get a "16'" you do not get a bath or closet in front, but CAN get bunks in front..we choose the Indy Dlx 17' for its 6'2" headroom + a full bathroom + closet since there are only 2 of us.
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Old 07-04-2019, 12:52 PM   #44
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Originally Posted by Jon in AZ View Post
Sign me up!... but only if I can tow it with a Mini Cooper. [emoji3]

EDIT- Just looked at the Meerkat for another thread and saw the improvements they’ve made to the interior. They may have beat you to the punch.
I just bought the Hymer Touring GT because of the King bed in the back and the POP TOP that Civil Guy referred to lol. If the Hymer doesn't work out it will be Civil Guys fault for bringing it up .
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Old 07-04-2019, 04:41 PM   #45
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I just bought the Hymer Touring GT because of the King bed in the back and the POP TOP that Civil Guy referred to lol. If the Hymer doesn't work out it will be Civil Guys fault for bringing it up .
Okay Steve, I can take that one on my broad shoulders.

But just to be clear here, let the record show that I wasn't the one responsible for the Trillium, the Scamp, the Bigfoot, Boler or Oxygen, right?

Also, just in case the Hymer doesn't work out, one of my other ideas is to tow a smaller trailer with a van, letting the van serve the bedroom functions.

I hope you've got a healthy budget there, 'cause I just keep coming up with great ideas practically every day!
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Old 07-04-2019, 07:19 PM   #46
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Okay Steve, I can take that one on my broad shoulders.

But just to be clear here, let the record show that I wasn't the one responsible for the Trillium, the Scamp, the Bigfoot, Boler or Oxygen, right?

Also, just in case the Hymer doesn't work out, one of my other ideas is to tow a smaller trailer with a van, letting the van serve the bedroom functions.

I hope you've got a healthy budget there, 'cause I just keep coming up with great ideas practically every day!
Funny you should bring this up. I just did a trip where I had a tiny popup camper mounted on my Chevy Colorado. Behind it I towed my tiny Oxygen. All was great through California but when I hit Bullards Beach a gung ho park ranger called me out of my trailer (the kids hadn't even followed us as we were heading home). In no uncertain terms he told me I had two choices #1 was to pay for a second spot as they only allow one sleeping vehicle per campsite or #2 I could leave. What an absolute jerk. I did pay for a 2nd unused spot for that night left and cancelled my reservation for the fiberglass gathering at Bullards this summer. I'll never be back. I did contact Oregon Parks Dept but they are like talking to a wall.
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Old 07-05-2019, 05:38 AM   #47
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If you get a "16'" you do not get a bath or closet in front, but CAN get bunks in front
you're half right fred. with the 16'er you can get a bath and closet in front or you can get bunks, but...not both.

p@
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Old 07-05-2019, 06:03 AM   #48
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Originally Posted by patrick crawford View Post
...with the 16'er you can get a bath and closet in front or you can get bunks, but...not both.
... same for the 17’er. Both lengths are available in standard (no bath, front sofa/bunks) and deluxe (front bath & closet) versions.

Exception is the Independence twin bed layout, which is only available as a 17’ deluxe.
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Old 07-05-2019, 11:30 AM   #49
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Originally Posted by Steve Hammel View Post
Funny you should bring this up. I just did a trip where I had a tiny popup camper mounted on my Chevy Colorado. Behind it I towed my tiny Oxygen. All was great through California but when I hit Bullards Beach a gung ho park ranger called me out of my trailer (the kids hadn't even followed us as we were heading home). In no uncertain terms he told me I had two choices #1 was to pay for a second spot as they only allow one sleeping vehicle per campsite or #2 I could leave. What an absolute jerk. I did pay for a 2nd unused spot for that night left and cancelled my reservation for the fiberglass gathering at Bullards this summer. I'll never be back. I did contact Oregon Parks Dept but they are like talking to a wall.
That is troubling. At Washington State Parks, you don't have to pay for a second "vehicle" which is towed. Additional vehicles at a site are $10 a night. In Yosemite, they allow you to sleep in a car in a site where you are registered, but not alongside the road or at the walk-in campground. That all makes sense. But, I was not aware of a practice of limiting a space to one "sleeping" vehicle in Oregon.

Oregon's State Parks FAQs page says:
How many vehicles can I bring? How many people can stay at my campsite?
Usually, a maximum of eight campers are allowed per site. Some sites permit only 6 people per site. Yurts and cabins hold five to eight people, depending on the location. The park manager has the final say.

Some campgrounds allow extra vehicles at each campsite. Some allow extra vehicle parking only in overflow areas. Check with campground staff before you park an extra vehicle at your site—a $7 extra vehicle fee for campers may apply . What's an extra vehicle? In addition to the car or RV you drive into the park, you may tow one additional car or truck at no charge. If you drive an additional vehicle, the $7 fee kicks in.

In contrast, Bullard's Beach FAQs state that sites are limited to one RV:
How many extra vehicles can I have in my campsite?
One primary motorized vehicle is included in the camping fee for each site. Campers may have up to one additional vehicle in each site provided that the vehicle pays a $7.00 per night extra vehicle fee and vehicles are parked on a paved surface. Only 1 RV is allowed per spot. Extra vehicle parking is limited in the campground and there is no overnight overflow parking.

I've generally had a high regard for Oregon State Parks. The work campers I have spoken with there also seem to share a high regard for Oregon's system. And, I can see where perhaps they might not want a park to be overly crowded with multiple RVs on sites, but the semantics could get interesting.

You had a small popup camper. Presumably you only had one of your two "RVs" occupied. In my earlier post, I was picturing a van with a bed, with the trailer essentially serving the kitchen, bath, and lounging / dining functions. With no slides or equipment beyond a bed, could a van be deemed an RV? Is a trailer with no bed an RV? What about a truck with a bed under a shell? What makes an RV an RV? If you only had a couple of people on the site, it does sound like the ranger might have applied more discretion in evaluating the situation and making a decision.
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Old 07-05-2019, 08:23 PM   #50
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"You had a small popup camper. Presumably you only had one of your two "RVs" occupied. In my earlier post, I was picturing a van with a bed, with the trailer essentially serving the kitchen, bath, and lounging / dining functions. With no slides or equipment beyond a bed, could a van be deemed an RV? Is a trailer with no bed an RV? What about a truck with a bed under a shell? What makes an RV an RV? If you only had a couple of people on the site, it does sound like the ranger might have applied more discretion in evaluating the situation and making a decision."

I went around the park and took pictures of trailers being pulled by vans and trailers being pulled by trucks with canopies. I also saw a 40 foot motorhome with 2 AC's on top which also had a tent set up on their site. It was absolutely ridicules. That evening/night I had to worry about people messing with my truck and camper in its site all alone and since there was no vehicle in my site people were constantly coming up and looking at my Bonair Oxygen thinking no one was there. I did not feel secure in the situation at all. It's a shame as that was probably the 10th time I had stayed at Bullard's through the years not to mention the park was at least 25% vacant.
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Old 07-07-2019, 09:27 AM   #51
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It's truly a shame that a 40 ft RV with 2 air conditioners/heat strips, multiple TV's and up to 8 campers can occupy a site and be allowed to set up a tent while I show up with my wife in a fiberglass trailer with no AC, no electric appliances, no TV, LED lights, and the only resources we used was electricity for lights and charging our batteries. I did have the top popped up on the camper to let it dry out because we had the grandkids the previous night in a rainstorm in the Redwoods. I offered to close it up but to no avail. I'm done with Bullard's Beach state park.
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Old 07-07-2019, 10:56 AM   #52
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What's the difference between 16' and 17' Casita's

It’s a case of unintended consequences of rules meant to address an entirely different scenario. Our favorite SoCal beach has a one motorized vehicle and one towed vehicle rule. People show up in a 35’ motor home pulling a 25’ travel trailer. Pretty sure that’s what they’re trying to prevent.

Unfortunately, once in place, rules gain a life of their own.
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Old 05-14-2022, 08:33 PM   #53
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I basically enjoyed towing our tear drop trailer the most, then the Casita, then the Escape 21; in that order.

Fully loaded, we fall within every manufacturer's rated weight limit for the Jeep. However, the driving experience while towing is one that requires more attention than I prefer under situations such as when taking I-90 across the mountain passes in Idaho.

Conditions like these, with high prevailing traffic speeds, pavement with long stretches in poor condition including rutting, scabbed-on maintenance patches which don't match the prevailing design grades, and various off camber bits which cause the trailer to twist behind the rig, basically don't lend to a relaxed experience behind the wheel.

The basic answer is of course to roll a bit slower, but that entails some inherent conflict as one risks becoming the "rock" in the stream of traffic which is attempting to flow by.

There's also a bit of "lunging" that occurs when crossing grade transitions and various other humps and bumps along the way. That's where I think a WDH might help smooth out the ride experience in the tow vehicle a bit.
The Jeep Grand Cherokee's manual calls for a WDH when the trailer's weight is 5,000 lbs. Our Escape 21 tows at about 4,600 loaded for travel. For four years, I resisted the expense of a WDH, and most especially I resisted the additional complication involved in hitching and unhitching a WDH.

I finally installed an Andersen WDH, then towed some 625 miles on I-90 across Washington and Idaho to Butte, Montana with the new setup. It was night-and-day different through the worst of the challenging scabby, rutted pavement sections in the mountainous curves in Idaho.

We caught a major gust of wind on an elevated freeway bridge west of Butte and the reaction felt safe and comfortable. The lunging and bucking have been almost completely eliminated; we only felt something that was almost more like vibration on a couple of bridges.

The overall sensation of towing is now much more relaxed, more like "pointing" than "steering". While I anticipate that other WDH's could have provided much the same improvement, I have no personal experience with them. The Andersen uses no grease, is much lighter, is easy to set up and drop, and has been completely silent.

Bottom line, I feel foolish to have put off using a WDH for so long.
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Old 05-14-2022, 08:37 PM   #54
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If the rig's handling feels a bit squirrelly or makes you nervous, a wd hitch with built in sway control should make it feel stable and steady. For the 21' an Andersen No-Sway would be good; the chains are lighter and easier to stow than bars. Or if you prefer bars, I like the Equal-i-zer brand. I have used both. An added benefit is they take out most of the jiggling-bouncing feel so your ride is smoother.
Mike, you were 100% correct. I should have taken your counsel and done this years ago!
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Old 08-29-2022, 09:05 AM   #55
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After selling my Oxygen we are looking for a new rig. Until that perfect rig comes along we are considering other trailers that we previously never considered. Not only have I never owned a Casita I don't believe I've ever been in one. I know that the ceiling height of the 16 is lower than the 17 but I understand that the 16 is quite a bit lighter. Is this the case?
We are finding the heights are all over the place depending on year and that is the challenge for us since hubs is 6'2". It's why we gave up on finding a used FGT a couple years ago and went to a different brand. It appears the height in newer trailers such as the Casita is taller if you get the 17' model Yes, the 16' is lighter but only a concern if you are trying to tow with a vehicle not rated to tow much.

We are looking at newer Scamps (after 2007 for height) or Casitas 17 with the head clearance though we are reading the 6'3" claimed is more like 6'1". We have a 3/4 ton we use for our boat so tow vehicle is less an issue than interior height. Good luck in your search. We are wanting a smaller FGT so I can tow and give hubs a break. I am not comfortable towing our behemoth.
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Old 08-29-2022, 10:14 AM   #56
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the Casita 16 is like 5'11" inside, the 17 is like 6'1 but the roof a/c intrudes on this by about 3". the thing is,t here's so little floor space inside these that you're really not walking around much

the Escape 21 is like 6'4" inside, maybe a little more, but its larger all the way around (7'7" wide, 21' long bumper to hitch). The 21 'classic' has a almost-queen bed, thats actually a Full XL (length of a queen, width of a 'full' which is about 6" narrower than a queen).
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Old 08-29-2022, 02:58 PM   #57
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I was at Bullard's Beach campground for the gathering in July, but was not hassled by the park ranger, probably due to the sleeping space in my Ford Transit Crew Van is a stealth design, and not obvious; although curtains at the windows might be a clue?

I replaced my 2003 Honda Odyssey with the Ford Transit, which gets better fuel economy, does not require weight distribution, but has the same size 3.6 liter V-6 engine with a 5,000 lb tow limit vs. the Honda's 3,500 tow limit.

The Honda's 20 mpg dropped to 13 when towing, while the Ford's normal 17 mpg only dropped to 16 mpg towing, and the Ford also has a select economy mode bringing its non-towing mpg to 19. This in a larger van. By the way, I had the same curtains in the Honda's windows.
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Old 08-29-2022, 04:15 PM   #58
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Ditto!
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Old 08-29-2022, 04:18 PM   #59
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Oh boy could I see hubs cracking his head on the air-conditioning unit at night forgetting it's there. Would have to install a motion light to solve that issue and that could work. He's a former 6'4 guy down to 6'2 over the years. Maybe 6' in a few more years?
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Old 08-30-2022, 07:01 AM   #60
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Interior height measurements on our Casita 17
Entry door: 5'
just inside the entry door: 5'8"
raised center roof: 6'1"
under A/C: 5'11" The A/C is mostly located above the rear table/bed, so unless you are intending to dance on the table, the headroom shouldn't be an issue.
My forgetfulness has me smacking my head at the 5' door when entering only.
Maybe the bifocals entice me to bend my head down to see the step when exiting and I just don't bend as far over to step up when entering..
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