Features In A Full-Time Egg

[Cathy P.]

So, I decided I like the units from all the manufacturers. I wish I could mix and match features though. I have decided, for me, that the most important features would be the amount of storage space and the windows since the space is small. I eliminated the Lil' Snoozy because top cupboards seemed limited. I know that the cupboards don't hold a lot but it comes down to sort of being like "does 2 feet of extra length make a difference" and when you talking the difference in a unit under 20 foot, I think it most certainly does. Although the 5th wheels are tempting, I think they seem less open than the TTs and my "crawling" days are coming to an end quicker than I had hoped. I like the smooth fiberglass of the Eggcamper but I thought I read a while back that it gathers condensation? I do much better when there is maybe 2 choices. I was thinking that if I do this, people will think I am crazy but then, I realized, they already think that! Over that hurdle! Any input to help me sort "it" out would be appreciated. Thank you.

[Donna D.]

Cathy, since this will be a major purchase, the best advice I can give you is to go to a gathering and look at as many brands/models as possible. Absolutely nothing beats a visual inspection and talking to owners. Brochures and salespersons come with agendas and your needs may be different. Too, remember everyone has an opinion and theirs maybe different than your own!

If I was going to purchase new and really didn't have a good feel for what's available, I'd plan a vacation (sans trailer) to go to a gathering and sleep in a tent if necessary!

Although honestly, I don't think you'd go wrong with any brand. It's more about budget and necessary features that would drive my decision.

[honda03842]

I think a full timer's trailer is configured a little different. Storage and organization has a higher priority. We own a 16 foot Scamp and have added 6 drawers, an overhead cabinet above the dinette and an over the couch cabinet. In addition to a myriad of other mods.

When you're taveling for most of the year everything needs a place, as a result you need more places.

[CindyL]

Remember that if you are buying new, some manufacturers will build to your specs. I know that Lil Snoozy has done that and so has Escape.

CindyL

[cpaharley2008]

In regards to Egg Camper and condensation, the Egg Camper has two shells, inner and outer separated by reflectix in between. Some other fiberglass trailers have just one shell with carpet inside. All the trailers will have condensation, the carpet just hides it better on those and in the Egg Camper you can see it on the reflectix inside a cabinet, not inside the cabin. You address the issue by opening a vent. All fiberglass trailers except for Escape have single pane windows which will sweat and the condensate will run out thru little seep holes in the window frame. These are the trade offs in the fg vs other brand trailers. I recently went from a fg trailer to another brand for one main reason, which was thermopane windows and better insulation, as I enjoy winter camping.

[Bill in Pittsburgh]

I,too, found the cabinets small for my needs on the Lil Snoozy. After I retire I will be camping 8 or 9 months out of the year. But, I visited Lil Snoozy and found the owners very willing to work with me on my cabinet/closet needs. Now I have a Lil Snoozy on order with my cabinet concerns eliminated. Also, the storage space under the bed allows for storing large items such as folding chairs, etc. that with other trailer brands I had considered would require me to put those large items inside and have to move them out of our way frequently or carry them on a hitch rack on the rear of the trailer.

[melissab]

Don't Forget about Parkliner. They have cabinets all the way around and a large Queen bed with storage underneath as well.

[Gina D.]

its a careful balance. The largest rig I full timed in seemed to be the least desirable and comfortable for me.

The complete length of the coach was overhead cabinets. At first, I was wowed by the amount of storage space, but after living in it for a short period of time, those cabinet became an issue. They closed down the perceived space.

When you sit on your couch at home, the next thing above your head is the ceiling. In this coach, the cabinets lower the "Air Space" between you and your head. Felt like sitting in a box.

It was also like living in a 31 ft hallway. The floorspace was only at the center of the coach, long and narrow. Imagine living on an airplane. Even tho the square footage overall was great, the usable "people" space felt cramped.

My 17 foot Burro was great for me, lousy for my pets. The two open spaces at either end were great, but it made for 2 small spaces, not one big one. There was not enuff room for me AND them in either space, so they felt separated. As did I.

The 15 footer I am in now feels very open. The overheads are out of my "Living" space and every part of the trailer can be seen from any vantage point. The center floor space is wide and open, without furniture obstructions breaking it open. The end kitchen makes a HUGE difference.

That said, I bought a 17 footer recently that I hope to make into a better home. The overheads are over the bed only.. they won't cramp my living space. The bathroom is in the corner, out of the way. The sofa is much like I have now, along the curbside wall.

Storage is UNDER things, yet the storage for frequently accessed stuff is where it should be, along a wall.

I am firmly convinced the floorplan, not size, makes the biggest difference.

[Mike Magee]

You might make a list of the stuff you will carry along. Then when you see any trailer interior (seeing and sitting in and pondering about is a must, there's no substitute), take a good long while to think about where you would put most of it.

What will you tow with? The tow vehicle may also be able to hold many of the things you want to have along.

I agree with Cindy and Bill, don't completely count out the Snoozy yet. They could probably build a whole wall of cabinets in place of the television space, if that's what you want.

[BCDave]

It is really a VERY personal choice of "what is important to YOU"?

For some folks, the choice starts with size (or with weight - which is only the same thing about half the time)

For some it is floorplan/layout

For some it is features/options

For some folks - more talented and capable than I am - ANY unit of a given size is good as they will "gut it" and rebuild, arranging the floor plan to their own likes & dislikes. (if I could do that, I'd buy that Bigfoot 28 footer in Utah in a heartbeat!)

For CPAHARLEY it was the need to have good insulation and double pane windows (like an Escape or a "25 series" Bigfoot as my B/F 21 footer does)

As Donna D said - go to a rally or two, inspect them, look at them, imagine yourself in it, and let your instincts guide you.

As Gina D said - don't get trapped into thinking that bigger is necessarily better, but remember that it also has to be BIG ENOUGH, too!

Defining what is a "good" Floorplan and "necessary" features (vs "might be nice to have as well features" is very personal.

[Sharon G]

Cathy, I apologize for the vanity post, but I just blogged about storage in our Casita and photographed every single cupboard showing how we use it.

With me, storage space was more about how I use what I have than having a lot of empty spaces to fill.

And the big windows in the Casita are awesome!

It might not be your cup of tea, but seeing how the space is used might give you some ideas you can use.

[honda03842]

Cathy,

One of the best things we did before we picked up our Scamp was to attend a 50 egg rally, we've now been to two and seen over 100 fiberglass trailers.

It was interesting to see the different brands; it was more interesting to see what a 100 people had done with their rigs. I left the rallies with a list of potential mods that have not yet been fully confronted.

Everyone has different needs and different solutions. It's great to see others solutions. In a sense it increases choices and reduces guessing. Much better than reading brochures.

[Cathy P.]

Originally Posted by Sharon G

Cathy, I apologize for the vanity post, but I just blogged about storage in our Casita and photographed every single cupboard showing how we use it.

With me, storage space was more about how I use what I have than having a lot of empty spaces to fill.

And the big windows in the Casita are awesome!

It might not be your cup of tea, but seeing how the space is used might give you some ideas you can use.

The photos were great and really did show how much storage space is available. We had a 24 foot stick built and then moved into what seemed like a huge 31 foot stick built 5th wheel and the 24 foot had so much more storage space. It had a super slide and I have an obsession with "balance" and it just disturbed me with the one side uneven! Great photos, thank you.

[Cathy P.]

Thank you to everyone for your wonderful posts! All the rallies remotely in our area are in the fall. I can start plotting out my "master" plan now and taking into account all the thoughts here. My son likes to stand over my shoulder when I look at campers and I asked, holding my breath, "Do you want to live in the camper or in an apartment?" He said "Apartment." Another hurdle cleared.

[John Fazio]

We are planning to launch this year and have been planning and saving for a while now. I cannot agree more about getting into as many as you can. I also think you have to spend at least an hour in any you think you want. The excitement will start to wane and you can realistically begin to visualize how you'd live in it. We are partial to Bigfoot, ours has the thermal pane windows, but there are many really good FG manufacturers around.

Things I think should be considered are:
Camp ground preference. Do you like RV parks, State, Federal etc...
Camping style. Are you an RV'er or a camper?
Are you outside or inside people (or one of each)?
Power preferences? Always full hook-ups, electric and water, electric only, boon-docking...
What are you going to do? Climb mountains, raft or kayak, bike rides, photography, just sit and stare...
Length of stays. A month, a week, a couple days, turn and burn and fast as you can...
Average temperatures. Freezing, boiling...

Your answers will probably be percentage combinations to the above. You then have to figure out what you want vs. what you need vs. what your willing to put up with in a camper.
Things to consider:
Tank sizes. 12 gallon black won't last long while boon docking.
Fridge/freezer. What size will work?
An oven?
Television? Antenna, satellite, both?
Heated and enclosed tanks?
Solar? Number of batteries, inverter size...
CCC. Translates to weight, weight weight! Not you, all the stuff and options in the camper.

Once you have had about four migraines and your spreadsheets look like an actuarial training lesson you are ready to look at floor plans and tow vehicles... that's when it gets hard!

So my only real advice is make the camper fit you and not your stuff fit into the camper.

-John

[honda03842]

There are so many factors to consider including comfort, cost and use. Here's a few thoughts from some of our experiences.

We started in a Motorhome with about 260 square feet of living space with 32' x 8.5' with 50 or so large draws, cabinets and storage compartments and now live in 65 square feet with 20 small drawers and storage compartments.

We are perfectly comfortable in the smaller space.

Cost
We were filled up our gas tank today. We have spent $800 for gas for 5500 miles since we left NH 10 weeks ago, that includes 2200 towing miles and 3300 exploring miles.

Ginny said we would have spent $1500 if we had our motohome, an additional $700 for fuel over 10 weeks. If we were towing with a diesel truck that got 15 mpg it would have been as much as the motorhome.

The size of the trailer also relates to the size of the tow vehicle. Bigger tow vehicles can cost more than smaller tow vehicles.

An additional $250 a month for fuel can be a big deal for some full timers. Cost is an issue.

Use.
We were never campers before we retired to RVing. We generally lived well and considered ourselves happy in ample dwellings. For 11 years we've lived in small and now smaller spaces. We have never been happier. The limited space pales next to the unlimited freedom and the limitless stimulation.

Hope this helps.... different strokes for .....

[Sharon G]

We were never campers before we retired to RVing. We generally lived well and considered ourselves happy in ample dwellings. For 11 years we've lived in small and now smaller spaces. We have never been happier. The limited space pales next to the unlimited freedom and the limitless stimulation.

Hope this helps.... different strokes for .....

Wonderful perspective, Norm.

I am certainly not a full timer, but the most frustrated I've been in a camper is when I tried to deal with too much stuff crammed into it -- stuff that I considered necessary.

Our camping enjoyment has skyrocketed since we trimmed the stuff down to bare essentials.

I realize that minimalists like us are a small minority.

For most people, trying to fulltime (or semi-fulltime) in a tiny trailer like ours would probably be an exercise in misery. To me, it sounds like pure freedom.

[Cathy P.]

We have a radio auction on our local station each year and it is running now and they usually bid off like a two-week use of one of those construction size dumpsters and I keep mentioning that would suit my purposes well. I am so overwhelmed by stuff and if I left now, I could probably put those things that make a difference in the car backseat and trunk. (teddy bear from my first Easter, stuffed monkey Grandma gave me for my 8th birthday, a small box of photographs, my raw food cookbooks, crochet and knitting loom, food dehydrator, some reference books on herbal medicine, etc - probably 6 books.............As I walk through the house each day, I visually cull those items that I have no real use for and the townwide garage sale is in April! My husband is taking the house, the barking neighbor dogs, high taxes, the drought, the dust, the lawn mowing, etc. We have talked about full-timing forever and I have decided not to wait any longer. Life is short.

[honda03842]

I would not fill the back seat and trunk with the 'special stuff" but rather with the items you need. The small amount of special stuff can easily be stored with a good friend.

Our approach was to figure out what we need. Only after the needs can we think of what we want.

Full timing needs are first, it's sort of like the Conestoga times. As people progressed west the route was littered with stuff they 'wanted' versus 'needed'.

When we started in the motorhome we carried books. Now all our favorite recipes are in the computer's memory. When we want a recipe that's not in the computer we find it on the Internet.

When we bought our first RV we parked it in the front yard, loaded it with what we need and moved in for a couple of months just as if we were on the road. At the end of the time consider what you used and didn't use. Good practice for reality.

Some thoughts from our experience.....

[LiL Snoozy]

It seems that I have come a little late to this discussion, but I wanted to put my two cents in. I will restate what Bill said, since we (Lil Snoozy) are building our campers one at a time and by hand, we can accommodate some custom features requested. Extra cabinets are not a difficult change. Bill knows this first hand because we are adding an some to his.
A crystal chandelier or jacuzzi might be a little more difficult.

Sweating is something common with anything made out of fiberglass. Fiberglass acts like metal in this respect, it is completely solid and air tight. It also has very little (if any) insulating properties. Correct me if I am wrong, but Scamp and Casita both use "Rat Fur" for insulation and sweat control.
The Rat Fur treats the symptoms of the sweating (the actual moister build up on the inside). It soaks up the moister and if not dried out periodically it can mold. I believe it is the Egg that uses a double shell system with an airspace between them. (also correct me if I am mistaken) To my knowledge this works very well. At Lil Snoozy we attack the problem from a different angle. Our cored fiberglass construction laminates 3/8in foam between two bulk layers of fiberglass. This negates the cause of sweating while adding strength and insulation.

One easy solution that I have found in my boating experience is, if you have a sweating problem currently, crack a window slightly. This small bit of ventilation should exchange enough air to combat a decent amount of the sweating.

Cathy,
As Donna D said, you cannot go wrong with a fiberglass camper. We where at a Home/trade show this past weekend and I spoke with a couple that purchased their current fiberglass camper (I think if was a Boler) new in 1968. Talk about getting their money's worth! I wish you the best of luck in finding your perfect camper!

Nicholas Smoak
Lil Snoozy Campers