Would you ever consider stick built for Full Time?

[Ken C]

"On average I could buy 2 sticky travel trailers for the price of one fiberglass. If I want to buy a lightly used travel trailer in near new condition the cost would be much lower than any fiberglass unit.."

Same as Uplander above. Then folks also trade that used stickie for another used stickie when they are tired of it. Talked to many folks who choose this to keep more budget money in their pocket.

[Bob Miller]

Ya... but how often can you sell that used sticky for more than you paid for it after 3-5 years of use? And how much repair $$$ do those used sticky's amass? And what do you have to have to tow that sticky with and how much fuel does it burn.


I've owned and worked on both for a number of years, and FGRV's win hands down for having a lower cost of ownership. I got to the point that I refused to take on sticky coach repair jobs as it was often the case of starting on what was a terminal patient.


But I do admit, that you can buy a lot bigger sticky for a lot less than an FGRV But. in the long run they will cost more. And almost all FGRV's, more that 10 years old, now sell for more that their uncorrected original sales price. You too can pay $5000 for a trailer that cost $2500 new.


That faint laughing sound you hear is that of FGRV owners putting money in their banks.

[steelypip]

If you come to a site populated by FGRV owners, don't be surprised that you get a generally positive comparison of FGRV relative to stick built.

This can often be read as beating up on stick-built. There is some of that, but I still generally think better of (and generally find nicer) people in stick built trailers at campgrounds than people who never leave home or who only consume packaged recreation.

Can you fulltime in a sticky? Sure. Lots of people have. They generally need more work than an FGRV does per year or mile traveled. They generally do have more issues with water ingress (because of roof seams) and resultant rot (because wood wants to turn back into the forest floor whence it came).

The interior fitments are pretty similar. If you hope to get a better quality appliance, you might find it in a heavy truck or a boat, but probably won't in most FGRVs.

I did have an interesting conversation relating to this when camping earlier this week with an overnighting couple in their shiny new class C on a Mercedes Sprinter chassis. They'd previously had a bigger class A on a Freightliner chassis built by a particular Large American RV Conglomerate named after a Norse god. They half-timed in it for six years, and during that time the interior came apart. It was still watertight, and it still ran fine, but the particle board cabinet work just disintegrated.

And no, they did not seem like people who are hard on equipment. It's a heck of an investment to have come apart on you over less than a decade. Their next purchase (the Sprinter) was selected on interior fitment quality right after selection of running gear and drive line.

Can you get a quality stick-built RV? Yes. But it does happen to be an economical way of building an RV and that often means that there have been other economies taken. Shop carefully.

I think one reason that Airstream (also owned by above conglomerate) has a good reputation many decades long is because they've never been cheap, and nobody ever expected them to be cheap. That they're not stick built does mean that a little leak doesn't mean ants, termites, and rot in a year of neglect like it does with a stickie.

On average, Billy-Bob stickie buyer is shopping for size and amenities that will make his homebody wife consent to go full hook-up camping with him for two summer weeks a year.

The list of things he's not shopping for is very long, and includes a lot of things that a full-timer will be looking for. Stickie builders know this, and design their trailers to maximize apparent size and amenities at a particular price point, rather than to be good fulltiming platforms.

[Raz]

Originally Posted by steelypip

On average, Billy-Bob stickie buyer is shopping for size and amenities that will make his homebody wife consent to go full hook-up camping with him for two summer weeks a year.

And I bet he is just as happy as I am, maybe happier! Raz

[Bob Miller]

Quote from post #43 "On average, Billy-Bob stickie buyer is shopping for size and amenities that will make his homebody wife consent to go full hook-up camping with him for two summer weeks a year."


I not only think that comment to be inaccurate, it is offensive and sexist. The Billy-Bobs of the world may still live on Walton's Mountain, Virginia, but they, hopefully, don't behave and think that way when they come off of that mountain..


Again, my neighbor, with a huge sticky toybox, goes to the desert, the beaches and the mountains at least monthly with his wife and three children and I can guarantee you that no one, Billy Bob included, is every going to get his wife, a supervisor for one of America's most highly respected airlines, to "Consent" to do anything she also doesn't want to do. Those days were over about the same time the 1957 Chevy came out.


BTW: Both our my children were born in Falls Church, VA, and Billy-Bob didn't live there anymore either.

[Mike Magee]

"Consuming packaged recreation"... does that come in cans and bottles, perchance? Looks like you hit a nerve or two, but none of mine, lol. Pretty humorous post!

[Donna D.]

We can all find one or two people who don't fit the mold that RB discussed, but I think he's more right that wrong. Even in the all-molded-towable community we have folks who absolutely-positively must have a full bathroom or the wife/spouse/partner/SO won't go camping. And that's a minor immenity in my book.

[Bob Miller]

The concept may have some value, but the presentation is way off base.

[Ken C]

Im with Donna, thanks for taking the time to help out the OP RB/stelleypip. Great presentation

[steelypip]

I looked at the phrasing I'd typed-and retyped before pressing the post button and thought, 'gee, I wonder who's going to project what onto that?' Guess I answered that question...

The statement was the result of a statistical observation of my recent four-day outing to Watoga SP, WV. We were at the Riverside campground - more than 50 spaces, about 80% occupied. One in five license plates was not from WV, which is a small state, geographically speaking. It is therefore a logical assumption that most of these people don't go very far to camp.

Most heads of family/rig owners were of working age, and were there for four or more days. Several were in family reunion groups of 2-3 campsites (two vehicle/one RV limit per site). It was a logical inference that they were there for one of two 'big' vacations that most wage earners get out of the common 10 days of PTO plus holidays. The condition of the rigs suggested this as well - none looked like it had been many thousands of miles over the roads of America.

We were tied with a VW Eurovan conversion for smallest RV there (by interior volume). There were a few (five or so) tow-behind stickies in the 20-24 foot range.

Everything else was 25+ feet and most were fifth wheel. The average tow vehicle was a 1 or 1.5 ton pickup truck (fifth wheel or not). About 50% were diesel. The oldest fifth wheel tow rig I saw was about a 1995 model (a well-used, well cared-for manual transmission Dodge/Cummins that obviously had a day job). The newest was this year's. None of the fullsize pickups was observed towing with a woman driving at any point, although the distribution of population was apparently close to 50/50 by sex.

So what was the average rig? A low mileage 24-28 foot stickie fifth wheel towed by an F350 PowerStroke. Who was the average driver? A male of working age with a family.

It is possible that the women of these many families made their menfolk buy $32K+ pickup trucks and fifth wheel trailers to drive the family to one or two weeks of camping a year, or bought them themselves and told the men to drive them. Occam's razor cuts against it, though.

And for those of you with apparent hot buttons around words, I'll note that 'homebody' means 'someone who prefers to stay at home, rather than be out and about.' It does not relate to employment status or number of X chromosomes. I'm more of a homebody than my (highly educated, gainfully employed) wife is. She pushed getting the FGRV, because I had gotten tired of humping tents and equipment up and down hills for years.

[Mirna RD]

As Robert Frost said, "We love the things we do for what they are."

Wonderful discussion! Thank you to everyone...I am learning much & so is my wonderful spouse! We are greatful for all this sharing as we discern all thing trailer.

Blessings on your journeys. Mirna RD

Sent from my iPhone using Fiberglass RV

[Glenn Baglo]

I full time in a stick built. I've got a 50' X 160' site, with private washroom, 'free' shower, hot and cold running water, septic, cable TV and WiFi internet, queen bed and a garden with raised beds.
There's a 17' egg in the driveway for guests.

[Mary F]

Remember: FiberglassRV.com is not a general RV-ing discussion forum. It is for owners (past, present, future) of molded-fiberglass travel trailers. It's not the best place to learn about/discuss non-molded-fiberglass trailers, because that's not its focus. It should therefore not be a surprise when members here advocate for the molded-fiberglass genre.

It's who we are and what we do.

[Borrego Dave]

thanks for the reminder

[Bob Miller]

Originally Posted by Mary F

Remember: FiberglassRV.com is not a general RV-ing discussion forum. It is for owners (past, present, future) of molded-fiberglass travel trailers. It's not the best place to learn about/discuss non-molded-fiberglass trailers, because that's not its focus. It should therefore not be a surprise when members here advocate for the molded-fiberglass genre.

It's who we are and what we do.

Thank You Mary, I do hope that everyone reads your comments and acts accordingly.

[honda03842]

And Western Union thought they were in the telegram business not the communications business....

[RogerDat]

Most of those not retired are only going to get to go camping for a few weekends and a couple of weeks +/- each year. Just different from full timing or folks that have more specific use cases such as say kayak or base camp for other activities which would see them using the RV more.

At least some of those are using the working years to pay for the camper they hope will be used during retirement for long trips, extensive travel or being snow bird full time. They look at the amenities often from a novice point of view or with expectations (dreams even) of how they will use it.

The boomers are going to drive the RV market for a bit longer me thinks. And of course manufactures (FG or stick built) aim for a price point, and a market segment. As said providing amenities consistent with the desires of that segment and the price folks will pay. Lot of discussion in the past about this and there is general agreement that even in the FG world different manufacturers are going primarily for different markets. Otherwise the "deluxe" of one would not be so close to 1/2 the price of another's main offering.

[Byron Kinnaman]

RB's observations appear to be summer season (between Memorial Day and Labor Day). There's a difference between main camping season and other times of the year in who is occupy campgrounds and who is not.
From a lot of the people I've talked to the retired set does a lot of what we do. We occupy campgrounds during the work week in the summer season and vacate during the week-ends. Thus leaving the campgrounds to the families with children.
During the rest of the year we'll occupy campgrounds for a couple weeks to 30 days at a time. Usually heading south for the winter. Families have to make a living during our prime camping season.

Now as to size and shape of RVs, very few people travel with fiberglass trailers. Most of what you see are much bigger that my little 13' trailer any time of the year. For one thing I think most people that buy an RV just head for nearest dealer and buy what's on the lot. In the small trailer category I see more Rpods and T@B trailer than molded fiberglass. Therefore it appears that one of the determining factors is what's available locally.

There's lots of other factors involved in choosing the perfect RV. For us the 13' Scamp is perfect, at least at this time. For others not so perfect for several reasons. But that's OK, you have to go with what works well for you. I would advise anybody looking to buy an RV of any kind, stop and really evaluate what you need, then add in the wants before you buy. Where are going to going, what's the conditions like, what time of the year. Cold weather, warm weather, hot weather. RV resorts (any place with electricity) or boondocking (any place without electricity). All these thing need to be considered before thinking about build type.

[Bob Miller]

I think that a major factor for first-time RV buyers is that there are no dealerships for FGRV's, there are few in the used market, and all that are seen at the shows are the stickys. A newbie, basically, has top search out the FGRV's, the very special 1%er's of the RV market.

[Bruce H]

I have a friend who has an exceptionally nice Sunline stick built that is about 10 years old. I don't know the model but it is 21' to 22'. I say "exceptionally nice" because she had it restored and professionally redid the interior after she bought it about three years ago and found some leak damage. It is in top condition mechanically, structurally and appearance wise. She full times and has found an older Titanium fifth wheel that she really likes but would need to sell the Sunline in the price range of around $8,000 to do the deal. Send me a pm if interested.