Would you ever consider stick built for Full Time?

[honda03842]

Jan,

We had a 1997 Bounder 32H and loved it, traveling for 7 years all over NA. We unintentionally gave it up when we bought a small trailer "just for 2 month, I promise", to go across Labrador. At the end of the two months we smiled at each other and kept going for 8 more months and came home and sold the Bounder.

[Bob Miller]

Those trying to hype the advantages of non-molded FGRV's hereabouts are essentially trying to sell Fords on a Chevy site.


Yes, there will always be exceptions to the general rule of high maintenance on stickys, especially from those owners that can do their own preventive maintenance, and just happen to know which way to turn a screwdriver (You Know - lefty-loosey, righty-tighty). But for many (most?) sticky owners that must depend on outside "Professionals" to do repairs, a stack of repair bills can usually be found in their trailers portfolio and seems to be a selling point when offering them to buyers.


My local RV dealer is over booked right now with sticky repairs, many being for newly discovered leaks. While we hardly have more than a drop of rain a month in SoCal. So, when we do get a rainstorm, as we did a week ago, a whole new flock of leaky stickys heads for the repair shop. The service manager even knows to predict that, and brings on "Stringers" (occasionally including moi) to help with the extra work.


Again, exceptions do not make the rule.....

[honda03842]

Exceptions do not make the rule but they show it's not absolute.... sort of like towing a Scamp 16 all over North America for 7 years.

[Mike Magee]

If I were fulltiming and could not afford a FGRV but could afford a stick built, yes I'd buy a stickie.

If I needed a vehicle and could not afford a Lexus but could afford a Ford, yes I'd buy a Ford.

Better to have a less durable one than to have none at all.

I have owned 3 stick builts and 1 Burro. If you keep the seams sealed on the stickie, it will do reasonably well. Read up on Eternabond tape, good stuff for seams IMO.

Be sure to consider cost of operation. A MH will likely get 8 to 10 mpg. Towing a FG trailer you may get 14 to 16 mpg. Depending on how many miles you travel in a year, this might pay the difference.

But my advice is, wait at least another year and a half before buying anything, to see where the economy and society go.

[Jack L]

Some day I might get rid of my Bigfoot and try a Lazy Daze or similar quality motor home.

[The Minimalist]

We certainly are a diverse crowd here...............I LIKE it!

[AngryCrow]

I wouldn't buy a stick built personally , fiberglass is just better , if I needed something bigger than my 17' Boler I would look at an Airstream , they seem comparable to Glass trailers as far as weight and maintenance and they also have the "cool " factor .

[Bster13]

Airstream while styled very nice, seems rather expensive compared to stick built. But maybe the expense would be up front vs. longer term maintenance? I don't know enough. I also kind of like that FGRVs aren't that big... I don't want to purchase a huge tow vehicle or pay the gas!

[honda03842]

There's nothing cooler than a small fiberglass trailer. So cool that we've parked in grocery store lots and come out to find people waiting for a tour. One year we kept track and had over 100 visitors, a good percentage just waiting for us..

I think part of it is the size of the trailer. People are always shocked that we could spend 2-300 days a year in 92 square feet.

After seeing the trailer, they were always amazed that we towed with a 4 cylinder Honda CRV. People always asked if we had the 6 cylinder CRV (there never has been a CRV 6).

Of course there's a mystic to a product you can't buy from a dealer, only the manufacturer.

[padlin00]

Originally Posted by Bster13

If the 17ft. Casita was not big enough to accommodate, and you thought the larger FGRVs were too expensive brand new, and you never could find a decent one used, would you go to say a ~20ft Travel Trailer or even a class C, even if it were stick built?

Just my opinion... No, if a 17' Casita is too small for full timing, a 20' sticky likely will be too. I had a 20' sticky, my 20' FG trailer has way more room. Those dry baths take up a lot of room.

By the time you get up to a 20' sticky, you're driving a full sized truck to pull it around, your mpg has already dropped to 10 or 11, same as it would be with a 24 or 26' sticky. I'd just find the smallest that would make your other half happy and is comfortable to sit around in all day when you get those long wet spells, preferably it has room for a couple recliners and a well positioned TV. Remember, we'd be full timing.

So I'd consider a sticky, but it'd be bigger then 20'.

[sokhapkin]

Originally Posted by Mike Magee

If I needed a vehicle and could not afford a Lexus but could afford a Ford, yes I'd buy a Ford.

I can afford Lexus or Mercedes. But I buy Ford. I see absolutely no value in luxury vehicle. A vehicle is a transportation thing, but not a luxury accommodation.

[RogerDat]

Get what works for you. Features, floor plan and size that work for you and your needs.

Me I full time in a stick built, but it is a house with a basement, don't try to take it with me anyplace. Have never actually owned a stick built but have family members that have and enjoyed camping in them.

I would give some thought to a small 5th wheel. They handle well, can be dropped so you still have a vehicle for sight seeing, the bed which you really only sleep in is essentially added on to the front of a modest sized camper. So fairly efficient space usage. Do need a pickup truck but lot of them to choose from and some are really nice, others very utilitarian. Your choice.

[honda03842]

Originally Posted by padlin00

Just my opinion... No, if a 17' Casita is too small for full timing, a 20' sticky likely will be too. I had a 20' sticky, my 20' FG trailer has way more room. Those dry baths take up a lot of room.

By the time you get up to a 20' sticky, you're driving a full sized truck to pull it around, your mpg has already dropped to 10 or 11, same as it would be with a 24 or 26' sticky. I'd just find the smallest that would make your other half happy and is comfortable to sit around in all day when you get those long wet spells, preferably it has room for a couple recliners and a well positioned TV. Remember, we'd be full timing.

So I'd consider a sticky, but it'd be bigger then 20'.

The size of the RV needed for fulltiming is totally dependent on the people fulltiming. One year we spent 310 days in our Scamp 16 and never found it difficult yet I've seen friends in huge motorhomes that could not stand a month together. Everyone needs to discover their niche.

I find rainy days are not a problem, there's always plenty to see and do where ever we are. I really can't think of a day where we sat inside for the day because it was raining. We usually are out every day doing this and that, they're just different things to do on rainy days.

Certainly a full sized truck may be needed for towing larger rigs, however one advantage of a smaller rig is that you can potentially have a more comfortable vehicle and more cost effective vehicle to travel about. As full timers you spend more time in your tow vehicle without the trailer than you do with it.

I do realize that everyone has different needs and wants. As to stick built trailers, we've owned one and it was my favorite in terms of layout though it did leak after 25 years. I always felt if I had owned it for the previous 24 years it would not have leaked.

Though we did not do it, it makes sense to try an RV for a while before committing to fulltiming in it. We just hopped into the RV and hit the road, young fools I guess.

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Mike Magee

Better to have a less durable one than to have none at all.

This says it all

IF, and I do mean IF, I could get the layout that suited my needs and I couldn't afford/find the same layout in an all-molded-towable, then yes... I'd buy a stick built. The only other choice is to stay home, and that's NOT going to happen. . But, I'd certainly do everything I could to find that ellusive all-molded-towable.

[Roger C H]

My wife and I are perfectly happy in our 13'. When I wash it or pay bridge tolls, we are glad we don't have a larger one. We have been spending about 7 weeks in it during our trips south and never felt confined. If we need more space, just step out the door, it is always less than 10 ft away.

As best as I can figure, our Subaru last year got 26.4 mpg by itself and 23.0 mpg towing Homelet. Not 100% either way because it is impossible to separate the times we are unhitched when traveling, and not all highway miles. We have a mileage indicator in Rosie and we get 99.9 mpg going downhill!

To answer the OPs question, No, we would never buy a stick built. The only reason we are into RVing is because of the compact size of FG units.

[EllPea in CA]

Friends of ours bought an R-pod (sticky) this spring. On their third weekend out, the bathroom sprang a leak and the toilet broke. It was under warranty, so has been languishing at the dealer now for 6 weeks while they wait for a new toilet. I think it may be coming from China.

LP

[Borrego Dave]

That's not a sticky problem only. Could have happened to any RV as all the components, other than the body build type, are common after market items used in even million $ RVs. The one thing that stickys have over molded is a lot of dealerships available for repairs. That's not to say a dealer can't fix an egg but more to them not being familiar with the molded niche market for structural repairs. For an example, I called a fairly large RV awning company the other day whom I've dealt with before. The tech I was talking to had never heard of molded FG trailers. I chalked that call up to him being young and new to the RV business. I'll have to call back....I know the owner

[SallyBEE]

As a kid, we started with a 23 foot stick built Frolic and then. a 31 foot Airstream. When I asked Dad about people who camped in other vehicles and he said, "whatever you can afford to buy to go is right for you as long as you go!"

With that in mind, we went looking at a lot of different rv types. Did I mention that the search is a whole lot of fun??

We chose a scamp 19 because it just felt right. Friends think we are crazy because they cannot stand to be together in their huge houses. In our 2100 square foot house, we spend 99.9 percent of our time in our 270 square foot den and never more than a few feet apart. It just works for us.

Nobody can tell you what is right for you-go to as many rv shows as you can...go to scamp camps etc and rallies ...look at what others are rving in and open your minds to all possibilities... do your research and decide on a list of must haves and deal breakers.. Did I mention that I also downloaded this really cool decision making app for my phone? it was fun to play with...

[Uplander]

I do not feel that anyone on this site is trying to "sell" FGRVs, however when someone new to the RV scene joins and inquires about the various products available it would be dishonest to claim only a fiberglass unit should be considered. One thing I do see far too often is the "trashing of the so-called stick built travel trailers". One might note that well over 95% of the travel trailers on the road today are of the stick built variety. That may not make them better but it sure proves they are the most popular.

The simple fact that Fiberglass RVs are the most expensive of the group may contribute to their lack of market penetration. Must average consumers do not have thousands of extra dollars to spend on a part time leisure time product.
The fact that even finding a fiberglass unit is a chore also adds to their lack of popularity.

The fiberglass RV group is a bit of an exclusive club and the cost of entry into that club is way more than the sticky club populated by the average camper.
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....about 70% lower by my own observations...add to that the lack of supply of these fiberglass trailers and the lack of a dealer support network...well....draw your own conclusions.

Happy Camping....whatever product you use!

[honda03842]

Patrick,
I agree, particularly since our first trailer wa a Sunline 15.5 stick trailer. We spent $900 on a 24 year old trailer. Our plan was to only use it for two months and return to our motorhome.

The reality is that it was extremely well designed in terms of layout. A nice Gaugho couch in the rear and a 4 person dinette in the front, all in a 15.5 foot trailer. Not to mention a side bath, opening jalousie windows on all four sides and a slide out step and a real door with a built in aluminum screen door. and more storage than any fiberglass trailer of equivalent or near size.

The gaucho had 3 storage compartments under the couch, the dinette had storage under each side, a built in clothes hamper, over dinette storage, a closet and fridge and all tanks located over the axle. The original purchase price was $2500, after 24 years it sold for $900.... Oh yes the rear bumper held the sewer pipe....

There's lots of room for improvement in fiberglass trailers.