Hello from Toronto! Shopping around.... - Fiberglass RV
Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 02-15-2017, 08:14 PM   #1
Junior Member
 
Name: Anna
Trailer: Currently shopping
Ontario
Posts: 8
Hello from Toronto! Shopping around....

Hello Fibreglass fanatics lol. Nice to meet you and thank you for existing so I don't feel like I a lone duck in a pond lol.

I was born and raised in Toronto and I've never been to the west coast of Canada nor have I ever been camping. I haven't even pitched a tent in my backyard lol. But after 30 years of living the Urban life, I'm ready to hang up my business suit for a more casual look and a cozy trailer on the open road and hopefully some nice lakes and mountains.

The catch is I'm limited by my tow vehicle, a compact, reliable and fuel-efficient and humble Toyota Rav4 2015. I'm also limited by location. Trying to find a travel trailer under 1500 pounds that wasn't made in the 70s, in Toronto, is proving to be more challenging than I had expected. Granted, I'm only on day 4 of my search, but I had some sort of fantasy of handing over a cheque to some happy dealer and then driving off into the sunset before Spring arrives lol.

I'm also hoping to take my two cats with me

Any suggestions or advice from experienced travelers would be much appreciated!

Thank you in advance for your response and of course I will be happy to share any knowledge that I manage to gather on this journey

Safe and happy travels everyone!
Bonnetclaw is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-15-2017, 09:21 PM   #2
Senior Member
 
Name: Ronald
Trailer: Trillium 1979 13ft.
Ontario
Posts: 300
Registry
Shopper from Toronto

Hello there is a 13 foot Trillium trailer just down the street from us. Looked at it before buying our 13 foot Boler out in Windsor. This Trillium needs som TLC but looks all there. I believe the gent was asking around $3200 or so, for it.
Butsky is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-15-2017, 10:28 PM   #3
Junior Member
 
Name: Anna
Trailer: Currently shopping
Ontario
Posts: 8
Thanks Butsky! The only thing is I'm not much of a handy woman, which is why I'm hoping to find one that is new or very gently used.
Bonnetclaw is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-15-2017, 10:30 PM   #4
Junior Member
 
Name: Anna
Trailer: Currently shopping
Ontario
Posts: 8
Can I ask how you found your Boler?
Bonnetclaw is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-16-2017, 08:00 AM   #5
Senior Member
 
Jon in AZ's Avatar
 
Name: Jon
Trailer: 2008 Scamp 13 S1
Arizona
Posts: 11,912
Registry
Your tow limit, 1500 pounds, is very restrictive even for the smallest molded fiberglass trailers. Typical loaded-for-camping weights of 13'ers range from about 1400-2000 pounds. A basic Scamp- no AC or bathroom- packed very lightly will approach, possibly even exceed, your limit. Mountains could be a problem.

I'm guessing 80% or more of late model used 13'ers are going to be Scamps. Scamps are made in Minnesota, and I see quite a few, including some newer ones, for sale in MN, WI, and MI. That's not too far from you, but you'll have to look into importation issues.

You could also order a new one. Scamp 13s start at $10K ($11-12K with the option package, furnace, and brakes, which I'd recommend). Unfortunately, that's $US.

Also, I wouldn't completely rule out an older unit- some have been very nicely updated. But, of course, you'll need to do a very careful inspection, hopefully with the help of someone who has some RV experience.

Here are a couple of helpful resources on this site:

Trailer Weights in the Real World: a database of actual loaded weights of different makes and models; post #297 links to a spreadsheet of the data

Buyer's Checklist: a guide to what to look for when inspecting a used molded fiberglass trailer

Since you are brand new to camping, if you wanted to try out a molded fiberglass trailer without committing to ownership, there is a company that rents egg trailers in Windsor, ON: Happier Camper Rentals.

Best wishes in your "egg hunt"!
Jon in AZ is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-16-2017, 10:56 AM   #6
Senior Member
 
bullfrogeh's Avatar
 
Name: Dave
Trailer: 13' 1973 Boler - tow/2017 Colorado Crew-Cab
Ontario
Posts: 286
Registry
Thumbs up

Hi Anna; Welcome to the FGRV site. It's a great place to lurk or participate. Your ambition to vacate the urban GTA and see the rest of Canada is ambitious; and a goal taken by many of the 'over 208 active Ontario FGRVers' currently on this web-site, that have done just that. Keep us informed of your choices and any problems for which you may need advice of assistance. May I personally recommend taking the 'Tranny-Canadie' #17, over Northern Ontario; and, the 'Yellowhead' through to the Alaskan Highway, and then #97 south to 'The Island'. Or, a 'Down East' route through our four gorgeous Maritime provinces. We've camped through both, several times and are aiming to do it again, while still able.
__________________
Find yourself; and then others will find you.
bullfrogeh is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-16-2017, 11:02 AM   #7
Junior Member
 
Name: John
Trailer: Trillium
Ontario
Posts: 8
Trillium

I am north of Toronto and am the 2nd owner of a 1974 Trillium 1300. The previous owner completed a frame off refurbishing - frame painting, body touch ups and paint, tires, new wiring, LED lights, laminate floor, newly upholstered cushions, curtains. Original sink, propane stove, 3-way fridge are all in perfect working order. All windows and cranks are in great condition It is the model with the two bunks at front and dinette/bed at the back. I refurbished and painted the front stone shield. Dry weight is reportedly 1100-1200 lbs. It tows wonderfully and in 3 years I have taken it to Lake Erie, Prince Edward County, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Delaware, Maryland, New York State and Pennsylvania - all with no problems. I am selling because I bought a much bigger trailer with full washroom that I can stay in comfortably for a month or 2 in FL or Texas. I have pics of the refurbishing process and current pics if you are interested. Asking $6900.
mudlvr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-16-2017, 11:37 AM   #8
Senior Member
 
Name: George
Trailer: Trillium
Ontario
Posts: 215
Registry
Toronto RV

Hi,

I have been camping most of my life with various tents, vans, 2 trilliums and larger trailers and rented RVs. I think that you are asking the us the wrong questions and will obviously get the wrong answers. First of all your car is just borderline adequate for the lightest of trailers and only if loaded properly. Towing a trailer will add a lot of stress on the tow vehicle in terms of drive-train and brakes. The real question that needs to be asked is how well will you and your pets take to travel long distances by car. Have you ever towed a trailer? tried backing it up by yourself? Tried to find a campsite while on the road? are comfortable staying alone overnight at a truck stop? Driving across Canada is not easy by yourself, more complicated with 2 pets. There are lots of places that will sell you a trailer in the Toronto area (Heidi's north of Barrie, a big RV place in Hamilton just off the QEW by the bridge), where will you park it when you bring it home? If you want to meet for a coffee and discuss this, I am in the GTA, just let me know
jokra is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-16-2017, 10:27 PM   #9
Junior Member
 
Name: Anna
Trailer: Currently shopping
Ontario
Posts: 8
Thanks for the name of the rental company.
For some reason typing "travel trailers Toronto" provides limited options. I'll definitely have to visit Windsor soon. Thanks again!
Bonnetclaw is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-16-2017, 10:29 PM   #10
Junior Member
 
Name: Anna
Trailer: Currently shopping
Ontario
Posts: 8
Wow, sounds like a lot of TLC went into this Trillium. I would definitely love to see pics. Thank you!
Bonnetclaw is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-16-2017, 10:31 PM   #11
Junior Member
 
Name: Anna
Trailer: Currently shopping
Ontario
Posts: 8
Thanks for the warm welcome Yes, please suggest away! I'm completely in foreign territory, but that's half the fun lol. Thank again!
Bonnetclaw is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-17-2017, 01:25 AM   #12
Senior Member
 
David B.'s Avatar
 
Name: David
Trailer: Former 13’Scamp, now Snoozy
Arizona
Posts: 2,316
Registry
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bonnetclaw View Post
Thanks for the warm welcome Yes, please suggest away! I'm completely in foreign territory, but that's half the fun lol. Thank again!
You should look at Relic Travel Trailers at relictrailers.com
They claim a starting weight of 1000 lbs. They are made in Washington state.
Dave & Paula
David B. is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-17-2017, 04:42 AM   #13
Senior Member
 
Name: Peter
Trailer: G30 Elite Class C
British Columbia
Posts: 1,509
Quote:
Originally Posted by David B. View Post
You should look at Relic Travel Trailers at relictrailers.com
They claim a starting weight of 1000 lbs. They are made in Washington state.
Dave & Paula
r look at Vintage Trailer I Just type it in at the heading of the RV section on Craig's list and usually 20 show up.
Stude
stude is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-17-2017, 07:09 AM   #14
Senior Member
 
Name: Ronald
Trailer: Trillium 1979 13ft.
Ontario
Posts: 300
Registry
Boler find

We found ours late last December on Kijiji website, and drove from St. Catharines to Windsor to do the deal.
Butsky is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-17-2017, 07:09 AM   #15
Junior Member
 
Trailer: Trillium
Posts: 4
email this uilgallant@gmail.com he has a boiler for sail
mel rouse is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-17-2017, 07:23 AM   #16
Senior Member
 
Jon in AZ's Avatar
 
Name: Jon
Trailer: 2008 Scamp 13 S1
Arizona
Posts: 11,912
Registry
Quote:
Originally Posted by David B. View Post
You should look at Relic Travel Trailers at relictrailers.com

They claim a starting weight of 1000 lbs. They are made in Washington state.

Dave & Paula
Quote:
Originally Posted by stude View Post
r look at Vintage Trailer I Just type it in at the heading of the RV section on Craig's list and usually 20 show up.

Stude
I'm not sure what you mean, Stude. When I type "vintage trailer" in Craiglist, it usually brings up older trailers of the "canned ham" variety, not fiberglass. Most are well over 1500 pounds and require a good bit of work. The OP was interested in a newer molded fiberglass trailer. Relic is a manufacturer of new molded fiberglass trailers that look old!

I doubt they're lighter than a similarly equipped Scamp, though. Since the interiors are custom, I wonder if that 1000 pounds is an empty shell. That would be about right for a molded shell on a steel frame. You could ask, though*. Relic trailers are real head-turners and worth a look!
* EDIT: On their Facebook page, they give the dry weight of a finished trailer as 1500 pounds.

For that matter, so is the Happier Camper HC1 made in Los Angeles by the same company that runs the rental business in Windsor. Their interiors are flexible and very pet friendly.

While we're mentioning other new models, I'm thinking of the Weiscraft Little Joe, made in Colorado. It's a little lighter than a Scamp and narrower, so it will pull more easily behind a smaller vehicle. No mirror extensions needed, and less wind resistance.
Jon in AZ is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-17-2017, 01:40 PM   #17
Senior Member
 
Trailer: 13 ft Boler 1986
Posts: 526
Registry
If this is a real "I've neverr camped before" and you have a new Rav4, you might want to consider trying out a tent attachment for your vehicle. You just pop your hatch and the tent/addition takes only a few minutes to put up. Your cats, if they are leash trained then can roam around in your vehicle and the tent, you'll be off the ground, you won't have to worry about trailer weight (I have a Subaru Forester & our boler is at the max weight for is so I would never attempt the mountains out west), and backing the trailer up etc. I take our boler out by myself now and then but never too far from home, and getting backed in, and especially hooked back up again is a pain.. Our cat and dog have always travelled with us, even when we tented which we did for years.
Good luck.
__________________
Bizzian
Vivian L is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-17-2017, 03:56 PM   #18
Junior Member
 
Name: Mark
Trailer: In the market
Ontario
Posts: 7
Hello there. I'm in Toronto as well and have looked around quite a bit to see what could be towed with smaller vehicles. Are you only considering Fiberglass RV's? If not then you have plenty more options avail, such as the T@B which can easily be towed by a RAV4. There are a few dealers within an hrs drive, such as McKenzie's in Stouffville and Imperial RV in Caledonia near Hamilton.
mdebiasi is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-17-2017, 04:12 PM   #19
Junior Member
 
Name: Mark
Trailer: In the market
Ontario
Posts: 7
I clicked send too soon. Also wanted to mention the Canadian made Safari Condo Alto trailers. They are aluminum and very light, 1700lbs. One model has a retractable roof, expensive though at $36k Cdn. CanAm RV in London ON are trailer towing experts. They should be able to tell you what can and cannot be towed with your RAV4. They also sell the Condo Safari Alto. I emailed them about my Audi A4 and was surprised that with the proper hitch and weight distribution I could tow a Alto and a 16 and 19ft Airstream. In terms of fiberglass there are the Canadian made Explorers made in BC and Trillium in Alberta. Good luck with your search!
mdebiasi is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-17-2017, 04:21 PM   #20
Senior Member
 
Glenn Baglo's Avatar
 
Trailer: Escape 17 ft
Posts: 8,317
If you really, really dislike your RAV4, go ahead and get CanAm to install a hitch for you, and then tow well beyond what Toyota says the RAV4 can tow. Go for it.
Note that my 2008 RAV4 V6 has a 3,500 lb tow / 350 lb tongue capacity. In 2013 that dropped to 1,500 lb tow capacity.
__________________
What happens to the hole when the cheese is gone?
- Bertolt Brecht
Glenn Baglo is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Shopping around HopieGale Hi, I am.... 16 02-13-2017 09:23 AM
Hello From Toronto! Joanne2612 Hi, I am.... 5 09-11-2013 06:13 PM
Hello and help re Water leaking in around door Sahara Problem Solving | Owners Helping Owners 2 08-06-2012 01:36 PM
1977 13' Boler For Immediate Sale, Toronto Yvon Hache Classified Archives 1 07-30-2007 01:25 PM
Toronto Travel Warning (LIFTED 4/29!!) Legacy Posts General Chat 22 04-29-2003 02:11 PM

» Upcoming Events
No events scheduled in
the next 465 days.
» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 11:12 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.