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Old 07-17-2017, 08:02 AM   #221
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We used to say when I was still working and designing things: "Don't let the 'perfect' get in the way of 'good enough'". Or, "The 'perfect' is the enemy of 'good enough'". I am sure people have heard many variations on the theme, and in many different walks of life.
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Old 07-17-2017, 09:09 AM   #222
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I can't make a direct suggestion as to which trailer would be best for anyone. However, I would suggest to anyone considering their first trailer that owning a trailer is like owning a boat in terms of maintenance and repair.

In my mind, part and parcel of the search criteria should be ease of maintenance and repair, and the buyer's ability to perform same. Unless the buyer has deep pockets, most of the maintenance and repair will be DIY. That said, the buyer should not only assess what they would like to have in the 'perfect' trailer, but also their current abilities with things mechanical, electrical, etc. and their desire to learn new skills. That done, they will be more cognizant of what will be required to keep the trailer up, particularly things such as the sophistication and accessibility of a trailer's systems.

I believe most of us on this forum have or are acquiring the required skills and are willing to share our knowledge and experience when asked. The ''Maintenance and Restoration" section is witness to this.

I think that most people who are buying their first trailer are experienced campers and have learned to expect the unexpected. However, as we have all seen, there are a lot of folks who are enamored of the open road; camping in idyllic settings as the sun sinks in the west, and don't consider that things are not always perfect.

Maintenance and repair should be a considered right along with the 'gotta haves'. A prospective buyer with a minimal skill set may want to follow the KISS rule.
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Old 07-17-2017, 09:29 AM   #223
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Florida
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The Minimalist View Post
I can't make a direct suggestion as to which trailer would be best for anyone. However, I would suggest to anyone considering their first trailer that owning a trailer is like owning a boat in terms of maintenance and repair...Maintenance and repair should be a considered right along with the 'gotta haves'. A prospective buyer with a minimal skill set may want to follow the KISS rule.
Though newbies ourselves to RV life, the good news is I have a brother who has been "trailering" for years, a super mechanic recently retired from the Michigan's power company, a fellow who can repair almost anything having to do with tires, plumbing, or electrical. I, on the other hand, am a career construction person building anything from logging camps on the islands off Alaska to supervising the construction of all the buildings inside the massive Toyota Assembly Plant in Kentucky. The bad news is we are both getting old.
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Old 07-17-2017, 01:20 PM   #224
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Oh yeah, the MI place... I forgot.
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Old 07-17-2017, 01:33 PM   #225
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The mentoring here is such a valuable resource as well as the info already made available under "maintenance ". I already value so many of you who have offered advice and guidance.
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Old 07-23-2017, 03:07 AM   #226
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Great thread

Quote:
Originally Posted by roguebooks View Post
The mentoring here is such a valuable resource as well as the info already made available under "maintenance ". I already value so many of you who have offered advice and guidance.
Let us know what you decide on.
You have been given some excellent advice.

I uploaded into our camping pictures a picture of my cousin's Casita.
They easily pull it with an anti sway/ load leveling helper.
They have a lightweight "truck" that has a car uni-body with super soft suspension.
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/m...lbums1953.html
I hope I did the uploads and album camping settings that is viewable to the public.

Casita seems to pull nicely with the lighter weight tow vehicle as a match.

They really enjoy their egg and glad they purchased one. They had looked at many kinds of RV campers and chose an egg. We went off the egg idea and found our brand and configuration suits our taste and needs.

Every new egg no matter the brand has it's own particular things that may not be ideal. Easily worked out. Best way is to look within Fiberglass forums here and find solutions to whatever you encounter.

So far my cousin has not experienced the wooden plywood floor leakage.
The fix for this according to the Casita forum is to take up the mushy warped floor and replace with parquet flooring.

The "rat fur" is not objectionable. Just keep it toweled down. It gathers condensation.

Not pushing a Casita or even Oliver. There are so many wonderful egg campers out there.

Enjoy your search! Camping is great in an egg!
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Old 07-24-2017, 06:29 AM   #227
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Oliver_Elite2 View Post
...

The "rat fur" is not objectionable. Just keep it toweled down. It gathers condensation.

...
The rat fur in Scamps is on top of the Reflectix insulation, we have never seen any condensation even on nights below freezing. The aluminum window frames were dripping wet on those mornings.
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Old 07-24-2017, 06:48 AM   #228
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Another wrinkle has occurred in my trailer ratings. I regretfully have to remove the Armadillo from my top three due to the trailer only having a ten gallon fresh water tank. That and not having at all a gray water tank which concerns me. We typically want to boondock but not be restricted by laws pertaining to the dumping of gray water. Therefore I now believe we need a trailer with a minimum fresh water tank of twenty gallons as well as a gray water tank. Eggcamper, Oliver, and Parkliner now occupy my top three until I find something better. I am calling Escape today to see if we could get the options on fabric and cabinet interiors mailed to us as their website basically offers nothing to choose from or see.
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Old 07-24-2017, 06:56 AM   #229
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Same experience here- condensation on windows, but none on the headliner.

But the referenced post was about Casitas, which use foam-backed carpet, not marine headliner ("rat fur") over foil bubble wrap, to line the shell.
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Old 07-24-2017, 07:08 AM   #230
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Good to know Paul :)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul O. View Post
The rat fur in Scamps is on top of the Reflectix insulation, we have never seen any condensation even on nights below freezing. The aluminum window frames were dripping wet on those mornings.
Just reporting what my cousins have told me on the Casita.
They really don't view an occasional toweling to their fur <- cross out [edited NOT fur but carpet sorry] an inconvenience.

I am not at all familiar how the walls are insulated on a Casita.
Cousins are well satisfied with their purchase.
The many good points outweigh the few problems.
Those can be worked around.

Glad the rat fur on Scamps don't pick up condensation, Paul. Good to know for those contemplating purchasing one. Haven't personally seen a Scamp yet as they are very few in the South East. Hoping to see one soon on a campout.

On the Casita Forum one poster was lamenting on how to keep the moisture off the [Edited make that carpet.] The answer was stop breathing. (No joke).
The one answering said that the CO2 being expelled from humans has a moisture content.

So if you want to breath in a Casita just keep a towel handy.

On our Oliver it's double hulled and the moisture gets wicked off and drains out a bottom hole.

Now is our Oliver perfect? Nope. It has its own set of problems. We are more than satisfied with the compromises and work arounds. The mothership is in our state and we still have over a 1/2 year warrantee left.

Going there on our way back to FL for a slight easily correctable problem. Already had 3 things worked on at our last visit to Hole-in-the-wall.

I must compliment Oliver as they are completely cooperative and great at fixing things. All 3 of our problems are now fixed.

We really like the Oliver crew. Special kudos to Justin and Dustin. We tip them

We could fix this small problem ourselves but why? If it rears its head again it's their work and can be fixed.
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Old 07-24-2017, 07:11 AM   #231
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Jon,

Thanks! Sorry I didn't know the difference
I definitely stand corrected. I edited my post.
Rat fur is NOT carpet.

Oh so carpet is different than rat fur. OK thanks for clearing that up. Like I said haven't seen a Scamp or talked personally face-to-face with a Scamp person.

I just know what my cousins said about their Casita. We have a picture of its outside now in our album here. Now I can say with confidence I believe what my cousins have to say

I better desist now. Never my intention to lead someone down a primrose path.
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Old 07-24-2017, 07:17 AM   #232
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Escape doesn't offer factory options for fabric, floor tile or counter top choices, however, if you have something different in mind they will absolutely substitute and install for you.

All you have to do is buy it and send it to them. Just ask and they will tell you what quantity to buy.
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Old 07-24-2017, 07:22 AM   #233
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[QUOTE=roguebooks;652141]

fresh water tank
gray water

QUOTE]

Rather than "go public" and get nailed (me) you really need to check into the fresh water concern if you are going boondocking with an Oliver.

Also what happens in the real world on tank size on the Oliver doesn't exactly square up on the other 2 tanks as one would think.

And that is all I will say about that <_<

We find the compromise and work arounds acceptable on grey and black tanks.
We don't boondock so the fresh water limitation is not a concern for us.

Keep researching you are doing well! Very, very wise to think this out. Oliver Elite is expensive. Almost as much as our Oliver Elite 2.

The best way to get info. is to actually run across face-to-face an actual owner of any brand who is honest in their assessment. What have they discovered that doesn't actually fit the specs presented?
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Old 07-24-2017, 08:04 AM   #234
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Oh one other thing you may want to consider... the Olivers don't have exactly (standard) the most comfortable (scratchy) or plush cushions. I was disappointed about that.

See our album of the snoozing picture. You will see we bought custom zippered slipcovers (zig zag) that were expensive to cover the cushions and had them made 1" all the way around larger.

Glad you reminded me. I really need to get out my roundtuit and get the memory foam cut to size to plush them up. Need to do this locally cut to order before we launch down to FL again.

Other than that we have worked through the problems and fit and finish well. Just have that one small thing Oliver needs to fix. OK off now before I get myself in trouble again with my honesty.

You are doing so well in your research. Keep up the good work. We really checked into what we could buy and was it really worth it. But no brand comes out of the factory perfect. Each have their unique great points to consider.
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Old 07-24-2017, 08:27 AM   #235
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What's all this about condensation on the Casita's wall carpeting? We haven't noticed any, not even during a cold night in NH last October (temps dropped into the 30s, and we turned on the furnace). Of course, during the day we are in and out a lot, and we generally leave the door and roof vent open, so we might not notice.

When I was shopping last year, I thought the idea of carpeting on the walls was a little creepy, but it actually creates a warm, friendly atmosphere.

I forget why the original poster ruled out the Casita, but compared to the other MFG options it offers pretty good value for the money.

/Mr Lynn
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Old 07-24-2017, 08:38 AM   #236
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Pretty sure the poster on the Casita forum had been in very humid conditions and probably didn't run the air full tilt (my guess). Or he was in flooded conditions where the water leaked in the bottom. He didn't disclose where he had been camping and under what conditions.

My cousins like their Casita. They had to towel down their walls when they were visiting us here and keep the air on full blast. It's HUMID in TN.

It seems more likely since the original poster is in FL he may see a Casita and perhaps (rare) an Oliver. We haven't seen any other brands going down the highway in TN. Saw our first ad on Craiglist in Townsend of a Bigfoot. So many eggs are made west of the Mississippi. Would to have loved to seen The Big Foot up close.

We've only seen 3 Casitas in campgrounds so far anywhere. They were in TN. My cousins being one. Haven't seen any other models thus far. But that is only our experience. Not been to any SE rallies where some more may be spotted.

When we had our Oliver at Topsail Hill FL a park ranger that had been there for years said he had never seen an Oliver. (And let's face it that #2 rated RV/State Park on most lists) surely he would have about seen it all on RVs.

If a person doesn't need a brand new egg I sure would keep my eyes peeled everyday on Craigslist. Just my humble opinion...

Wonder how far from home the Florida poster lives from any of the factories? Now that should be a consideration (surely?) Just how far is one willing to drive to get a new one? Now if mileage is not a problem the world is his oyster... ooops I mean egg.
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Old 07-24-2017, 09:28 AM   #237
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Myron Leski View Post
Escape doesn't offer factory options for fabric, floor tile or counter top choices, however, if you have something different in mind they will absolutely substitute and install for you.



All you have to do is buy it and send it to them. Just ask and they will tell you what quantity to buy.


Thanks. Info I need.
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Old 07-24-2017, 09:33 AM   #238
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Lynn View Post
What's all this about condensation on the Casita's wall carpeting? We haven't noticed any, not even during a cold night in NH last October (temps dropped into the 30s, and we turned on the furnace). Of course, during the day we are in and out a lot, and we generally leave the door and roof vent open, so we might not notice.



When I was shopping last year, I thought the idea of carpeting on the walls was a little creepy, but it actually creates a warm, friendly atmosphere.



I forget why the original poster ruled out the Casita, but compared to the other MFG options it offers pretty good value for the money.



/Mr Lynn

I am eager to again check the Casita brand out again. I value your knowledge and experience. Do they have the fabric and cabinet options online? Thanks.
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Old 07-24-2017, 09:36 AM   #239
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Custom but charge?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Myron Leski View Post
Escape doesn't offer factory options for fabric, floor tile or counter top choices, however, if you have something different in mind they will absolutely substitute and install for you.

All you have to do is buy it and send it to them. Just ask and they will tell you what quantity to buy.
I think Oliver does the same but may charge for it? A friend of ours paid extra for her cushion color choice not in the standard offerings. Same fabric just different color.

Oliver does install fabric for customization if the new to be owners send them the material. Now as to charge? Don't know. Check with Oliver. Call Heather for pricing.
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Old 07-24-2017, 09:43 AM   #240
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Choices pre production

Quote:
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I am eager to again check the Casita brand out again. I value your knowledge and experience. Do they have the fabric and cabinet options online? Thanks.
You may want to ask Casita to send you samples. Oliver will wouldn't be surprised if Casita would send you free samples. When we took the tour we took home samples to help us decide.

Wound up changing our choices to match the new tow vehicle of a heavier duty V-8 Tundra 2016. Our 2002 Tundra different color and not beefy enough for a safe margin on stopping. 2002 only had drum brakes on the rear. The 2016 is all 4 wheels disc, 5.7V, and heavy duty towing package w/ rear view camera. Stops reliably and well along with the weight/anti sway Andersons its a real winner of a rig.

My cousins with their Casita initially did not go with a weight distibution/anti-sway but added it later. They had a full fresh water tank filled and had problems with sway and their Honda "truck" with car frame on a trip. All is well and they love their matchup.

We have been in their Casita and the carpet really isn't objectionable at all. Yes, a sort of homey appeal.

As long as Oliver has not started production on the particular selections per order (all Olivers are custom) you have a window of time to switch choices out.
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