16' scamp #7 vs 16' scamp #3 vs 17' casita spirit standard

[sdsjdo]

Hi all,
I would be interested in hearing what people who have owned or been in the below eggs think about the layouts for a family of 4? It is myself, husband, and a 4 and 2 yr old. I had been just considering the casita until I realized that the 16' casita interior is too short for my 6'1 husband. So since we could only do the 17' casita, I decided I had better branch out or we are NEVER gonna find a used one! So I added the scamp # 7 to the list. Then just today I found a possible used one in our price range BUT it is a scamp plan #3. I spoke with the scamp sales people and they said that they felt for what we wanted, a #3 would not work. But when I spoke with the very nice and down to earth seller, she said she felt a #3 would work fine. Our needs are this: I want to be able to leave the double bed down all the time for hubby and myself, I need a place for 4 and 2 yr old to sleep and preferably not on the floor, and I would like some sort of table where 4 and 2 yr old can be fed when needed (hence the wish for a side dinette), and we don't need a bathroom at all. This gal said she felt the fold down table in scamp #3 would work fine for a 4 and 2 yr old to be fed at, but the scamp people said there was really no place to sit at that table so..... AND to make it most complicated, this #3 is about 900!! miles from us so I need to be darn sure it is a good choice before making that trek!
Unfortunately none of these plans are located anywhere near us so I have to rely on the good educated people of this forum to let us know if we are headed in the right direction!
Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

16' scamp plan #3
http://www.scamptrailers.com/Portals...rplans16-1.jpg
vs
16' scamp plan #7
http://www.scamptrailers.com/Portals...rplans16-2.jpg
vs
17' casita spirit standard (no bathroom)
Casita Travel Trailers - Our Showroom | The Patriot, Spirit Deluxe, Freedom Deluxe, Liberty Deluxe | Call 800-442-9986

[Nancy]

I do not know about the Casita, but from your description of how you want to use the trailer the 7 layout seems the best to me. If you go for the more common 3 layout you will have to put the table up every day. Join the frustrated group of us who do that. You and your husband will also have to share that small bed you make every day.

Nancy

[Byron Kinnaman]

From my observation and use of my 13' Scamp, most people spend more time outside than inside. I totally agree on the non-bathroom. As for wishing to NOT make the switch between bed and dinette each day. One of ways to make that transition easier is to use sleeping bags instead of sheets and blankets. It takes us about 2 minutes to make the change. The sleeping bags are stored under the street side bench and go into stuff bags. No rolling or folding, just stuff the sleeping bag in the stuff bag and stow.

Since there's going to be 4 of you sleeping in the trailer and staying inside in in-climate weather the side dinette might not be of much use. When we took our then 6 year old with us she really enjoyed sleeping and playing on the top bunk. A simple railing can be made from PVC pipe. I think I have pictures someplace.

[floyd]

I just took delivery my Scamp a couple of days ago ...June 2004
My first grandchild was a newborn then. now she's 10 and I have 4 others and one on the way!
That 4 and 2 will be 12 and 10 before you can blink.
While the # 7 seems most obvious, I think the #3 might work just as well with either a stool along side the table or a TV tray.
Fact is, you will be using a picnic table most of the time, and the dinette is not so hard to deal with when the weather demands it. You might actually need the counter space on the #3 more than you need the extra seat. I raised three kids and camped a lot with them and I think it's almost a wash with an edge toward the #3 over the #7.
I would take a piano hinge and a 1X2 piece of hardwood and make a fold down table extension to the side on the little front table. Then you could actually seat four... with 2 (or even three) on the couch and one or two on small folding stools.

[cpaharley2008]

What about the Parkliner, it has double bed and side bunk bed capacity, dinette and a bath.
Here ParkLiner Fiberglass Ultralight Travel Trailers -
and here http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...are-49316.html

[sdsjdo]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

What about the Parkliner, it has double bed and side bunk bed capacity, dinette and a bath.
Here ParkLiner Fiberglass Ultralight Travel Trailers -
and here http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...are-49316.html

oh yes I would definitely consider one, they look great. Except I doubt we could ever find a used one close to our price range. And by the time we could afford a new one there will be plenty of used ones!

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by sdsjdo

oh yes I would definitely consider one, they look great. Except I doubt we could ever find a used one close to our price range. And by the time we could afford a new one there will be plenty of used ones!

Sorry, your post was not clear in indicating you wanted a used "Egg" vs a new one.

[Byron Kinnaman]

Originally Posted by sdsjdo

oh yes I would definitely consider one, they look great. Except I doubt we could ever find a used one close to our price range. And by the time we could afford a new one there will be plenty of used ones!

At this time they've made one trailer, and are in the process of 4 more, I doubt there will be "plenty" of used one for many many years.

In the past few years there's been several attempts to introduce new molded fiberglass trailers. As far as I can tell all have failed. The jury is still out on the two newest ones, we'll see in a couple of years if they manage to stay in the market. The price is on the high end, so doubt they'll last.

[sdsjdo]

Originally Posted by Byron Kinnaman

I doubt there will be "plenty" of used one for many many years.
.

which is exactly when we would be able to afford a new one!

[Adrian W]

We have a 2005 16' Scamp with the Side Dinette, Front Shower & Head....we have used the side dinette when we had our daughter, her hubby & their nearly year old son camping two years ago (not all in the Scamp - they had a rented Aliner; we used it to eat in most times). We were able to have him in eat at the table, & we have used a stool to get 3 of us at the table at times.

I am about 6' tall...my wife is 5'3", we are able to use the rear bed, but found we have more elbow room if we sleep 'head to toe'. The narrow bed is the major negative with the Scamps. IMHO.

I can't help on if the #3 would work with the fold down table....never seen one.

The Casita Standards, it seems are somewhat rare as well at least from reading a few posts at the Casita Forums have mentioned.

I agree with Floyd: That 4 and 2 will be 12 and 10 before you can blink.

You might want to look at some of the non-fiberglass TTs, prices might be easier to live with and more of them out there and some offer better room for a growing family. IMHO.... Going Small - Many Models to Choose From.

[sdsjdo]

Originally Posted by Nancy

I do not know about the Casita, but from your description of how you want to use the trailer the 7 layout seems the best to me. If you go for the more common 3 layout you will have to put the table up every day. Join the frustrated group of us who do that. You and your husband will also have to share that small bed you make every day.

Nancy

Hi nancy I just re-read this and wanted to clarify something... If we went with the 3, why would we have to put the table up every day?
thx!

[Mike Magee]

I too am curious as to why the table coudn't be left up (I've never seen this interior so I have no idea).

Just a comment about kids in the bunk beds. We rented a UHaul 13 (back when they came out in the mid '80s) and vacationed with it for about a week. Our kids, a boy and a girl, were about 4 and 5, or 5 and 6 then. We put the older one, our son, in the upper bunk (it would have been too scary to the young girl to be so high). One night our son rolled out of bed in the middle of the night and hit the floor, shaken but unharmed. I (personally) would not do it again unless I could modify the bunks somehow with a raised lip to keep the kids in the bunks.

[Nancy]

Sorry, I have never seen a number 3 layout. I had it confused with another.

With kids I would still want the traditional dining room table put up for the kids to sit and use for eating and drawing. Can not quite visualize how useful that extra table would be for anything other than food prep, but then I have never seen one. It is not a common configuration.

Nancy

[sdsjdo]

Completely agree Mike-- (reminds of my friend's 3 yr old who rolled off the end of their pup bed into a pile of brush b/c they forgot to hook the canvas underneath --also unharmed and sorta funny now but very scary at the time...) We would get one of those detachable rails you can put on the side of a kids toddler bed. Kind of like a tennis net but more sturdy! Only problem is the 4 yr old would have to wake up if she had to get down to go in the middle of the night.
And Nancy-- yes I also agree, the more I think about that fold down table in the 3, the more I think, hmmm, other than food prep, not a whole lot of use for it really!

[floyd]

Originally Posted by sdsjdo

Completely agree Mike-- (reminds of my friend's 3 yr old who rolled off the end of their pup bed into a pile of brush b/c they forgot to hook the canvas underneath --also unharmed and sorta funny now but very scary at the time...) We would get one of those detachable rails you can put on the side of a kids toddler bed. Kind of like a tennis net but more sturdy! Only problem is the 4 yr old would have to wake up if she had to get down to go in the middle of the night.
And Nancy-- yes I also agree, the more I think about that fold down table in the 3, the more I think, hmmm, other than food prep, not a whole lot of use for it really!

To me it looks like the perfect place to serve two kids breakfast with them sitting on the couch or bottom bunk. and with a simple mod it could be expanded toward the door.
The side dinette would take away counter space and any extension would block the aisle.

[Indiana Lynn]

I will be camping with 3 girls and decided on the 16% Casita Spirit with bunk beds front and side. I love being able to keep the "big" rear dinette up all the time. And each of us can leave our bed as we wish since there is somewhere else to eat, sit, play cards, etc. When the girls are bigger, I will reinforce the upper bunks.