trillium\outback\escape\surfside

[Carol in Alberta]

Wow a little bit of research and i come up with several 15 foot fiberglass trailers.

i am leaning towards an older trillium 4500 or triple e surfside but the new ones look great too

is it costly and a lot of work to fix up an old one or should i just start looking at one of the new ones(trillium\outback\escape)

i assume this has been asked before ... any comments or links

[Roger C H]

I would say it would be up to you. Only you can judge how much skill and determination you have to rebuild one of these babies.

We bought new because:

I am getting older and don't bend as well as I used to.

I don't need another project.

I don't want to have to learn new skills.

We didn't want to wait.

We could afford it. It's only money.

BTW: I vote for Trillium.

[Donna D.]

Carol, you seem to have made an assumption that all the older trailers need a rebuild. That's generally not true. Sure there's plenty that are sitting in fields, leaking... but most of the people on FiberglassRV actually use their trailers (even if occasionally). If you find one of those for sale... you may be golden.

And as far as what you should buy, only you can determine that based on your wants/needs and budget. The thing the 15 footers have in common is size ... I think the features and floor plans are (or can be) drastically different.

Good luck in your search!

[Alf S.]

Hi: Carol-H... Sometimes trailers are like stepping stones. You buy one, then step up, then up again!!! We started with a '77 13' Boler in decent shape...added some creature comforts not know about in '77. Then came the opportunity to own a nearly new Escape 5.0 exactly as I would have ordered it. The rest is history!!!
Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie

[Carol H]

Attend a couple of meets and go inside a number of trailers before making up your mind. Pictures are great but they can't replace standing in the real thing. I like Alf have discovered that the more you see the more you might rethink which one you really want. Love my trailer but I now know I would love to move up a foot to a different trailer make. I keep checking my loto ticket every Friday night because if I change to the trailer I really want I also need to purchase a new tow vechile to pull it.

As Donna has also rightly pointed out you can find some pretty nice older trailers which require little fixing up. Mine was 15 years old when I found it and had two previous owners but had been very lightly used. All I had to do the first year was add new wheels, bearings, tires and a few rivit replacements to make it very usable. If I did not have a garage and tools I think it could be a pain to have to try and deal with fixing one up a great deal. I think it all comes down to how much space, time and money you have for the project as well as what your tow vechile can handle.

Good luck with your search,
the other Carol H.

[Rick G]

Hi Carol,

I just spent about 4 months looking for a 14-15 foot trailer like you are interested in. In Alberta, they are a bit hard to come by because the older Trilliums were made in Ontario and the Surfside in Manitoba, and the Bolers that are common here are only 13 and 17 footers (I know a few 15 footers were made, but I have never seen one around here). I put a wanted ad in Kijiji. I got two responses over about three months: one for a Surfside TM-14 (14 foot) that needed a lot of work but was quite cheap, and one for the 1980 Trillium 4500 that we bought.

I am a handy guy and wanted the Surfside, but my wife hated the amount of work it would need so we passed on it. We acted immediately on the Trillium in Calgary once I found out about it on Friday night, but were still 3rd in line to get it. We ended up driving down to Calgary after getting a bank draft on a Saturday and bringing it home the same day (a long day). Two people had already passed it up by the time we got there and the owners then saved it for us. If we had not acted that day, there was a woman on the BC coast who had told them she would buy it sight unseen. The people we bought it from were the second owners and everything worked and it was well taken care of. We are still changing some things, but because we want to, not because we have to. It had the exact floor plan that we wanted, after having owned a 13 foot Boler for a few years.

A new Trillium 4500 is about $18 - 19,000 plus delivery from California. An old one (about 1978 - 82) in good shape ranges about $5500 to 7000 in western Canada, and you may have to drive to get it. However, whatever repairs they may need should be minor and would cost a few hundred bucks at most for things that are really necessary, as opposed to redecorating. I also noticed a couple of Surfsides for sale in Manitoba and Saskatchewan for about $3000 to 3500, even the ones that were completely fixed up with a custom paint job. If you are interested in getting a trailer that needs a lot of work, you should be able to get one for well under $2000.

Hope that helps,
Rick G in Edmonton

[Roy in TO]

If you buy an older one and everything works, the biggest expense you should expect might be a new axle and tires. The shock absorption of an old torsion axle is pretty much gone after 15-20 years. With brakes and tires expect to pay $700-900 installed.

[Mike Morrison]

Buying a new trailer doesn't always lead to trouble free RV'ing. A well maintained used trailer may be a more desirable way to go.

[Roger C H]

Wanting to go larger trailerwise is a disease known as "two footitis".

My wife and I have always been minimalists and are quite happy with our 13 footer.

Showing it to people, many will remark that it is bigger inside than they thought it would be.

Being able to move it by hand and not having to use the TV to always move it is, IMHO, a big plus. I used to back it into our 100' driveway until I learned I could just drive into the turnaround, disconnect and position it by hand.

That, and the 19mpg we get give me a lot of satisfaction.

Size reminds me of a cartoon I saw about boating.

Two young men are in a little sailboat looking up at a mega yacht and remarking to each other how they wished they had a boat like it.

Meanwhile, the owner of the mega yacht is standing at the rail, looking at the two guys in their little boat, reminiscing about how much fun he had when he owned a small boat like theirs and wishing he still did.

I don't want to be burdened with a mega land yacht.

[Cyndi B.]

Though we enjoy our 19' 5th wheel I do miss how easy it was to move the 13'.

[Carol in Alberta]

Originally Posted by Carol-H

Wow a little bit of research and i come up with several 15 foot fiberglass trailers.

i am leaning towards an older trillium 4500 or triple e surfside but the new ones look great too

is it costly and a lot of work to fix up an old one or should i just start looking at one of the new ones(trillium\outback\escape)

i assume this has been asked before ... any comments or links

Well we found an old surfside front kitchen and hauled it home

need lots of work and we will see how it turns out.

Seems to be solid but needs cleaning, upolstery, a fridge and probably paint.

be prepared for questions

thanks for the encouragement

[Jake]

Congratulations Carol:
I know the feeling exactly, it can be a lengthy process looking for and finding your perfect trailer,or project trailer.
But once found, I am sure it now seems to be worth the looking and waiting.
Good luck, and we look forward to Pictures!!!!!
Cheers, Jake.

Originally Posted by Carol-H

Well we found an old surfside front kitchen and hauled it home

need lots of work and we will see how it turns out.

Seems to be solid but needs cleaning, upolstery, a fridge and probably paint.

be prepared for questions

thanks for the encouragement

[Vickie B.]

Way to go Carol!! Have tons of fun!

[Donna D.]

for Carol-H. Now you get to change your profile from "Trailer: current shopping" to a Surfside!! (don't forget the year and length)

[Roland H]

We just picked up our 73 Trillium last year and similar to you have some work to do! You will learn tons from this site, go ahead and ask questions. As of now we have two Surfsides attending the Manitoba Rally this August 19-21 if you get the time come on down. (posted in the Rally forum).
Roland

Originally Posted by Carol-H

Well we found an old surfside front kitchen and hauled it home

need lots of work and we will see how it turns out.

Seems to be solid but needs cleaning, upolstery, a fridge and probably paint.

be prepared for questions

thanks for the encouragement

[Marlean K]

Originally Posted by Carol in Alberta

Wow a little bit of research and i come up with several 15 foot fiberglass trailers.

i am leaning towards an older trillium 4500 or triple e surfside but the new ones look great too

is it costly and a lot of work to fix up an old one or should i just start looking at one of the new ones(trillium\outback\escape)

i assume this has been asked before ... any comments or links

Hi we have a 1976 surfside triple E TM-14 It needs nothing done to it. Just hook it up and you are ready to go. we are asking 6995.00 for it but we are up for offers. We live near Kamloops, bc Everything works and has been resealed. The brakes have been redoneéserviced and it works off a 7 pin harness. weighs 1400 pounds very light weight. If you are intersted please call 250-572-2188

[Carol in Alberta]

Originally Posted by Marlean K

Hi we have a 1976 surfside triple E TM-14 It needs nothing done to it. Just hook it up and you are ready to go. we are asking 6995.00 for it but we are up for offers. We live near Kamloops, bc Everything works and has been resealed. The brakes have been redoneéserviced and it works off a 7 pin harness. weighs 1400 pounds very light weight. If you are intersted please call 250-572-2188

we bought a surfside already thanks..... we are not ready to give up on our renovations yet and we are getting attached to her so i think we stay with this one for a while

thanks