Casita Campers

[Evirk]

Hi folks-
Can someone clarify the difference between Casita 16 and Casita 17? We are quite confused about model names versus lengths etc. Also, cannot seem to access their website tonight. Some kind of security warning. Anyone else experiencing that?
Any help is appreciated,
Eva and Kirk

[EricAllyn]

It looks like the site has an out of date cookie cert. Probably not a problem. I went on, and it looks like the difference generally is the configuration, side dinette, twin beds, where the stove and fridge, etc. The length is just the size difference, 17 is a little heavier, and one foot longer. The difference between standard and deluxe seems to be bath or not. That was just a quick glance. Others might have more to share.

[mary and bob]

The Casita 17 has more tongue weight because the axle is located farther back. The axle on the 16 is more centered. There are different floor plans available.

[Dave Fish]

Both have a similar range of floor plans. Differences that come to mind are:

The 17 has a higher ceiling.
The 17 has a flat door with screen versus a curved door.
The A/C on the 16 is located under the closet.
The fridge on the 17 is larger.
The rear bed on the 17 Spirit and Freedom is queen versus double. I'm not sure if the Liberty or Independence floorplans are available in the 16.

[Evirk]

The Casita website worked earlier today and then in the middle of comparing layouts we got the privacy alerts. Hoping they get that sorted out.

Thanks for the info.

I'm sure the folks in Rice TX can tell us more but thanks for not making us wait till Monday when we can call.

[mary and bob]

Originally Posted by Dave Fish

Both have a similar range of floor plans. Differences that come to mind are:
.
The rear bed on the 17 Spirit and Freedom is queen versus double. I'm not sure if the Liberty or Independence floorplans are available in the 16.

Does the Freedom model have a queen bed. I know our Spirit 17 does not. Is the Freedom 17 the one with the captains chairs? We put one in our Uhaul and it was fairly comfortable but in the Casita with the captains chairs the table is very small. EDIT; the flat door with screen door is very nice to have.

[tractors1]

The 17 has more headroom than the 16, too.

[Jon in AZ]

The bed on the 16’ is 45” wide (a twin is 39”). The bed on the 17’ is a double at 54” wide. Neither is a queen, which would be 60”.

It’s the same on Spirit and Freedom models. Obviously the Liberty is different.

[Dave Fish]

Originally Posted by mary and bob

Does the Freedom model have a queen bed. I know our Spirit 17 does not. Is the Freedom 17 the one with the captains chairs? We put one in our Uhaul and it was fairly comfortable but in the Casita with the captains chairs the table is very small. EDIT; the flat door with screen door is very nice to have.

The rear dinette/bed is the same in the Spirit and Freedom. I said queen but I was being generous. The on't difference I know of is the dinette vs the captain's chairs.

[patrick crawford]

i've been camping in a 16' spirit deluxe since i purchased it new in 2011. since i was moving up from a 13' patriot i felt i was moving into a spacious mansion. aside from the obvious differences of size the 17's interior seems much more spacious than a mere foot would suggest. the 17' has a flat floor front to back and the couple of inches increased height which i suspect allows that feeling of "bigger". one big difference is the fridge in the 17' is about twice the size of of mine. another is the grey water holding tank also about twice the size of the 16' (i, however, changed that by having the larger tank from the 17' installed in mine immediately after i got it). the air conditioners are different as well. the 17' has a roof mounted "rv a/c" while it's little brother has a standard room a/c unit mounted near the floor in the front of the cabin (this makes for a smaller closet above). the roof mounted unit causes some people issues with garage clearance. then there are the doors. a flat one in the 17' with a screen door and the curved on with no screen door on the 16'. again, i remedied that issue by building my own screen door so now i have the best combination...that very cool curved door and a screen door. oh yeah, then there's the issue if limited foot space under the dinette caused by the intrusion of the wheel well under there.

after pointing out all the obvious shortcomings of the 16' i will emphatically say that i prefer the one i have. i do travel solo and don't have to share the reduced space with anyone except my 40 or so pound traveling companion (her name is "simple" and she's a catahoula hound). also, i worked as a photographer for 40 years or so and spent a whole lot of time in darkrooms (remember those?). those darkrooms were small and since a lot of the activity in them was in the, well, dark. things needed to be readily at hand in there and i feel quite comfortable in my small rig. i do feel a couple would most likely find the extra space in the 17' more comfortable.

p@

[alan H]

I also believe the frig maybe a bit smaller in the 16’....

[glens2422]

In the Liberty delux 17' you have the option of small twin(narrow), full, queen or king configuration.

[Humblepaul]

Aside from names the main difference is the 17' has a flat entry door allowing a screen door. The 16' has a curved door and unless the new ones have changed there is no way to use a screen door. i have a 16' and use one of the screen curtains, not a very satisfactory solution.

[Rockytop]

Originally Posted by alan H

I also believe the frig maybe a bit smaller in the 16’....

Not only is the fridge bigger, it has a freezer, and the 16 does not. The advantages to the 16 are that it can be pulled by a smaller vehicle and often will fit in a garage, which is important to some folks with HOA restrictions.

[patrick crawford]

The 16' has a curved door and unless the new ones have changed there is no way to use a screen door.

i beg to differ...




p@

[trainman]

One thing to remember is that Casita sell ratio is around 100 to 1, that is 100 17' models to 1 16' model. This does tell me what the market is on the 16' vs. the 17'.

trainman

[JeannieM]

Originally ordered a 16' Casita Spirit. Really glad that I changed the order to the 17' Spirit Deluxe. The differences between the two were definatly worth upgrading:
What the 17' has, and the 16' does not:
1. Slide out step
2. Screen door.
3. Deadbolt lock
4. Air conditioner w/heat strip on the top instead of small a/c on the floor up front.
5. More headroom
6. Larger closest and more storage space
7. Much larger refrigerator - including freezer unit. In the 16' it's only a 1.7 cubic inch refrig (very small)
8. All windows open on the 17' - but not on the 16'
You pay a little more for the 17' - but sure worth it!

[Jon in AZ]

Yes, the 17’ is a more modern design with many improvements. You forgot to mention the wider main bed: 54” rather than 45” in the Spirit and Freedom models.

But beware- its secret kicker is tongue weight, typically 400-450# loaded. The tongue-heavy design makes it more stable at higher speeds but requires a more robust tow vehicle. The 16’ can be towed by a vehicle in the 3500/350# class, but the 17’ requires a minimum 5000/500# rating.

Casita sells probably ten or twenty 17’ers for each 16’er, far and away their best-selling model.

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by Humblepaul

... The 16' has a curved door and unless the new ones have changed there is no way to use a screen door. i have a 16' and use one of the screen curtains, not a very satisfactory solution.

Scamps have curved doors and screen doors. Older ones use a bi-fold and newer ones use a Plisse retractable screen door. In either case all it takes is a little framing. If you find the screen curtain unacceptable then you might want to look into doing something similar.

[Jon in AZ]

A while back Plisse was looking for Casita 16 owners to develop a prototype. Never heard what became of that project. Possibly they found out how few 16’ers are actually sold and decided against the investment.

Although the Casita 16 is similar to the Scamp 16, it looks like the A/C unit in the front curbside corner creates a little complication. There are as yet no off-the-shelf products other than curtains, which I find inconvenient.

I love having a screen door on my Scamp and wouldn’t be without one.