"ideal" trailer?

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Adrian W

Carol H, we also have a 16' Scamp front bath/shower, side dinette & an AC, no furnace; a 2005 model. Not sure if it would be in the newer model or not (can't remember the advertise weight or if it differs now or not). I can see the 2006 & after 13' Scamp would be heaver than those made before 2005, those made after the 2005 factory fire, which destroyed much of the buildings and all the molds for the Scamps; they made new molds for both the 16' & 13' trailers by using the shell from a finished 16' Scamp which escaped the fire. Now the 13' Scamps are as tall as the 16' ones.

Casita 13' trailers, as well as their 16' trailers are not as tall, but they have more fiberglass, I would think, by having the fiberglass underbelly plus a 'plywood' floor above that. Not sure what the advertised weights are for them.

If I was wanting small, without any trappings, very light weight, I'd look into the Little Joe trailers.

The post fire 13 Scamps are officially 2" taller than their predecessors but they are not the same height as the 16s... different axle capacity and attitude.

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by floyd

The post fire 13 Scamps are officially 2" taller than their predecessors but they are not the same height as the 16s... different axle capacity and attitude.

I could be mistaken, but I'm thinking folks are thinking about the inside height being the same 13 and 16, post fire. But yep, outside height could be different from slightly to greatly depending on stuff plunked on roof and axle configuration + tires.

[Adrian W]

Floyd, yep, 13' Spec page: Overall height: 7' 6"; 16' Spec page: Overall height: 7' 10".

Donna, Yep, both 13' & 16': Interior height: 6' 3". This was the one I was thinking about.

I did not realize the 4" difference in overall height.

[The Minimalist]

Originally Posted by Adrian W

Little Joe might fill the bill, not quite 13', but close. Little Joe Lightweight Trailer - Compact Camper Trailer for 2 by Weiscraft Trailers

You might do a mod for the bed in the Little Joe to get it off the floor, if it would matter.

Correction: The queen size bed, 63 x 77 inches) in the Little Joe is not on the floor, but suspended across the seats as in many FG trailers.

My wife and I, tent campers for years, decided to get up off of the ground and into a small trailer. The Little Joe is what we lit on, although I would have been open to one of the Compac styles or Little Snoozy, which to my knowledge was still in final development when we were looking.

Our list was similar to yours. Originally, we were looking at teardrops, either to build or buy, but my wife asked if we could at least have a toilet and maybe a shower. That ain't happening in a teardrop. So we started looking at manufactured trailers.

Commercial builders are building to suit the widest possible market segment in a given size and generally add a lot more features, and weight, than those of us looking for simplicity and light weight desire.

The Little Joe is really a well organized, hard shell, queen sized bed which happens to contain a refrigerator(ours is 3 way), a two burner stove and a 7 gallon water tank with a demand pump feeding a small sink. There is ample storage under the seats, including a locker to store the Porta Potti.

During the day, you can have the table set up with seating on the two 6 1/2 foot side bench seats. The sink and water tank are on one side at the foot of the benches and the fridge and the stove top are on the other, aka galley arrangement.

At night the table becomes part of the bed. We put the Porta Potti under the bed at the foot for slide out access during the night. We sleep with our feet toward the back, so when the urge strikes we just slide to the foot of the bed, slide out the pot and do business.

Like you, we do all of our cooking outside under a free standing canopy, but those first two pots of expresso, decaf and caf, we put together in the evening. In the morning, light up those burners, turn on the Fantastic Fan and it's coffee in bed.

The sink and the water tank are standard in the Little Joe, but Marty might be willing to make a trailer without. However, we find it nice for quick cleanups from time to time.

One thing to remember about fiberglass trailers is that many of the furnishings are not only cabinets, seating, etc. but are also part of the structural framing of the unit. Sometimes in taking them out, something will have to be added to guarantee structural integrity. If that is the case, it's not just a matter of removing something, but having some non-standard feature custom made to replace it, which may add more cost than you want to pay.

On the Little Joe, you could do without the stove top, the sink and the water tank and the fiber glass cabinets they normally go into would give you more storage and counter space.

Check out the Little Joe pictures in the gallery. If you have any questions, just ask.

Clif

[Adrian W]

Thanks, Clif, for the correction. Not sure how I got the bed being on the floor, I looked at the pics again & it is clearly not on the floor. And I was not thinking of the Roughneck when I wrote it either.

Good info you gave, makes me even more impressed with the rigs.

How feasible would it be to put a permanent mattress in one (to keep as a bed full time)? I am guessing it might make it too hard to use the under-seat storage and to store the port-a-pot.

Do they use rivets to attach the cabinets, etc?

By the way, did you get a look at a Roughneck, that one intrigues me.

You wrote, "my wife asked if we could at least have a toilet and maybe a shower." Did you get one with the shower? If not did you look at a Ponderosa? I wonder about that one as well. Ha!

Thanks!

[The Minimalist]

Originally Posted by Adrian W

Q: How feasible would it be to put a permanent mattress in one (to keep as a bed full time)? I am guessing it might make it too hard to use the under-seat storage and to store the port-a-pot.

A: Yes, the under seat storage would be blocked. The Porta Potti storage is all the way to the front on the right. So that would be blocked as well. This could be moved of course on a special order I'm sure. We do have a lockable outer hatch that the previous owner installed for things like chocks, hose, power cord and such, but I would be careful about putting too many of these, as it might be detrimental to the structure.

Q: Do they use rivets to attach the cabinets, etc?

A: All the cabinets are attached with screws and grommets on the outside; double nut and acorn nut on the inside.


Q: By the way, did you get a look at a Roughneck, that one intrigues me.

A: Not really. That would put me back in the teardrop category. Access to both sides is a plus when sleeping side by side and I don't recall a clam shell galley in the Roughneck.

Q: You wrote, "my wife asked if we could at least have a toilet and maybe a shower." Did you get one with the shower? If not did you look at a Ponderosa? I wonder about that one as well. Ha!

A: Well, we wanted that big ol' bed.............so-o-o-o.....NO. I did look at the Ponderosa but there that would be too great a compromise.

You gotta understand jumping to the LJ from the teardrop idea was a great leap for us. We're trying to keep it light and economical to tow. Currently towing with an '04 Mazda Tribute with a brand new transmission. We lost the transmission about 2 miles from Cloudland Canyon SP, GA back in June; 10 PM, 10 degree grade, middle of the road, 4 way flashers and brakes. We stayed in Cloudland 10 days instead of at our original destination, Elkmont campground in the Great Smokies National Park. No tranny shop could take the car for at least a week so we had to order a transmission down at the bottom of the mountain(Lookout that is). There is actually an excellent technician about 1/2 mile from the park who installed it for us.

Thanks!

In addition to the aforementioned outside access, our trailer has an small air conditioning unit and a 12 volt twin tube flourescent light from the previous owners. We have 3 solar panels on the top (45 Watts) which keeps the group 24 deep cycle charged. Originally I had installed 4 panels on the top (60 Watts) but yours truly forgot to check the fasteners after everything settled in and we lost one on our first trip. Never did find that baby. But, 45 Watts has been adequate thus far with the LEDs we added.

One thing Laura and I like is sitting in the front corners of the bed to read. The curvature from the front wall to the sides is just right and oh so comfy with the warm glow of the two LED converted lamps mounted underneath the overhead cabinets.

Regards.
Clif

Clif