New camper purchase

[Aqua-Andy]

We are not new to campers but are new to the fiberglass camper world. We started out with a pop up then moved up to a hybrid then acquired a bunkhouse trailer that I pretty much rebuilt from the ground up. So we are familiar with campers and comfortable doing most any repairs. Now that the kids are grown and it's just the Misses and I we were looking for something smaller. We looked around at some local dealers and I could not believe how shotty standard stick built and composite side campers are built now. We shopped after a relatively heavy rain storm and many of the campers we went in had obvious signs of leaks and these were new campers on the lot! Almost all of the units we looked at also had some obvious build defects. This is what brought us to look at molded fiberglass trailers. I think we have settled on a Casita Independence Deluxe with almost all of the options, this fits our layout Preferences as well as our price point. The folks at Casita set us up with a very nice couple so we could view their camper (also an Independence Deluxe). I was impressed with the build quality as well as the layout. The only item that I noticed that I would do differently was the wire and cable entrance on the front of the camper, they just use an unsealed cable clamp with I would assume to be some kind of goop to keep it from leaking. This just seems to be a potential leak point when running down the road in driving rains. We specked out a build and are ready to pull the trigger and was hoping some other owners would chime in with their experiences. Are there some options that you wish you had purchased or some that you wish you did not? Would you do anything differently? Attached is the build we specked out.

[Casita Greg]

Wecome to the forum Andy. (Oh, and BTW, the link in your post doesn't work,) just sayin'. Welcome aboard. But your choice of the Casita will not disappoint you.

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Casita Greg

Wecome to the forum Andy. (Oh, and BTW, the link in your post doesn't work,) just sayin'. Welcome aboard. But your choice of the Casita will not disappoint you.

The link to the PDF? I was able to open it.

[Casita Greg]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

The link to the PDF? I was able to open it.

Doesn't work for me, and I tried several times.

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Casita Greg

Doesn't work for me, and I tried several times.

Do you have Adobe Reader? This is what I see when I download and open the PDF

[Aqua-Andy]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

Do you have Adobe Reader? This is what I see when I download and open the PDF

Thank you, I was not sure how else to post it.

[daveandalice]

I raised my eyebrows the first time I saw the romex type clamp on the front until I realized it's main function is to keep the wire from being pulled out and believe me it's sealed very well. Casita likes to use lots and lots of sealant (silicone).

Most "stick built" trailers have a cheap tin household conduit junction box with open holes mounted somewhere on the front of the trailer with numerous wire connectors that corrode quickly, the Casita wire doesn't have any junctions until it's inside the trailer and they are easily accessible in the front closet.

The wiring connections in our trailer have not failed in 13 years, I had a slip on terminal connector on the water pump switch disconnect once and squeezed it with pliers and reattached it.

I would prefer the smaller water tank to allow more storage space although the Independence has quite a bit of storage under the beds.

It sure is nice when we go through a continuous heavy downpour and have no leaks.

[Casita Greg]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

Do you have Adobe Reader? This is what I see when I download and open the PDF

I have Adobe everything, including Acrobat, Bridge, Adobe Cloud, Adobe Photoshop, and Reader, etc.

[C&G in FL]

The link opened up immediately on my phone, which I use to read FGRV around 99.9% of the time. For me, the phone is always on and more convenient than using a computer.

[RobertRyan]

Interesting about leaks, we have hybrid caravans that go through rivers and are used in mainly Rainforest climates of extreme Northern Queensland, where the Climate is like Vietnam
For Donna a new almost " Egg" Caravan builder has emerged Goldy Caravans, bringing back the past for some Australians, a few others have tried but did not succeed, it is unfortunately not a firbreglass one
www.goldycaravans.com

[Villen]

Originally Posted by Casita Greg

I have Adobe everything, including Acrobat, Bridge, Adobe Cloud, Adobe Photoshop, and Reader, etc.

Everyone else seems to be able to open it. Fault is obviously on your side.

[Villen]

Originally Posted by RobertRyan

Interesting about leaks, we have hybrid caravans that go through rivers and are used in mainly Rainforest climates of extreme Northern Queensland, where the Climate is like Vietnam
For Donna a new almost " Egg" Caravan builder has emerged Goldy Caravans, bringing back the past for some Australians, a few others have tried but did not succeed, it is unfortunately not a firbreglass one
www.goldycaravans.com

I could have one of those! Would be nice to get some details on the construction.

[RobertRyan]

Originally Posted by Villen

I could have one of those! Would be nice to get some details on the construction.

Best would be to email them. I assume you are refering to the Vintage looking Goldy Caravans, not the water fording Hybrid Caravan?

[Villen]

Originally Posted by RobertRyan

Best would be to email them. I assume you are refering to the Vintage looking Goldy Caravans, not the water fording Hybrid Caravan?

I don't think it would be profitable to ship here, but you never know.
As far as the water fording hybrids, that would be Interesting. "Let's head down the Snake River in the caravan this weekend"

[Egg White]

Andy,
Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your decision to purchase a new Casita. As you can see from my signature, I am on my second one.

I assume the wide twin beds is what has drawn you to the Independence floor plan. Are you ok with the reduced aisle space between the twin beds in the Independence? Also, did you consider how difficult it will be to access the water pump, water heater and power center in the narrow aisle? Are you aware that there is a common mod for the Liberty floor plan that widens the twin beds, but preserves the wider aisle space. There is also a common mod for the Spirit floor plan that allows twin beds with a central dinette. I simply point these out since they are not really obvious when touring the models in the Casita showroom and/or browsing their website.

Regarding options, I agree with Dave that the 23 gallon fresh water tank upgrade will significantly reduce the size of your only exterior storage compartment. You did not indicate how you plan to camp. If you plan to mainly camp where you have water connections, the stock 16 gallon tank will likely be sufficient. FYI the power center that came in my 2023 Spirit is lithium compatible. You can purchase a 100ah lithium battery for less than the AGM upgrade, which will effectively double your usable energy and weigh about half the AGM.

Hope that helps,
Philip

[thrifty bill]

The "twin" beds in an Independence are still very narrow. A residential twin bed is 39 inches wide. That size would not fit in a Casita. IMO, all RV manufacturers use terms that obscure bed size, using terms like twin, full size, big bed, and so on, while a tape measure will show the beds are not close to this size.

Agree, the center aisle is very narrow in the Independence. We had a Liberty Casita, and moved on from it. If we were to go back to a Casita, we would probably get the Spirit.

We made the "mistake" of buying a camper and then attending a rally. At the rally, we found out what we should have purchased......

You can rent a Casita from RV Share or Outdoorsy to make sure it is the right trailer for you. Or maybe you already know. Simple things like can you pass each other in the aisle way, access to the bathroom, a place to sit in bad weather, windows and airflow are all important features and are not the same between the various manufacturers. The brands are not interchangeable.

[Egg White]

You may also want to stay the first couple of nights in a campground near the factory to give you time to thoroughly check out all the systems and return to the factory if something is not right. Although I agree that molded fiberglass RVs are generally better made than the typical RV, they are not built to the quality standard of automobiles.

I discovered two defects with my 2023 that were not immediately obvious during my brief orientation/inspection at the time of delivery. Since I was camped nearby, it was a simple matter to return to the factory for warranty repairs.

[RobertRyan]

Originally Posted by Villen

I don't think it would be profitable to ship here, but you never know.
As far as the water fording hybrids, that would be Interesting. "Let's head down the Snake River in the caravan this weekend"

Yes one thing they make sure here is they definitely do not leak

[jgilliam1955]

You will not need the Anderson hitch. A sway bar works fine. To me, it is better to get extra items and not use them than to need them and not have them. We have an awning but have never used it. The TV is OK, but most of the time, we download movies or shows. We bought a small microwave from Walmart.
Have a soft start installed on the AC unit. It allows you to use less power to start the AC, plus you do not get the thump when it starts. We used to carry a 3500-watt Dual-fuel generator; now, we have a 2000-watt dual-fuel generator.

[Aqua-Andy]

Thank you for the reply’s. We skipped the TV as I would rather install a 12v smart tv instead of using an inverter to run it. We usually do not have hookups so I figured I would sacrifice the storage room and go with the larger freshwater tank. The comments about the narrow isle in the independence is definitely something to think about though. We may go with the Liberty instead and if we want the separate beds It’s an easy modification. I know these small trailers are a compromise but after looking at some standard laminated and stick built units, I could not believe how shoddy they are built now. When we looked at campers I couldn’t believe how many had glaring build issues I saw. So that ruled out anything coming out of Elkheart.