What Design Improvements Are Needed?

[Civilguy]

There is a current thread posted on the Airstream forum: What Airstream Design Improvements are Needed? - Airstream Forums

I haven't read the thread in it's entirety, but it looks like it's getting a lot of attention. It is an interesting question.

I guess this could go a couple of different ways from here. We could talk about Airstreams, but I sort of see that as more of a topic for their forum...

...I mean if they decide they really want their next Airstream to be built of molded fiberglass, who am I to criticize?

Anyway, I thought it might be interesting to follow the same general approach and discuss what folks would like to see in their next molded fiberglass trailer...

[John in Santa Cruz]

a 19' or so trailer-for-two with a walkaround queen rear bed. this necessitates it being or 8' wide (60" wide queen, 14-16" walkaround on either side). Bath setup like a Casita (in front rather than the middle). a roomy dinette for 2 in the middle with L shape sofa-seating (sofa if you remove the table), across from the kitchenette. reasonably large DC compressor-fridge.

[steve dunham]

1) A better designed / engineered trailer frame that is properly coated to prevent rust .
2) A door that I can go in and out of without banging my head.
3 ) A bed I can crawl in and out of without disturbing my wife.
4 ) Gel coat that is thicker than a strand of hair or a coat of wax.
5 ) Cabinet doors that actually stay shut.
6) A refrigerator that can stay cool when the outside temps go above 70 degs
7) A water pump that doesn't sound like it's full of nuts and bolts when it runs.
8) A converter that can charge the trailer battery without cooking it and actually produces clean DC.
9) A TV antenna that can pickup stations that are more than 2 miles away.
10 ) Someone at the factory who actually takes pride in their work so I don't have to spend half my summer fixing his / her mistakes and short cuts
11) Cabinet openings that don't look like they were cut in with a chainsaw or a dull hatchet .

[floyd]

NEXT?? I sure hope mine doesn't get wrecked!
If it did I would buy another like it. Fortunately they have adopted most of the changes I have made which I consider important.
I would like RAGING taillights and more of them, even if the old one was rear ended in spite of having them as a mod.
I am working to get them to go to a zero axle on the 13 which I think is an improvement for most 13s.

[k0wtz]

Floyd

I want to put a couple of taillights high up towards the top of my 13f have you don't this?

thanks

bob

[cmartin748]

Hey Steve, is yours for sale? Sounds like someone could get it pretty cheap

[Tom 72]

Airstream's Nest project is a good start. So is Basecamp. It shows they have noticed this segment.
Be careful what you wish for. If Airstream leads and others follow, your resale values could suffer. This pic doesn't show it but the back door is nice. Happier Campers have a full width back door.

[stevebaz]

I can't compare my 1986 Scamp 13 to a new one but I think I want the kitchen under the front window. I want the front window cover to be hinged with built in awning support leggs. I've rigged my cover up this way with extra support legs. This gives you space for the larger bed and maybe a 2 seater folding table. Don't want or need a dedicated bathroom but a bigger bed would be nice.
I would want a more robust frame if they haven't done that by now.
I'm glad Scamp is on the other side of the country from me. It reduces the temptation to buy a new trailer. Not allot of eye candy out here unless you want an Airstream or bigger RV's You have to go to a rally to see stuff people have purchased and brought in.

[stevebaz]

The back door maybe nice but nothing like walking out the door and being right under your awning especially during shower conditions or hot summer sun. If your carrying bikes or a small kayak inside a rear door is nice.

[Adirondack Anthony]

Originally Posted by k0wtz

Floyd

I want to put a couple of taillights high up towards the top of my 13f have you don't this?

thanks

bob

I did this, best mod I've done. If you have a rear bike rack and a few bikes then it's near impossible for the rear lights to be visible. On my Casita, I added 2 long vertical led's either side of the rear window. Involved removing inside window trim and snaking wires down behind the fur, not as hard as it sounds.
Go to the Casita forum, not the Facebook one, and search. Some kind guy has directions and pictures. Sure would be nice if they came from the factory that way.

[k0wtz]

Anthony I am not familier with your rig but looking at my 13f scamper I will have to drill holes and somehow get the wiring up about 4 feet.

I will look at your suggestion but my thought a little scarey I wonder if one of those sound shops could run the wire for me?

bob

[John in Santa Cruz]

car stereo stores are butchers and hacks. I wouldn't let one TOUCH my Casita

[Jon in AZ]

I wish Scamp would re-do the front bench mold to include a notch around the footwell with a ledge for a table molded in. Then they could sell the front bench models either as a sofa/bunk or as a front dinette.

It would also be nice if Scamp came up with a 16' layout along the lines of the Casita Liberty. Seems like they could do most of it with molds they already have.

They've already made two small but important changes many have been clamoring for: a better door seal and a modern RV lockset with deadbolt. There's a lot to be said for incremental change.

One could ask for a lot more in terms of quality of materials- SS hardware, LED lighting, better electrical components, solar options- but keeping the cost down is important to Scamp's value-oriented market.

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by Tom 72

...Be careful what you wish for. If Airstream leads and others follow, your resale values could suffer...

I'd expect the opposite. If high end molded fiberglass offerings like Nest, Happier Camper, Parkliner 16, and Oliver do well and others follow, I expect it will whet the appetite for molded trailers among people who do not have a high end budget. The used market for entry-level molded trailers will remain strong.

I'll be truly surprised if anyone brings to market a direct competitor to Scamp. Development costs are too high right now.

It really doesn't matter because I plan to hang onto mine for a long time, but it's nice to know I have a small nest egg (that's lowercase nest, pun intended ) sitting in my driveway.

[rbryan]

Originally Posted by Tom 72

Airstream's Nest project is a good start. So is Basecamp. It shows they have noticed this segment.
Be careful what you wish for. If Airstream leads and others follow, your resale values could suffer.

The Nest is definitely in 'this segment', but the Basecamp certainly isn't - that's competing more with teardrops and so forth. As for resale value of molded fiberglass trailers, I don't see any trailer made by the big boys and sold on a dealer lot affecting that.

We have the unique position of being in a segment that will never get big. The vast majority of RVers just can't bring themselves to considering such a small trailer. They need to take their whole house and all it's amenities with them.

More than once I've allowed an owner of one of the big trailers to tour mine. They are always intrigued, and often interested, but then you can practically see the gears turning and the thought forming: where are we gonna put all our stuff? And, that reaction is with a relatively 'larger' 19 footer.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by cmartin748

Hey Steve, is yours for sale? Sounds like someone could get it pretty cheap

Everything is for sale if the price is right , so make me an offer .

We are looking at a one ton diesel dually so we may upgrade our trailer in the Spring . The problem is that there is not much to chose from . Finding a higher priced trailer is fairly easy , finding one that is of higher quality is difficult to impossible

[k corbin]

If you read up about the development design of the Nest trailer you will see that he did something very different with the frame instead of using the traditional exposed metal framing

[Tom 72]

I won't tease you. It is innovative and includes twice the fiberglass and half the resin. They vacuum infuse the resin. Here is how:

From Bend, Oregon-Based Nest Caravan: This Isn’t Your Grandpa’s Travel Trailer - Cascade Business News

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by Tom 72

I won't tease you. It is innovative and includes twice the fiberglass and half the resin. They vacuum infuse the resin. Here is how:

From Bend, Oregon-Based Nest Caravan: This Isn’t Your Grandpa’s Travel Trailer - Cascade Business News

one thing jumped at me, dual 5.5 lb propane tanks. yikes, last trip, mostly dry camping for a couple weeks, between the fridge and furnace we went through 20 lbs of propane. I've been toying with getting dual 30s on my Casita 16SD

[Glenn Baglo]

That story is now two and a half years old.
From what I've read, I believe that there have been many changes made, including a conventional frame.