What is the best non fiberglass camper.

[BahneCasita]

We own a Grand Design Reflection 315RLTS and 17 foot Spirit Delux Casita. We are full time in the Reflection and we vacation in the Casita. I pull the GD with either a F550 or a F350, both diesel. The Casita we pull with my wife's Ridgeline.

Which one do I enjoy more while we sitting still? The 32 foot Reflection.

Which one do I towing? The Casita.

The Reflection we can only go comfortably about 400 miles a day. The F350 carries 50 gallons on board and the F550 carries 80 gallons on board.
The Casita we can go comfortably about 600 miles a day.

The Grand Design rig is about 55 feet long and weighs in at 19,000 pounds.
In the Casita rig we are 32 foot long and weighs in at 7500 pounds.

The fuel cost in the 1 ton or 2 ton trucks is around $300 per 1000 miles. ($3.00 a gallon averaged) Fuel cost very conservative from our 3500 mile trip in December.

The fuel cost for the Honda pulling our Casita is around $178 per 1000 miles ($2.50 a gallon averaged) Fuel cost very conservative from our 3500 mile trip in December.

55 foot rig is very limited in where we get fuel or park. Buying the fuel is on the felon side of the truck stop.

In the 32 foot rig we bought fuel and groceries at Sam's Club, Costco or Walmart because we can park in 2 parking spots by pulling straight through.

[Raspy]

^^^^^ Excellent report! Size has little to do with fun. Simple is often more fun. Easy is definitely more fun and means you might go more often. Cheap means less stress.

[Mike_L]

Are there really any "good" non-fiberglass trailers?
Molded certainly has its advantages. If you need bigger you can still have fiberglass but maybe not molded.
My unit spends lots of time in the back country, rough dirt roads and plenty of hail. Aluminum stickies shake apart on rough roads. Hail destroys aluminum siding.

Thirteen seasons of rough roads and no damage so far. The last hail storm destroyed all the lenses on my exterior lights but not a single mark on the fiberglass.

[jgilliam1955]

What ever you decide, get it inspected professional. Not someone from the dealer. Look up RV inspectors. To me it's a gamble I am not willing to risk. Look at Laze daze. You can order at the factory only like a Fiberglass & the quality looks to be ok. It takes about a year to have one made.
http://www.lazydaze.com/index2.htm

[dcs02d]

Thanks for all the replies everyone!

[John in Santa Cruz]

A couple years ago, we looked at several Lance cab-over slideins, they all felt very cheaply made and slapped together, and even ones just 2-3 years old had multiple water leak repairs.

[Civilguy]

Originally Posted by dcs02d

We're thinking of something a bit larger to live in. If you had to buy a non fiberglass camper what would you get?

I think member cpaharley2008 owned a couple of Lances. You might ask him what his experience was like.

I'm not sure if your idea of a "camper" extends to non-towables. Personally, I would consider a vintage bus conversion if I was thinking about full-timing.

[Jim G. - Ohio]

Originally Posted by dcs02d

We're thinking of something a bit larger to live in. If you had to buy a non fiberglass camper what would you get?

My answer is the same as Mikes. For a non-molded fiberglass camper with more room, a bus conversion (not schoolie) could fit the bill for more space and good quality. Why not a school bus? They are not well accepted and have earned negative image problems.

[DeanCHS1980]

Hi All,

LOL, hey, if we can expand this to non-towables, put me down for the following:

Coach House Platnium 220 TB. Great small motorhome with a one piece molded fiberglass body!

One little problem. . .it is Coach House’s entry level small motorhome and it starts at $150,000! D’oh!!!



Happy Camping

Dean

[stude]

Originally Posted by dcs02d

We're thinking of something a bit larger to live in. If you had to buy a non fiberglass camper what would you get?

: first off what size trailer are you looking for, it would be nice to know length and what you tow vehicle can handle. The fellows on here deal only with Fibre Glass Campers not non FG. so it is hard for them to pick something for you.
stude

[Borrego Dave]

Originally Posted by DeanCHS1980

Hi All,
LOL, hey, if we can expand this to non-towables, put me down for the following:
Coach House Platnium 220 TB. Great small motorhome with a one piece molded fiberglass body!
One little problem. . .it is Coach House’s entry level small motorhome and it starts at $150,000! D’oh!!!
Dean

Isn't that your pocket change Dean ?????

[stude]

Originally Posted by Borrego Dave

Isn't that your pocket change Dean ?????

:It is a real nice unit and is similar to our 2017 Winnebago Trend. Like Winnie the omitted to install a Inverter system to keep items like cel phones, and other objects charged, Our laptops only have so long then need charging so we two of them and two cel phones each day, and there is other gadgets that need charging but you really need the Inverter, so when we had it back at the dealers we got them to install a 1000W inverter, lucky for us it already had a 100W solar panel keeping the batteries up. Right now they are replacing the Carb on the generator then well be ready to go. When I find a good deal on 2x200W Solar panels and with the 100W that will give me 500 Watts total letting us boon dock for a week or more at a time. The other item the did not get is a slide where the twin bed is as the little slide gives quite a bit more room in the Galley area. What they did for us was give us a lot of indoor storage but very little basement storage so we added a box onto a carrier from the rear trailer hitch that allows us to pack around 300#'s there. Our engine got us away from that awful gas guzzling V10 but in the Coach House it might be okay as you will not have to tow a car behind you or even rent a car when you arrive as the unit is small enough for parking spot or Ferry, in Canada it now costs $8.50' for all over 20'.
Peter

[stude]

If you think the Coach House is pricey check out the Liesure units being built in Manitoba now these babies are pricey but they are small like the Coach House, the one I Like the best is the Leisure Wonder, as it has a place to store bicycles in the back compartment and much more with 3-4 layouts and for me to buy it I was looking at it in American dollars and that for me is not cheap as our dollar is worth way less than yours. That is why I went the way we did, our new little W. Trend is 24'4" long then with the carrier it is now 26' long. The best part is I got rid of the V10 and got a 3.6L engine promising me a wee bit more per mile. I don't have to tow anything behind such as a toad, 6 speed Automatic Transmission.
Stude

[k corbin]

might as well have some fun for your money....



https://earthroamer.com/xv-hd/

[trainman]

Originally Posted by Bruce H

Not to be too critical of someone else's trailer but before you buy an Airstream go lurk on the Airstream forums and read all of the complaints about quality and corrosion problems.



All my life I planned to get an Airstream. Then fifteen years ago I was finally able to go shopping for my first RV trailer. I started doing research about trailers suitable for cold weather (among other things). This brand I had never heard of kept popping up, Bigfoot, billed as a four season trailer. The Airstream is a three season trailer. There was no Bigfoot dealer near me but I was traveling to Los Angeles three or four times a year to see my daughter and there was a Bigfoot dealer in Irvine. I went down there and was able to compare Bigfoot and Airstream side by side. That got me to wondering what happens to an Airstream when it gets caught in one of our mid-west hail storms?



The last Airstream I was in was at an RV dealership near here a couple of years ago. I had gone there with a friend who wanted to look at the motor homes. I wandered around and came upon an Airstream trailer, 30 or 32 ft. long. Don't remember the model but I do remember the price $118,000.00. A new 25' Bigfoot can be had for $50,000. The prices have doubled in the past 15 years. Its your money, not mine.

As I read this comment on the Airstream's we are going to an open house today to look at Airstream trailers. Now we are not going to buy, but to go for the wine and lunch that they are offering, let's face it, if it's too cold to go camping then there inside showroom with some 40 trailer's should make us feel at home. I guess we have cabin fever.

trainman

[Jon in AZ]

I might consider a nicely rehabbed older Airstream in the 24-27’ range, but not a new one.

I might consider a used all-aluminum Camplite trailer if I wanted something smaller and newer, but I'd rather have separate sleeping and sitting spaces, since I'm an early bird and my wife is a night owl.

I might consider an Escape fifth wheel, but I'd really prefer a dry bath for long-term use.

I would go back to a tent before I bought anything with laminated sidewalls, wood framing, rubber roof, or any motorized RV.

But again I ask: what’s wrong with a Bigfoot? B25RQ plus F150 with 3.5EB, HD towing and payload... Or to keep cost down a used BF with a used 3/4T pickup or HD van of your choosing.

[Mary F]

I'm with Jon: it seems like one of the 25' Bigfoots would be what you're looking for (still molded fiberglass, but "a bit larger").

Have fun with your quest!

[Rockytop]

I would think a Lance would be among the better quality stick builts, but a Fiberglass site is probably not the best place to ask that question. I mean, we just really don’t care.

[John in Santa Cruz]

fwiw, the better new 'stick builts' no longer use wood framing, instead they have aluminum studs holding up the sides and roof.

[Jon in AZ]

Lance trailers are laminated with an aluminum frame inside the wall sandwich and a PVC roof.

That’s a bit different that a traditional “stick build” in which a skin is applied over a separate frame (wood or aluminum) with fasteners.

Every construction method has its advantages and disadvantages, including molded fiberglass.