ParkLiners - looking for advice/experience with

[Pat in Michigan]

Moderator's note: This topic was created from the Temporary Tag Needed for ParkLiner Camper thread. Hopefully, Pat's question will get better exposure by not being buried in a discussion about temporary towing tags.

Hi, I am new here, no trailer yet but I just found the Park Liner and have changed from looking at Scamps to being 95% sure a Park Liner is for me. I have never towed a trailer but this is my gift to myself and I would be glad for any advice and experience with the Park Liners. My biggest fear is not being able to back up into a spot. I am getting really excited to begin this new chapter in my life.

[frank_a]

Originally Posted by Pat in Michigan

Hi, I am new here, no trailer yet but I just found the Park Liner and have changed from looking at Scamps to being 95% sure a Park Liner is for me. I have never towed a trailer but this is my gift to myself and I would be glad for any advice and experience with the Park Liners. My biggest fear is not being able to back up into a spot. I am getting really excited to begin this new chapter in my life.

Hi Pat!

Glad you joined. We bought a ParkLiner for a number of reasons. 1st of all, we wanted/needed a queen size bed. We wanted a dinette, toilet, and kitchen sink at least. We found all that and more with a ParkLiner, including 6'4" ceiling height, all kinds of interior storage, shower, furnace, AC, hot water, etc, all in a dry weight trailer of only 2100#s.

Backing up is not an art, it's a science. Pros and a lot of amateurs (myself included) use side view mirrors to back up. When you're backing into a camp space, if you don't have someone to tell you when to stop backing up, you of course need to keep on checking. Better yet is a pull-through space!

We need to get the cover off #006 and air it out. We're off to NC in a month, and maybe a weekend trip before that. Spring is on the way (finally).

Frank

[Pat in Michigan]

Thanks Frank, I have read all the posts about the wheel wells being too small and poor customer service. Looks like they are working on both issues so I am hoping I get a call back from them. They look like great trailers. I like the fact it has a queen bed and lots of storage. I'm not in a big hurry, I am only planning on buying one trailer so I want to make sure I buy the right one the first time.

Pat

[Huck]

Originally Posted by Pat in Michigan

Thanks Frank, I have read all the posts about the wheel wells being too small and poor customer service. Looks like they are working on both issues so I am hoping I get a call back from them. They look like great trailers. I like the fact it has a queen bed and lots of storage. I'm not in a big hurry, I am only planning on buying one trailer so I want to make sure I buy the right one the first time.

Pat

This is for informational purposes and not meant as criticism.

The area available for bed is roughly the size of a queen. That's using the cushions that come with the trailer. But since the rear corners are curved, I don't believe a normal size queen mattress will fit.

I bought a 3/4 full mattress to put over the cushions. This is a special mattress size and difficult to find sheets, etc for it, which I wish I would have known when I bought the mattress.

It still wasn't very comfortable, so I bought a foam topper for it which is 4" bigger than the mattress.

Just pointing out that a queen in real life and a queen in RV speak is not necessarily the same size.

[Jon Vermilye]

Originally Posted by Huck

This is for informational purposes and not meant as criticism.

The area available for bed is roughly the size of a queen. That's using the cushions that come with the trailer. But since the rear corners are curved, I don't believe a normal size queen mattress will fit.

I bought a 3/4 full mattress to put over the cushions. This is a special mattress size and difficult to find sheets, etc for it, which I wish I would have known when I bought the mattress.

It still wasn't very comfortable, so I bought a foam topper for it which is 4" bigger than the mattress.

Just pointing out that a queen in real life and a queen in RV speak is not necessarily the same size.

I purchased a couple of sets of these 3/4 sheets from Amazon, and have been happy with them. Unfortunately, I have not found a 3/4 blanket, however my old poncho liner works well as a quilt...

[Tammie]

Huck's right- the bed area in a ParkLiner is queen size, 60"x80", minus the rounded corners on the long side across the back. We bought a queen sized memory foam topper, and using the cushions as a template, trimmed two corners to fit the curves. Now it's a perfect fit from wall to wall, and the 2" memory foam on top of the 4" ParkLiner cushions makes for a very comfortable sleep. A set of queen size sheets from Target fits nicely, too.

[frank_a]

Originally Posted by Pat in Michigan

Thanks Frank, I have read all the posts about the wheel wells being too small and poor customer service. Looks like they are working on both issues so I am hoping I get a call back from them. They look like great trailers. I like the fact it has a queen bed and lots of storage. I'm not in a big hurry, I am only planning on buying one trailer so I want to make sure I buy the right one the first time.

Pat

Hi again Pat,

They have changed the mold for the wheel wells, so all new ParkLiners now (for a while) are fine from the factory, as is the new battery thingie.

They have been very responsive to me, but apparently other results may vary. We're very pleased we bought this trailer, and look forward to a bunch of camping this year. In fact, we were just out for a spin in my F-150 and were discussing all the places we want to go this summer!

Best of luck!

Frank

[Pat in Michigan]

Thanks all, Tammie I would probably also get a topper and trim it. My husband is 6'3" which is one of the big reasons I think this trailer is a good choice. Even though I will probably be traveling solo with my dogs to shows and agility trials most of the time I am sure we will be taking some family trips so the extra size will be nice. So did any of you order your new trailer without seeing one in person?

[deryk]

Hi Pat!

I've loved my ParkLiner from day one! They make a Great Product, I'm sure you will be happy with yours! I looked at Scamps, the casita 17 was too heavy for my Rav4(now have a Nissan Frontier) Yes the rear of the parkliner is curved, so it squooshes the queen sized mattress a bit,but no problem with fitting the sheets on it...you just accept it for what it is or trip it a bit to fit. There is ample storage inside. I'm thinking of adding a shelf into 2 of the overhead cabinets to be able to fit more stuff in them so I can eventually have one just for clothes so I wont be living out of a duffel bag on the weekends lol.

The backing up takes practice like so much in life but isn't beyond you to learn. I have to back it up my mom's driveway to where I keep it, so it does get easier. The ParkLiner was also my first real camper... had a teardrop trailer sized one I built but no where near as nice as my ParkLiner, and its wider and taller and longer and I get better gas mileage because of the curved end vs a flat wall of my homebuilt trailer.

Im sure you will enjoy it. Think long and hard on the upholstery or you will be like me recovering it lol!

[Pat in Michigan]

Thanks Deryk, it seems to me that part of the fun of owning a fiberglass trailer is the people. Seems like a wonderful community.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Pat in Michigan

[I][COLOR="Purple"] My biggest fear is not being able to back up into a spot. I am getting really excited to begin this new chapter in my life.

Welcome Pat, can't help you with your trailer brand choose but as far as the backing up goes someone once told me a trick that helped me greatly. Put your hand on the bottom of the wheel and move it in the direction you want the back end of the trailer to go.... works great for me... get all messed up when I try doing it any other way now! LOL

[Pat in Michigan]

Thanks Carol that makes it sound easy enough. I figure when the day comes and I have my trailer I will go somewhere were I can't run into anything and practice.

[deryk]

someone gave me directions out of a flea market when I was towing....well ended up having to do a K-turn with my 2nd time towing with my truck which is longer then my Rav4 was plus the ParkLiner....took me a bunch of pull forward cut the wheal and back up....cut the wheal pull forward... but an old guy in a pickup truck gave me a smile and a nod when I was pulling away.

[monB]

Pat, I've been wondering if a back-up camera on the trailer might help with backing up? Maybe someone here has tried it?

I simply cannot believe that 50 years ago I hauled boats and trailers ALL over and NEVER remember having had a problem backing a trailer.....and now I can't back worth flip!

Mon

[Pat in Michigan]

Deryk and monB, I have only tried backing up my lawn tractor with a small yard trailer with no luck at all, I would end up unhooking the trailer and moving it by hand. I hope the trailer is easier

[deryk]

small trailers are harder to back up then larger trailers....my lil homebuilt ones were a pita to back up.... the ParkLiner is much easier.

[frank_a]

Deryk is right on the money here. Size matters, and in this case it's length. I always back up little trailers by hand. The ParkLiner is relatively easy to back up!

Frank

[Pat in Michigan]

Thanks Deryk and Frank, that's good news because I would look pretty funny trying to move a travel trailer by hand no matter how lightweight….

[frank_a]

Originally Posted by Pat in Michigan

Thanks Deryk and Frank, that's good news because I would look pretty funny trying to move a travel trailer by hand no matter how lightweight….

My trailer is not easy to move by hand, and we have a trailer mover that is like a two wheel cart, but for moving trailers. It's still not easy. If we have enough people around, somebody handles the trailer mover, the others push. We try not to do that too much!

Frank

[Paul O.]

This was posted here not too long ago, I do not remember by whom, so take credit where credit is due. It is fun to play with:
UKCampsite.co.uk Caravan Manoeuvring Game