Annette,
It sounds like you have already come to the same conclusion that we did.
I can sympathize with your dilemma. We went through the same thing when
we ordered our Scamp13L1 54" bed (without a bathroom) and picked it up
in Oct 2013. So far, no real regrets. (
We do, however, carry a porta-potti.)
We are close to retirement age. We have several grandchildren who
like to travel with us whenever they can, so we wanted to at least have
the ability to at least occasionally sleep 4.
When traveling by ourselves, we like the openness of the trailer when
the table set up. When in the bed configuration. we like the ability to sit
on the sofa to get dressed (or eat).
I personally hate the thought of dealing with the blackwater issues
(stinky-slinky hoses, dump stations, gaskets & valves, etc.) (
Have you
watched the dump station segment of the Robin Williams movie "RV"?)
Although we own (and like) a Scamp13, the bathroom option that
I find at least somewhat interesting is the Thetford cassette toilette
option on the Lil' Snoozy. No dump stations or stinky-slinky hoses
to deal with. (Watch the video at
http://www.lilsnoozy.com/ )
When we left the airshow up at Oshkosh, there were multiple long
(8 to 10 units) lines of Class A motor-homes (and other trailers)
all lined up waiting to use the dump station on the last day of the
airshow. If we had needed to wait in that line, I figured that we
would have been delayed by about an hour or more before being
able to get on the road.
From a couple of experiences, I think that having some sort of
OBF (onboard facilities) is a pretty good idea. On one occasion,
I was awakened in the morning by thunder and was able to get to
the restroom before the storm front arrived but chose to wait out
the heaviest part of the rain before going back to the trailer. On
another occasion, in a small town city park, there was a considerable
delay while the only nearby restrooms were being cleaned.
If we had been able to handle the tow
weight of a 16 foot trailer,
we would still have probably wanted the larger bed and would
likely have chosen the smaller side bathroom. With a 13 ft trailer,
we have been able to get by pretty well with a porta-potti for
some of the more urgent needs. As always YMMV.
As you have already heard, there are many camping styles,
opinions, and requirements. I hope that you have few (if any)
regrets about your decision and that you will really enjoy
your new trailer.
Ray