Hello

[Jon in AZ]

Bed sizes are one of the “dirty little secrets” of the RV industry. Very little means what it does in residential bedding, and few manufacturers make the information easily available. There’s an old thread titled “Bed Sizes.” You can find it by typing it into the google search box at the top of the page.

For the Scamp 16’ beds, standard (fiberglass interior) layouts have a transverse bed (76”wide by 45” deep). Deluxe (wood interior) layouts have a transverse bed (76” wide by 54” deep). Both sleep crossways, and the sleeper at the back has to crawl over the person in front to enter and exit. Scamp does not offer any floorplans that allow longways sleeping. So no, you cannot do the Roadtrek-style configuration in a Scamp.

You can do it in Casita Liberty models, but you give up the separate dinette or seating area. Small trailers require big compromises.

We avoid the crawl-over in our Scamp by sleeping separately. We often share the smaller 45” dinette bed in the evening to relax, read, or watch a movie together. But when we’re ready to sleep I move to the single bed at the front. She hasn’t complained about cold feet yet…

[Mr Lynn]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

. . . We avoid the crawl-over in our Scamp by sleeping separately. We often share the smaller 45” dinette bed in the evening to relax, read, or watch a movie together. But when we’re ready to sleep I move to the single bed at the front. She hasn’t complained about cold feet yet…

We avoided the crawl-over by widening the single side dinette bed in our Casita Spirit Deluxe, but 4" more got me to only 28", which was not enough. So now we have an Escape 21, and I'm on the back dinette bed. As I said, with topper, it's pretty comfortable, and plenty wide enough.

[WeTravel]

HMMMM. Got it. Thanks.

[Mikmay]

Happier Camper , 20 in bed ,40 in bed ,60in bed or even 80 in bed if you dare all in a 13 ft trailer and if I don’t want to crawl over my wife I simply exit out the back door or make 2 Single 28 in beds running length wise with a 20 in walkway .

[Steve Outlaw]

Originally Posted by WeTravel

I really like the Escape(s) but we want to travel as "light" and "small" as possible - we even considered a 13' but no good bed options. We do need a new towing vehicle (ours currently has 210K on it) and hear there is a hybrid truck coming out that can tow 2,500 lbs and still get 37 mpg.

A tow capacity of only 2500 pounds is a joke. It would probably have virtually no cargo capacity at all. You better plan on getting a real truck with an internal combustion engine or you'll be stuck with a tent camper and limited to only one set of underwear and a toothbrush for cargo.

[David B.]

Snoozy 2 has a permanent two single bed floor plan.

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by WeTravel

I really like the Escape(s) but we want to travel as "light" and "small" as possible - we even considered a 13' but no good bed options. We do need a new towing vehicle (ours currently has 210K on it) and hear there is a hybrid truck coming out that can tow 2,500 lbs and still get 37 mpg.

A 2500# tow rating is only good for a 13’er. A 15-16’ trailer with a bathroom can be towed with a 3500# tow rating, but once you get into the 17’-19’ class- including the Casita with its high tongue weight- you need to be looking in the 5000# class, which includes a number of larger AWD crossovers like the Toyota Highlander.

The hybrid truck sounds like the Ford Maverick. The hybrid version is only rated to tow 2000#, which could include some lighter 13’ers. The gas turbo AWD version can tow 4000# with an optional tow package, getting you into a 16’ molded trailer, but it won’t get 37 mpg in everyday driving, and it won’t get you into the 17-19’ class of trailers.

The longways bed plus bath requirement is pushing you into larger trailers and tow vehicles.

See real-world trailer weight data in this spreadsheet managed by forum member Jon Vermilye:
http://lakeshoreimages.com/spreadsheets/Weight.xlsx

[WeTravel]

To be honest, we weren't even going to look into tow vehicles until we found our "egg". But all this information is greatly appreciated.

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by WeTravel

To be honest, we weren't even going to look into tow vehicles until we found our "egg". But all this information is greatly appreciated.

That’s the best way to do it. Then you don’t have to make compromises on the trailer to stay within the limits of a vehicle.

But weight and tow ratings deserve attention as you make decisions about your trailer. The other extreme is getting a trailer and then finding out the vehicle you need to pull it is bigger than you care to own or drive on a daily basis.

There’s usually some give-and-take on both sides of the equation. Information is good, and you are thinking well.

[Mr Lynn]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

That’s the best way to do it. Then you don’t have to make compromises on the trailer to stay within the limits of a vehicle.

But it is something to consider. The other extreme is getting a trailer and then finding out the vehicle you need to pull it is bigger than you care to own or drive on a daily basis.

There’s usually some give-and-take on both sides of the equation. Information is good.

Another consideration: Many say, and I believe them, that it is unwise to compromise too closely to the limits of your tow vehicle; better to shoot for excess towing ability. How much over, I can't say; the numbers you get for individual TVs can be confusing.

According to the manual, our 2013 Expedition can handle somewhere up to almost 9,000 lbs of trailer. Our Escape 21C loaded may be only about 4,500 lbs, so I'm not concerned. But we thought about getting a (used) Bigfoot 25, which pushes 7,500 lbs. That's getting close enough to the maximum, especially if you consider loading down the TV with gear or passengers (which reduces your towing ability) that I feared I might have to get a ¾ ton truck (the Expy is about the same as an F150, a ½ ton truck).

Even the 13' Scamp, if loaded, might push the 2,500-lb limit of your TV. The fellow who bought our Casita towed it home with his Honda Pilot, but quickly turned around and bought a Ford F150. I thought that was a wise decision.

[Mr Lynn]

PS There's more discussion of these issues in this thread:

https://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/...nto-99819.html

[Jon in AZ]

The figures I gave earlier do include a 25% margin (or more in some cases) based on average weights in the database. But yes, a lot of factors besides the trailer weight play into a good trailer-vehicle match. There’s wiggle room on both ends depending on individual circumstances and vehicles.

We are four people and frequently tow in mountains and high elevations, so a roomier and more powerful 3500# rated vehicle (Honda Pilot FWD) made a good match for our 13’ Scamp, and the extra seats come in handy for teens and their friends around home. Looking ahead to empty nest travel, we’ll probably downsize at some point.