Hi!

[NurseDad]

Hi all,


My name is William and I just joined the forum. I don't own a trailer, but am really considering buying one in a year or two.

When I was in HS, I lived in a 31' AlumaLite while my parents house was being built....

Now I'm an adult and have a family of my own. I have three sons, ages 12, 8 & 6. I'm a single dad, but am dating a wonderful lady who also has a son.

Now I have a a question. I've noticed that most of these fiberglass trailers are less than 15' in length. The longest I've found was a 21'. Why is this? Is it an issue with structural integrity when you get to these sizes? Too hard to assemble?

I think I could make do with a 19-21' trailer, but with six people, five of whom are guys....

Thanks all.
Hope to hang out and learn!

[emers382]

Welcome William and your "curious" trailer!

You'll learn a lot from the people on here, I can't help you out re why the size issue, but you'll find people love their eggs because of their longevity and they don't LEAK like any stick built is likely to.

We are searching as well, but looking for only two camping with occasional grandkids joining us and they can sleep in a tent as they get older, something you'll have to consider with your gang!

Adrian

[Donna D.]

Hi William, to FiberglassRV, we're glad you're here

There are lots of kind and helpful people here on the forums, I'm sure some will be stopping by shortly.

[Pam Garlow]

William, from what I've seen, many of the FG'rs are going for a 'less is more' camping experience, with the camper being used for sleeping and some 'down time' and the rest of the time spend out doors. A shorter trailer also means better gas mileage when towing.

The Bigfoot brand has recently come out with a 25footer, but I'm not aware of a longer one. I don't know if there is a structural reason that they aren't making them larger. It might be something as simple as 'supply and demand'.

Welcome to the group and good luck on your search.

[papa-t]

Hey William, welcome to the forum. Hope you find what your searching for. Or it finds you.

[Gilda]

As an older couple the 13' Scamp is perfect for us for extended camping trips. We consider it a hard-sided tent. Older folks generally want a little more comfort to their camping experience and the FGRVs offer that without removing us too much from the outdoor experience. We are also happy that it provides a secure and dry shelter in case of rain.

Generally, kids love the tent camping experience. You could travel with your brood using a tow vehicle that seats everyone comfortably, tows the trailer (to sleep up to 4) and bring a tent(s) for the older kiddos.

You might want to first try renting a camper to test out the camping experience with your family. I see CruiseAmerica.com rentals, among others, at a lot of campgrounds.

Here's a photo of our little egg parked next to a much larger RV.

[cpaharley2008]

IMHO, there is a limit of economics as well as structural integrity on size. Since most fg units are 2 halves put together there are underlying manufacturing issues that could limit length. Unlike the stick built or even Airstreams where sections or assembled, those units may have 4-6 structural components, each one being attached. Whereas with the fg, it is still 2 units being assembled, top and bottom or side to side. I believe you can have the same limit in boats, most fg boats are less than 100 feet, but steel ships with sections riveted together are football sized. Just my armchair opinion.

[NurseDad]

See, that's the only thing I could figure. It has to be a structural/ assembly thing. I'd much rather have a FG camper over aluminum.

When I was in HS, my dad bought a Northern Light Truck Camper (clone of the BogFoot's). My brother and I would take it all over Washington and Canada to go snowboarding. Even if it was below zero, that thing was COMFY!!!! Just ignore what a PITA it was to get in and out of the thing, especially when the ladder had slipped forward on the floor and you couldn't reach it..... ;-)

I figure that a 15'-20' would be plenty. My boys aren't adverse to tent camping and neither am I (8yrs in the USMC and I NEVER slept in a tent, usually just mud puddles).

Thanks all

[Thomas G.]

As stated, BigFoot and Escape make larger fiberglass campers.

[Hazel in Sk]

Hi and welcome. We are a retired couple who have a 13' Trillium that replaced our tent. The grandkids are always ready to join us and put the tent to use! We also carry along a big King Canopy that makes it possible to keep us all reasonably dry on the leaky sky days. It has both wind/shade walls and bug screening.

As aging tent lovers we continue to basically live outside (but the fridge and beds that aren't on the floor give us much pleasure).

As we opted for 'simple' camping we covered over the kitchen area with a wide wooden shelf - that we think is far more convenient than trying to cook and wash dishes in a cramped space. We removed the water tank to make more storage under the main bed too.

[Donna D.]

I have absolute confidence you'll figure it out! You are looking to provide the family memory makers. And after all the evenings of cramped space and less-than-stellar sleeping arrangments are long gone, they'll remember the great times they had JUST DOING IT! Maybe you have space in your tug to sleep one or two? Or maybe DAD sleeps outside on a cot under the awning? Whatever... I wish you luck and a ton of great memories along the way

[Karen T]

A 21 or 25 ft. Bigfoot could be a great choice. Our Bigfoot is wide enough we routinely have a kid and two fairly big dogs on the floor at night. Yes, it can be a pain to maneuver around them at night but it's really not much inconvenience. We've also installed a cot over the rear corner bed to create an extra bunk to maximize sleeping space.