Hi, I am Sue W

[SueW]

My husband and I are getting close to retiring and too old for the tent life, so we are planning on getting a small trailer in the next year or so. I am married to a Scot who has not seen much of this country, and I hope to drag him around a bit.

When I was growing up, we had a 17 foot Shasta and had a great time: summers in Yellowstone, Acadia, Florida, etc. After us 3 kids left home and my parents retired they took it to Mexico for a month, then up the west US coast, then New England and eastern Canada on a third trip.

Life has changed since then, of course, so I am here to learn about light weight trailers as we don't really want a huge car for the non camping part of our retirement.

Its nice to find a good place to learn from folk with experience, thank you.

[wwig]

Hey Sue,
Welcome. Lots of good info and people on the forum. Just following topics that you find interesting you will be surprised how much you'll learn. Don't be afraid to ask questions, we all started as "newbies". Fiberglass RV is not a brand specific site so many different fiberglass trailers are represented. Again welcome and hopefully you'll find the FG trailer that's right for you. Peace!

P.S. I live in Suffield CT. which is close to Springfield and would be happy to show you my Casita and answer any questions you might have. P.M. me if you are interested.
FG trailers in our neck of the woods seem few and far between.

[Kai in Seattle]

Our Dodge Grand Caravan (a small van) tows 3600 lbs, tongue weight 360. Our fiberglass amerigo...

(see "Trailer Weights in the Real World" on FGRV search --bottom blank, not top-- or google for more information)

...amerigo weighs, loaded for camping, 2150 according to an Oregon weigh scale AND a certified scalemaster at Machinists, Inc. in Seattle.

Our dodge gets about 25 mph without Peanut behind (one shell, two nuts) and 15-20 WITH. I hear you about not wanting a huge vehicle when you're not towing.

We love the van either way--lots of room for two dog crates, walker, x pen, picnic baskets, luggage, folding chairs, pop-up canopy (We got a 26-pound 8x8 (bottom) blue Z-Shade at K-mart two weeks ago for $47 with tax and we are loving it)--whatever, wherever we go.

We'd had a Kia sedan for 20 years prior, and Paul had a tiny 2-seater work truck; neither could tow much!

Sounds like the fun part of planning...considering your options!

Wishing you the best now and after retirement!

Kai in Seattle
(Kathleen near Renton)

[Carl Pa]

Go for it, don't wait to long. The FG trailers are just the right size for us and our Goldie. We have one Car so expenses are lower. We are always together these days anyway. We have the Rav4, V6 Tow Pkg. Tows 3500 lbs. 350 lbs tongue weight. Works out alright for us, sometimes it could be a little more roomier, in the Rav, on long trips, but it works. If you have tent camped, then our little trailers will seem like a castle to you. Good Luck. Carl

[mary and bob]

Come to the rally near Albany NY next month and check out those campers to get some ideas

[DonnaMarie]

Hey Sue...I understand well about the Scot husband & wanting to "drag him around" a bit. hahahaha Im married to one of those myself! We are hoping to retire within the next 20 months & have purchased a new to us Lil Snoozy twin bed model. It's wonderful but there arent many of them made, let alone available.Wishing you all the best with the search...these small fiberglass trailers are the BEST!! Hope to run into you somewhere one day...happy trails Sue!

[Mr Lynn]

Howdy Sue— We're in Framingham, so if you're anywhere nearby and want to take a look at our Casita sometime, just PM me.

If you contact the manufacturers of molded fiberglass trailers (MFGs), they will send you names and addresses of owners whose trailers you can see (they get a referral fee if you buy new). Casita doesn't know about us, though, as we just got ours used from a couple in New Hampshire. wwig is right that there are not many MFGs in our part of the world.

/Mr Lynn

[Jon in AZ]

I'll second Bob's suggestion of a rally. It's the most efficient way to get a look at a number of different molded fiberglass options in one place at one time. You can contact event coordinators for advice about scheduling a visit.

Welcome, and best wishes finding the right trailer to begin your retirement adventures!

[Herman M Parker]

Hi Sue welcome. If you own a pickup look into a Scamp 19 fifth wheel. We are in our mid 70s and have pulled ours all over the states. It is a very comfortable unit.

[mary and bob]

[QUOTE=Jon in AZ;603533]I'll second Bob's suggestion of a rally. It's the most efficient way to get a look at a number of different molded fiberglass options in one place at one time. You can contact event coordinators for advice about scheduling a visit.

We have been to a couple rallies where the "house tour" (looking at all the campers) was a set time and heaven help you if you wanted to look outside of that time frame. Personally, we are open to lookers and questions at any (reasonable) time. We will not turn anyone away even at meal time, excuse me for talking while chewing. One time we had to chuck a couple burgers that turned to hockey pucks while we were showing one of our campers. We have had people stop at our house and ask questions because they saw one or all of our campers in the yard, and one couple bought a Scamp 13 afterwards. Others have visited because they saw us on some trailer forum and lived in the region. On another note, we got thrown out of a camper once, and have occasionally encountered fgrv owners that were not very friendly, but that is a rare circumstance.

[SueW]

Wow! thank you everyone, I thought this looked like a good place to learn.

[Mitzi Agnew-Giles]

Welcome from another newby FGRV camper. My parents weren't campers but believe me I made up for that as soon as I was grown and gone. We're finding physical problems with tenting, and my DH who chose to do very few trips with me in the past is now saying he'll spend more time traveling with me and more time heading to natural history destinations over city destinations with me.


I guess I'll be looking at the Toyota Rav4 as a tug now that DH has finally admitted the garage taking 2+ months to update our 1986 van is possibly indicative of a problem...