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03-01-2018, 12:39 PM
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#1
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Junior Member
Name: Michael
Trailer: Shopping / Learning
Kansas
Posts: 4
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Hi, I'm Michael
Susan and I are getting ready to retire in the next year or so.
My research for a travel trailer has led me to the fiberglass variety.
Now I just need to figure out which one and how to get it!
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03-01-2018, 01:09 PM
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#2
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Senior Member
Name: Dave W
Trailer: Trillium 4500 - 1976, 1978, 1979, 1300 - 1977, and a 1973
Alberta
Posts: 6,926
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A few questions to narrow down the search.
Size? Fiberglass trailers are available 13' to 34'
Bathroom or just a porta potty?
Tow vehicle?
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03-01-2018, 01:16 PM
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#3
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Senior Member
Name: bill
Trailer: 2013 Escape 19
The Mountains of North Carolina
Posts: 4,136
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Have you camped in a trailer before? How long are the trips you envision?
Choose a trailer first then select a tow vehicle that can handle it. Fiberglass trailers tend to be light weight but not as light as many people think. Check the weights in the real world for some actual weights.
Having a little extra margin on TV is much better than being marginal.
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03-01-2018, 01:30 PM
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#4
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Junior Member
Name: Michael
Trailer: Shopping / Learning
Kansas
Posts: 4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by David Tilston
A few questions to narrow down the search.
Size? Fiberglass trailers are available 13' to 34'
Bathroom or just a porta potty?
Tow vehicle?
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Tow Vehicle=Toyota Tacoma SR5
16 to 21 approx.
Wifey must have bath & shower.
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03-01-2018, 01:42 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Name: Dave W
Trailer: Trillium 4500 - 1976, 1978, 1979, 1300 - 1977, and a 1973
Alberta
Posts: 6,926
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mikel_P
Tow Vehicle=Toyota Tacoma SR5
16 to 21 approx.
Wifey must have bath & shower.
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If you are cost conscious, you should look at an older Bigfoot fifth wheel, or bumper pull Bigfoot 19, (I was hours from buying one of these).
If you have time and money, take a look at Escapes, (Canadian) or Oliver, (top of the line).
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03-01-2018, 01:58 PM
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#6
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Junior Member
Name: Michael
Trailer: Shopping / Learning
Kansas
Posts: 4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thrifty bill
Have you camped in a trailer before? How long are the trips you envision?
Choose a trailer first then select a tow vehicle that can handle it. Fiberglass trailers tend to be light weight but not as light as many people think. Check the weights in the real world for some actual weights.
Having a little extra margin on TV is much better than being marginal.
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Horse before the cart - already have a Toyota Tacoma SR5 with a tow package.
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03-01-2018, 06:50 PM
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#7
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Senior Member
Trailer: Boler 13 ft / Casita FD
Posts: 2,038
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See if you can attend a fiberglass rally near by and go check some of the different campers out. At the Spring Fling in New England Rally last year, 2 parties came in, one was wanting to look at a Casita and the other a Scamp.
After the show & shine event they had did a flip-flop. I think only one of the parties did buy a camper and I do believe they will be the rally this May 17.
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03-02-2018, 11:26 AM
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#8
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Member
Name: Tom
Trailer: Casita
Oregon
Posts: 60
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Tacoma SR5 with Tow Package... There are several versions of tow packages out there for the Tacoma ranging from over 6,000 lbs to 3,300 lbs. I just went through this and found that my tow rating was a bit lower than I thought. Your owners manual can help if you have not already checked this. Also, Toyota does not recommend fifth wheel towing. Why, I don't know, it seems strange.
We recently went through the search, looked at a Casita and a Scamp. They tend to go fast around here. One thing I noticed was that the Scamp is built with an exposed wafer board floor. I assume it is waterproof glue, but it is exposed to road spray, etc. The Casita is a bit heavier, but the fiberglass shell goes completely under the floor, leaving only the frame exposed.
Just a few thoughts... Have a great time looking!
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03-02-2018, 01:43 PM
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#9
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Senior Member
Name: Michael
Trailer: Trail Cruiser
Alberta
Posts: 825
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Hi, I'm another Michael. I'm recently retired and have been trailering for a lot of years. I understand you have a tow vehicle. Unless you plan to change that, the capacity of your tug dictates what trailers you can purchase and tow safely. You may want to pick a trailer that has a dry weight of about half of this capacity. That leaves you capacity for the other things you will likely take camping and hopefully some to spare as a safety margin. Take your time deciding what you want so you, and your wife, will be happy with your purchase.
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03-02-2018, 01:54 PM
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#10
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Member
Name: Bruce & Kaye
Trailer: U-Haul 13ct
Georgia
Posts: 35
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My husband and I are selling our U Haul camper. We lived in it for extended periods in Montana and travels out west. We’re in central Georgia currently. We love ours, but we’ve made some other retirement plans. We always kept her stocked and packed up, so we could go when ever we wanted to. We call her our Egg-Go. She is a rolling B&B. My listing is on this site.
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03-02-2018, 02:03 PM
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#11
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Junior Member
Name: Michael
Trailer: Shopping / Learning
Kansas
Posts: 4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TomE11
Tacoma SR5 with Tow Package... There are several versions of tow packages out there for the Tacoma ranging from over 6,000 lbs to 3,300 lbs. I just went through this and found that my tow rating was a bit lower than I thought. Your owners manual can help if you have not already checked this. Also, Toyota does not recommend fifth wheel towing. Why, I don't know, it seems strange.
We recently went through the search, looked at a Casita and a Scamp. They tend to go fast around here. One thing I noticed was that the Scamp is built with an exposed wafer board floor. I assume it is waterproof glue, but it is exposed to road spray, etc. The Casita is a bit heavier, but the fiberglass shell goes completely under the floor, leaving only the frame exposed.
Just a few thoughts... Have a great time looking!
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Thanks for the info.
I did a VINDECODER on my Tacoma - MY max trailer capacity is 6400 - so pretty flexible. We do not intend on getting a trailer that big anyway.
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03-02-2018, 03:47 PM
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#12
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Commercial Member
Name: Charlie Y
Trailer: Escape 21 - Felicity
Oregon
Posts: 1,583
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mikel_P
Thanks for the info.
I did a VINDECODER on my Tacoma - MY max trailer capacity is 6400 - so pretty flexible. We do not intend on getting a trailer that big anyway.
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My Taco is also 6400 rated and tows a 21 foot Escape just fine. Fully loaded for travel the 21 weighs in at 4300 lbs. The double axle towing behavior is far better than a single axle ( I had a Casita 17 LD) and the backing is also easier with the longer distance between the hitch and the axles. The 21 also has the largest bath/shower of all the Escape models.
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03-03-2018, 08:06 AM
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#13
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Senior Member
Name: bill
Trailer: 2013 Escape 19
The Mountains of North Carolina
Posts: 4,136
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TomE11
We recently went through the search, looked at a Casita and a Scamp. They tend to go fast around here. One thing I noticed was that the Scamp is built with an exposed wafer board floor. I assume it is waterproof glue, but it is exposed to road spray, etc. The Casita is a bit heavier, but the fiberglass shell goes completely under the floor, leaving only the frame exposed.
Just a few thoughts... Have a great time looking!
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Both floor designs have pluses and minuses. Commonly floors rot from the inside out. So being exposed on the bottom is not as bad as you might think. First it allows the floor to dry out. Casita is bath tub style so the floor is inside the tub. Get s leak and the water is trapped. Casita has changed their floor design many times over the years making it better.
I used to make the adhesive for OSB it’s not waterproof, far from it. It can tolerate short term exposure (while s house is being built) but not too long. It’s biggest advantage is it is cheap, really cheap. Compared to plywood much less labor to make it and pretty much any species wood works. Plywood manufacturing process is much more involved.
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03-03-2018, 08:21 AM
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#14
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Senior Member
Name: bob
Trailer: Was A-Liner now 13f Scamp
Missouri
Posts: 3,209
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our camper a 95 and no rotting on the floor. most rotting problems are caused by bad plumbing we don't have a bathroom or a shower!
I found one problem with the door handle and lock they had installed it with no sealer around the outside. I don't understand that one!
good luck on your purchase you have plenty of truck
bob
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03-03-2018, 08:30 AM
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#15
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Senior Member
Name: Jon
Trailer: 2008 Scamp 13 S1
Arizona
Posts: 11,912
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Hi, I'm Michael
It should be noted that Scamp treats the exposed underside with resin, so road spray is not an issue.
I've seen enough rotted floors on trailers with and without a fiberglass underbelly to conclude there is little advantage, other than appearance.
Floors that are fully encased in fiberglass, top and bottom, are better- provided water that gets in from a leak has a way to escape via a perimeter drain channel. Escape does that, I believe, like the Trilliums from which they evolved. I don't think Casita does. Disadvantage of a fiberglass encapsulated wood floor is if it does fail- and some inevitably do- repair is much more complex.
There are a few newer models with structural fiberglass floors, no wood, so no rot. In a few decades we'll find out what can go wrong and how to fix them. Everything put together eventually comes apart.
All floors have cuts for plumbing and LP piping. They are weak points in any design and deserve periodic inspection.
As Bill says, most floor rot is caused by leaks from above- windows, vents, plumbing. With regular inspection and timely maintenance there is no reason for any of the different floor designs to fail on your watch. On the other hand, any of them could be rotten on a used unit due to some else's neglect.
I certainly wouldn't let the floor design keep you from buying a particular trailer that otherwise meets your requirements.
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