NEWBIE: Egg vs. Lil Snoozy advice

[carlkeigley]

Originally Posted by deryk

ParkLiner is no heavier then a scamp 16, and mine has Interior Height: 6′ 5″.... Jayco is a stick built trailer, which has nothing in common with a ParkLiner.

ParkLiner Ultra-Light Camper Trailer Specs – ParkLiner Ultralight Travel Trailers

That new logo pic on home page is just too cute.
I like it. And I bet yours will sprout wider wings
with the new tow you got.

PS.....like Floyd's pic too.......LOL

[Ms. Gayle]

I love my EggCamper. It meets my requirements. I wanted a trailer that my SUV could pull, little maintenance and that I could handle as I travel alone. I did not want to deal with propane and have very little interest in boondocking. I love to travel and was looking for a "traveling motel room" basically. I have spent over 100 nights, in it, pulled it over 15,000 miles and stayed in over 40 campgrounds/RV Parks.

I have spent nights in it when the weather was in the 30's and days when it was well over 100 degrees. The heater works great, the air conditioner is good until you get over 90-95. It is not too bad if you are parked during the day and can leave the air conditioner on and keep it half way cool. It is much more difficult when you have traveled thru the day and stop for the night when it is over 100 degrees. It takes all night basically to get it cooled down. The air conditioner is really my only disappointment with the EggCamper. The fridge is good, I use the hot water heater to shower in the Egg with no problem. I am 5 ft 4....I am not sure you would be as happy with the shower.

I did purchase a Honda generator when I went to Albuquerque to attend the Balloon Fiesta and dry camped and camping there with electric was very expensive. I spent 10 nights there. You could not run your generator after 10pm. I would run the generator in the morning for a while and a couple hours in the evening.

[Missouri Mark]

I just read a couple people who had problems with the Parkliner - a tire rubbing for one, and a battery leak for another. Then they had a issue with the people at Parkliner returning calls and having to go 1,000 miles to the plant to correct the problems. I realize the business is new, two years old, and may have some kinks to work out.

The Bigfoot has a dry weight of 3,000 lbs. I know nothing about towing weights but that is a 1,000 lbs more than other brands. I don't want a gas hog truck to pull it. Is 3,000 lbs a lot of weight for a mid size truck, SUV, or van?

[Robin G]

Originally Posted by Missouri Mark

The Escape 17' has an interior height of 6'2" - dangit again. The 19' Escape is 6'5" but $24,500 is getting up there. .

Worth every penny if you ask me. But I have glass envy over the Escape.

As for the propane issue with EggCamper, I would suggest contacting Orlen Wolf a, member here who has a EggCamper that if I remember correctly they added propane (actually not a hard mod to do if you actually think about it). But having been in their EggCamper I would completely recommend it for the height, width factor. Much amazing how much more room it has over my Casita.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Robin G

Worth every penny if you ask me. But I have glass envy over the Escape.

As for the propane issue with EggCamper, I would suggest contacting Orlen Wolf a, member here who has a EggCamper that if I remember correctly they added propane (actually not a hard mod to do if you actually think about it). But having been in their EggCamper I would completely recommend it for the height, width factor. Much amazing how much more room it has over my Casita.

Problem is... The Escape19 is a parkmodel without a large tow vehicle and the OP sez...
"a small pickup or SUV is a must for me".

[SusieinNC]

You are going to find out, if you haven't already, that there is no one camper that has it ALL without an exorbitant price. - If even then. - So, you have to pick your priorities. I live in the south, and we don't boondock much, so the Snoozy is fine here, but yes, if I camped in the colder temps in the winter, I would probably want some propane. Best of luck in your search.

[Mike Magee]

The 19' and 21' Escape eggs have a 6'5" interior height. See specs here: 19 Foot Escape They come with LP installed, so that's one thing you won't have to add afterward like you would with the all-electric Eggcamper or Lil Snoozy. Also you can get the Escape with extra insulation & thermal windows, and a much larger fridge than the other two brands. Let me say that the larger fridge will work much better (temperature wise) than the little 2 or 3 cubic foot ones.

Any of the 3 would do what you want, once you get things configured the way you like it. If I were ready to retire and had the $$$, I'd go for an Escape myself. I have been in the 19' as well as the 5th wheel, and they are nice. A little more upscale looking interior than the other two.

A generator will provide power for air conditioning or to recharge your battery, if you are camping without electric hookup. If you have electric hookup whenever it's hot, you won't need a genny for that. And if you get a solar panel and controller (under $150), you most likely can maintain your battery without shore power.

Do you know what vehicle you will be towing with? Or is that still open?

[Mike Magee]

Originally Posted by floyd

Problem is... The Escape19 is a parkmodel without a large tow vehicle and the OP sez...
"a small pickup or SUV is a must for me".

Dry weight 2500 lbs and hitch weight 254 lbs... that's no park model! No problem for a vehicle with about 5000 lb tow capacity, like Highlander, Traverse, Grand Cherokee, Tacoma, etc.

[Wayne Perpall]

I am 6'-1". Eggcamper is great for me. Jim Palmer, designer and builder of the camper is also a tall man. This is one of the main reasons I settled on it.

I purchased the Honda 3000 generator. It will power the ac, microwave, hot water heater, refr. and whatever else I want, all at the same time. Most of the time it drops down to the econ mode. Twice the price of the 2000, but it does not have to work very hard. It is also heavy vs the 2000.

Pictures of mine on this site.

Enjoy the shopping!

Wayne

[David B.]

One of the features that sold me on a Lil Snoozy was the couch. I hate sitting on bench seats at a table. Even our original Scamp with the couch/bunk was not comfortable for any length of time.
Dave & Paula
(Future Lil Snoozy owners)

[honda03842]

David, Are you going to go all electric with the Snoozy? I think that's important info for the original poster.

[jennykatz]

We were looking at Lil snoozy and an egg campers we never even got to the egg we saw the inside of the twin bed snoozy and it was all over . We bought it right then and there .

Things that snoozy had
1-78in width did not need special window mirrors for towing (Toyota Sequoia TV)
2-Cassette toilet 4-5 gallon black tank very easy to dump in regular toilet no hose required the egg had a 8 gallon black tank Looking for a dump site when on the road would not be good .
3-rear entry door better for bringing in bikes full 28in door opening
4-6ft. 4 in. head room just feels roomy inside
5 all electric a plus we use a little magma grill with propane canister for cooking , and a little electric heater for heat .
6-You could change the wiring over to a 7 pin instead of 4 pin elec. from TV to TUG to charge battery when running or change over to 2/ 6 volt batteries and get solar. Also could go with a inverter to run fridge.
7- If buying new go with a AC/DC fridge and get solar
8- The only advantage to propane is cooking which we have solved and heat .If you do a lot of winter camping I could see propane but otherwise stick to all electric the KISS principle

[Missouri Mark]

I certainly appreciate the tremendous responses. After thinking about it, my #1 priority will have to be headroom and bedroom for my 6'4" body. #2 will have to be good AC/Heat. No matter what, I will have to be able to get a good night's sleep in every season - I don't want to be limited to fair weather camping. It gets hot in Missouri in the summers and I like spending time on the Ozark rivers. I can handle the daytime temps by taking dips in the river, but I have to have a cool place to sleep comfortably. Same with cold temps, I can dress warm and stay busy during the day, but have to be warm place to sleep and get up in the morning in warm place.

I am thinking I can always make additions after purchase. While I am not mechanical, I have several friend who have the ingenuity to make modifications. I think I can go with all electric on purchase and make modifications from there.

I am certainly intrigued by the solar panel option. So from what I am reading on here, it is quite cheap to get solar power installed for RVs.

[Missouri Mark]

Didn't quite finish my thoughts...is this doable....

As far as power sources if I go all electric, and I want to camp where electric isn't available, could I get by with a small generator and solar panel? How much power can you get from solar panel? I am assuming that would be dependent of good sunlight during the day? Would the solar panel store enough power to get me thru the night? As I could shut everything off during the day and have lights and AC/Heat at night??? I believe I read on here that there are generators that store power so you don't have to run them continuously. It wouldn't be near as bad as far as noise if the generator would kick on every few hours and then shut off.

And like I said, I think I have some buddies who could install propane capabilities for me.

Again, I know very little about such things, converting to solar, propane, generators, ect. But I am now thinking that I can get modifications done cheaper on my own than thru the manufacturer.

[Robin G]

You should be fine with "use" during the night from your battery, whether charged up to start with or re-charging with a solar panel. Of course if your trying to power a small city on a battery your outta luck. But with normal camping use you should be fine.

I don't do a lot of dry camping but even when it was 2 of us flipping on lights, opening the fridge, etc I ran off a fully charged battery for 3 or 4 days. But when dry camping I am not worried about having my tv going, lap top, cell phone charged etc. I am camping, enjoying the great outdoors!

Others who have knowledge with solar will eventually pipe in, but I think again if your not trying to run a small city off your battery/solar panel you will be fine. Good Luck.


I will add that when dry camping I run my fridge off propane. Just found it works best for me.

[ColoRockiesFan]

I don't believe the Snoozy has a furnace, at least my 2012 did not. You'd need a heater for the cooler temps.

[Missouri Mark]

You're right - I double checked and they don't have heaters. But I would think that a small portable heater would work fine in such a small unit.

[carlkeigley]

Snoozy supplies a small ceramic heater.
And also a two plate hot plate.

[ColoRockiesFan]

I also used a small electric ceramic heater and it worked fine. But if you want to boondock then you would need a propane heater and then you still have to make sure you have propane. Might as well get a trailer that has a propane furnace and stove ....

I also suggest an Escape. It will have almost everything you need. Perhaps a used one would meet your budget. Escape just rolled out a 21' and is soon to roll out a 21' 5th wheel. People are upgrading and more used Escapes are coming available.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Mike Magee

Dry weight 2500 lbs and hitch weight 254 lbs... that's no park model! No problem for a vehicle with about 5000 lb tow capacity, like Highlander, Traverse, Grand Cherokee, Tacoma, etc.

So it weighs about eight hundred pounds more than a Scamp 16 or a Parkliner.
Now add from the options list.
What's that mean leaving the driveway?....

Now consider frontal area and shape... (about as important as weight).
It's a Parkmodel alright, even if the larger TVs that you mentioned can tug it.... Of course compared to an Oliver...