Newbie from New Mexico

[VIEJO]

Hi, I'm Dale to my friends. retired USAF, among other vocations. Wanting to get into the small trailer ie, casita, scampi. Reading the forums, many more mfr, that I will research. Used ones within my budget range appear to be very rare. Doing a lot of networking, will find one in time. Previous ownership has been 77 NUWA GMC RV, 2000 Coleman Santa Fe CP Pop Up. Forum has good info I am trying to digest. Ha Wish I had total recall.

[David Tilston]

Welcome Dale. To get a good deal on a fibreglass trailer you got to act fast. Sometimes they sell in a matter of hours.

[VIEJO]

Originally Posted by David Tilston

Welcome Dale. To get a good deal on a fibreglass trailer you got to act fast. Sometimes they sell in a matter of hours.

I have found that to be very true. My trouble I don't like to buy sight unseen. Blink your eyes and they are gone.

[Jon in AZ]

Welcome, Dale!

We're moving into the slow(er) season, so fewer will be available as the weather cools down. Prices tend to cool a bit as well. Be patient and it will happen.

A few helpful resources on this site include:

• Trailer Weights in the Real World, a database of loaded trailer weights (post #297 links to a useful spreadsheet)
• Buyer's Checklist , a guide to inspecting a used trailer (except for the fiberglass shell, not much different than any RV)
• Google site search feature, the best way to look for old threads on a topic (blue bar at top under log-in information, "Search," and scroll down to "Seach Site/Google")

Best wishes on your "egg hunt"!

[Bob Miller]

Hi Dale, Welcome to the group


Give us a few hints about what you will towing with, how many you have to sleep, what condition you can accept, what features are "Must Haves" and an approximate budget and a lot more information will be forthcoming.


Good Luck with your Hunt.

[VIEJO]

Originally Posted by Bob Miller

Hi Dale, Welcome to the group


Give us a few hints about what you will towing with, how many you have to sleep, what condition you can accept, what features are "Must Haves" and an approximate budget and a lot more information will be forthcoming.


Good Luck with your Hunt.

2008 Ford Explorer 6 cyl.. .. just me and my Watermelon Ranch saved Chihuahua/mix dog, well house broken. Prefer 2 to 4 (4 gives a few roomier options) I think 17' is about right. Prefer to keep major bed made up. shower and toilet, A/C a must and a heater. NM climate changes from one end of the State to the other. Mostly standard features of the Casita or Scamp. Deluxe variations have features nice to have. At 78, I would like to travel, park and go in the door for some rest. Ha.....Want to travel all over NM and parts of TX to Dallas. 20 years of parental caregiving, put my traveling on the back burner. Budget is a drawback to staying in older good condition trailers. $9K or below. Free of debt, going to stay that way. Viewed one 85 Casita 16 ft for $6500. Way overpriced at a dealer. Drove 60 miles to see it. Really rough and not well maintained. Wouldn't give you $3K for it, definitely a money pit. A few late 80's early 90's for 8500 or so. Almost gone before I could contact seller private sales. Two in Taos general area. One 87 Casita sold for $5K , missed that one, too. Mortgage free, no recurring debt . Ready to spend one week a month on the road somewhere, maybe two..
One son a 100 yds from me, another in Dallas. Reason to travel back and forth. 11 hr straight drive from here to Dallas is pushing it at my age.
Think I saw one or two advertised in Mesa AZ. Finished grade school at Franklin, than 4 years of HS in Chandler. Haven't been back there since 55. That's 1955 not 1855. Ha

[Bob Miller]

Don't shoot the messenger, BUT...


The on-line information for your vehicle indicates a maximum towing limit of 2000 lbs., which pretty much rules out the 17'er's.
You might want to check in your vehicles owners manual and see what it indicates for towing limits. Then review the real world trailer weights link in Jons post #4.


There are a very few 13'ers with a shower etc, but with the bath they will only sleep 2 and are very hard to find.

[VIEJO]

Originally Posted by Bob Miller

Don't shoot the messenger, BUT...


The on-line information for your vehicle indicates a maximum towing limit of 2000 lbs., which pretty much rules out the 17'er's.
You might want to check in your vehicles owners manual and see what it indicates for towing limits. Then review the real world trailer weights link in Jons post #4.


There are a very few 13'ers with a shower etc, but with the bath they will only sleep 2 and are very hard to find.

No bath just a shower and toilet desired.
Door decal GVWR 6190 Max load for car is 1368 for passenger/cargo.

Owners Manual 4X4 max GCWR 8500 lbs Max trailer wt 0-3500 lbs

So if I weight 200 lbs, plus inside cargo ? 400 lbs I'm OK.
If I get a trailer (if I figure this right) less than 3500 lbs I'm OK. HOWEVER, My braking system is rated for the GVWR of 6190, so would need to get a Brake Control System installed . Local RV place gave me an estimate of $477.65 to install one.
Are my computations correct. I never shoot the messenger, that's how you learn from experienced people.

[Seldomseensmith]

There is a 17 Casita down in Alamagordo (I believe) for 4K. Its been on Abq craigslist for a bit. Its an 84 I think. Garbage pics on the listing.

[VIEJO]

Never had the computations before, RV place hooked everything up to my F150 for the Pop Up.

[VIEJO]

Originally Posted by Seldomseensmith

There is a 17 Casita down in Alamagordo (I believe) for 4K. Its been on Abq craigslist for a bit. Its an 84 I think. Garbage pics on the listing.

Thanks I'll look it up. Garbage pics. Hope it isn't in the same shape as the 85 I looked at in the East Mountains

[Bob Miller]

That's why I always suggest looking in the manual. You didn't mention that it was a 4x4, but when I added 4x4 to the listing I got even different figures than you have. But no problem, 3500 lbs should be fine for most 17'ers.


In FGRV's, the term "Bath" means a loo and sometimes a shower. The choices are a fixed bathroom with a holding tank or a porta-potty of some sort.


In most states it's the weight of the trailer that determines the requirement for brakes. The "Safe" rule of thumb is to have brakes on any trailers that weigh 1500 or more lbs when packed.


But you better find a better RV place. That price sounds like about twice the going rate. The controller is about $125 + an hour of labor to install. Add more if you don't already have a 7 blade or at least a 4-flat light connector, in which case the quote may be about right.


And an 84 Casita for $4k, that's listed for more than 2 days, is either trashed, a scam, or is missing paperwork.

[VIEJO]

I have the 4 pin light connector for a small utility trailer. Will shop around ..Thank You for some very useful information. Always appreciated..
I looked the 84 up on google. Been there for a while, rewired, replumbed, spooky for me. Don't want to spend the rest of my days trouble shooting, repairing the unknown.

[Bob Miller]

Originally Posted by VIEJO

I have the 4 pin light connector for a small utility trailer. Will shop around ..Thank You for some very useful information. Always appreciated..
I looked the 84 up on google. Been there for a while, rewired, replumbed, spooky for me. Don't want to spend the rest of my days trouble shooting, repairing the unknown.

The 4 pin light connector can plug into a pigtail on the 7 blade connector you need to have for brakes and a charging line.

If an 84 has been rewired and replumbed that could be good news, after all it is 30 years old.

[Seldomseensmith]

Or in Alamagordo


Sent from my iPhone using Fiberglass RV

[WaltP]

Originally Posted by Seldomseensmith

There is a 17 Casita down in Alamagordo (I believe) for 4K. Its been on Abq craigslist for a bit. Its an 84 I think. Garbage pics on the listing.

The first year for Casita 17' was '96, although there may have been a few in '95. Before that only 13' and 16'.
I personally would not want a Casita earlier than about '94 because their plumbing was too primitive for my taste. I've had both a '94 and a '95, both of which were upgradable to modern plumbing.
If weight is an issue and you are not taller than 5' 11", a 16' Casita might work better for you and they aren't all that different than 17' models except for the ceiling height and small extra length. I know the stated height on a 16' is 5' 10", but at 5' 11" I was quite comfortable in mine.

Walt

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by WaltP

...If weight is an issue and you are not taller than 5' 11", a 16' Casita might work better for you and they aren't all that different than 17' models except for the ceiling height and small extra length. I know the stated height on a 16' is 5' 10", but at 5' 11" I was quite comfortable in mine.

Bed size is another issue for some: 45" wide in the 16' vs. 54" in the 17' (unless you opt for the Liberty version). Newer 16'ers can also be hard to come by- they seem to be cranking out mostly 17'ers in recent years.

[Seldomseensmith]

NM is a tough place to find anything. I searched for a few years before ending up buying in Co. and I wasn't even all that picky. New Mexicans overvalue their junk for sure. I went back and looked for that listing and couldn't find it. Don't put too much stock in the advice you get on this site when it comes to price. There is tons of great tech info here but there are a lot of pessimistic attitudes as well. Happy hunting.

[WaltP]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

Bed size is another issue for some: 45" wide in the 16' vs. 54" in the 17' (unless you opt for the Liberty version). Newer 16'ers can also be hard to come by- they seem to be cranking out mostly 17'ers in recent years.

True, because that's what most people want. All production is from orders. But if you aren't too large for a 16' it's really a good compromise on cost and weight. Essentially a 17' scaled down a little.

Walt

[Bob Miller]

Originally Posted by Seldomseensmith

NM is a tough place to find anything. I searched for a few years before ending up buying in Co. and I wasn't even all that picky. New Mexicans overvalue their junk for sure. I went back and looked for that listing and couldn't find it. Don't put too much stock in the advice you get on this site when it comes to price. There is tons of great tech info here but there are a lot of pessimistic attitudes as well. Happy hunting.

About Prices on fiberglassrv.com

One thing that's true, you won't find many bargains from uneducated sellers on this site. Any that are posted are grabbed up faster than a Craigslist ad by the local sharks (including moi). But for the most part I find selling prices posted here to be pretty much in line with the market place. Not to say that I haven't found a few overpriced "fixers" out there.

I have bought, referbed, and sold, a number of fiberglass RV's and anyone that thinks that they are overpriced are shopping for the few uninformed buyers that may be out there.

And I have never had a problem selling at the price I wanted. And my friends Jon and Gail in ID, who referb RV's and sell on eBay, do even better with national exposure and bidding ..... FGRV's are a sellers market and will remain so for the foreseeable future.