Old But New

[Perryb67]

My wife Terry and I owned a 16' Scamp for six years and now own a 17' Casita Spirit Standard. We never used the shower, water, water heater in our Scamp and felt, for us, they just took up needless space. Plus the refrigerator and bed were too small. Never did like the banging every time the furnace came on, so instead we carried a electric oil heater for cold weather. All this gear we didn't use or like took up valuable storage space!

Two years ago we were driving home from northern Minnesota when we saw this used 2007 Casita for sale only 30 miles north of our home. It is a standard Casita Spirit with a side dinette, no heater, no shower, no furnace, no grey water tank, and only needed a porta-potty. Plus the Casita has the large refrigerator and a bigger bed! In addition, the loaded Casita weighs nearly 300 pounds less than the loaded Scamp! It was perfect for our needs and we purchased the Casita and sold our 2002 Scamp for $4,000 more than the Casita.

With the extra money we purchased a Southern Comfort mattress (heaven!), a new 20 degree twin sleeping bag, and a Little Buddy heater (yes, the Little Buddy is OFF when we sleep) when boon docking in cold weather. Plus we installed a receiver hitch and aluminum tray on the back to hold some light goods.

I've lurked here for numerous years, will retire on May 31, and am ready to do some serious camping.

Enjoy,

Perry

[Steve Outlaw]

There is nothing better than having EXACTLY what you want. Congrats... Sounds like you hit the jackpot.

[Mike Magee]

It's a good thing they offer so many different build options, because there are so many of us different folks.

[papa-t]

Welcome Perry to the forum. I just retired on January 1st. Good luck with the new/old unit and retirement. As someone said to me it's like Saturday every day.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Mike Magee

It's a good thing they offer so many different build options, because there are so many of us different folks.

Yes it is nice we have a number of great manufactures and layouts and options to choose. Each of us is very different as to our camping styles and must haves in our trailers. For me not having a hot water tank and shower or a fridge that did not run on propane for example would be a real deal breaker.

[Franswa]

I spent twenty odd years cruising in trailer sailors...no heater, no shower, no standing headroom in the cabin (except for a 3'x3' spot in the middle when the pop top was up)

the ability to be warm and comfortable whatever the weather is doing outside and having a hot shower whenever, wherever I want seems like a very real luxury...

if there is one thing I miss from boating is the ability/right to anchor anywhere you please and for free...not only that but in "trophy" destinations/spots to boot

"you can't have everything...where would you put it?"

[Perryb67]

Originally Posted by Carol H

For me not having a hot water tank and shower or a fridge that did not run on propane for example would be a real deal breaker.

I'm sure we're in the minority here and we know this Casita will be harder to sell in three years when Terry retires. But for now it's exactly what we want and when we do sell we'll have had five years of fun in that Casita and I'm sure we'll get our money back.

Friends of ours, who have never owned a camper, just bought a 23', six-month old Airstream at ten times the cost, with every option available AND a 2014 Toyota Tundra pickup to pull it (we have a 2003 Odyssey with 210,000 miles). They can't wait to go camping with us and we'll have just as much fun. It'll be like the Roosevelt's camping with the Clampett's.

Enjoy,

Perry

[Raz]

Hello Perry and welcome. Sounds like you found the perfect trailer so I have to ask, why would you sell it? Raz

[Perryb67]

Originally Posted by P. Raz

Hello Perry and welcome. Sounds like you found the perfect trailer so I have to ask, why would you sell it? Raz

We went from popup's to 21 ft Aeorlite, to 28' fifth wheel, down to the Scamp. The small camper that can go anywhere and boondock is what we really enjoy.

Terry still will be working for the next three years, so we're really just weekend campers. One nice thing is she works 4 ten hour days and gets Mondays off. When she retires, we will purchase a newer van and Casita (?). Our intention is to spend 2-3 months at a time traveling, so we will have a hot water heater, air conditioner, and shower. We also like the looks of Casita's new Independence model. Of course, we'll change our minds a 1,000 times before her retirement though. Until then, we have the perfect camper for us.

Enjoy,

Perry

[Raz]

I understand completely. Like you we keep it simple. We haven't found anything we like better than our Trillium but when we do....

[Franswa]

"we know this Casita will be harder to sell in three years when Terry retires"

I'm not sure about that.....going back to boats and trailersailors in particular "bare bones" examples of a model that hasn't been touched often sell for quite a good price....there's is always people looking for a "blank slate" to customize to their needs

in the case of a Casita somebody might like a bare one...might not like propane stoves...would prefer a non-pressurized alcohol cooktop for example...some people might prefer a tankless water heater instead of the standard installed tank ones.....same goes for heaters.....an "empty", well kept Casita might be just what they are looking for...something to keep in mind when writing up that "for sale" ad copy

[Paul O.]

Originally Posted by papa-t

Welcome Perry to the forum. I just retired on January 1st. Good luck with the new/old unit and retirement. As someone said to me it's like Saturday every day.

When you retire, what you do depends more on the weather than the day of the week - pay attention to the weather man!

[1ATony]

Welcome to the site Perry, it's great to have you here.

Tony

[stevebaz]

It'll be like the Roosevelt's camping with the Clampett's.


Yep the Clampets were always happy. Well except for Granny. But the rich Drysdales were always miserable.