Re-newed Member!

[Ian in Toronto]

Hello everyone:
I used to be a member here, as I previously owned a 13' Trillium, then a Captain (Cadet), and have now progressed to an 23' Award Fiberglass Travel trailer.
Just curious if there are any other Award members here?
It appears that there are few, OK, no websites, dedicated to Award trailers, and I thought that this site was so helpful previously, I would once again give it a shot!
So, that's it, looking forward to hearing from other Award owners.
Thanks for your time, and happy camping!
Ian,

[F.Bishop]

Congratulations on your purchase - always liked the design but did not know that they were fibreglass - thought they were aluminum!?!

[Roger H]

Well, Ian, your Award IS fiberglass, but it's fiberglass panels joined at seams rather than being molded fiberglass. The Award is a class trailer, and while our site is dedicated to molded fiberglass construction rather than the vacuum-formed panels that constitute the construction of yours, there is still much that will carry over; particularly in the way of systems.

Congratulations on your new-to-you Award. They are well built units.

Roger

[Loren G. Hedahl]

Awards have a reputation for being extremely easy to tow. I was just wondering what your tow vehicle is.

[Brian B-P]

In a very recent topic - New fiberglass, in the Netherlands - I mentioned that the typical European practice of getting the whole chassis from an outside supplier is unusual here. The T@B is a rare example of that approach here (the chassis is from Al-Ko), and I thought that the Award was another, but after looking at their website today I don't know.

There are some other trailers with bodies that have panels assembled to a frame (rather than a self-supporting fiberglass shell) which still manage to be discussed in this forum, but they are typically ones such as the Cadet, with panels moulded to shape. The Award body has flat sandwich walls, like other conventional RVs.

I was interested in the low and light weight construction of the Award when we chose our Boler, but Award doesn't make a small enough model, and we were not ready for the expense of a new trailer anyway. By not small enough, I mean that even the smallest Awards are like the biggest Bigfoot models, which in turn are much bigger (longer, wider, heavier) than the rest of the moulded fiberglass trailers.

By the way, the Award site has the coolest interactive floorplan display (see the 23' floorplans for example) which I've seen on a commercial RV site.

Welcome, Ian. I hope you find useful information in those subjects where the Award and our trailers overlap, and can also share knowledge from your earlier ownership experiences with us. There certainly will be overlap; for instance, the Award uses the Dexter Torflex axles which are very common in moulded fiberglass trailers.

[Ian in Toronto]

Hello Everyone, and Thank you for your encouragement!

Yes, the Award is quite a bit larger than the wonderful Bolers/ Trilliums etc, but for my purposes the added bathroom, separate bedroom and full kitchen were a real bonus!
As to towing it, I use a 97 Ford Explorer, with the 4.0 litre/ 6 cyl engine. It tows beautifully as the torsion independant suspension really soaks up the bumps and there is next to zero bounce or sway going down the road. I also have a single arm sway bar, which almost seems unnecessary, but it was on the trailer when purchased.
The mpg while being towed, (12 mpg) is certainly less than ideal, (I miss my trillium, lol)
but I really enjoy the Award, it is the smallest 23' classic model that I have.
It really did seem like the perfect progression, and to stay with the fiberglass, (less leaking problems than aluninum seams)
Thanks again, and I would certainly recommend an Award for their efficiency!
Happy camping everyone. Ian.

[Brian B-P]

...I also have a single arm sway bar, which almost seems unnecessary, but it was on the trailer when purchased...

Just to be clear, I assume that this is a single-bar weight-distributing hitch (such as the Reese Light-Duty system), not something like a friction-type sway control device.

...The mpg while being towed, (12 mpg) is certainly less than ideal...

It seems from other discussions that this is nearly as good as some people get with their 13' eggs, so it doesn't seem so bad to me. Okay, it's significantly more fuel than my Sienna and 17' Boler, and fuel consumption depends heavily on conditions and driving habits, but for the size maybe I could live with it too.

[CindyL]

There was an Award at the Lanesboro campground. I thought it was one of the fiberglass trailors that had to camp away from the main group.

CindyL