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Old 03-24-2015, 01:06 PM   #61
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Not all "Stickie" TT were created equal.
When my wife and I decided to return to the RV life last year I was lucky enough to find a 2001 R-Vision 26 ft. Trail-Lite Travel Trailer. This one suited our needs and was is "as-new" condition and priced way below anything we had seen while looking @ just $5,000. It was well under the tow capacity of my Toyota FJ Landcruiser's 5,000 lb. tow rating. This Metal framed, low profile Unit had fiberglass skin and a sealed under carriage. Loaded with full bath with tub and shower, A/C, furnace, well equipped kitchen, lots of storage, TV antenna and outside shower plus an outside portable gas grill.
The dry weight of this unit was 3370 lbs. Even after filling the 30 gal water tank and twin propane tanks and adding our stuff it stil was under my tow weight maximum target of 5,000 lbs.
This unit tows like a dream. I only had to replace the 4 tires that were original and too old for safe operation.
Truth be told there are light weight units out there that are not molded fiberglass.
Sad note: The parent company of R-Vision decided last year to give up making Towable units to concentrate on Custom Luxury Motor Home sales. The did make a high quality unit while it lasted.

Happy Camping.
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Old 03-24-2015, 01:43 PM   #62
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Clip......[QUOTE=Uplander;511692]Not all "Stickie" TT were created equal.
When my wife and I decided to return to the RV life last year I was lucky enough to find a 2001 R-Vision 26 ft. Trail-Lite Travel Trailer. ....
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Me thinks that you were very fortunate in finding an "Older-in-Sticky-terms" trailer that obviously received much better care than the average stick built receives over it's expected life span. As I'm guessing that it also came from the northeast, I'd bet that it had inside storage most of it's life, especially in the winter.


Without proper care, all those edges would have become leaks, fortunately the p.o.(s) recognized that and took good care of your rig.



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Old 03-24-2015, 01:53 PM   #63
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Some facts: only outside storage. Original owner lived in northern Vermont.
Trailer is in mint condition.
Seems like you are somehow convinced that all stickies self-distruct in a few years...NOT TRUE.
My neighbor has a Sun Line stickie built in the 1980s and it is still in top condition.

R-Vision Trailers garranteed the roof system for 12 years.

There are thousands of stickie trailers out there in fantastic shape dispite their age!
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Old 03-24-2015, 02:25 PM   #64
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Just about any RV, given proper care, can enjoy a long and useful life. However, when the owner chooses to not take care, the sticky will be long gone before the typical FGRV starts to show unrepairable damage.


It's a lot more about longevity than just construction. One will require considerably more care to survive 20-40 years than the other.


And I really don't think that many on this site consider any 4000+ lb RV to be "Lite".



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Old 03-24-2015, 02:54 PM   #65
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MCDenny View Post
Seems towing a typical 2500#ish FGRV almost everyone gets 14 - 16 mpg. Doesn't matter much what they tow with.


Denny Wolfe
www.wanderingourway.wordpress.com
We towed with a 2004 Honda CRV for 7 years all over NA and averaged 20-22 mpg, lower with s little box trailer and higher with the fiberglass trailers, each FRV weighed 2600#s or more . With our Odyssey we have averaged 19 mpg so far towing our Scamp 16..
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Old 03-24-2015, 05:27 PM   #66
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Quote:
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16 litres/100 km is 14.7 mpg US and 17.7 mpg Imp.

About what my F350 4x4 crew cab longbox diesel gets while towing!!!
Paul you are correct!! I got myself all messed up going form US to Imp... and back LOL to much math!
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Old 03-24-2015, 07:06 PM   #67
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And I really don't think that many on this site consider any 4000+ lb RV to be "Lite".
IMHO....

Ultra Lite... 500 to 1,500lbs
Lite..... 1,500 to 4,500lbs
Med weight...4,500 to 6,500lbs
Heavy.... 6,500 to 10,000lbs
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Old 03-24-2015, 07:23 PM   #68
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Hmmmmm, that's one vote..... LOL
Sounds like:
a) An extra category, ultra lite, that includes everything up to and including 13' FGRV's, had to be inverted.
b) It was invented by someone wanting to justify stickies as being "Lite",
c) It is a relative term, such as when larger towables, such as Airstreams, are the basic reference.
or
d) The word "Lite" only refers to certain beers and is really not the word used to designate that some towables are indeed "Light" in weight.
Perhaps a source for the schedule can be specified.


BTW: There is a sticky line called "Feather Lite", they start at about 3500 lbs.,



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Old 03-24-2015, 07:31 PM   #69
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According to the weight table posted here on the forum, the mean weight is 2600 lbs. I think a better classification is the up to 3500 lbs for light-weight, up to 5000 lbs for mid-weght and
anything over that is heavy-weight. This more or less follows the industry standard for hitches and so on.
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Old 03-25-2015, 08:23 AM   #70
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Are you serious????.....a 20-40 year old RV???....don't forget to apply for a special "antique" license plate when you register it!

I live in a 230 year old historic home and it needs constant repairs, updating and general maintenance. You have to love history to purchase such a home.
The idea of owning an antique travel trailer without a proper civilized bathroom and kitchen does not appeal to me. My goal when traveling is comfort and not an endurance test for the sake of a few hundred pounds. Enjoy your 20-40 year old
FGRV.
Thank you Wayne (MC1) for supplying the weight classifications for RV Travel Trailers. I attended an RV show a few weeks ago...hundreds of RVs on display.
I did note that most did weigh more than the same sized unit did 10+ years ago.
Not one molded fiberglass maker on display. I wanted to see what one would cost with a full bath with shower, full kitchen, A/C and furnace, hot water heater, twin propane tanks and television antenna system just to compare costs.
I did note almost all "stickie" Travel Trailers came equipped with all the above which was nice as there was no need to order them as options.
Many (not all) were equipped with awnings too! Most also came with a 10 or 12 year leak-proof warranty on the roofing system. Interiors were better than most high-end homes. Almost all came with slide outs standard. Prices started at $8,995 (show specials). Impressive displays....the RV has come a long way!

Happy Camping!
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Old 03-25-2015, 08:59 AM   #71
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[QUOTE=Uplander;511913]Are you serious????.....a 20-40 year old RV???....don't forget to apply for a special "antique" license plate when you register it!
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Keep in mind that you are stepping on the toes of the peeps that this very site was created for in the first place, owners and enthusiasts of Compact Molded Fiberglass
trailers, that current production 13' FGRV's have exactly the same amenities as the original 1970's versions, and that they are usually on backorder from the builders.

And FGRV's being "Antiques" at less than 100 y.o., hardly,,,, When you have molded fiberglass construction you don't have all those repair issues found in stick-built trailers of the same age. In restoring my 1973 Hunter Compact-II the sum total of structural repairs consisted of replacing an aged hitch and older appliances. Structurally it required no repairs, even the original fabric boot for the pop-up top was still in usable condition.

Keep in mind that many on this site are very much into forgoing the niceties you require and are very happy with any limitations that may entail.

Cooking inside or outside, walking to the bathroom/showers and boon docking are all high on our enjoyment of life lists, having a built in shower, bath and hot tub are things we love to live without.


BTW: What's a roof "System"? Is that the rubber membrane roof you have to replace when it leaks. Can't say we need those on FGRV's, our roofs are forever.



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Old 03-25-2015, 09:11 AM   #72
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Uplander View Post
Some facts: only outside storage. Original owner lived in northern Vermont.
Trailer is in mint condition.
Seems like you are somehow convinced that all stickies self-distruct in a few years...NOT TRUE.
My neighbor has a Sun Line stickie built in the 1980s and it is still in top condition.

R-Vision Trailers garranteed the roof system for 12 years.

There are thousands of stickie trailers out there in fantastic shape dispite their age!
We owned a 25 year old Sunline, my favorite trailer in terms of layout. It had the black, freshwater and gray tanks all located over the axle. AS well the stove and fridge were also over or near the axle, a very nice design.

We would still own it today if did not leak. all the window frames and parts of the floor were rotted.

If there were a fiberglass trailer with it's layout I would probably buy it in a minute.

Our present Scamp 16 is now 24 years old and it has none of the leakage problems of the Sunline.
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Old 03-25-2015, 09:21 AM   #73
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Tow Vehicle Factors

Quote:
Originally Posted by Uplander View Post
It should never be about gas mileage...safety and comfort should come first.

Happy Camping!
Certainly memories per mile count but so do the number of miles. We remember paying almost $5 per gallon in CA and realized that the cost of gas can impact one's RVing budget, particularly for people who travel all the time. Fortunately the price drop in fuel driven by the Dakota entrepreneurs has driven the price down and I now regularly pay half that.

Miles per gallon is definitely a factor for us. AS well we prize reliability since we're on the road for 8 months a year. We find most vehicles comfortable but not all vehicles economical to own.

In our 14 years on the road we have noticed a dramatic decline in RVers, though the numbers are starting to improve. I suspect the increasing costs of travel was part of the problem.
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Old 03-25-2015, 09:52 AM   #74
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Also the memorable trip mentioned was planned for two years, many of us want to plan for no more than a few days in advance and GO.....


Years ago when we too were limited by "Vacation" timing we would plan extensively and then drive 1000's of miles, one trip was from San Francisco to the Great Slave Lake in Canada, tent camping almost every night. We didn't watch or record gas prices because it all went on a credit card that we would take the next year to pay off (as I am sure you did as well) before the next allowed vacation.


Life styles for most hereabouts are different, budgets are different, and reality often raises it's ugly head when it comes to RV'ing decisions.



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Old 03-25-2015, 10:29 AM   #75
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I too noticed the decline in RV campers over the "high fuel price years".
I did see a high volume of real buyers at the RV show I attended a few weeks ago. Many had to wait to see a salesman! I did speak to a factory representative who flew in for the show and he said one thing that did slow down the RV market was the banks refusal to loan money...that more than the fuel costs slowed down new RV sales for a lot of years. The banks have started loaning money again and business is on the up swing!
I enjoy boondock camping but like my comforts. Many like to "rough-it" but if I want my wife along the creature comforts must be there!
The reason for all that advanced planning back in the 1980s was because you needed a years advanced reservations to secure a campsite in places like Yellowstone NP and others...I think you still will find reservations a year in advance required to stay at the RV campgrounds in spots like Yellowstone.
Back in the 1980s without the internet you had to obtain a National Parks campground directory in advance, then contact the reservation center ( then it was TW Services) to secure a site and mail in payment in advance for Yellowstone....but....it was worth the effort!

Happy Camping.
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Old 03-25-2015, 11:15 AM   #76
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Getting advanced reservations for NP's was SOP by the 80's.


As early as 1973-4, when my wife and I wanted to return to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, we did the same dance for hiking passes 3-4 months before we wanted to go.


With only one Grand Canyon, they had to limit how may could over the edge at any one time and the Rangers would drop down into the canyon in helicopters to check hiking permits in the morning. No permit and you got cited, had to pack out immediately, appear before a magistrate next day, and pay about a $50 fine (about $300 in 2015$$$) as well as be banned from canyon reservations for a year or two.


But we couldn't afford three week vacations, much less 6 week vacations, anyway.



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Old 03-25-2015, 12:09 PM   #77
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I respect the fact that this is molded fiberglass rv forum but some people here are undecided as whether or not to go with a particular type of trailer.

Here is "light-weight" for those not familiar with the "other" side: Taylor Coach - Welcome and this would also be unit without a rubber roof. This would be another place to get information to make a comparison: RV.Net Open Roads Forum: Travel Trailers

One great area of confusion that I often see would be people not realizing that a molded-fiberglass is not just the standard fiberglass-sided stickie. To me, the worst trailer is the fiberglass sided stickie as the one we had the most difficulty deaing with. The "stick and tin" if maintained does really well especially when you look at the price point.

I think it is always good to point people in the right direction so that they get the information they need to make an informed decision.
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Old 03-25-2015, 12:33 PM   #78
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The leaks do not occur due to the roof cracking, the membrane will last at least 10 years so that is not the issue. The issue is the seams around the perimeter of the roof. I have had rubber, EPDM, filon, and fiberglass sheets on the roof. None leaked thru the roof but leaked at the seams around the edges. Constant battle as towing will open the joints. Then you have delaminatation of the wall material where the water from the roof or around the window separates the wall material. Next you have floor rot due to the water leak. So it is the seams that are the culprit. With molded units you eliminate the seams. You also have no delaminatation since the wall is solid fiberglass. You may have floor rot in fg some models, in others like the Escape and Oliver the floor is encapsulated in fiberglass or is a separate level. Any water that does enter drains away in both Escape and Oliver models.
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Old 03-25-2015, 12:54 PM   #79
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And don't forget, as in rocks cracking open in nature, when the smallest amount of water seeps in, freezes & expands, it's just opening the door for more water and more cracking and more water et.al. Makes it difficult to understand how any sticky can survive more than a few severe winters outside without exceptional care.


I have personally seen stick built motorhomes that went from seemingly water tight to economically unrepairable after only two winters in Oregon, and that's far from the most severe winters seen, as in the North East. Those with corrugated siding, such as some Dolphins, can be very susceptible to this kind of damage.



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Old 03-25-2015, 12:58 PM   #80
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Here is "light-weight" for those not familiar with the "other" side: Taylor Coach - Welcome and this would also be unit without a rubber roof.
Years ago we talked to the folks at Taylor with the thoughts of custom building us a TT. They build a quality stickie and it is common to see many 20 and 30 year old Taylors in these parts, where they are built. On the down side the aerodynamics are about as bad as it gets with their design.

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