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Any roadtrippers towing a travel trailer?

playrecords

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Apr 20, 2011
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I'm curious if any of you travel with a camping trailer. I've been roadtripping, course collecting and pitching a tent for 10+ years now. This year I bought a Subaru Outback and am thinking about some kind of upgrade to my tent situation. Anyone travel with a teardrop trailer or a Scamp (or anything similarly lightweight)?
 
I've also thought about a truck camper, pop up truck camper, or truck towing a more traditional trailer as retirement approaches in the next 10 - 15 years. So any thoughts on those options are more than welcome.
 
I bought a pop-up 3 years ago during the height of the pandy. It's small enough that it's easy to tow but feels spacious on the inside for my family of 3. Having a scamp would be a lot less work but they are super pricey. I have a furnace and air conditioning and have comfortably camped in 100 degree heat and 10 degree cold. Most places you already pay for electric, so I usually run a space heater instead of the furnace when we camp at Wildcatt Bluff for Triples every mid November.

My advice would be to start small and see how you like it and upgrade from there. The resale value on travel trailers is good, as long as you take care of it, you will have no problem reselling.
 
A further caveat, there are lots of reputable dealers out there with used units that can save you a lot of money. [emoji106][emoji41]


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We have had a pop-up, a travel trailer, and a 5th wheel.

Buy what you need. Make a list of your 'must haves'....having used a tent, you really should know what you need to go places.
Make sure your vehicle can actually pull the RV/trailer you are thinking about. We bought a Chevy 1500 to pull our first travel trailer. Figured it was rated for 10000 pounds so we were good. Well, not so fast....as we learned, the 10000 pounds was for the two door (we had the crew cab) and a certain size engine. Ours was only rated for 7000 pounds, so that changed what we got. We also ended up having to put in a transmission cooler (we live in Arizona and the hills were causing issues).

Pop-ups have some downfalls, but the upside is almost any vehicle can tow them...still have to check weights though. Downsides: you can't just park, disconnect from your vehicle, and hook up to the site. You need to set it up; which doesn't mean just lifting the top...it can mean setting up the toilet, sink, other things. Sometimes they need an extra bit of set up if any part is above the line when the top would be down. You can't carry much inside a pop-up. You may have to keep things in your vehicle and then move them to the trailer after it is set up. Then move them back when you are leaving. If the pop-up has soft sides, you need to be able to pop it up and leave it to dry if it has gotten wet.

For us, the pop-up was too much work. Had to pop the top up, pull out the two beds and add supports under them. Then had to pull the door from the roof and install it. Had to set up the shower. Then had to get the cooler from the car (our car was able to pull the pop-up) and load the fridge. Then had to get our clothes out and put them in the pop-up. When we left it was that in reverse. Spent too much time doing the set-up/take down.
 
That's really good feedback.

I'm thinking in a couple of years doing an extended trip in something like a pop up or teardrop camper that could be towed by a small suv.

Personally I don't love the idea of a pop up, but my wife does. I think a teardrop or something a little bigger but similar might be good.
 
That's really good feedback.

I'm thinking in a couple of years doing an extended trip in something like a pop up or teardrop camper that could be towed by a small suv.

Personally I don't love the idea of a pop up, but my wife does. I think a teardrop or something a little bigger but similar might be good.

When you check out pop-ups, ask the dealership/owner if you can go through the pop-up/take-down process and have your wife do it. She might change her mind if she knows how much work it will be.

But, if you are splitting the driving (my wife wouldn't drive pulling a trailer of any kind) then it might be about comfortability with her.

Some places do rentals, so that's a good way to test them out. Also, start checking them out before you are getting ready to buy....then there's no rush.

One thing to consider no matter what you get....the bed. Depending on the set up, one of you might have to climb over the other to get in/out of the bed. Pain if one of you has to get up at night. Teardrops, small pop-ups, etc. tend to have that issue.
 
My folks had a pop up camper for many years. Having done the setup and teardown I agree that it is a lot of work. When I travel I tend to move camp nearly every day so I ruled out that option. It was great for them as they would park it in one spot for a week or more and was quite spacious when deployed. Also I am looking to end the packing up the wet tent ordeal, pop up doesn't help with that.

Many of the teardrop style trailers I have been looking at have 2 doors, which eliminates the climbing over the other person problem. I think there is enough space inside for me but unsure (hence why I am considering the Scamp). An awning could make it work though. I should probably rent one for a couple nights as a tryout...

And yes I like the idea of buying used. When I was in northern MN last weekend I saw one parked at a "for sale by owner" lot. Not quite what I'm looking for but got me thinking more seriously about making a change.
 
Lots of posts that mirror my evolution of road trip shelters. Ordered a Promaster in 2015 then spent 8 months on a DIY conversion. There is a reason so many tour players now use that type of platform (Promaster, Transit, Sprinter). Simple, headroom, no setup, camp anywhere, fits anywhere a PU does, 16-20 mpg. With a teardrop your kitchen is outside.
 
Lots of posts that mirror my evolution of road trip shelters. Ordered a Promaster in 2015 then spent 8 months on a DIY conversion. There is a reason so many tour players now use that type of platform (Promaster, Transit, Sprinter). Simple, headroom, no setup, camp anywhere, fits anywhere a PU does, 16-20 mpg. With a teardrop your kitchen is outside.

I have watched a bunch of van build vids and was considering that route. However my thought is that a van isn't that practical as an only vehicle. Do you have a different daily driver or are you all in on the van? Also pics please!
 
Adventure wagon does modular rv conversion kits for some vans.

https://adventurewagon.com/

It's neat because you can have a cargo van when you need it, or a camper.

That seems pretty cool. I bet it's pricey, but can see how it might be a great value for some people. The whole van life vs trailer/camper... each has pros/cons.
 
I have watched a bunch of van build vids and was considering that route. However my thought is that a van isn't that practical as an only vehicle. Do you have a different daily driver or are you all in on the van? Also pics please!

We did a van conversion. Bought used, and our kids did most of the work (which saved money). Still not inexpensive, though.

We have done a 2-week trip to Maine and Cape Cod, which went well. Two adults and two dogs. Van is great on the highway and not too bad in parking lots and whatnot. Main downside is low overheads in drive-throughs and one low bridge we had to avoid in rural Maine.

Beds are super-comfortable and the kids engineered swing-out arms for the generator and a storage box behind the back doors. We mostly stayed in friends' driveways so we haven't tested the kitchen and pop-up shower. Storage compartments under the beds for disc golf supplies and other essentials.
 
Now that vans have been mentioned....here's a couple of other things to think about.

Hook-ups (electric, water, sewage). If your vehicle is an all-in-one, any time you need to go somewhere you have to unhook from the RV spot's hook-ups. With a trailer, you can leave the trailer and just take the towing vehicle where you need to go.

Storage/toilets/stoves. Size matters. A smaller RV (van, pop-up) can limit what is inside. As someone stated, a tear-drop RV has the kitchen outside. Some small RVs don't have a kitchen, they may have a grill that attaches outside. Do you want to cook outside in the rain/cold? A small RV might not have a toilet or it may have a chemical toilet. There may not be a separate 'room' for the chemical toilet...so that can reduce privacy. Shower, with a small RV you may have to shower outside. Of course where you stay makes a difference; state parks and RV campgrounds usually have a bathroom and shower in the RV area. You're probably familiar with them since you say you tented before.

If you stay at state parks, most are first come first served and might only hold your spot if the RV/tent remains in the spot. So if you have an all-in-one and leave for the disc golf course, you may come back to find your spot gone.

Lots of pros and cons. My main suggestion is start looking around at dealerships where you can go and lie down on the bed, check out storage, etc. BEFORE you have to buy. Also, when you get to a course and see other disc golfers with RVs, ask them about pros/cons (if they had buy one again, would they get the same type?). Also, there are RV groups on Facebook that you might check out. RVers are a cool group, it's like a community of its own. Most everyone is excited to show off what they have and answer any questions about it.
 
I have watched a bunch of van build vids and was considering that route. However my thought is that a van isn't that practical as an only vehicle. Do you have a different daily driver or are you all in on the van? Also pics please!
I often use my van as every day driver. Also haul building supplies, move furniture, etc. My DIY built is rough but have a robust electric system with fridge, furnace, shower, awning, solar.. Not clamping but not roughing it either. I travel solo & designed for that.
 

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I often use my van as every day driver. Also haul building supplies, move furniture, etc. My DIY built is rough but have a robust electric system with fridge, furnace, shower, awning, solar.. Not clamping but not roughing it either. I travel solo & designed for that.

I like your build out, different than the majority who put the bed in the back. I would definitely enjoy traveling in a rig such as yours... Can you describe your solar system? I need to do more research on electrical systems...
 

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