Would like to hear your experiences with small, small hybrid campers. I have a 4-cyl truck and have to stay under 3500lbs. Yes, I know I should probably toss the 4-cyl and get a bigger tow vehicle...but it's paid for and I only need a small camper for one. I had a 1992 14' Shadow Cruiser a while back but decided it didn't fit my needs and am checking into the hybrids thinking they would give a more open feel inside. Will be living in it for several months at a time.
Your experiences pros/cons and opinions are appreciated !
SnowGypsy said
05:19 PM Jul 12, 2013
When they first came out and with some brands, there was a problem with leaking at the tent ends. I know there popularity has really surged. I would look at the Jayco hybrid. I haven't seen it but we have owned both a Jayco pop-up and a Jayco 5th wheel and known many others who were very satisfied with that product. The price seems good and they are an entry level camper but if you take good care of them, I think you might be very satisfied. Personally, I would stay away from the Forest River products since we experienced that also and the current pop-up is a Coachmen, I would not buy another one of their products either.
Terry and Jo said
06:27 PM Jul 12, 2013
It would help if you would mention any specific "hybrid" campers that you were considering. The word "hybrid" could have more than one connotation.
Terry
OldGrayMare said
09:25 PM Jul 12, 2013
Thanks for the tips Snow Gypsy...I looked at some Forrest Rivers but wasn't too impressed with the visual quality. Still researching and asking for tips like yours before I shell out the $$$.
OldGrayMare said
09:34 PM Jul 12, 2013
Hi Terry & Jo.......from what I've read the term Hybrid applies to the hard body camper trailers that have expandable tent ends that house teh beds, and sometimes a pop out tent on the side as well. My reading tells me the term 'expandable' applies to the 'slide outs' with hard shell rather that tent material. But it seems some use the terms Hybrid and Expandable interchangeably.
Terry and Jo said
10:01 PM Jul 12, 2013
Another possibility is a Hi-Lo trailer. I'm not sure that the company is still in business, but one might find some used models out there somewhere. Here is a link to some:
Terry unfortunately the Hi-Lo trailers were rather heavy, another possibility if they're still around are the Trail Manor trailers. They collapse down to car roof top height and are rather light. The low profile eliminates the wind resistance factor.
Bubbaswench said
02:38 AM Jul 13, 2013
I agree that Jayco is a good manufacturer to look at/ we also had a pop up made by them and never had a leak or any problems with the canvas. If you are looking for a small light trailer consider looking at tear drop and a-liners or even a small travel trailer. We know someone who found a 19 ft 5th wheel to pull with his ford ranger.
good luck
GENECOP said
06:38 PM Jul 13, 2013
Quicksilver VRV.....for what you describe it is the best quality Hybrid IMO...
-- Edited by GENECOP on Saturday 13th of July 2013 06:39:21 PM
Dave Buck said
02:46 AM Jul 14, 2013
We had a trailmanor for several years. Loved it and it was lightweight and easy to tow. We sold it a little over a year ago after we bought our fifthwheel and went full time. They are rather expensive unless you can find a good used one.
OldGrayMare said
05:43 AM Jul 14, 2013
Thanks for all the input folks! I have a lead on an 18' Salem Cobra.....which I know nothing about but am researching. Not a hybrid like I started out in search of....but I've discovered some parks don't allow hybrids due to the canvas pop out ends....and I can understand why, don't want to be bear bait. I feel a bit under league here seeing all yall's big rigs, but ya have to start somewhere!
NWescapee said
05:23 AM Jul 20, 2013
If you are looking for a light weight trailer and are willing to consider something a little different, you might look at the Aliners and Chalets "A Line" style trailers. We pulled an Aliner with a Toyota Sienna V6 mini van for 8 years and absolutely loved the flexbility it gave us. We were not FT, but used it 10-15 times a year and found we could get into most campsites, easy to tow. The Aliner held up very well for us and we only sold it when we decided we needed something that allowed more room inside to work when we were on the road with our jobs. I've noticed some of the Chalets have slide outs and are about 16 FT long. Even though we are both "vertically challenged", we loved the high ceilings in the Aliner.
On the other side, one I would not consider is the T@da by Thor, otherwise nicknamed the "Tab Daddy" as it's supposed to be a larger version of the Tab. It's an 18 ft TT that "on paper" should be able to be pulled with your truck. This was our second trailer, we pulled it with the same Toyota Sienna but noticed a big difference in towing over the Cascades and any time we had wind. Plus, the little things that can go wrong with a trailer seemed to go wrong with this one, weather stripping around the door was not installed right, ceiling fan had to be replaced, fridges had trouble if the outside temp was above 80F. Overall quality was less than we expected based on the price we paid. Of course we also bought it from a dealership that turned out to be a high sales dealer, low customer service after the sale kind of dealership. We should have researched more but went to an RV show and ended up with an impulse buy. Let's just say we learned our lesson the hard way with this purchase and something we've never repeated.
There are others, too, but I don't remember the other brands. These have the advantages of all solid sides and light weight, but are definitely small inside. Casita and Scamp have been around a while, while the Egg is fairly new.
SnowGypsy said
08:07 PM Aug 8, 2013
Look at the smaller Camplites by Livin' Lite. They are getting really good reviews and are lightweight.
There are others, too, but I don't remember the other brands. These have the advantages of all solid sides and light weight, but are definitely small inside. Casita and Scamp have been around a while, while the Egg is fairly new.
Hey,
I don't know if your still looking but add http://escapetrailer.com the owners forum http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/ then if you like hop over to http://www.fiberglassrv.com/ to search other light weight models. Escape brought out a new 21 foot model so there are alot of people trading up. There are many towing 15 and 17 foot full fiberglass hulled trailers with a 4 banger. I have a 19' ft towing with a V6 Tacoma it''s loaded weight is 4700ish well with in my comfort zone.
Cypher
Linda3612 said
01:27 PM Aug 28, 2013
We had a 2009 Rockwood Roo and loved it. It had a large slide out which really opened it up inside--a lot of floor space. It was a quality unit--never had a problem with it and it towed great. The only reason we traded it was to get something completely hard sided. We were tired of dealing with canvas and wanted something easier.
Would like to hear your experiences with small, small hybrid campers. I have a 4-cyl truck and have to stay under 3500lbs. Yes, I know I should probably toss the 4-cyl and get a bigger tow vehicle...but it's paid for and I only need a small camper for one. I had a 1992 14' Shadow Cruiser a while back but decided it didn't fit my needs and am checking into the hybrids thinking they would give a more open feel inside. Will be living in it for several months at a time.
Your experiences pros/cons and opinions are appreciated !
It would help if you would mention any specific "hybrid" campers that you were considering. The word "hybrid" could have more than one connotation.
Terry
Thanks for the tips Snow Gypsy...I looked at some Forrest Rivers but wasn't too impressed with the visual quality. Still researching and asking for tips like yours before I shell out the $$$.
Hi Terry & Jo.......from what I've read the term Hybrid applies to the hard body camper trailers that have expandable tent ends that house teh beds, and sometimes a pop out tent on the side as well. My reading tells me the term 'expandable' applies to the 'slide outs' with hard shell rather that tent material. But it seems some use the terms Hybrid and Expandable interchangeably.
Another possibility is a Hi-Lo trailer. I'm not sure that the company is still in business, but one might find some used models out there somewhere. Here is a link to some:
Hi-Lo Travel Trailers
Terry
good luck
Quicksilver VRV.....for what you describe it is the best quality Hybrid IMO...
-- Edited by GENECOP on Saturday 13th of July 2013 06:39:21 PM
On the other side, one I would not consider is the T@da by Thor, otherwise nicknamed the "Tab Daddy" as it's supposed to be a larger version of the Tab. It's an 18 ft TT that "on paper" should be able to be pulled with your truck. This was our second trailer, we pulled it with the same Toyota Sienna but noticed a big difference in towing over the Cascades and any time we had wind. Plus, the little things that can go wrong with a trailer seemed to go wrong with this one, weather stripping around the door was not installed right, ceiling fan had to be replaced, fridges had trouble if the outside temp was above 80F. Overall quality was less than we expected based on the price we paid. Of course we also bought it from a dealership that turned out to be a high sales dealer, low customer service after the sale kind of dealership. We should have researched more but went to an RV show and ended up with an impulse buy. Let's just say we learned our lesson the hard way with this purchase and something we've never repeated.
eggcamper.com/
www.casitatraveltrailers.com/
www.scamptrailers.com/
There are others, too, but I don't remember the other brands. These have the advantages of all solid sides and light weight, but are definitely small inside. Casita and Scamp have been around a while, while the Egg is fairly new.
Hey,
I don't know if your still looking but add http://escapetrailer.com the owners forum http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/ then if you like hop over to http://www.fiberglassrv.com/ to search other light weight models. Escape brought out a new 21 foot model so there are alot of people trading up. There are many towing 15 and 17 foot full fiberglass hulled trailers with a 4 banger. I have a 19' ft towing with a V6 Tacoma it''s loaded weight is 4700ish well with in my comfort zone.
Cypher