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Originally Posted by Hersbird
I thought about Trailmanor and there was a used one but I think even if you buy a factory built one you might have to put up with a little leakage.
Obviously my Hi-lo suffered from some leakage as well, probably around the windows which you would think would be easy for a "professional" company to install and seal for life. The leakage there rotted the bottom sill of the top clamshell and most of the side wood. The rear cables pulled from their mounts dropping the top. This all happened before I got it. I wouldn't trust even the repaired cables at that point and always braced the 4 corners up inside with 2x4's if anyone was inside with it up.
I have come to question, "why make everything hard sided?" which both the Trailmanor and Hi-lo limited themselves with IMO. Now I have a "hybrid" camper where it's full height and hard sided but both ends pop out with queen tents. I have lost the low profile and towing MPG sucks, but oh baby the room this little 20' trailer has! This is my "honey is going camping camper". She wants the soft beds and private potty. As far as we will go is about 5 hours to Yellowstone. (That is the one place a single campground requires hard sides, but that campground stinks as it feels like you are in the Walmart parking lot and I wouldn't camp there anyway.) Basically 9mpg only going 1000-2000 miles a year isn't going to break us. Just 3 nights hotels in or around Yellowstone would buy 2000 miles worth of gas. When I retire and we go on longer US tours we will do it differently, hopefully in a diesel high top van.
I personally love going out with out wall tent. I just got back from a "breakout of winter trip" with my daughter and 4 boys of a friend, and used the wall tent (which is kind of a frameless circus tent design 12x15' and a good 10' high in the center. I do wish I had a small kitchen trailer as it's hard to fit 6-7 people along with all the gear even in a Suburban and then setup and teardown takes an hour or more depending on how much those boys pitch in. We have gotten in to "bushcrafting" as well and you need some raw land for that normal trailers will have trouble getting in to. I know, the wall tent doesn't qualify but in my defense it was 20 degrees and there are still patches of snow 2' deep all over.
I'm blessed to live here in Western Montana and there are still a 100+ places I want to camp within 4 hours. I would like to do things as economically as possible, or with clever designs just because they are cool. Some designs like the Cricket trailer seem to be cool but not necessarily clever or better. I kind of have that opinion of Airstream, but their design is cool and better executed but they have size issues. An expandable Airstream or why not a hi-lo Airstream, or at least a slide out. Then there is the price already. I know they are built well but really that well? Even if my camper was complete garbage after 10 years it would work out to a better value. My buddy has a Jumping Jack which is also a pretty dynomite setup especially if you had a ATV to bring along.
Building stuff can be fun in itself. I even came up with a name for my unbuilt, teardrop/popup, the "Drag-gone".
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Slide-outs are a bad idea. Don’t work.
The issue is “living space”. That’s OUTSIDE. Awnings all the way around make this easier to understand.
HB, I bought my TT (sig) for $7500. Had plumbing freeze damage. Are there any roof or wall leaks? (“Huh, what’d you say?”). This fall it will be 30-years old. Understand I knew EXACTLY what it was. Few others do.
A 28’ of any of these brands is a ideal size for full-time travel. And no more difficult to tow than a 23’ (Tandem axle always easier).
Was looking at a 1973 Streamline on CL earlier today. In Louisiana. Final year of production. Aluminum cabinetry (lighter weight & greater wall structure integrity). I’d buy it in a heartbeat. What would it need? Age-related: pull windows and re-seal, etc. SL had foam insulation. Well suited to your locale.
Point is that bargains are out there.
Suspension and aerodynamic sophistication of this type means get the best family vehicle. A minivan or sedan trumps any pickup. A pickup creates more work to get it down the road. No benefit by itself.
It can take a few years to go through one when working full-time. Nights and weekends. Sounds like you’re in an ideal spot.
There are those who will inspect a trailer for you as a courtesy. The average distance to buy used is a 1,200-mile radius.
As to FE, use the EPA combined average.
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