Dunrollin

I have two trailers I pull with the 2013 F150 5.0. The 30 foot Pilgrim does OK but it is at the max of pulling. The only saving grace is all 4 wheels have brakes.

I usually pull the 14RB which means 14" rear bath. It has everything wife and I need and is fun to pull. It weighs 2,300 empty.

Great white

iTrader: (1)

Not too worried about it.

But; the first tow this season might very well be the last tow.

We're thinking about selling it off. Not using it much anymore and we have a cottage too. It's pretty much just a depreciating bucket of cash in storage right now. Cash that, quite frankly, could be put to better use elsewhere right now.

We enjoyed it the first 4-5 years, but now it sits more than it rolls.

I'd rather have an enclosed trailer right now to haul my mustang or motorcycles around anyways....

Mike Up

I recommend the Jayco Jay Flight. It's a stick and tin, aluminum siding and wood framing.

I DO NOT recommend the new glued together "LAMINATED" wall trailers.

Those walls are GLUED, and use aluminum framing which both have long term issues.

Laminated walls have a common problem called Delamination where the glue fails. While it can happen from poor caulking maintenance from water, it commonly happens from the glue just failing on it own, whether from the heat of the sun beating on it or just age. I've seen this happen right on new trailers on the lot, and on so many at the campgrounds or at home.

The aluminum framing also needs to have a wood or composite core to hold up your cabinets when they are screwed to it. Otherwise the screw holes will wear and the screws will work out, making loose cabinetry.

Also aluminum framing causes condensation on the interior walls in colder weather due to the metal conduction that transfers the cold from the outside of the wall to the inside. Wood is not a good conductor obviously keeping condensation and the cold off of your trailer's interior walls just as it does with your house's walls.

Keep your camper caulked and the stick and tin construction has important benefits over a laminated build.

Just make sure your camper maker uses plywood instead of particle board as many lower end makers tend to use. Jayco only uses top of the line materials but Thor just bought them, so it could change.

Good luck

NC F150

My buddy's truck camper is 2.5 years old. Has the "new & improved" wood free aluminum and laminate construction. His back door is delaminating. The spot has progressively grown from the size of a .50 cent piece to now most of the door exterior. He has kept it well maintained.

All of them have issues, however his seems to be a poster child for what you described.

Great white

iTrader: (1)

Mine is fiberglass sides and aluminum construction.

6 years and not an issue.

I also specifically look (and check) for delaminations. Nothing. I fly composite construction aircraft so I know how to check for delams.

But I'm also up on the roof at least twice a year with the Dicor.....cleaning, checking and filling.

pilotpip

My father in law has a 28' jayflight bunkhouse that's a couple years old. His F-250 tows it well. It's just inside my 150's limits, but I don't like towing it. I have two young kids and am looking at convertables with the pop up style beds so I can maximize floor space on a lower weight. The whole point of the trailer, is to get out in nature. But, with two young children I need a little floor space for them to run around on a rainy day.

http://www.rvforum.net is a great resource too.

Mike Up

Just watch out for those "Hybrid" travel trailers or Expandables as some label them. The tent ends have water leak issues that have been there since their beginning. If you keep up on seals, making sure they're always clean and in the proper placement, you may cut down on water leaks. Some have added more seals to make sure water stays out. Especially a problem on the front bunk door as you're traveling in a rain storm.

Those tent ends also get hot in the summer and cold on the bottom (using a heated mat option underneath helps quite a bit) in the fall/winter, and are quite bright in the very early morning. Just as with a Pop Up. One of the many things my wife hated about our Pop Up.

Interior of bunk end (tent end) can stay very warm from the furnace but the cold comes right though the bottom panel up into the mattress, making a very cold sleeping surface without the heated mat option. Bunk end during summer stays hot even with air conditioning due to the green house affect and the beating sun. Using Pop Up Gizmo covers helps quite a bit to combat that.

acdii

This is key to any trailer, most delams happen due to water penetration more than anything else. When I was shopping for a trailer, every one that I saw that had delam issues also had water discoloration.

The one thing I like about the Coleman I got is that it also has the Arctic package that insulates everything.

Velosprout

As a 10-year pop-up camper and a 3-year hybrid camper owner, I couldn't personally disagree with MikeUp more. Camping is for us to get close to nature, and the "nature" of being sealed up in a claustrophobic metal can is quite unlike the closeness to nature that is enjoyed with a pop-up or hybrid. Any extra maintenance and set-up time is well worth the effort in the overall experience in my family's mind. But, as I stated before, all about camping is personal preference. From a Spartan all-aluminum Liv'n Lite camper from Thor, a vintage restored Shasta, or a new luxury fifth-wheel. Don't listen to me, or any of us, for your own choice. Study and try them all, and get what is right for you.

Barristersteve

As we were getting tired of tent camping, we spent about a year looking at different models and types of campers before making our list of "must haves" and a nice to have list. The key to finding the right camper for you will be determining where you will be camping mostly - (will you be boondocking or close quarters in a crowded campground?) and the capacities of your tow vehicle. One person's ideal camper is simply unworkable for another.




My wife is light sleeper so we did not want a hybrid or tent camper. Go to a dealer and have them open up the ends and lay on one of the beds and close you eyes and listen carefully to all the sounds. When we did this we could hear the nearby highway and a salesman talking to another couple 6 campers over. So our first camper was a hard-sided 3000lb 1985 Bigfoot 19ft DLX ( /). These are photos of our camper. It was great to tow with double axles, and had storage for everything we needed, but the fridge was small and we got tired of having to make up the beds every night. Once the benefits of a 16 ft trailer (19 including the hitch) we could park it anywhere you could fit a tent trailer. It was great for weekends but started to feel crowded for the 3 of us after 6 weeks in the Florida keys. We liked being able to pull over while travelling and have access to the fridge and bathroom (many slide campers and tent campers do not). The hard sides allowed the A/C to keep us nice and frosty and blocked out the nocturnal sounds from campers right next to us in some of the more crowded campgrounds in Florida. The other downside was it had small fresh water and small grey and black holding tanks so it was not convenient for extended stays.
Our current camper is a 2015 Jayco Eagle 284 BHBE which is 2X as heavy, twice the tongue weight and nearly twice as long and has a slide. Generally, a slide will add about 1000 lbs and they greatly increase the risk of necessitating a trip to the dealer for repairs or adjustment. The extra length and weight make it more of a challenge towing (10% decrease in towing mpg) and limit available campsites. Once parked, it has more glamping creature comforts, and the double queen bunks at the bunk make it easier for our son to invite a couple of friends camping and they can close the curtains for early bed time and there is a wall and doorway to the Master Bedroom so DW can sleep in while I prepare breakfast in morning. Indoor meal prep is easier, but we still cook pretty much all of our food outside. An 84 gallon freshwater tank makes it easier for extended stays at State Parks without services and we do about 50% of our camping without hookups.


When we go camping, 90% of our waking hours are spent outside, hiking, kayaking, fishing, campfire etc. and whether I am enclosed by a fiberglass wall or a tent wall doesn't make me feel any closer to nature but being able to hear the drunken campers 4 sites down while we are trying to get to sleep certainly makes me feel less close to nature when I get up in the morning to take my son kayaking. For us, a dry uninterrupted sleep is the biggest advantage of a hard sided camper. When I can get away from it all and closer to nature, I take my hammock and paddle to quiet islands aware from stereos, air conditioners and loud drunken campers.
As to construction, I'll take the quality and longevity of fiberglass and aluminum over stick and tin. Fibreglass and aluminum construction is used by all of the manufacturers in their premium lines and premium 5th wheels. Have a look at 10 yr old stick and tin campers for sale compared to 10 yr old fiberglass and aluminum and you will see they hold their value and stand up to the rigours of travel much better.