I want a travel trailer...

[SandrA9810]

How do I justify the cost to my girlfriend after tent camping for 4 years now?

I think the design of the tear drop trailers are cool and would be amazing to be able to build one. She's done set builds for theatre so she loves power tools and can weld (but not that great).
It would also be great for those lovely double back shifts she so often picks up when we don't even want to leave the parking lot because it seems we're up 10mins after we get home, well more like 3hrs later.

[chief19spixi]

Well depending on what size you want you can figure it this way.. its like buying a vacation home to anywhere you want.. esp the fort!! ;) that may only cost you about $200.00 a month in payments unless you buy it outright!

When we saw the sandpiper last year the only thing that killed the moment was the $36,000 price tag that was included! But at the end of the day that tag was dropped a good bit and we ended up getting it!

Let me tell you its well worth $200.00 a month for 32ft of livin in a home away from home that has wheels and is pulled by our beast!! :hippie:

[mrtroutjedi]

Well depending on what size you want you can figure it this way.. its like buying a vacation home to anywhere you want.. esp the fort!! ;) that may only cost you about $200.00 a month in payments unless you buy it outright!

When we saw the sandpiper last year the only thing that killed the moment was the $36,000 price tag that was included! But at the end of the day that tag was dropped a good bit and we ended up getting it!

Let me tell you its well worth $200.00 a month for 32ft of livin in a home away from home that has wheels and is pulled by our beast!! :hippie:


My wife and I had the same issue and we came up with if we stay 15 night a year in the camper it pays for itself in hotel saveings (6 of us means we need 2 rooms everyware we go )
and the fort was just more of a bonus so we can stay more places.

[Brer Bear]

How do I justify the cost to my girlfriend after tent camping for 4 years now?

I think the design of the tear drop trailers are cool and would be amazing to be able to build one. She's done set builds for theatre so she loves power tools and can weld (but not that great).
It would also be great for those lovely double back shifts she so often picks up when we don't even want to leave the parking lot because it seems we're up 10mins after we get home, well more like 3hrs later.

I can pull in a site and be set up much quicker than I can unpack a tent and all the stuff that goes along with it. I leave my house with my TT packed and it makes it much easier when I get to my destination. When I get home, I don't have to unpack most of my TT, just clothes and food..again much easier!

Going to the bathroom in a TT in the middle of the night, VS having to find a bath house was a big factor in getting my wife to go along!:banana:

Last, but not least..A/C and Heat! :laughing:

[chief19spixi]

My wife and I had the same issue and we came up with if we stay 15 night a year in the camper it pays for itself in hotel saveings (6 of us means we need 2 rooms everyware we go )
and the fort was just more of a bonus so we can stay more places.

Yuppers!! :dance3: :dance3: :dance3:

[bradisgoofy]

Going to the bathroom in a TT in the middle of the night, VS having to find a bath house was a big factor in getting my wife to go along!:banana: Last, but not least..A/C and Heat! :laughing::thumbsup2

[mrsscooter]

I second and third all of the above mentioned reasons. I had the same argument with my husband, as to justify the money for a tt. We had been tent campers since we have been been married (13 yrs), but my parents had a tent then a pop up at a seasonal site once us kids were big enough, like about 8 I think, and we all loved it. The convenience thing is great. Although tent camping is fun as well, it was hard to get used to after having a pop up. But it was much easier adjusting to the tt for sure. LOL My hubby was against buying one because he wasnt sure if he wanted the expense, the work, etc. So, we comprimised, instead of spending wads of money on something he "may not like" we opted to buy used and paid cash for it out right. Now, its old.....like a 1989 wilderness 26ft. bunk house in back, dinetted, double bed in front plus oodles of storage, but it was in mint condition and very neutral decorativley speaking. Not your typical 80s tackiness. Beleive it or not, we bought it on Ebay at the beginning of last summer for about 1700. We love it...my husband loves it, and he has become quite quick at setting up. The biggest thing I like about it for travel is, and only because I am super ocd about roadside potties, is that if we have to "go" we can pull over, use "our" toilet and rest in fact that we know its clean. Then, when we get to our camp ground, we just dump. So, thats my 2 cents and I am sticking too it. Although, we are planning on buying a new truck at the end of the year, so I am trying to convince my husband we need a "new-er" trailer to go with it. So far, no luck.......:cheer2:

[dean_and_monica]

We just purchased ours and it was the cost comparison to hotels, the easier set up, the BATH, and not having to sleep on an air mattress in a tent that really convinced us. We have a 24' Rockwood Roo and it was under 200.00. AND because it's considered a vacation home, you get to deduct the interest off of your taxes :woohoo: Now, if we could only get out and use it!!

[chief19spixi]

[quote=dean_and_monica;23792815] because it's considered a vacation home, you get to deduct the interest off of your taxes :woohoo:quote]

woo hoo we just did that this year and boy am I glad !!

[disney4dan]

We used to be tent campers when dating (way back when they were using buffalo hides and we cut down lodgepole pines for the poles :rotfl2: ) and then gave that up when our first child was about 2 or so. Ah, I remember it well, the screaming, the crying, the "I WANNA GO HOME". Finally, DW told me to stop my screaming or I'd wake up the kid :lmao: !

Fast forward a few more years and two more kids, and we really wanted to get back to camping. Only this time, it was gonna be with a trailer with a bathroom and most of the gear stored in the trailer and ready to go on a whim. It's been great and we really enjoy it. I recommend looking for a good used one, and I understand that the best deals are usually in the fall (at least up here in the north country). Our TT is a 2001, but is a 29 foot Jayco with 3 bunks at the back, queen bedroom in the front, no slides, but still within the range that my truck can pull. We've made some good memories in just one year, and hope for a lot more.

[SandrA9810]

Well it would be something small like a tear drop because you can put an AC on it. We've always used a window AC unit (that's what they make tailgates for, right?) after our first experience at the fort.
Not too concerned about a bathroom, plus it sounds kinda wierd to have to "dump" it afterwards. I like the Fort bathrooms just fine.
There wouldn't be too many travels across country, although plenty of trips to Georgia where her parents live. Although I would love to drop everything for a month and just drive. My grandparents did that every summer growing up. And we're real sticklers on driving through the night. Countless day trips to disney followed by a 10hr drive back to Miami, because we'd pull off at every rest stop just to sleep a few more hour to wake up horribly uncomfortable to drive again.
We already own a ford ranger and have talks of wanting to get a nissan frontier, but Kari says we can't do that until we pay the remaining 8 or so grand to her parents for paying off the truck.

And I love my bed in my tent. I have a 3-4" foam mattress topper with like 10 comforters/blankets/quilts for padding, and with the large tent we have room for all of our mess and a tv/ps2. I sleep wonderfully because we can set the AC nice and cold unlike at home when we're paying for the electric.

But to be able to say hey we've got like 4 hrs of sleep tonight, to just sleep in the parking lot. And countless times of waiting hours for Kari to get off work real late, I could just go and sleep till she gets off. I could drive home, but that's a waste of gas, and that means I have to wake up in time to pick her up. That's the hardest part right there. And when we have something of a normal schedule just to leave it at home.

[SandrA9810]

how easy is it to upgrade a little cargo trailor? Put a bed, maybe get a couple cabinet pieces, already have the fridge and AC to put in.

How much can a ford ranger haul (size wise, like a 6x10ft trailer)? I have the hardest time understanding those numbers of weight and gross weight and whatever else they put in there.