Hard-sided expandable trailer?
- Thread starter breick
- Start date
ORLCampers
Bring back Marshmallow Marsh!
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2006
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We have a Jayco 29A and love it. It has a Queen bed that slides out the back and a side slide out where the sofa is. It is the bunkhouse type so it has 4 bunk beds in front which the kids love.
We also looked at the Jayco 254 which also has the queen slide out the back but is smaller and lighter than the 29A. We decided to go with the 29A as it had extra room and more space for when the kids bring friends in the future.
We had a pop-up before and originally went looking at hybrid type trailers with the canvas expansions to cut down on some of the setup/take down time (not that much I agree). We eventually chose to go the hard slide route because we live in Orlando and most everytime we camp, we get some rain. Then we'd have to come home and open the pop-up in the driveway to dry it out. Not a big issue for some, but we wanted something a bit simpler.
We've had it for 15 months now and camped about a dozen times and don't have any dislikes so far.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask em.
Michael
We also looked at the Jayco 254 which also has the queen slide out the back but is smaller and lighter than the 29A. We decided to go with the 29A as it had extra room and more space for when the kids bring friends in the future.
We had a pop-up before and originally went looking at hybrid type trailers with the canvas expansions to cut down on some of the setup/take down time (not that much I agree). We eventually chose to go the hard slide route because we live in Orlando and most everytime we camp, we get some rain. Then we'd have to come home and open the pop-up in the driveway to dry it out. Not a big issue for some, but we wanted something a bit simpler.
We've had it for 15 months now and camped about a dozen times and don't have any dislikes so far.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask em.
Michael
breick
DIS Veteran
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- Jan 6, 2000
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- 513
Thanks, that's the kind of info I'm looking for. My popup is in storage near Orlando and I have to drive 1300 miles home, so I'm always worried if I got the tenting dried out enough. I have a great fear of driving all the way down for my next trip, opening it up, and find everything covered in mildew or mold! (I don't think I can convince the storage place guy to dry it out for me.) As the kids get older, I can see that we will use the trailer differently. Sometimes me, sometimes me and DH, and sometimes all 5 of us or even some friends and relatives... I'm looking at the shorter lengths, not because of storage, but for ease of hitching and backing up. I like having a helper, but I can handle the popup myself if I have to.
ftwildernessguy
<font color=green>I have a linen closet at home fu
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- Mar 16, 2003
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- 6,586
The reality is, the longer the trailer, the easier it is to back up.
/
RvUsa
<font color=blue>John, the special Dis'r formerly
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- Feb 4, 2008
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Exactly, once a short trailer starts turning, it is hard to "catch" it, with my truck, which has a turning radius of an aircraft carrier, it is impossible. I used to tow a 48' tri axle goose neck, it was starting to get toooooo long, it would take forever to get the thing to start turning, and in tight car show spaces, that could be bad too. I could back my 34' tt all the way to Fl from here if I had too, but my 12' utility, or my 10' 5 ton dump trailer, I look like a rookie when I back it up, they are impossible to get them going in a straight line, as soon as you see them move, its too late to catch them.
mamaloya
<font color=blue>Blows hard and hot and boils us<b
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OK, I know everyone says it is easier to back up a longer trailer, but I have to say it was easier for me to back up our popup than our current trailer. I do agree with the speed with which they respond. I am getting better at backing this one up, but it just takes so long to respond.
I have a Kodiak Skamper 26QS. It is a hard slide expandable as well. Mine also has the 4 bunk beds. I did not even know Jayco made them. We had a hybrid with the tenting before and did not like the moisture issue. Mine does not have any side slides because that adds too much weight and mine already has a GVWR of 6000lb, which is the heaviest we would consider as our van has a tow capacity of around 7000, can't remember exactly offhand, it is either 6600 or 7200.
Well, the pros and cons...
Pros-
-No worry about rain and moisture.
-If it is raining on arrival, we can all jump in and slide the bed out from the inside. There is a little button to push.
-Easier to clean the slide out than the canvas.
-Cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.
-Easier to close up, just push a button, no tucking in tenting.
Cons-
-When the slide is in, you cannot use your table and sofa as the bed will be over them. This is only a problem at rest areas when we want to hop in to take a break and/or eat.
-You have to put the table and sofa down to slide the bed in. With a hybrid, you can leave them in place. Still easier than closing in the tenting though, IMHO.
That is about all I can think of for now. Oh, one thing I recommend and we plan on having done ASAP is to have an awning slide put over the slide. We almost had this done when we bought it, but decided to wait. Now I always have to check to make sure there are not sticks and such on the slide out before I slide it in. If I had the awning, it would not be a big deal. The awning also helps keep the heat out.
Also, I just really cannot recommend the Kodiak brand too much. Don't get me wrong, I REALLY love mine, the quality of workmanship, just isn't there. Mine is an 06 and the wood "stickers" on the cabinet doors are starting to peel, the drawer latches have had to be redone. The pantry latch is not lined up correctly. Both sink drains have leaked. Oh, and the most annoying issue is that the holding tank drain is pretty much level with the ground. You have almost no ground clearance. It hits the ground a lot. And that voids the frame warranty, but it is so low, a speed bump seems to touch. (OK, slight exageration there) Gravity has no chance to help with draining my tanks. I had a slunky for my hybrid, the low end of the slunky is too high for the opening of my tank. I always have to play with the hose to get it to drain since it is having to flow pretty much horizontal. And if the sewer connection is even slightly higher than ground level, as is FW's, forget it. It will only drain when attended. We are wanting to flip the axel to get more clearance. Before you buy, check how high the drain is.
OK, that's enough. I really do love my camper and it was an awesome price, just wish the workmanship was better and the drain was higher.
I have a Kodiak Skamper 26QS. It is a hard slide expandable as well. Mine also has the 4 bunk beds. I did not even know Jayco made them. We had a hybrid with the tenting before and did not like the moisture issue. Mine does not have any side slides because that adds too much weight and mine already has a GVWR of 6000lb, which is the heaviest we would consider as our van has a tow capacity of around 7000, can't remember exactly offhand, it is either 6600 or 7200.
Well, the pros and cons...
Pros-
-No worry about rain and moisture.
-If it is raining on arrival, we can all jump in and slide the bed out from the inside. There is a little button to push.
-Easier to clean the slide out than the canvas.
-Cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.
-Easier to close up, just push a button, no tucking in tenting.
Cons-
-When the slide is in, you cannot use your table and sofa as the bed will be over them. This is only a problem at rest areas when we want to hop in to take a break and/or eat.
-You have to put the table and sofa down to slide the bed in. With a hybrid, you can leave them in place. Still easier than closing in the tenting though, IMHO.
That is about all I can think of for now. Oh, one thing I recommend and we plan on having done ASAP is to have an awning slide put over the slide. We almost had this done when we bought it, but decided to wait. Now I always have to check to make sure there are not sticks and such on the slide out before I slide it in. If I had the awning, it would not be a big deal. The awning also helps keep the heat out.
Also, I just really cannot recommend the Kodiak brand too much. Don't get me wrong, I REALLY love mine, the quality of workmanship, just isn't there. Mine is an 06 and the wood "stickers" on the cabinet doors are starting to peel, the drawer latches have had to be redone. The pantry latch is not lined up correctly. Both sink drains have leaked. Oh, and the most annoying issue is that the holding tank drain is pretty much level with the ground. You have almost no ground clearance. It hits the ground a lot. And that voids the frame warranty, but it is so low, a speed bump seems to touch. (OK, slight exageration there) Gravity has no chance to help with draining my tanks. I had a slunky for my hybrid, the low end of the slunky is too high for the opening of my tank. I always have to play with the hose to get it to drain since it is having to flow pretty much horizontal. And if the sewer connection is even slightly higher than ground level, as is FW's, forget it. It will only drain when attended. We are wanting to flip the axel to get more clearance. Before you buy, check how high the drain is.
OK, that's enough. I really do love my camper and it was an awesome price, just wish the workmanship was better and the drain was higher.
We have a 2002 R-Vision Bantam 22 S hybrid. I love it, my husband hates it. It is light, dont know the exact weight but dh claims it is light. We have one full side bunk end and one queen and the couch/kitchen manually slide out. There is tons of storage in it. I really do like it because i still feel like we are camping. I also loved our pop up. We like being able to stop at rest stops and get in the trailer and access the bathroom, refrigerator and dinnete.
Husband feels it still takes almost the same amount of set up time and would rather just park it and be done. Also when it rains it is so loud inside that we cannot even hear the tv. I dont know if all trailers are like that, but i dont remember as a kid having that problem with the various trailers my parents had. We have had a couple of times in the past few years where it just rained for days and the moisture inside was terrible. I even had a mold problem just from moisture. We never have closed it wet so that was not the cause.
We will be trading it in possibly in the next couple of years however for a full hardsided trailer. It is in very good shape inside but had some damage from branches / large nuts falling from trees last year that we have to have fixed.
Husband feels it still takes almost the same amount of set up time and would rather just park it and be done. Also when it rains it is so loud inside that we cannot even hear the tv. I dont know if all trailers are like that, but i dont remember as a kid having that problem with the various trailers my parents had. We have had a couple of times in the past few years where it just rained for days and the moisture inside was terrible. I even had a mold problem just from moisture. We never have closed it wet so that was not the cause.
We will be trading it in possibly in the next couple of years however for a full hardsided trailer. It is in very good shape inside but had some damage from branches / large nuts falling from trees last year that we have to have fixed.
We have a 23' Keystone Outback Kargaroo. It has a queen rear slide bed and a 50" "kargo" ramp door in the front on the side. This trailer is a cross between a regular trailer and a toy hauler. In the front cargo area we can store 2 quads or a few motorcylces if we wish. This also has a queen bed in the front that stores against the front wall.
Here is the floorplan that we have:
I love our trailer, but do have issues with the way it is stored up. The bed comes over the dinette and sofa, which also need to be in the down position. We have to put rails on the rear of the trailer and then push the bed out. My main storage area is in the dinette (no storage under sofa) which when parked in our driveway can not be accessed.
For some reason when the bed is pulled out, our feet, our head, and the outside part of the bed is colder than the rest of the trailer. When I have tried making the bed I have felt lots of moisture along the outside walls of the bed. DH and I removed the mattress and DH caulked along the edges to help lock in the moisture. Hopefully this will be sufficient enough.
The other thing that is really hard (for me anyway) is making the bed. Because you can't walk around the bed to tuck in the sheets and blankets, I have to lay on the bed lifting the matress, etc just to make the bed. I end of getting sweaty and exhausted working hard just to make the bed.
Don't get me wrong - I LOVE OUR TRAILER! I have throughly enjoyed camping in it. We purchased it brand new in August 2006. We have actually used it more than we thought we would have. We have several trips planned in April and about 1 a month after that through August.
The backing up thing has really got me baffled. My DH and I share the driving, but I for some reason can not back it up. DH has tried to teach me, but gets frustrated and tells me to get out
that he will do it. I do need to learn because DD7 and I will be traveling to a local beach while DH and DD13 go to Washington DC for a school trip. I will have lots of people to help me, but don't want to overdue my neediness - KWIM? And getting it into our driveway will be quite the challenge. We had to have installed small wheels on the rear of our trailer to left it going up our driveway and we live on a ½ culdesac.
I love the size of our trailer, we never have any problem finding a space at any spot we want to travel to. Our friends have a 36' 5th wheel and can't go to some of the places we want to go to.
But anyhow, I got OT a bit - sorry about that. Besides the obvious frustrations I really do like ours. If we were to get another trailer, I would actually get the same model, but get the larger one at 28'. This setup has the same rear slide, but only goes over the sofa. The dinette is in about the middle of the trailer and is slide out on the side.
Here is the floorplan of what I would like, but not sure because of the length - to long for our driveway:
Candace
Here is the floorplan that we have:
I love our trailer, but do have issues with the way it is stored up. The bed comes over the dinette and sofa, which also need to be in the down position. We have to put rails on the rear of the trailer and then push the bed out. My main storage area is in the dinette (no storage under sofa) which when parked in our driveway can not be accessed.
For some reason when the bed is pulled out, our feet, our head, and the outside part of the bed is colder than the rest of the trailer. When I have tried making the bed I have felt lots of moisture along the outside walls of the bed. DH and I removed the mattress and DH caulked along the edges to help lock in the moisture. Hopefully this will be sufficient enough.
The other thing that is really hard (for me anyway) is making the bed. Because you can't walk around the bed to tuck in the sheets and blankets, I have to lay on the bed lifting the matress, etc just to make the bed. I end of getting sweaty and exhausted working hard just to make the bed.
Don't get me wrong - I LOVE OUR TRAILER! I have throughly enjoyed camping in it. We purchased it brand new in August 2006. We have actually used it more than we thought we would have. We have several trips planned in April and about 1 a month after that through August.
The backing up thing has really got me baffled. My DH and I share the driving, but I for some reason can not back it up. DH has tried to teach me, but gets frustrated and tells me to get out
that he will do it. I do need to learn because DD7 and I will be traveling to a local beach while DH and DD13 go to Washington DC for a school trip. I will have lots of people to help me, but don't want to overdue my neediness - KWIM? And getting it into our driveway will be quite the challenge. We had to have installed small wheels on the rear of our trailer to left it going up our driveway and we live on a ½ culdesac. I love the size of our trailer, we never have any problem finding a space at any spot we want to travel to. Our friends have a 36' 5th wheel and can't go to some of the places we want to go to.
But anyhow, I got OT a bit - sorry about that. Besides the obvious frustrations I really do like ours. If we were to get another trailer, I would actually get the same model, but get the larger one at 28'. This setup has the same rear slide, but only goes over the sofa. The dinette is in about the middle of the trailer and is slide out on the side.
Here is the floorplan of what I would like, but not sure because of the length - to long for our driveway:
Candace
merryweather20
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2007
- Messages
- 1,311
I can see them
And I can tell you, that you are definitely missing out! Gorgeous trailer!
What about going straight to the manufactures website:
http://www.keystone-outback.com/?page=floorplans
The one we have is the 23KRS and the would I would like is the 28KRS.
Candace
http://www.keystone-outback.com/?page=floorplans
The one we have is the 23KRS and the would I would like is the 28KRS.
Candace
BigDaddyRog
<font color=red>Ask me about my cartoon pitch<br><
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I bet the internet security option is set too high
Okay now I don't feel so bad. I have a kayak trailer that about drives me nuts every time I try to back it in some place. It's lightweight so I usually just unhitch the dang thing and park it, but I was thinking I'd be horrible at backing a trailer in if I ever had to. There may be hope for me yet!
clkelley
<font color=purple>I squealed really loud!!<br><fo
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2001
- Messages
- 12,571
Yep, shorter trailers are harder to back, but I can say I finally backed mine into a site tonite!!!!! Up until today, I had tried once, gave up, unhitched and pushed it in, but the campsite host insisted I could do it. He escorted me to my site and talked me through it!!!!
(Yes, I amuse easily
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(Yes, I amuse easily
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