Okay campers, what would you do? OT from Disney *added 2 more options LOL*

[ChristusG]

I'm pretty new here. I lurk/post sometimes on the Disboards for a few years now, but just recently came to the Fort portion of the boards. I've been camping with my parents since I was ten years old, then when Dh and I got married we continued to go with them in their RV. We just recently (last year) bought ourselves a used pop-up since it was getting a bit crowded in their RV since we now have two little girls.

Soooo.....our pop up sucks LOL! We inspected it the best we could before we bought it, but ya just never know until you actually get it out there, ya know. There's a leak somewhere. Not quite sure where yet. The wiring is spliced at places.....not quite sure why LOL. The fridge is not working....but that may be part of the electrical problem and the whole splicing thing. Not sure.

So we were thinking about just forking out the money and buying ourselves a new one. Problem is, I'm leaning more towards a travel trailer than another pop-up. I want a bathroom. I've been to my share of bath houses at campgrounds and I would just rather not do that with two little girls. It would be much more convenient to have a bathroom in our camper. I know that some pop up's have bathrooms, but they are just not the same.

I also want a larger fridge that I can load before we pull out....in a pop up I'd have to pop it up and down to load it before leaving. Sounds like a pain to me. The whole loading procedure would just be easier with a travel trailer.

Here's the catch......we have a mini-van. Everything we like seems to be right over the limit for our towing capacity (which is 3500 lbs). Even the nicer pop ups with a bathroom and a slide out dinette seem to be right there at the limit.

In order to get an RV that we really like, we would have to trade up our vehicle. And to get any decent leg room for my 6 foot, 4 inch husband, a third row seat, and decent trunk space, we would need something like a Suburban. Our current vehicle is a 2007 and we really like it. We would lose quite a bit of money to trade up. As for the Suburban, we would definitely have to get a used one to afford it....like a 2006 or something. Which is a gas hog as well.

So.....what to do, what to do. Stick with the mini-van we have now and buy a small new pop up that we are not going to be happy with in the long run? And probably really get fed up with while camping due to the inconviences. Or.....fork out the money and lose money on our current van and trade up to a Suburban and buy a small travel trailer that we will really like for years to come(most likely a hybrid because I like how you can have large beds and still not lose any space inside the box)?

We're so confused about what to do. We really like camping so we really want something. And going camping with my parents is just too crowded anymore....plus we want to go sometimes with just our little family.

So, any of you seasoned campers have any advice?

 

[bradisgoofy]

You need to look at a hybrid or an ultra lite like http://www.zoom-rv.com/ Either one will have a good size frig and with girls I would look for a bathroom with a tub not what they call a wet bathroom. A wet bathroom is an all in one room where you pull a shower curtain across the door area and the whole bathroom becomes your shower.

You can find a trailer that will work with your van BUT, is the van set up to tow? It must have a trailer towing package or you will have to have one installed. If you don't, at the very least, you will burn up your transmission.

Here is another that says it can be towed with a mini van Jayco 17C

 

[VACAMPER]

Be patient and wait. We were in the same spot last year. We wanted a TT instaed of a pop up but didn't want a to trade up to a new vehicle because i love my minivan. So we waited and waited and finally found a used 2002 suburban for $7000 with 130,000. It has a lot of miles but we only needed it to pull the TT. We just had to wait it out until we found the right deal. Now my husband loves the suburban so much he drives it evryday. Sometimes it just all works out.

 

[2goofycampers]

I agree with VACAMPER , wait it out and try to save as much $ as possible while you wait. Take your timeand look around, good things come to those who wait. Also agree with BRAD, sounds like you really could use a full bath, which most likely means a TT. Either way,if you up grade your camper and/or vehicle, remember, when they rate how much a vehicle can tow they are telling you the absolute maximum towing weight, TOO MUCH WEIGHT CAN RUIN YOUR VEHICLE. Tow package is important too. We ruined a truck pulling the max. weight all the time, won't take long.

 

[SandrA9810]

well if you go camping with your parents all the time, couldn't they just pull the TT or do they tow thier own car?? That is until you find a vehicle that can pull it.

 

[VAN]

What I would do is take the camper you purchased into a dealer and ask them to give you a quote on fixing the leak and wiring.

We had a small camper before that came with a port-a-potty that stored in a cabinet.

We have a larger camper now but chose not to have a potty in it and that has worked out fine.

Anyway, agree with others that you do want to watch your towing weight. Our current pop-up is 1,800 EMPTY. We use a mini-van equipped with the towing package, but that only gives us 3,500 lbs. Add your clothes, food, etc and the fact that we tow through the mountains and that will cut down on things. If the van is loaded with adults that will also cut down on the towing capacity (see owners manual for specifics).

What we have factored in are various things: Cost to store trailer, cost of tow vehicle and the additional cost to use it for daily transportation (gas mileage for a vehicle we need to drive daily), how often will you use it, etc.

Unless you have lots of money and have a great place to store your trailer, I would stick with what you have - but get it fixed. I don't know the set up of your trailer, but you may want to check into a port-a-potty.

Then, save your money for the next couple of years. By that time your children will be a little older/bigger and you will most likely be ready to move up to something bigger anyway. In today's economy, I would be hesitate to make the suggestion to buy something bigger that requires a bigger tow vehicle that gets less gas mileage.

I hope this makes sense.

 

[ntsammy5]

What Van said. That makess a lot of sense to me.

 

[mamaloya]

The jayco 17c would be pushing your tow limits way too far.

I was going to suggest trail manor, but the weights they list are unloaded. So, even though they say that they can be pulled by a minivan, they cannot.

Be very leary of salesmen telling you not to worry about the GVWR "because you will never fully load it". The GVWR IS the number you want to look at. Even if you don't fully load it, you have people and luggage in the van you need to count in. You also don't want to always be maxing out your van. It is not good for it.

Take the advice of waiting. We started with a popup, well, a tent at first. We then laid out our "game plan". We looked at all the campers out there and decided what we wanted and what the GVWR was. Then, we looked into what vehicles we needed to tow it with. We then waited. Well, dh's small truck died and we needed to replace it. We took our time while dh carpooled until we found the tow vehicle we had decided on. We found exactly what we wanted used AND it had the factory tow package!!!! Phase ONE complete!!! Then, we began looking for a TT. We rushed too fast and bought a used one that we thought was good, but not exactly what we wanted. We were impatient and paid the price. Turns out it had water damage. We were able to fight with the dealer and win. During this battle they got in the EXACT camper we had been wanting. It was only 1 year old and we thought it was new until they told us it was used. We applied the refund they were giving us to this one. And now are quite happy. I have not found a set up I like better (well unless we had a limitless budget anyway).

So, in case I lost you.

Make a plan. Pick the camper you want. Decide what you need to tow it with and pick the tow vehicle you will need. And then WAIT. It will happen. Think of your current setup as practice. It is better than nothing for now. Get the repairs done and enjoy. We do miss our popup sometimes. We had some really good times in it. If you want more fridge space, buy a dorm fridge and sit it on a table outside under the awning.

Oh, and a plus to a popup that we miss. It is much easier to get a partial hookup site at the last minute at FW than a full. We now have to plan our trips further out because the full hookup sites go fast. I am considering buying a tent in case I want a last minute trip and can only get a partial.

OK, I'll shut up now.

 

[des1954]

Here's another thought.... if you don't do a LOT of camping to justify the cost of purchasing a TT & larger truck, is there some place nearby that you could rent a class A or class C motor home and tow dolly to tow your mini-van behind? Paying the rental cost sounds like a lot of money at the time but keep in mind you only pay when you use it & don't have to put out $$$ for insurance and maintenance.

Other than that, keep your eyes open for someone selling their TT and/or truck, cheap. A lot of people jump in to buying a TT because they think it'll be fun, and then realize it's not as much fun as they thought. Then they can't sell it fast enough. Also, in the current economy, it shouldn't take too long to find a seller and a good price.

 

[becky1960]

I have seen some Hi-LO's that might fit your weight class, and maybe the height you need. I have seen some on Ebay up to 30' which is quite a bit of room and would save you on gas.

 

[2goofycampers]

IMHO your towing capacity when adding in people and stuff will not be enuff for any type of camper. recommendations are never tow more than 75 percent of full tow limits. >Denise

 

[ChristusG]

Wow, thank you for all the replies! This sure is a helpful place!!

Okay, how about I throw something else into the mix LOL! I was looking online this morning at an RV dealership near us. They have some good prices on some Class C's. Some for about $35,000. It seems like it would be SOOO easy to go camping for the weekend if you didnt have to always worry about stocking/packing the trailer, hooking up, etc. I could just have a class C all ready to when DH got home from work. And we could just pull out.

Now, we are not cross country travelers LOL. We have a favorite campground that is about 45 minutes from us. We go to Disney, which is 2 and a half hours away.....there's another nice campground we like that is 3 hours away. Seriously, we dont go too far. I hate road trips but I love camping LOL. So even if we got something with some miles put on it (such as I saw a 2006 with about 35,000 miles on it), we should still be okay. I do have one concern.....and that is car seats in a motorhome. I read somewhere that the dinette seats/couch are not attached to the steel frame of the coach. Therefore, that makes it unsafe for a carseat....plus, car seats cannot ride sideways, such as on a couch. Sooooo.....for the distance that we go, I could always drive DH's tiny, fuel-efficient car with the kids, and he could drive the coach. I've always wanted a class C, so this idea works for me LOL!

So when I told my little plan to DH, he countered me with something else LOL. He said what about just getting a third vehicle. Find a "cheap" Suburban with some miles on it that we would use to pull a travel trailer. His concern about a Class C is the fact that it just sits there most of the time, not getting used, and he's concerned about the "wear" that it gets from not using it. He figures that with a third vehicle, we can take it out sometimes and run errands in it.....or he can drive it to work sometimes, just to get it out and running. That way, we wouldnt have to use the Suburban all the time since it is such a gas guzzler....plus we really love our Nissan Quest mini van.

His theory is that if the Class C ends up with troubles, there goes our vehicle as well as our camper. If we get a third vehicle and a travel trailer and the used Suburban messes up, our tow vehicle is gone, but not our travel trailer. And at that time, we may have had our current mini van long enough to trade up to something bigger anyways.

So, have I confused you enough now that I threw those other two options into the picture? LOL!!! What do you guys think? What is the "wear" on a Class C when it just sits there most of the time since you only use it for camping?

I really want a Class C, but I also think DH's theory of getting an "older" (ie, like a 2004 or 2005) Suburban probably sounds better cost wise, as well as mechanical wise.

 

[clkelley]

The option your DH provided sounds like a good one!!

 

[PanFanAL]

First of all let me say, there is nothing wrong with a Suburban. But why not go with a 4 door truck. Then you have a tow vehicle, and something you can haul with. The cargo space won't matter, because all that can go in the TT. I find a truck to be invaluable. I can't live without one. You never know when you might have to haul a lawnmower, or appliance, or lumber, etc.

 

[ChristusG]

First of all let me say, there is nothing wrong with a Suburban. But why not go with a 4 door truck. Then you have a tow vehicle, and something you can haul with. The cargo space won't matter, because all that can go in the TT. I find a truck to be invaluable. I can't live without one. You never know when you might have to haul a lawnmower, or appliance, or lumber, etc.

How do car seats do in the back of those, though? We have a rear facer and a front facer. Is there enough room to rear face our second DD?

 

[We4mickey]

If you have a four door truck you have a full size back seat. No issues with carseats.

 

[PanFanAL]

If you have a four door truck you have a full size back seat. No issues with carseats.

Correct. Any full size truck with 4 full size doors will work. A crew cab is what they are called. An extended cab will work with forward facing but not rear, most of the time anyway.

 

[VAN]

It appears that money is not a primary issue for you and your DH. I would go with DH suggestion.

 

[ChristusG]

It appears that money is not a primary issue for you and your DH. I would go with DH suggestion.

I wish LOL! It is DH's job to work out the finances of it all, and my job to do the research on the tow vehicle and RV. We're actually thinking we may have to wait a few months to work out a finance schedule for it.

Choices, choices LOL! I never thought I would say this, but I'm tired of researching campers and tow vehicles LOL!