Priorities:
Dedicated sleeping for 5 (meaning without converting sofa or dinette)
storage
counter space
AC
quality construction
We are a family of 5-- (parents and 3 young kids). We plan to mostly do weekend type trips within a couple of hours from home. We live in the deep south where AC is required! We would prefer to buy a newer used HTT to save a little money.
Our current tow vehicle has a capacity of 5000, so we most likely will be looking to replace it. But if we don't have to we would jump and scream with joy!
I've poked around a bit, but feel like I'm only seeing what gets advertised the most. I also keep getting confused on who manufactures what/ brand names.
Unless you need the bathroom, there is not much difference between a popup and a hybrid. In both cases you'll have to try to cool tent ends, and in both cases you have the wonderful open air flow of a tent. But the popup will be way easier to tow.
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LivinLite Camplite 16BHB
2011 Ford F150 EgoBoost
Priorities:
Dedicated sleeping for 5 (meaning without converting sofa or dinette)
storage
counter space
AC
quality construction
We are a family of 5-- (parents and 3 young kids). We plan to mostly do weekend type trips within a couple of hours from home. We live in the deep south where AC is required! We would prefer to buy a newer used HTT to save a little money.
Our current tow vehicle has a capacity of 5000, so we most likely will be looking to replace it. But if we don't have to we would jump and scream with joy!
well, let's start with the two things on your list that will be difficult, because of your tow capacity limits.
counterspace and storage require the trailer to be longer, therefore, heavier.
very few hybrids have real counterspace. for my wife, this was #1 on her priority list. this elminated all but a few hybrids.
only hybrids of 24' or longer had true counterspace. and those would be over your vehicles tow capacity.
storage is the same issue. smaller, lighter trailers have to sacrifice something and storage and counterspace are the first to go.
no hybrids, in your vehicle's towing range, offer both lots of storage and counterspace.
the other 3 are easily satisfied. with 5, your best choice would be a 3-bed hybrid or a hybrid bunkhouse hybrid.
a/c is pretty standard, but some have ducted a/c and the others have the infamous "Blast from the Center" a/c.
Quality construction is very subjective and in the eye of the beholder.
ALL brands have their fans and haters. no brand is immune to quality issues. i will say that since we started shopping in 2005, overall quality in all brands has become more consistent and there's less difference between brands.
also, your tow capacity of 5000lbs. is lowered by anything in it, except a 150lbs. driver.
so, say Mom weighs 150lbs. and Dad and the kids weigh 400lbs. and you have 100lbs. of stuff in the vehicle.
now, your vehicle only has 4500lbs. of tow capacity. add the 100lbs. of a WDH and you're down to 4400lbs. of tow capacity.
also, make sure your tow vehicle has the factory tow package.
also, if you've never owned a popup or other RV, make sure you LOVE sleeping under canvas.
too many new hybrid buyers don't take this under consideration and only look at the other advantages of hybrids, like sleeping capacity for size.
after dealing with wet canvas, neighbor noise, temp control, setup, security issues and other things, they soon tire of the canvas and get rid of it.
most hybrid owners are previous popup owners and love the experience of sleeping under canvas. we are willing to put up with the few negatives of canvas, to be able to experience that. we hate the "shoebox" feeling of conventional travel trailers.
Dan- Firefighter, Shawn- Musician/Entrepreneur, Zoe- Faithful Golden Retriever(RIP), 2007 Chevrolet Avalanche LS, 2007 Rockwood Roo 23SS w/Equalizer and Prodigy, and 5 Mtn. bikes and 2 Road bikes
Sleep 6 requires three (3) beds. Maximum towing capacity of 5000 pounds essentially limits the trailer to 4000 - 4500 pounds if you want any passengers in the truck. With these two as top priorities you ain't getting storage or counter space.
Look at the Rockwood Roo 183.
-- Chuck
'06 Roo 23SS behind '07 Expedition out of Cleveland Our Photo pages
Doesn't look like there is an easy solution for me. I would love to sacrifice the dry bath for a wet bath and gain some storage. I haven't seen that option so I must be the only one willing to make that trade. I guess I could always make my own storage in the shower--I don't think we will use it most of the time.
To answer Michael, yes we have thought about a pop up. But I really wanted to be able to store our gear in the TT when not in use....and ideally when on the road. I'm also concerned about a one person set up/ time. Our kids are young and still require constant supervision.
I see you own a camplite. I've been very interested in those, but no dealers in our area stock anything with a tip out/ expandable. I'd love to hear about your experience.
I'll check out the roo and the jayco x18d--thanks for the leads.
Gotta go along with Chuck on the ROO/Shamrock 183. No sofa, but that third bed is the trade-off and sounds like that is more important. You'll likely find that dealers who don't sell hybrids will bad-mouth them. The few dealers that do sell them, have only limited in-stock. You probably need to spend some time online. Speaking only to the quality of the ROO, ours is an '07 and we've been problem-free, still looks like new and we are 110% pleased with the product. Even though you're not in the OH area, suggest you spend a bit of time online checking the RV Wholesalers in-stock or on-order units. If they don't have what you need, you can spec it out and they will email you the price. It really is the price - no games, no haggling, no surprises. You could turn delivery into a vacation or they can arrange delivery and will give you the price for that. Good folks to deal with and you can certainly use their price as a bargaining tool. BTW, we saved over $4000 buying in OH and we live in west TN. Happy shopping!
2013 Rockwood Ultra Lite 2604
2003 Ford F-150 with Blue Ox 1000 & Prodigy
5 doggies - We support Adopt/Rescue
Sam, you were the best!
Foxy is our new camping buddy
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, Shawn- Musician/Entrepreneur
, Zoe- Faithful Golden Retriever(RIP
), 2007 Chevrolet Avalanche LS, 2007 Rockwood Roo 23SS w/Equalizer and Prodigy, and 5 Mtn. bikes and 2 Road bikes
