I don't see much mentioned about the A Liner in these forums. husband and I are looking for an easy to tow lightweight trailer. Don't like canvas sided pop ups, looking for a little more solid sides. Also need a small bathroom and I see they have one floor plan that has one.
I have read the older ones have floor problems, is this still the case? Are they really easy to set up?
We had one. You's better make sure you're really good "friends" as it gets real crowded. Towed ours to Alaska behind our Wrangler (1988). Almoat fell apart in Alaska. Got back and traded it for a Trail Manor (mistake #2) traded it for a Thor 26ft Aerolite (mistake #3) Now have a Holiday Rambler 30ft Savoy LX, best move.
If you want just a wee bit more living space, you might check into one of the Chalet models (same idea as an Aliner) which has a bumpout end that gives you some decent headroom in the kitchen area.
Make sure you research the popups closely. Most popups which include a "bathroom" option use a "cassette" toilet, with which you remove the holding tank like a cassette tape, and carry it to the dump station.
It's unfortunate that Turbo Diesel Dude had sufficient problems to consider his purchases of his popup, Trailmanor, and Aerolite as mistakes. We camped for years with popups, a Trailmanor, and 2 different Aerolites, as our needs and desires changed, and were happily satisfied with all of them until we found another unit which more closely fit our changing needs at the time. Any manufacturer can make a lemon, but once the initial "glitches' were attended to by the selling dealers, ours served us fine with little maintenance and no warranty issues except for appliances, which aren't made by the trailer manufacturers. Increasing disability and desire for more room are the only reasons we don't still have one of these former trailers.
Holiday Ramblers are excellent RVs, but even they can have issues. They tend to be on the heavy side of towables, but that certainly would be no problem if you have a turbo-diesel TV! Everyone else in our RVing family does, but we don't, and can't afford one! So we stick with lighter models which don't put as much strain our gas TVs.
The needs, desires, and tastes of everyone differs, which is why there are such a wide variety of RVs available. Not everyone owns, can afford to buy and feed, or even desires a heavy-duty TV. If you did, you would probably not be looking at popups. Some trailers, such as popups, Aerolites, and Trailmanors are built lighter and lower to the ground, so that lighter, smaller, and less powerful TVs can more easily pull them. We may not own a popup now, but we did, and certainly do not think any less of anyone who chooses to do their RVing in one. They're just not practical for us in this stage of our lives and health.
If you have the desire and enough money to buy and feed them, heavy and expensive trailers and heavy-duty TVs, then by all means, buy them. But many of us must make do with less, and in our case, it didn't mean we had less fun or more troubles. Happy Hunting!
* This post was
edited 08/10/08 06:34pm by campercajun *
2003 GMC Sierra Crew HD; 6.0L; Prodigy
2006 Thor Tundra 30RL-DSL; Reese Strait-Line & Dual-cam HP
2001 Honda Elite Scooter
Jim & Gayle Bryant
Murphy's Law: "Anything that CAN happen, WILL."
Bryant's Law: "31 years of RVing? Probably already HAS."
As in cars, the quality of construction frequently improves in newer models. I think Aliner changed floor material in 05, so as long as you get an 05 or later you'll be much less likely to suffer floor rot. The new Chalet models us a composite floor which is impervious to rot, is lighter and adds insulation to the floor.
I love my 06 LXE Aliner. I've haven't had any problems with it so far. The advantage of a light weight Aliner or Chalet is that they are much more easily towable. I got 22.7 MPG towing with a little 4 cyl Chevy Cobalt SS on last years vacation in the Ouachita mountains. Yes it is a little cramped inside, as it's got everything the bigger campers have, ie: Sofa/dinette that converts to a king bed, stove/microwave, shower/cassette toilet, 3 way refrigerator/freezer, a/c, tv/dvd, etc.
Name another PUP that has all these features, the safety, privacy and insulation that only hard sides offer, a 30 second pop-up (really)and the economy of being towable by a 4 cyl car.
To learn more from the people who actually own them check out these forums:
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/alinerchaleta-frames/
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/chaletcamping/
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/ChaletXLownersforum/
The Aliners and Chalet owners are true fans, for the most part.
I stepped inside a smaller Aliner and decided to go for a folding tent camper (needed more space).
Also, Aliners and Chalets are on the expensive side, but they are lightweight and easy to setup. Each type of camper has its positives -- all depends on your priorities.
Livin Lite Quicksilver 8.0 (Folding Tent Camper) only 900 lbs!
wow, thank you for all the feedback. I wish I could find a dealer near by. I may have to wait for our camping show this winter.
The more I search on the net and read the more these two models really feel right. I would want a used one but not to old, one of the larger units with the bathroom facilities. Maybe if it has a cassette toilet I can adapt it to a blue portable tank? I will have to investigate. Size is not really a big problem since now we spend all day hiking trails and driving in my vw bug which is cozy with a teen, 2 dogs and 2 adults, head back to the hotel for a few hours sleep and off again. (We do have a truck we will switch to for pulling a camper of any size.) So a Chalet or Aliner would give us an extra foot or so of space.
Thank you again
Karen
I have a 2003 aliner.. and they are very easy to set up. I have a bunk model.. hence no bathroom. I have not had any major problems with mine to date... including the floor. There is a yahoo group for both aliner and chalet owners.
SuperiorBound wrote: wow, thank you for all the feedback. I wish I could find a dealer near by. I may have to wait for our camping show this winter.
The more I search on the net and read the more these two models really feel right. I would want a used one but not to old, one of the larger units with the bathroom facilities. Maybe if it has a cassette toilet I can adapt it to a blue portable tank? I will have to investigate. Size is not really a big problem since now we spend all day hiking trails and driving in my vw bug which is cozy with a teen, 2 dogs and 2 adults, head back to the hotel for a few hours sleep and off again. (We do have a truck we will switch to for pulling a camper of any size.) So a Chalet or Aliner would give us an extra foot or so of space.
Thank you again
Karen
We have a 2007 Aliner LXE. The LXE is the model with the cassette toilet & shower. For my wife and I it has been an excellent little camper. If you need room for more than two people then I would be reluctant to recommend the Aliner. Using the cassette toilet is pretty much the same as using a blue tote tank except you take the cassette tank directly to the dump site rather than emptying the contents from it to the blue tote and then taking the blue tote to the dump site. Of course, if you wished to make fewer trips you could always get a blue tote and empty the cassette tank into it. We've also had conventional pups and, although you lose living space when going to an Aliner or a Chalet, you do gain something back in terms of very easy set-up time. Instead of taking, say, 20 minutes to raise the roof and pull out and set-up the beds, it takes about 20 seconds to raise the solid roof and sides of an A-frame trailer. 30 seconds is a generous amount of time for two people. The same for folding up. And, the solid sides mean no concern about wet canvas when folding up at the end of camping. Both conventional pups and A-frames have their many good points. It all comes down to your preferences.
Rick & Karen
1998 Ford Ranger XLT 4.0L V6
Humanity is a parade of fools and I am at the head of it, cheerfully calling cadence.
You might want to check here there are some good deals and bad deals. The site is legit and I have been watching it for a couple of years. You can sometimes run across something nice and close.
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So we stick with lighter models which don't put as much strain our gas TVs.
