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Camping chatter - tent trailers
Board: Camping, Backpacking, and the Great Outdoors
Aug 30, 2016 2:15am
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Anyone out there camp in a tent trailer ? Year , make , model - likes , dislikes ? AC or no AC ?

We had one in my teens but its been so long i cant really remember too much - im considering buying a used one ....
Re: Camping chatter - tent trailers
Board: Camping, Backpacking, and the Great Outdoors
Reply to: #933812 by brailleboxer
Aug 30, 2016 2:49am
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I have had two TTs in the past and enjoyed both. One was basically a tent on wheels w/ one pull out bunk, table and that was it. Good for one or two 'cozy' people. Easy to attach, haul and set up.
The other was a Palomino w/ two pull outs, kitchenette, table, fridge, no AC. You can get them now with more luxury, motorized set up etc. They are no longer a very cheap camping item but worth the money if you like it. Good luck.
Re: Camping chatter - tent trailers
Board: Camping, Backpacking, and the Great Outdoors
Reply to: #933812 by brailleboxer
Aug 30, 2016 5:07am
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We've had our Viking for 19 years, have camped in it several times every year since! Two bunks, one queen, one full. Dinette folds down to bed also couch can open to bed. Dinette, mini fridge, heater. No AC. Started out with 5 of us, kids have grown now we occasionally bring the 2 oldest grands. Two of our kids still sometimes meet up with us! Best Times Ever! I think we have replaced the tires twice. Coldest temp.we have camped in was 25* at night, toilets in campground bathrooms froze! Teenager at the time did not like that, haha! That was just one night,all defrosted by noon, glad to have had the heater and a nice fire!
If anyone knows where there is a dealer for pop ups, we'd love to look at some new models to see how they have changed!
Re: Camping chatter - tent trailers
Board: Camping, Backpacking, and the Great Outdoors
Reply to: #933812 by brailleboxer
Aug 30, 2016 6:54am
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I used to have a Jayco pop-up tent trailer and loved it! I really would like to get another one!
Re: Camping chatter - tent trailers
Board: Camping, Backpacking, and the Great Outdoors
Reply to: #933812 by brailleboxer
Aug 30, 2016 8:54am
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We have a 2006 Fleetwood Santa Fe and love it - could never go back to tent camping. Bought it used in 2013 after the original owner traded it in to move up to something bigger (usually how it goes). No AC but it has heat! I guess the requirements for AC and/or heat will depend on the region.
We use our pop-up for our family of 5 (6 if you include the golden doodle). Easily towed with a minivan (yes it has a transmission cooler). Our typical trip is ~ 100 - 250 miles from home.

Likes:
- all the camping gear stays in the trailer - I don't miss having to store all that stuff in the shed and basement
- easy to set up and pack up (~ 30 minutes on either end)
- rainy days are much easier to handle vs being in a tent. Same for camping on sand. Same for eating inside.
- no more need to buy ice! Fridge runs on 12V, propane or 120V so we can always keep it going. We cool it and fill it with food before we leave and run it on 12V while we drive - using power supplied by the tow vehicle
- queen-sized bed on one end is nice for the adults.
- trailer brakes (huge difference in stopping)
- propane furnace is noisy when it comes on and off throughout the night
- indoor and outdoor stoves (most of the cooking is done on the outdoor stove)
- you need to worry a lot less about the site (how hard and lumpy is the ground, soil vs grass vs gravel, drainage) vs tent camping
- the van isn't completely packed with gear - it got ridiculous when we were tent camping, van packed to the roof!

Dislikes
- I need to raise the lid slightly to be able to access inside the trailer
- cannot access the fridge without raising the roof all the way up
- there's a trailer in my driveway all year and it really gets in the way!
- I wish it was a few hundred pounds lighter for towing purposes
- some competing models have heated mattresses - those would be nice

Comments
- Definitely buy one used. Even one that's a couple years old is significantly less than a new model. IMO a 5-10 year old tent trailer is the best value.
- There’s a lot of “extras” available that to me seem like too much for a tent trailer – hot water heaters, outdoor showers, slide-outs. The way I see it, if you need those things, you probably need a hard top trailer. My TT came with a water tank and a inside faucet but we never use it even if we are camping for a week. I don’t mind refilling the 20L water jug once a day.
- If you need something for one or two people, consider the small teardrop trailers (i.e. T@B) vs. pop-ups; they’re lighter and well designed. I know someone who tows one with a VW Golf!
- be carefully of early 2000’s Coleman TT’s (which were manufactured by Fleetwood), they had a major issue with leaky roofs.

Hope that helps
Re: Camping chatter - tent trailers
Board: Camping, Backpacking, and the Great Outdoors
Reply to: #933839 by Bon Echo
Aug 30, 2016 12:06pm
Thread (disabled) Board
Keep all of the information coming everyone thank you very much finding all of this very helpful-we have had every kind of trailer you can imagine hard sided-tent trailer-motorhome-fifth wheel etc. just want something that's easy to toe easy to store in the garage that I don't have to pay storage on that I can take out set up at the campground for a week and not have to worry about it

Bon echo your review was very helpful especially about the early 2000 Coleman models because that's exactly what I've been looking for lol and also the person that said they had the Viking for all those years ( I think it was a Viking ) that's good to know 19 years later you still have the same trailer and the canvas is still holding up on it etc.

Yes tent trailers have come a long long way in the last 20 years - I have an idea of what we want and I'm waiting for camping season to be over so that everyone that has camp in them over the season now wants to get rid of them and get into something bigger because that always happens ... The new tent trailers here in California are outrageously expensive between $13-$20,000 I just about had a heart attack I'm looking to spend a fraction of that price and there's plenty on craigslist to pick farm .
Thanks again everyone and please please keep your comments coming
Re: Camping chatter - tent trailers
Board: Camping, Backpacking, and the Great Outdoors
Reply to: #933863 by brailleboxer
Aug 30, 2016 12:29pm
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I'm waiting for camping season to be over so that everyone that has camp in them over the season now wants to get rid of them and get into something bigger because that always happens ...

Actually your best bet at getting a trade-in might be in late winter. Here in Ontario (Canada, not California) the RV shows are held in February and March - that's when a lot of smaller trailers get traded in for bigger ones. I contacted a dealer in January about a couple trailers they had advertised. Those TTs weren't quite what I was after, and the dealer let me know they had a show coming up and would contact me know if any TTs came it. They got back to me a few weeks later because they did take in a TT as a trade-in from that show, which is the trailer we ended up buying from them.

The trailer shows are okay for seeing some of the new TTs, but most of the dealers only had the huge massive you-call-that-camping type trailers. Better profit margins.

FWIW, the dealer we bought from also rents out TTs for a few years and then sells them. Prices are decent if you can accept that it was a rental. That deal removed a some of the "breakable luxury" items (like power lift and I forget what else), and then reinstalled them prior to resale.

Used 10' TTs, 2004 - 2008 were around $4000 - $7000 CND when I was shopping. We paid $4500 and I think I could sell it now for the same price 4 years later. depreciation is very steep in the first couple years but pretty much levels off after that - not like a automobile which goes towards $200 in scrap value over ~10 years. IMO.
Re: Camping chatter - tent trailers
Board: Camping, Backpacking, and the Great Outdoors
Reply to: #933865 by Bon Echo
Aug 30, 2016 1:17pm
Thread (disabled) Board
Buying used from a dealer here is a joke ! Looking at 7-10 grand for a 2000 model - i found the private party sales are good - 1000-6we want to rent one for a weekend then see what we love or hate about the model we rent . For us in cali camping season really does not ever die down till like dec but then we have had 80 degrees at christmas - im thinking . People start thinking about the new years camping season in like feb , so im thinking the prime time to look for used is like nov- feb which is fine with me
Good idea on the used sale thing - im going to talk to some people i know

Like I said please keep the info coming everyone :-)
Re: Camping chatter - tent trailers
Board: Camping, Backpacking, and the Great Outdoors
Reply to: #933863 by brailleboxer
Aug 30, 2016 1:51pm
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I so want this.

Or this.
Re: Camping chatter - tent trailers
Board: Camping, Backpacking, and the Great Outdoors
Reply to: #933883 by Wry Me
Aug 30, 2016 5:11pm
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Ive seen those on craigslist for like 2000 $
Re: Camping chatter - tent trailers
Board: Camping, Backpacking, and the Great Outdoors
Reply to: #933812 by brailleboxer
Sep 17, 2016 11:45am
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We had a 2006 Aliner folding camper and loved it. It did have AC but we rarely used it - mostly New England camping. I loved that it folded, setup was 30 seconds and no wet canvas, camped well into the very late fall. Minus was no bathroom and a lack of floor space.