I did a thing today.

One thing we have is a fair amount of downhill. I averaged 16 MPG with my pop up (it's about 2.5-3K loaded with gear) on a trip up the Colorado mountains and back. Up was definitely worse. Down was not bad. So I don't know. I guess we will see.

 

That's exactly the floorplan of trailer that I'm researching for my family. Let us know how it works out for you!

 

The only downside is that the dinette table definitely will not seat 4. Really one adult and two small kids. Other than that I think it's the perfect layout and the only other thing I can find with larger dinettes requires you to break it down into the queen bed daily which I didn't want to do. We eat outside as much as we can anyway. If anything I'll work on making an extension to the table that can either slide into some brackets or that is hinged and can swing under and secure for when we aren't eating. It would stick out into the walkway too much if you left it.

One thing about this specific one is that some have roof mounted A/C. Ours has side mounted A/C. The roof mounted one I would hit my head on (I'm 6' tall), and while avoidable, it's right around the dinette which when I stood up I'd be hitting my head all the time lol. So something to think about if you're tall.

 

Well, tangent topic - but what pop-ups do ya'll recommend these days? We have always been primitive campers but now that we have a little one we need something a bit more reasonable to take a baby than our normal hammock camping

Initially was looking into getting a TT but the more we think on it, for ease of storage and towing we're now thinking we'll start w/ a pop-up and then see if we use it enough to grow into something larger that's less setup. I always remember when I was growing up how annoying it was having to crank the thing forever to get it setup but I guess they have power tools we can use for that nowadays...

Interested in recommendations as we'd probably be looking to get something used in the <$5k range to start but would want A/C, heat, water hookups - toilet/minishower optional but would be nice options to have. Just us 2 adults and a little one.

 

We had a Flagstaff MAC 206ST that I really liked, made by Forest River. It had furnace, hot water heater, 3-burner stove, outside shower and a spot for a port-a-potty but not plumbed.

I liked the brand. There are a few things we went back and forth with and decided to trade up to a TT.

Even with the elctric winch up/down of the roof, it still takes a fair amount of time to setup. You have to attach the support pieces, attach canvas, attach bed supports (2 per end), roll out the beds, attach the door, put up interior canvas supports over beds, hook up water drainage, all that after leveling and disconnecting from the tow vehicle. It would be a nightmare if you got somewhere and it was raining. I've had that happen both with tent camping and with the pop up. It will be nice to just park, level/stabalize and the kids can go inside and play, or if raining I can just button down until it's over to finish other minor things.

I did bring a cordless drill and a piece from camco which fit on the stabilizer jacks for really fast up/down of those.

It did fit in our garage which was nice. The TT won't and I'm now paying about $46/month for storage. Not too bad.

Pop up is lower profile and will tow easier with less wind resistance vs. the TT.

We had storage in the front of the pop up. With the bed extended you can't easily access it, nor could I easily access the propane system that I upgraded to 2 x 20lb tanks since I put a cover over them. Without that though you could get to the on/off.

Lots more storage in the TT, even though it's not huge at 21 foot. You can access the front storage from under the queen bed inside.

There is more counter space for prep work for cooking.

There is an over-stove vent that vents outside in the TT!

Temperature wise, it gets cold here in CO overnight even during summer camping and especially during early season camping. Hard sided should keep us much warmer.

As the kids get older, they now have their own bunk and wouldn't have to share a bed.

Overall the cons of towing/storage and smaller dinette are far outweight by the pros for us.

 

The top floor plan is the one we have now. We towed it with a 14 Tacoma, didn't like the way it towed, so we traded that in on a 14 Tundra, then decided the Tacoma suited us better as a daily and bought a 16 Tacoma. We now have an 18 Tacoma.

Tried talking the family into a smaller unit, the Jayco Baja floor plan below, but was shot down real quick.

I really like the new No Boundaries 19.5 but just way too expensive.

http://www.forestriverinc.com/product-details.aspx?LineID=519&Image=25133&ModelID=3796#Main

 

Here's our floor plan:

 

Great response.

The dinette was a concern of mine as well. But... eating outside as much as possible is the plan. Although, the wife and kids can sit and I can eat at the kitchen counter.

The top mounted A/C should be fine for us though. I'm the tall one in my family and I'm just shy of 5'10". LOL!

I'm interested to see how it tows with the Tacoma. Hopefully it's not a chore.

 

Well I'm sure it won't tow it easy lol and I'll know it's back there. If it does decent at 55 up some of the steep stuff we have here, I'm fine with that. Can't be going 75MPH with one of these things and some states won't let you go over 55 anyway when towing.

 

I'd like to know how it tows. I'm interested in getting one in a year or two.

 

Will update probably late next month is when the first significant trip will be.

 

I really like those hard sided high-walls like you have! But looks like they only have a single bed option in their floor plans? and I'd need a twin at the least for our daughter. Looks pretty easy/quick to set up

 

I want one but the depreciation on a trailer might be the worst possible if you're not planning to keep it for your entire life.

Nice congrats . You'll have her paid off in like 15 years

 

I'd be surprised if we didn't just pay the rest off in the next 3-4 years.

It's dumb it's a 10 year loan for not a ton lol. But we're putting a deck in on our house so we'll just pay on the TT for a while.

 

Exactly, that's how most do it. It's hilarious how long you can get these trailers financed for.

 

Baja 175RD- tows great, but a big suggestion: you guys are going to need a bigger gas tank, or take some cans! I carry 15gallons extra in a double sealed box I keep in the bed between the wheelwells. We went to Utah with it and I was able to keep up a safe speed on I-15 with the other cars and trucks, even on steep grades, and I’ve towed it up to our local mountains with an average 4% or so grade over 20 miles with no problems in summer 100+ degree heat. We fit 7 around the dinette for thanksgiving dinner (put extra folding chairs on the hall side of the table, too).

 

Guess you didn't read the part where he said he was paying it off early. Some people are not worried about depreciation and are more interested in enjoying life. It was a $10,000.00 trailer. The most it could depreciate is $10,000.00.

 

He knew I was kidding, it was a joke about trailer financing. Guess you didn't get that part

 

You carry that much extra? I mean...I thought about 5 lol. But there's stations fairly frequently around here.

What tanks or setup do you use?

 

I frequent areas in the Mojave desert where theres a lot of miles between gas stations, and several of them only offer regular or diesel, and that’s only on days when the owners aren’t too hung over to go to work or aren’t out of town doing their grocery shopping. So, I carry Eagle 5-gallon steel safety cans- they auto vent, have flame arrestors and are DOT certified. I use three 5-gallon cans locked up in a leak proof chest that is kept between the wheel wells. The problem with one large auxiliary tank is if you get one puncture, it all leaks out. Also, handling that much fuel in single exposed jerry can tanks on the back of your truck is not safe in rear end accidents. Been there, seen the aftermath, best simply described as not good.