Let's Talk About The Longest Lasting Travel Trailers

I expect my Toyota to still be here and kicking in 25 years. I suspect that most of you expect your Toyota to still be doing pretty good in 25 years.

Time
Unfortunately travel trailers are not made to the same standard. There are a lot of good, fun, functional trailers, but We are here to talk about longevity.

15 Year Life Expectancy
Most travel trailers are pretty clapped out after about 15 years. Go look at RVTrader for 15 year old travel trailers. You won't find much.

Water Damage
Construction in the RV industry has not changed much. Generally speaking some kind of fiber exterior panel covering wood or aluminum framing with some foam insulation. All of that is glued together. After 12 years of being just a little wet, wood rots and glue releases. Check out the pictures. This is called delamination. It is not an if, it is a when.

Sun Damage
Sometime in the 80's or 90's most RV companies started using copious amounts of plastic. In the sun the plastic cracks and then it starts leaking.

Long Lasting Trailers
There are only 2 types of travel trailers that seem to survive. The first are the fiberglass trailers. Here is a list of current manufactures. Most of these companies are building these like boats. They last for a very long time and by design are extremely resistance to moisture damage.

Fiberglass

• Bigfoot
• Casita
• EggCamper
• Escape
• Lil Snoozy
• Little Joe
• Oliver
• Parkliner
• Scamp
• Trillium

Aluminum
There are a few companies building trailers on cargo trailer platforms. These should hold up in the long term. The only other trailer company that is building trailers that will last out of aluminum is Airstream. As of 2020 the only thing that can rot on a Airstream is the steel frame. Everything is impervious to water and there is no glue holding anything together.

Vintage
There are a lot of old airstream and fiberglass trailers that are in pretty good shape. Modern appliances can bring these survivors up to modern safety standards.










Some Good Trailers

 

Holy moly, hopefully this was just for a photo op! That thing is probably dicey to pull with a Tacoma at 4900 lbs empty and a 7000lb GVWR. I suppose the aerodynamics aren't too bad though.

The first time I fell in love with fiberglass was camping in our NoBo next to one of those Scamp 5th wheels being towed by a Frontier. I thought it was so damn cool.

...until I saw the interior. Talk about vintage.



But nonetheless, it's essentially what got me researching into fiberglass trailers and seeing how much of a difference it makes to just bite the bullet and spend the money on one if you're going for the long haul.

 

They make these things called covers, most people are too lazy to use them, my toy hauler is 5 years old and the exterior looks brand new, I get comments all the time.

 

With proper maintenance and inside storage you can get a lot of years out of some of these. I wont use a cover. I have seen a lot of damage from just a little bit of slack that the wind can work on.

 

Add Boler to the list - many 50 year old ones are still going.
They are very small. Forces you to live "out of" rather than "live in".

I would put Scamp at the bottom of quality, but they still are long lasting.

 

The standard trim is definitely pretty spartan. The deluxe is decent though. Also keep in mind the price of a scamp is below most other trailers. For around $20k you can get a new travel trailer that sleeps 2-4 has all the functionality (shower, toilet, bed, you can stand up in it, sink ect) of a more $$$ trailer. 50 years from now it will still have that functionality.



BOLER
If you guys want to go down the vintage rabbit hole I am up for it.

 

I agree about the spartan interior on a Scamp - but it functions just fine. That was what I was trying to say about quality - I didn't select the right words - I didn't mean to offend. I like the simpleness of Scamps, just like the Boler.

Boler is back in production under a new name.
https://www.armadillotrailers.ca/

 

Seriously looking at an Airstream Bambi. For only one person it looks perfect. I’m not thrilled about the super shiny exterior. Has anyone ever painted one?

My thought is to paint it Voodoo blue to match my truck.

 

There are several lengths of the Bambi and caravel that would make a good option for a tacoma.

Current models have a very nice clear coat on brushed aluminum. Shiny trailers are vintage.

I would not paint one. The whole build process is wavy and paint tends to bring that out.

 

Airstream trailers are top of the line high quality trailers. You pay for them though, they are $$$$ expensive. With a little care they will last a lifetime.

 

Our 19' Scamp (front bath / deluxe) turned twenty last year and is still going strong. I replaced the fridge and the torsion axle recently but she's otherwise original. The molded fiberglass campers aren't for everyone but most can be easily towed by a midsize truck or SUV and they hold their value exceptionally well. I'm confident I could sell mine for at least what I paid in 08 and probably a bit more if I wasn't in a hurry.

 

What year is your scamp? A 2000? I am Headed out for a day hike and I have already passed two scamps, one pulled by a taco. They are good looking campers.

When you say these are not for everyone can you go over what you mean? Is it mainly just the size? I would really like to know any negatives.

I put a new torsion axle in my 1966 trailer last year. It turned out to be a surprisingly easy process.

For anyone following along, torsion axles were pioneered by airstream 70 years ago. Both of those topics deserve their own post. Just know that torsion Axles offer true independent suspension. Leaf springs are generally found on cheap or extremely heavy travel trailers. Leaf springs are good at carrying different loads.

 

Yep, 2000 19 Deluxe w/ front bath, built in October of 99. Although they’re often referred to as fifth wheels, the trailer portion of the hitch is actually a bumper type coupler which connects to a ball mounted to a crossbar in the bed of the truck. To the best of my knowledge, this setup is unique to Scamp and a bit of fabrication is required to adapt it to the composite bed in a Tacoma.

“Not for everyone” - The Scamp works well for us but some folks think it’s too small. I’m 6’4” and on the wrong side of 250# but don’t have any problems. We replaced the foam cushion mattress with a custom made pillow top and sleep well. In full disclosure, we spend very little time in the camper except when using the head / shower or sleeping. All cooking, eating and lounging is done outside - either under the awning or in a quality screen room if the weather is bad.

We prefer camping on public lands and the Scamp is rugged enough and small enough to travel on maintained USFS and BLM roads. It tows great. - even better than the 16’ bumper pull Scamp we had previously. We’ve made a few mods: the mattress and hi lift axle mentioned previously, larger tires, replaced the floor carpet with tile, added a Maxx Fan over the upper berth (seldom need the AC now), replaced the bulbs with LEDs, dual 6v golf cart batteries and a few more minor changes/additions. I wouldn’t mind having an Escape 5.0 TA but, really, the old Scamp checks all our boxes.

 

They are typically referred to as goose neck trailers. This is the ball and hitch design for horse trailers. When I had my F250 and 350, I had a set up that was under the bed. There was a thin bar in the wheel well that you pulled and you could flip the ball upside down so it would lay flat with the bed when not in use. Since we have composite beds, I was unsure if this system would work with our trucks.
Interesting.....
What does your Scamp weigh unloaded?
https://www.sdtrucksprings.com/inde...7G3_KT6KUGnzqciali4oGfPDMW3OENOhoCvFkQAvD_BwE

 

We have a couple of gooseneck equipment trailers on the farm and its not exactly one of those either but that's a closer description than fifth wheel. I attached the hitch towers to two pieces of 60" x 6" flat stock and then mounted those to the bed using the three (per side) OE bed bolts. The ball goes on 3" 'C' channel between the towers. Nothing relies on the actual bed for strength so the composite construction isn't an issue. Home made but it works.

 

I bet that does tow like a dream. Moving the leverage point to the axle really makes for a rock solid tow. That is a really great setup. The history you will have with that trailer is going to be the stuff of legend. 20 years still going strong.

 

Can someone do a web search and tell me what the average lifespan of a travel trailer is? I am afraid I may be getting customized results.

 

Everything I saw said around 10 years.

 

I have talked to 3 owners of Airstreams over the course of this spring and summer. They were sharing a campground with me. All 3 owners sold their previous Airstream trailers for more then they bought them for when they sold their trailer after 7, 11 and 22 years.

 

Yes, if you consider ten years to be a considerable period of time. To ensure that your RV lasts a long time, make sure you buy from a reputable and sturdy brand and maintain it properly.