Shop Time w/T.W. Friends. Torque wrench on spark plugs, we need answers so cast your vote now

Good afternoon guys. Have a great weekend!

 

Sounds like you need a line gauge…

 

loved my pop-up.....

 

Afternoon all! Went fishing this morning and caught this hog, then shared a fish with my co fisherman.

 

That very well could be a printer issue.

I was doing that with circuit boards for some time, and every printer I had to use, I had to run a number of test prints and play with the page zoom to get my screen-to-print accuracy correct

Edit: I was using an AutoCAD program, and changed my scaling for every print.

Your scale very well could be wrong

 

Fixed it for you.

The cost of the accommodations is less important than the quality of time you spend with the family.

When I was young we had a Serro Scotty Sportsman 13 - 10 feet of body and 3 feet of tongue. It had a 2 burner stove, propane light, 6 gallon water tank with a hand pump and an icebox -- you put block ice in it every 2 days or so.

Add in a deck of cards, Yahtzee game and a transistor radio and we never wanted for anything.

 

Fun fact, my family grew up on jayco's version of that trailer. Back when jayco still made popups.

We used one to go all the way across to colorado and back.

My parents upgraded to a single axle hybrid.

The main issue is the size. as a family we're generally 'outside campers', where we spend most of the time away from the camper other than to sleep. So they don't need much, and generally try to stay under 20'. But dual axles are quite rare on anything under 20'.
https://www.reddit.com/r/GoRVing/comments/1c7febi/do_short_dual_axel_travel_trailers_exist/

They upgraded away from the jayco popup mostly due to their age, and the setup/takedown process. When they had the popup, they also had 4 kids to help them. Now they're mostly setting up/taking down themselves.

They're already saying their next model will likely be a hard side, despite the interior space disadvantage (the hybrid layout is just so dang convenient!)

There's also a lot more fear mongering about soft sides and bear attacks via Facebook that contributes to the lack of popups and hybrids.

 

It should be noted that from what Google tells me, those were around 1974.

And $995 in 1974 is equal to $6503.22 in 2025.


The good news is that the post-covid bust has significantly remapped the market.

They're definitely starting to come out with smaller trailers that are much more basic.
A sub-$15k-near $10k new trailer 5 years ago was unheard of. Now most brands all have created at least one variant with 2-3 different layouts even.

This is one I've been eyeballing once I get caught up on some stuff.
https://www.83rv.com/RVS/rv-listings/2025-sunlite-13bd/

But there's a few others that are all similar.
https://heartlandrvs.com/rv-model/prowler-17rbx/

 

Since we’re talking about campers, here’s my monstrosity….

 

He brings the front porch with him!

 

Not just a front porch, but a screened in porch!(I left the side screen off in this pic)

 

We have fun every time we go!

 

I've

I've got a coworker that does that with a slide in truck camper. Makes it easier when he takes the 4 wheelers out.

 

The photo is an ad and prices from 1960, the 15 foot model was introduced and Sportsman 10 model was discontinued after 1960.

Our trailer was a 1961 model, $795 = $8633.94 today.

 

So kind of amazing that for only $4,000 more, the newer similar trailers I posted are larger, have A/C, a full bathroom, and electronic trailer brakes...

 

The new ones weigh 3000 pounds too, our little Scotty weighed 975 pounds and would fit in a residential garage with a 7' high door. You could pull it with just about any 1960s-70's car.

Times (the market) have changed from “getting away from it all” to “getting away with it all” it seems.

 

You can still get away from it all. It's called tenting.

I'm done with tenting for a variety of reasons. The biggest one being that I can consistently make it downpour by preparing to either set or take down a tent. I was also traumatized as a child for having things touch the sides of a tent during a rain storm. Which wicks rainwater through the tent fabric and floods the tent.

I like my A/C, and I like my private toilet. I want to get away from most people. Campers maintain that.