Tiny Trailers/Teardrops

[D Fresh]

Ok. Like most, I'm intrigued by the squaredrop offroady looking campers. But seriously, what's with the prices on those?

Even the Kodiak above, which is said to be affordable is $15k+ when optioned. To sleep me and the wife, and maybe one dog, with no indoor cooking space, and a 5 ft ceiling.

VS

A pop up that can sleep the whole family (dogs included), has a micro kitchen, and I can stand up in it. All for roughly $12k.

Or a small bunk house style TT that sleeps the whole family (dogs and cat included), has a mini kitchen AND a mini bathroom, and I can stand up in for roughly $22k.

Seems to me as though these things are the RTT of the camper world.

Sponsored

 

[HDEO]

Those rigs like the one your getting are not the norm...there almost custom built pretty much to order, and don't fall into the info I posted. But, those types of units are built carefully, with no cost cutting, using quality materials. Unfortunately, the run of the mill rigs are slapped together by $15 buck an hour workers who have certain quotas/trailers they must complete on a shift.
Many use the cheapest hardware to assemble them, and I and many other rv'ers are aware of workers running water and electric lines thru walls by just using a hammer to punch a hole thru veneer, rather than using a hole saw or wood boring bit. Common practice. One out of three screws usually miss the stud or backing that attaches one part to another.

That’s terrible! The one I’m looking at is basically a custom build and appears to be very well made but of course comes with commensurate pricing.

 

[Grumpaw]

That’s terrible! The one I’m looking at is basically a custom build and appears to be very well made but of course comes with commensurate pricing.

Honest to gosh truth...
Our previous rig, a Forrest River Class C motorhome, listed out over $100,000.00, in 2012. Top of the line rig...
Water lines and electric lines were draped over moving slide in rails that would have eventually worn holes or shorted out. No attempt by workers to properly attach to walls using 2 bucks worth of proper line attaching hardware.
Current trailer, has holes in interior cabinet bracing that were just punched with a ball peen hammer. Yeah, the holes and lines are not visible unless you take the time to look, but no excuse for poor workmanship. Interior and exterior screws that should screw straight in are at an angle. And the "quality control" people let this pass as its standard procedure. Doesn't matter the make or model or manufacturer...it's across the board.
Before our first trip , the week I got ours home, I went over everything and found loose and cross threaded water connections under bathroom sink, sensors that were cross wired, loose trim...but thankfully all stuff that I was familiar with and could fix.
And, $$$ doesn't necessarily mean its put together any better. Owners who buy class a motor homes for big $$$ have just as many problems. Even Airstream, once considered the Cadillac of rv's, are having quality problems.
The rig your getting is almost a custom built rv, with no corners cut. Its built for a specific market, for a specific purpose. There are several companies that turn out quality rv trailers and motor homes, but they cost $$$ and the average person dosen't want to spend the $$$.

 

[HDEO]

I suppose It’s easy to get caught up in the newness and romance of a trailer. I know it’s pulling me in! Great advice to keep expectations in line. Still for six figures I’d have some rather high hopes of a decent product. The one I’m looking at is about half that much. From what I’ve seen from people who’ve got one it seems pretty well made.

Others agree with you in fact I’ve seen the same advice given by a guy on YouTube. Buyer beware. The same quality one expects with a car or truck isn’t necessarily there in a mass produced trailer. I don’t have direct experience as this is my first trailer but sounds like you’ve been doing this a long time.

 

[Grumpaw]

I suppose It’s easy to get caught up in the newness and romance of a trailer. I know it’s pulling me in! Great advice to keep expectations in line. Still for six figures I’d have some rather high hopes of a decent product. The one I’m looking at is about half that much. From what I’ve seen from people who’ve got one it seems pretty well made.

Others agree with you in fact I’ve seen the same advice given by a guy on YouTube. Buyer beware. The same quality one expects with a car or truck isn’t necessarily there in a mass produced trailer. I don’t have direct experience as this is my first trailer but sounds like you’ve been doing this a long time.

I looked at the Xpedition web site and they seem to be extremely well built using top of the line materials, and have no doubt it will give you many trouble free years of service.
But it is a specific designed rv for those of you who travel to the "outback". As nice as they are, for someone like wife and I who take 2-3 week trips with 2 dogs, it's not for us. Just like everything else, many types and styles of rv's just like many types and styles of cars, trucks, shoes, and cookware.
As has been posted, you don't want to look back 20 years from now and say "I wish we had done that when we had the chance"

 

[Deleted member 1634]

Those rigs like the one your getting are not the norm...there almost custom built pretty much to order, and don't fall into the info I posted. But, those types of units are built carefully, with no cost cutting, using quality materials. Unfortunately, the run of the mill rigs are slapped together by $15 buck an hour workers who have certain quotas/trailers they must complete on a shift.
Many use the cheapest hardware to assemble them, and I and many other rv'ers are aware of workers running water and electric lines thru walls by just using a hammer to punch a hole thru veneer, rather than using a hole saw or wood boring bit. Common practice. One out of three screws usually miss the stud or backing that attaches one part to another.

Yeah, that's exactly why I'll never buy anything that you can find on an RV dealer lot.

 

[MIBuckeye]

...or ya just build your own! Save on labor...

 

[Grumpaw]

Yeah, that's exactly why I'll never buy anything that you can find on an RV dealer lot.

Pretty much the norm for the average travel trailer. But if you know what to look for and know how to remedy, it's not too bad. Most experienced rv'ers know this, and we just go ahead and modify or fix it. Easy to trim holes and add a proper grommet. Easy to remove and properly drive screws, attach loose trim, check water connections, ect. Don't think I have ever had to fix or modify something that I had to go out and buy for...usually have the stuff on hand to fix/modify/repair.
Buying used from a private party can be just as bad if they were novices when they bought...they may not have taken care of or maintained it the way it should have been.
Kind of a crap-shoot no matter which way you go.

 

[Peragrin]

Pretty much the norm for the average travel trailer. But if you know what to look for and know how to remedy, it's not too bad. Most experienced rv'ers know this, and we just go ahead and modify or fix it. Easy to trim holes and add a proper grommet. Easy to remove and properly drive screws, attach loose trim, check water connections, ect. Don't think I have ever had to fix or modify something that I had to go out and buy for...usually have the stuff on hand to fix/modify/repair.
Buying used from a private party can be just as bad if they were novices when they bought...they may not have taken care of or maintained it the way it should have been.
Kind of a crap-shoot no matter which way you go.

combine all that and the 2021 and 2022 model years and parts shortages are forcing them to make even stranger cutbacks.

personalyl I wouldn't buy a trailer made in those years. to much risk for short cuts.

As it is I am third owner of my 2015 trailer, The last guys did well in taking care of big items, but small things like cabient repairs, 12 volt outlet repairs where left lagging.

I spent a few hours repairing drawers properly, remounting slide hardware, replacing 12v outlets etc. Nothing difficult, but something that if you don't know how is frustrating and easy enough to ignore. At least they kept up with the big maintence. (lubrication, brakes, trailer lights, etc)

 

[Big Blue]

Probably 90% of the RVs out there are built by one of maybe three companies. The biggies being Forest River and Thor. They all use the chassis from the same company along with the same brands of stoves, fridges, heaters, AC, water heaters and jist about everything else. Probably in the same factory on the same assembly line. They are disposable commodities like most of the stuff we get these days. There are a few small companies doing quality custom builds. But the average consumer doesn't want to wait or pay the price for the quality.

As @Grumpaw said you really need to be a DYI fixit guy and do your own upkeep and maintenance.

 

[Grumpaw]

combine all that and the 2021 and 2022 model years and parts shortages are forcing them to make even stranger cutbacks.

personalyl I wouldn't buy a trailer made in those years. to much risk for short cuts.

As it is I am third owner of my 2015 trailer, The last guys did well in taking care of big items, but small things like cabient repairs, 12 volt outlet repairs where left lagging.

I spent a few hours repairing drawers properly, remounting slide hardware, replacing 12v outlets etc. Nothing difficult, but something that if you don't know how is frustrating and easy enough to ignore. At least they kept up with the big maintence. (lubrication, brakes, trailer lights, etc)

Kind of agree with you about the 2021-2022 models. But, for us it was a necessity as we wanted several custom features that Jayco was able to do for us...that were not available on previous models.
But all in all I think we lucked out...after fixing the few factory boo-boos the rig seems to be solid. 3 shake down trips and everything good.
As this will likely be our last rv (due to age...ours, not the rv) we wanted one built to our specs that I wouldn't have to modify.

 

[UncleWillie]

I'm going to throw my $2 bucks in...

Thanks a ton for this, Steve! My wife and I have been talking about a travel trailer for a a few years, and only recently are getting serious about it. In fact, it was Monday that we really started looking at local(ish) dealers and private/used RVs. This thread, and your post is coming at a perfect time to remind ourselves about what may be down the road for us if we pull the trigger on some of these "hot deals".

 

[Deleted member 1634]

Pretty much the norm for the average travel trailer. But if you know what to look for and know how to remedy, it's not too bad. Most experienced rv'ers know this, and we just go ahead and modify or fix it. Easy to trim holes and add a proper grommet. Easy to remove and properly drive screws, attach loose trim, check water connections, ect. Don't think I have ever had to fix or modify something that I had to go out and buy for...usually have the stuff on hand to fix/modify/repair.
Buying used from a private party can be just as bad if they were novices when they bought...they may not have taken care of or maintained it the way it should have been.
Kind of a crap-shoot no matter which way you go.

There's always a remedy, but you shouldn't have to immediately fix and modify your brand new unit because it was built poorly.
And maybe I wasn't explicit enough, but my point was essentially I would never buy from one of those big mass produced RV/trailer companies that litter the RV dealer lots. But rather from a small/smaller business that puts in the time and effort and care and quality craftmanship. And I guess that goes the same for most every product. For just a weekend warrior that uses theirs a handful of times a summer it probably doesn't matter as much. But for us, we use ours a lot and want it to last and not cause issues, which it hasn't.
That's where we got our teardrop from (a small family business in central Wisconsin) and where we'll get our van converted as well (small business in western Minnesota/eastern ND). Some place that actually cares about the product they're producing.

 

[Grumpaw]

Thanks a ton for this, Steve! My wife and I have been talking about a travel trailer for a a few years, and only recently are getting serious about it. In fact, it was Monday that we really started looking at local(ish) dealers and private/used RVs. This thread, and your post is coming at a perfect time to remind ourselves about what may be down the road for us if we pull the trigger on some of these "hot deals".

A heads up....
It is common practice among dealers who sell the same brands, NOT to want to do warranty work on rv's bought at another dealer. Camping World is one of the worst...you buy a new "Brand R" from one, and your on a trip, have a problem, and go to the Local Camping World, who also sells "Brand R"....they may or may not, at their discretion, do the warranty work. You may be asked to pay up front and try to get reimbursed from "Brand R".
Independent dealers are also just as bad, and 99% chance you will pay up front and try to get reimbursed.
If at all possible try to find a local dealer with a good reputation and that's not too far from you.
Example, my Jayco, purchased locally, dealer is only 7 miles away. Neighbor recently also bought a Jayco, but at a Camping World in Roanoke Va, about 100 miles south. Both Jayco dealers, but he has to take his down to Roanoke as the local dealer is backed up with his own sales/service, and can't accommodate him.
Private...if your not an RV'er, hopefully you know someone who is, and experienced, that can go with you to look at it. Experience will look at not only the "shiny stuff", but will get up on the roof and see if it's been maintained, look under cabinets, beds, closets, checking for water leaks. Check out every, I mean every appliance for proper operation, all electric, all water, all outlets, ect.
Remember, used=no warranty. Don't take the owners word for it that "Oh, it works just fine" ! You want to turn that ac and fridge on to make sure they get cold, the furnace to get hot, the water heater to check the hot water. Run the slides, if any, in and out checking for "noises".
Ask the owner when the last time/mileage the wheel bearings were re-packed...if he looks at you weird that means he's probably never done it. Necessary every 5000 miles or yearly !!!
If someone dosen't want to have their rig hooked up to power and water for you to check...walk away. Check tires for date codes...until the past few years when USA made Goodyears became standard, many tires came from China, and we called them "China Bombs" cause they had a large # of them literally explode, causing lots of damage to the wheel wells, brakes, electrical and gas lines that run in close proximity to the wheel wells.
Join an RV web site like IRV2...lots of info with sub headings on just about every manufacturer, and other web sites dedicated to their own brands, like Jayco Owners.
Not ment to sour you...our previous rig, after I fixed a few factory boo-boos, gave us 10 years and over 80.000 miles of trouble free service. Over time, some things broke or stopped working and were replaced, just as you would on a vehicle or your home.
Last...remember, most all car and truck sales people own and drive vehicles...most people who sell appliances, own and use appliances. The vas majority of rv sales people DO NOT own or HAVE NEVER owned an RV, and they have no experience or even the knowledge to answer your questions.
Try to get a sales person with some experience who knows their product and can give you specific answers to your questions....ask lots of them.

 

[MXGOLF]

Here is my setup. It's made for off the grid with solar and two propane tanks. It has large tires and clearance. My Ranger hardly knows it's back there. One queen and twin bed. Full stove and sink setup. My mobile condo. I bought is just pre covid and got a pretty good deal on it. The nice part is I can stand up in it too. I am 6'1" tall. I get 18.4 mpg average on all my many trips with it.

Sponsored