Travel trailer first time shopper

[sidpost]

First, a bit about me:
I'm in my early 50's and have dry camped most of my life. In particular, a lot of camping out West mainly in Arizona. I'm into extended hikes (~20 mile days on occasion) in remote areas and love to ride my dirt bike in really remote places without the dangers of half-drunk or drugged idiots riding like lunatics. I routinely pull an 8.5'x24'x11.5' enclosed trailer and a 20' utility trailer (both bumper pull) so, I know what it takes to pull a 14K pound trailer with a gas pickup thru car pumps at random gas stations. I want something easier to pull than these beasts and something easier on my body at camp today.

What I think I want:
Something I can pull easily. By easily, gas up at car pumps, pull with a normal mid-size SUV (Nissan Xterra or Jeep Wrangler) or Cross-Over (Subaru, RAV4, etc.). I expect to always have a pickup, likely a 1/2 ton 4WD but, you never know what life has in store for the future. Additionally, I want something that doesn't hang back too hard because of wind drag and I definitely don't want something that will put me in the ditch or mediam with heavy gusty winds I ran into out West (Las Cruces and El Paso was always ugly even with steady wind in the 'canyon').

What I'm looking at:

• Forrest River Rpod
• Livin-Lite
• Escapod
• Colorado Teardrops

What's important to me:

• Good build quality that won't 'shake down' over the long haul.
• Good bed for one person
• Basic off-grid kitchen with a fridge/freezer
• Air Conditioner electricity if I'm at a nice campsite / over-night place
• At least 15" tires, preferably 16's
• Outdoor shower

What's not important too me:

• Something overly long, maybe 16' hitch to tail light though 20'~24' is do-able
• Toilet and shower in the trailer, preferring more interior space
• Dish or Direct-TV
• carpeted floors

What advice and recommendations do you have?

TIA,
Sid

[Oct Prime]

Add T@g and T@b campers to your list.
Also, Jayco makes a 10rk that might interest you.

[Normal_Dave]

This sounds perfect for you:
Intech Flyer Explore
https://youtu.be/BILCZTRQPQU

Add their lift kit for extra ground clearance, take your bike with you or not, best of both worlds.
https://www.intechrv.com/explore.php

[450Donn]

You might instead look at Lance, Nash or one of the smaller offerings from OutdoorRV. All those whould be betyer choices. Both Northwood and Outdoor build on in house frames, so their stronger and better built that the mass produced junk your looking at.

[tuffr2]

My 1st thought is your tow vehicle is not going to be tough enough to do what you want as they are all car based.

I am thinking for your activity level a jeep or off road factory truck like the Ford Ranger Raptor or Chevy Colorado off road edition towing an Aliner Expedition raised with off road rugged tires.

I think T@B makes an off road type trailer. The T@B has an outside shower I think.

Again - my thought is you need rugged TV and Camper.

[Cumminsfan]

This would fit your needs IMO. I looked at them at an RV a few months back. Nicely built with an impressive frame and suspension.

https://www.blackseriescamper.com/tr...lers/hq15.html

[tuffr2]

This is outside the box but get an off road truck with a cap and air mattress. Take two 6 gallon containers of water to use to keep clean.

This works if you are ok with a sleeping bag in cold weather.

Heck on a camper, it will only hold you back.

[sidpost]

Originally Posted by Cumminsfan

This would fit your needs IMO. I looked at them at an RV a few months back. Nicely built with an impressive frame and suspension.

https://www.blackseriescamper.com/tr...lers/hq15.html

That looks nice. Thanks for pointing it out.

The South African Conqueror was tempting as well but, the price is really steep and I suspect more targeted at Safari guys and gals with expensive double rifles and $100K Safari trips.

[sidpost]

Originally Posted by 450Donn

You might instead look at Lance, Nash or one of the smaller offerings from OutdoorRV. All those whould be betyer choices. Both Northwood and Outdoor build on in house frames, so their stronger and better built that the mass produced junk your looking at.

How about the

• Escapod
• Colorado Teardrops

Anything specific in your post about these two options? The Colorado Canyonland looks like a good fit from the remote spec surfing perspective.

[sidpost]

Originally Posted by tuffr2

This is outside the box but get an off road truck with a cap and air mattress. Take two 6 gallon containers of water to use to keep clean.

This works if you are ok with a sleeping bag in cold weather.

Heck on a camper, it will only hold you back.

I have considered this option but, my back gives me trouble these days so I'm looking to 'rough it' a bit more gently these days.

I did a lot of car camping in my Grand Marquis even on forestry service roads marked 4x4 recommended in the past. A small tent and sleeping bag with a Coleman stove is attractive but, not really the best option at this stage of my life and health.

[OldShu]

Oliver makes a 5000 GVW trailer.

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/?ut...SAAEgKo0PD_BwE

EDIT: We did the factory tour last year trying to decide what we where going to upgrade to and they are impressive.

[shane_the_ee]

Take a look at the smallest Lance models..

[richardcoxid]

Look at Outdoors RV, timber Ridge Class they have the 16” G/Y Endurance tires as a option, also their Creek Side Class not sure about the 16” tire option though. OD RV makes their own frames!

[1bigmess]

My suggestion would be to look at the larger SUVs, as there are some pretty good ones, and really try to avoid the Subarus and RAV4s unless you really want to go with a small trailer. The Ford EcoBoost half ton pickups tow very well and get good fuel economy as a grocery-getter, and the larger the tow vehicle the better you'll be able to more safely resist the side winds you talked about, and we've all had our own fun with one way or another while towing. A good weight distributing and anti-sway hitch will help make towing pleasant too.

You said you want some more comfort for your aging body by specifically mentioning your back. This has me thinking that a tiny bathroom setup might not be too good for you, so you might really want to lean towards one of the larger trailers. I have an ORV 19B, it can be towed with a half ton pickup or the right full sized SUV, and has what I consider to be a minimum sized bathroom and shower for my 6' 3" 250 sized carcass. It has all that you've asked for. The queen sized bed is nice to come home to when I'm all worn out. I've boondocked in it quite a bit before using it to travel around for work, and it does the job very well, and after living in it full time for four years, I plan on at least another four years, maybe more. Very happy with this RV. https://www.lassenrv.com/inventory/v...egon---2665511

You still ride the dirt bike and want to take it with you? Toy haulers could also work well for you, and if you put a motorcycle or two in the back with some gas cans, etc., it levers some tongue weight off the hitch, so look into those. I don't know much about them myself except for what I've said here.

If your goal is to stay really light though, I would offer this advice, and I want all new towable RV shoppers to consider this wisdom:

Find a trailer floorplan that you absolutely love, then go get the tow vehicle it will take to safely tow it, in that order. You can't have too much tow vehicle, and when you get a Subie with a breadbox connected to it hit with a strong sidewind, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. I'm not trying to tell you to go get a 3/4 ton diesel pickup, just think of this in terms of finding what I want to use for an RV, and then find what it will take to tow it well in the conditions you will be using it in. That is why I have a smallish trailer and a 3/4 pickup. I have been able to *everywhere* I've wanted to go, and it's been great.