Tiny Trailers

[padlin]

The vast majority of campgrounds we use are public, many small trailers, tents, pop-ups, and such.

Took the grand kids camping this week for the 1st time with the Escape, they've been harassing us since we got it. Also for the 1st time we went to a "resort" campground, pool, lake, mini golf, kids activities all day, and a price to match the size of everyone's trailer, but ours.

Tons of kids for them to play with, probably more kids then adults. Many of the kids wanted to see the Escape. We tried to avoid such as dirt covered kids don't worry about climbing on the beds and such. Those that did see it all gave us a "it's too small". All I heard from our grand kids was how big all the other trailers were.

Hard to explain to 6 year olds why you actually wanted a small camper. I gave up.

[P&L]

We stopped at one of those campgrounds last Spring and one RV owner said they bought theirs to travel with their best friends. Unfortunately, they couldn't afford to travel far....it cost them $1500 in gas from Los Angeles to San Francisco. For us, it's less than two tanks of gas in our Tacoma!

[Jim Bennett]

It is never worth trying to explain to someone who has a huge RV what the appeal is of our trailers. Many just want as much volume for the buck they can get, and pay no heed to quality or the limited places they can camp. This is all good though, as they tend to fill up the RV parks and stay away from the more intimate type campgrounds I much prefer.

[rbryan4]

It's funny though Jim - the drivers of those behemoths always seem to be clamoring for a tour of our "little" trailer. Many of them have said things like "this is all you need" or "I'll bet you save a ton in gas" or "you know, I've thought about downsizing". Then, this is always followed by the "but".

[currinh]

Originally Posted by rbryan4

It's funny though Jim - the drivers of those behemoths always seem to be clamoring for a tour of our "little" trailer. Many of them have said things like "this is all you need" or "I'll bet you save a ton in gas" or "you know, I've thought about downsizing". Then, this is always followed by the "but".

But never followed by "nice, would you like a tour of ours?".

Thanks.

[escape artist]

Originally Posted by padlin

The vast majority of campgrounds we use are public, many small trailers, tents, pop-ups, and such.

Took the grand kids camping this week for the 1st time with the Escape, they've been harassing us since we got it. Also for the 1st time we went to a "resort" campground, pool, lake, mini golf, kids activities all day, and a price to match the size of everyone's trailer, but ours.

Tons of kids for them to play with, probably more kids then adults. Many of the kids wanted to see the Escape. We tried to avoid such as dirt covered kids don't worry about climbing on the beds and such. Those that did see it all gave us a "it's too small". All I heard from our grand kids was how big all the other trailers were.

Hard to explain to 6 year olds why you actually wanted a small camper. I gave up.

Hi: padlin... We did the same thing as you last week. Lots of stuff for the "Grands" to do at the KOA. Lots of trailer tours for "Gramps" to give as I met a guy I worked with for over 18 yrs. and met a couple we knew there with their 5.0 single axle!!! Whoda thunk it? My oldest "Grand" commented "Grampa's quite chatty"!!! Kids notice more than you think!!! Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[wetzk]

Originally Posted by padlin

The vast majority of campgrounds we use are public, many small trailers, tents, pop-ups, and such.

Took the grand kids camping this week for the 1st time with the Escape, they've been harassing us since we got it. Also for the 1st time we went to a "resort" campground, pool, lake, mini golf, kids activities all day, and a price to match the size of everyone's trailer, but ours.

Tons of kids for them to play with, probably more kids then adults. Many of the kids wanted to see the Escape. We tried to avoid such as dirt covered kids don't worry about climbing on the beds and such. Those that did see it all gave us a "it's too small". All I heard from our grand kids was how big all the other trailers were.

Hard to explain to 6 year olds why you actually wanted a small camper. I gave up.

And they will hopefully remember times like this the rest of their lives. I remember when I was young my Mom's grandparents would take myself and a cousin with them on trips. Sometimes to the Airstream rally's other times to campgrounds where they spent the warm season. I guess you could have called them sun birds. After a few weeks my parents or hers would show up and collect the two of us and work their way back home. While that was sometimes exciting like when they stopped at trucker spots usually it was sit in the back and be quiet. With the grandparents though we had fun, canoeing, borrowing a bike from the campground and riding around, playing with other kids, being fed treats by all the adopted grandparents we often had and such. Neither of her sisters were interested in ever going with them and my one brother was two small and the other did not like it either. If I remember right theirs was a 21 foot Airstream so it was not large. But we seldom other than sleeping were inside so that did not matter.

[P&L]

Originally Posted by currinh

But never followed by "nice, would you like a tour of ours?".

Ha! One time someone wanted to see our trailer, and of course, "Wow, it's so small! Would you like to see ours?" They had some kind of sticky and what a mess! Dishes piled high, bed unkempt and their table was stacked pile high with papers! They were only there for two nights to watch the eclipse of the moon. Hate to see what their home looks like. With my 19' everything is in it's place and I'm proud of what we have.

Lorna

[kkinna]

Funny how many positive comments we get at the nicer parks like KOA. People love to ask about our Escape, and some of the women in particular, seem to look at it longingly. Love it!

[yardsale]

Apart from the lower carbon footprint and operating cost of the 17B, I like that everything in the trailer only has ONE place for storage. I never lose anything while living in it. Also like it because it's NOT like home. It forces you to decide what stuff you really need. We have looked at both Lance and Oliver trailers for their Superior winter capability but haven't pulled the trigger, in part, because they are both too big.

[Brian B-P]

When I saw the thread title, I thought it was going to be about actual tiny trailers. There are many trailers which make any Escape look huge, owned by people who wouldn't want anything larger. For examples, think of tent trailers and teardrops.

There are many styles and sizes of RV to match the many different needs and preferences of owners, and I think that's great.
I understand why so many people feel the need to insult the owners of every size, type, and brand of RV other than their own, but I think it's sad.

[Losangeles]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

When I saw the thread title, I thought it was going to be about actual tiny trailers. There are many trailers which make any Escape look huge, owned by people who wouldn't want anything larger. For examples, think of tent trailers and teardrops.

There are many styles and sizes of RV to match the many different needs and preferences of owners, and I think that's great.
I understand why so many people feel the need to insult the owners of every size, type, and brand of RV other than their own, but I think it's sad.

I could not agree more with you Brian (about the whole "size" thing)

[P&L]

I don't see this thread as insulting, but mere observations. This is the 'Escape Forum' and we are proud of what we have and the options that make our trailer unique. Our 60+ year old bones (and bladder ) can't tolerate tiny anymore and we are thrilled that we can maneuver and camp anywhere we want, going farther on a tank of gas than the larger RV's we studied. This works for us and I always look forward to the next trip.

Lorna

[Loren & Cathy]

I look at trailer size like this. Are you going to take it to one location and park for weeks and months at a time or are you going to be moving across the country and be in a different location almost every night? Our travel style is the latter and the 21 is almost to big for that in my opinion. But it has really worked out good, being use for work more than anything else. I've lived in it over three months working where Cathy has only been in it the 10 days we were bringing it home. We're heading for the Texas hill country this fall. Loren

[Steve Clark]

Originally Posted by P&L

Our 60+ year old bones (and bladder ) can't tolerate tiny anymore and we are thrilled that we can maneuver and camp anywhere we want.

Lorna

When we first began our search for a trailer, we looked first at 'tiny'. We immediately decided our bladder would not cooperate. So glad our search brought us to Escape!

[Santiago]

Kim and I have noticed the big boys "looking down" on our smaller and cute trailer when at a full service campground. I suspect part of the attitude is that the size and complexity of their rig is getting to them. We have many acquaintances that slowed their use because it is a lot of work and they are limited to where they fit. Our big RV friends slowly lost interest and their coaches sit idle. Two offered to sell to us knowing how much we like to land travel, not camp but travel. Heck our 21ft Escape is already way too big for our style of travel, much less something over 30ft !!!

I understand many small glass trailer owners are large rig refugees. I like the big RVs for what they offer as I like everything on wheels but the drawbacks are more than I am willing to accept.

[escape artist]

Originally Posted by Loren & Cathy

I look at trailer size like this. Are you going to take it to one location and park for weeks and months at a time or are you going to be moving across the country and be in a different location almost every night? Our travel style is the latter and the 21 is almost to big for that in my opinion. But it has really worked out good, being use for work more than anything else. I've lived in it over three months working where Cathy has only been in it the 10 days we were bringing it home. We're heading for the Texas hill country this fall. Loren

Hi: Loren & Cathy... Exactly!!! Do you want a travel trailer, or a mobile home? Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by Loren & Cathy

I look at trailer size like this. Are you going to take it to one location and park for weeks and months at a time or are you going to be moving across the country and be in a different location almost every night? Our travel style is the latter and the 21 is almost to big for that in my opinion. But it has really worked out good, being use for work more than anything else. I've lived in it over three months working where Cathy has only been in it the 10 days we were bringing it home. We're heading for the Texas hill country this fall. Loren

Could not agree more, that is the main reason for returning to a 19, I got tired of towing that extra weight and space. The 21 Escape was an impulse buy, the current 19 was an informed decision maker purchase.

[Santiago]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Could not agree more, that is the main reason for returning to a 19, I got tired of towing that extra weight and space. The 21 Escape was an impulse buy, the current 19 was an informed decision maker purchase.

Glad to see we are not the only ones that bought too big. Having said that, we like our 21 A LOT . It is comfortable, spacious and easy tow with our Ram truck. Still we are minimalist by nature and wish we had stuck to original plan. An Escape 17. Meantime will travel all over and enjoy all the pleasures our big trailer has to offer.

[MyronL]

We actually started small (13 footer to 16 footer to 19 footer).

Another big thing.... them slide-outs. Ditto, bigger means much to go wrong. My neighbor recently got his rolling home back from the dealer repairs shop, after waiting 2+ months for the right hydraulic parts to arrive so they could do the slide-out fix. That trip it seems is a repetitious party ride that goes around in circles. However, I do envy him his 8 foot ceilings.