I actually really wanted a small Boler but decided I just really wanted a bed that I didn’t have to make up every day. My trailer has loft bed that is over top of the dinette but it’s high enough that the dinette is still usable for me. I’m 5’3 and, with the bed set up, I still have about 6 inches of headroom above me when sitting at the table. It wouldn’t work for a taller person but it’s great for me!
I’ve done this with two “bumper pulls” (neither trailer is 5th wheel) but I found I needed a sway controller between the two trailers. Adjusted tightly enough, it made both trailers act as a single big trailer (if this makes any sense). Below is a pic, this was my first double-tow rig.
I’m terrified of sway. Do you think I need an anti-sway bar for my trailer?
It’s difficult to know just by looking at pictures of your trailer. But sway is usually exacerbated by longer trailers, so you’re probably OK. Make sure the hitch you buy has an offset mount point for a sway control (it’s a miniature hitch ball, off to the side), then you can add it easily if you decide to. The sway controller itself isn’t expensive and can be added without special tools. Harbor Freight sells them for 30 bucks.
Those old Airstreams were sweet.
19 ft ultra light Jayco Jayfeather like this one. I pull it with a Tundra. I love the foldout tent beds. The back is a double and the front is a queen sized bed. With our little family of four it’s perfect, without having to move up in weight and length. It’s like tent camping… with a refrigerator/freezer, microwave, toilet and shower. I was lucky and bought it at the end of February just before Covid. We went on 7 multi-day trips this summer. I have two young boys and this saved our summer. I’ll always be grateful for this little camper.
It was a textbook labor of love – a true money pit.
If people want to broaden the thread a bit …
I learned that there are three basic kinds of RVers:
- the kind with the money to pay others to do/fix anything and everything that goes wrong
- the kind who like to tinker – tighten and lubricate stuff while they’re at a campground
- the kind who enjoy tearing into, maintaining, and repairing things at least as much as they enjoy RVing.
RV’s aren’t particularly durable – even “the best” of them, as Airstreams are sometimes thought to be.
Lots of parallels to boating … minus the fundamental potential to (literally) drown, that is.
And the conventional wisdom is … for the last couple pre-COVID years … RVs were so hot that demand greatly outstripped supply, so the manufacturers really just ramped up production to an unprecedented level, leaving many commenting on worse-then-ever quality.
And interminable waits at dealerships and repair facilities for necessary work.
My wife wants a teardrop trailer. I’ve talked her into a relatively expensive one that’s basically designed as an off-roader. I think it will be sturdier than much of what rattles its way down the road these days.
But I definitely had some good times in the Airstream.
If I had kept it … it would have needed a full gut remodel, something I just wasn’t in a position to do. I’ve been enjoying watching a YouTuber restore a 1976 Argosy (by Airstream), and telling myself that I made the right call.
More on old BoBo:
@pullin’s advice is good. I’ll add that sway can result from something as simple as having insufficient tongue weight.
And, @pullin, I understand what you mean, the two trailers ‘acting as one’. Good to know, thanks.
I agree in large part. I sold RVs for a brief period and was shocked at the poor quality of many of them. A lot of people buy Roadtrek when shopping for a class B, but when I looked at them I was totally unimpressed with the fit and finish. Pleasure-Way has stopped using the Ford chassis and has gone with the Sprinter, as many manufacturers have. I think they’re crap, personally, and you end up paying an extra $30K just to have the Mercedes logo on the front and a diesel engine that nobody can work on. This Ford is a workhorse V-8 that can haul my ass up mountain roads at 70 without breathing hard.
As for repairs, I’ve done some and paid to have some done (window reseal and toilet replacement). But overall, aside from normal maintenance such as oil changes, batteries and tires, I’ve only spent about $1800 on actual repairs done by others over the last ten years. Not bad for an $80K vehicle.
Love the floor plan. Looks really well appointed, too.
Like everything in this world, the ‘class’ of RV that works for an individual is really personal, but I’ve always liked the numerous upsides of a Class B.
No. Not bad at all.
B-vans have a lot of potential to be garage kept, which doesn’t hurt anything.
Is yours garaged ?
I also think – to your point – the ease, and cost, of service – particularly on the road – probably merits more thought than many people give.
Roadtrek’s undergone some upheaval recently, too, no ? I remember a series of videos by relatively anxious recent purchasers of some fairly pricey coaches …
No garage, but I have a cover for it for the winters, which helps protect the finish from debris, etc. Repairs that require the vehicle to be lifted are hard to find, even for this little rig that curbs at about 10,000 pounds. A normal gas station can’t do it, nor can Midas, which I found out when a rotor crapped out on the road. Nor can Les Schwab for tire changeout, surprisingly. For most rigs, you usually have to go to an RV servicer like Camping World. There is a Ford dealer hereabouts that can lift mine. Most auto repair places just flat refuse to work on RVs.