Light-weight towable RVs

[paddlenbike]

Let me preface this thread by saying I am not ready to own an RV just yet, but I have been around them a lot lately and it has made me think about what I might want someday. I won't be buying any more gas guzzlers and I will always have the 4Runner as my adventure/travel vehicle (plus, I love the thing), so it must be towable behind the 4Runner. Right there I am limited to a bumper-pull trailer with a dry weight of less than 3,000 pounds, to keep towing a safe and pleasurable experience. I've owned campers before and have no desire for another one, fifth wheels tow great but I don't need anything that big and motorhomes are too expensive, too big and I don't want another motorized vehicle to insure and maintain so I am quite happy with being "limited" to a trailer.

So what do I 'need?' I am quite happy tent camping for now, but I do often miss having an enclosed retreat for bad weather with enough room to sleep, stand and cook. Pretty much any towable will give me that, but it does rule-out the cute tear drop trailers. Having a sink with hot water for doing dishes, a bathroom and a hot shower are mandatory, I might as well stick with a tent without these features.

Then I happened upon these:






Granted, they look funny but they seem to have all the right things. They have an aluminum frame and weigh between 1,937 lbs dry to 2,336 lbs for the heaviest one with a pop-out. I’m not sure if I even have 700 pounds of gear, but figure 3,000 pounds loaded max and the 4Runner should have no problem muscling that around. If it does I’ll buy a supercharger. They are reasonably aerodynamic, have nice interior layouts, are reasonably priced (if there is such a thing) and of course have a fridge, microwave, A/C, combined head/shower, hot water, etc. Here are the layouts and specs.

Has anyone else here seen any interesting fully-equipped (read: refrigerator, hot water shower, etc.) RVs that would tow nicely behind a 4Runner? I would not rule-out a tent trailer, but the outside shower does miss the mark a little. I don’t really need an adventure trailer either as I don’t want to be towing offroad. I do a lot of pavement roadtrips and even my offroad-oriented trips seem conducive to setting up an RV as a base camp and spending a couple of nights out on the trail then returning back to the base camp for a few nights before taking off again.

[Robinhood4x4]

The thought of getting some kind of trailer to two has crossed our minds but we're not at the stage of looking seriously. One thing that would have to be mandatory is an air conditioner. Something to be aware of is to run those big electrical appliances you need to run a generator or be hooked up to a camp ground electrical outlet. This includes the A/C, microwave, TV, etc. The refrigerator can run on electricity or gas so that's not a problem.

What advantage does an Rpod have over a popup trailers? Pop up trailers have the things you listed even interior showers.

[paddlenbike]

I don't think it has any advantages other than having hard sides that won't degrade. I know that a well cared-for tent trailer will last for years though and has the advantage of a lower profile form for towing. I was not aware that they were making pop-ups with inside showers. Are you eyeing a tent trailer as a possible future purchase?

[Robinhood4x4]

Eying from a very far distance. No funds for it now but maybe someday. We took a look at them at the last sportsman's expo and that planted the seed. The wife would sure like to have a shower and a bathroom.

I think one advantage of the hard side one is less to setup once you get to camp. The sales guy said it would take about an hour to setup camp with the tent trailers.

[slosurfer]

Not all these are quite to your criteria, but are unique options:

SylvanSport GO





The Scamp Trailers are really light and the 16 ft. comes with a bathroom option and weighs in at 1750 lbs.
There was a guy on pirate who normally sells military surplus and he was selling some older scamps that would have been cool to build how you want.

SafariCondo Alto 1723
I'm really digging this one!




Some of the Evolution Tent trailers have bathrooms/showers.



I believe JayCo sells a couple models similar to the Evolution as well.

Not sure how old this link is, but it has a pretty good rundown of the lightweight trailers.
http://www.johnweeks.com/random/campers/

[4x4mike]

The Scamp Trailers are really light and the 16 ft. comes with a bathroom option and weighs in at 1750 lbs.
There was a guy on pirate who normally sells military surplus and he was selling some older scamps that would have been cool to build how you want.

I was looking at the ones that 100dollar man or whatever his name is, was selling. I like the little scamp trailers. The fact that they are older makes them cheap. If the floor plan doesn't work, rip it out and build anew.

[CJM]

I like that very much, perfect for two although a bit comfy.

And yea you need a genny if your gonna run a ton of stuff. I would say to keep it within the towing comfort zone (as in weight wise) no more than 4000lbs max.

[4x4mike]

I wouldn't tow more than 3000 pounds. 2000 is a chore in itself. I think for the most part I could get away with not having a generator. I'd stick some solar on it and call it good. I can stand warm and I usually camp near some kind of water or at elevation so there is always somewhere to cool off.

[4x4mike]

I saw this the other day but haven't been able to look into it. It just looks a little different than your run of the mill pop ups.

[slosurfer]

Mike, I think that one is just like the smallest fleetwood evolution, but it doesn't have the forward gear basket like the evolution does.