Deciding Between Two Trailers

I've spent a lot of time since my last post going through the different choices of trailers. Last time I said I had it down between two manufacturers, and I did. That didn't prevent me of going back and looking what was for sale in truck campers, Class A's and trailers. It was still hard to back away from the truck camper. I would have had to tow a small cargo trailer with a camper. I looked at older Class A's but the thought of of what it would cost to do any unexpected maintenance, which would have happened at some point in time, kept me away from older Class A's. So that meant I was back to trailers being towed my the Chevy truck I bought about a month ago.

It was still two different manufactures. One was a 4-season trailer the other was not. Two people that I follow on my blog roll use both of these trailers to full-time in as solo travelers. One has two cats and the other travels without any animals. Both have great things to say about their trailers and have traveled with them for almost a year.

I am looking at two Nash trailers, one a 2014 18L and a used 2012 18L. Both of them are 23' long. Both trailers is over 2,000 miles from my house. Both are in great shape with a great dealership to work with. One is one of the trailers I had thought of last year but I didn't know if I wanted to spend that much for a trailer since I am a "rookie". In both of those I lose the big back window I wanted, but they both have queen size bed plus a couch. Both of them will have a WD Anti Sway hitch included. The 2012 has a generator plus a 20 watt solar panel. The 2014 does not have a generator installed but does have the small 20 watt solar panel to keep the house battery charged. I plan on installed 240 watt solar panels on any trailer I buy.

So, Option 1 is 2,000 miles away, cost $4-5K more than my other brand name and a little better material used on the interior. They have much larger tanks. Both the 2012 and the 2014 are in stock.

2014 18L

The 2nd trailer I found just the other night. I almost bought a Starcraft AR-ONE 17RD last year from a dealer about 50 miles away from me. That is the trailer that Gary Ramsey uses over at Gary Ramsey Travels. This year Starcraft made a trailer called the AR-ONE Extreme and the Launch Extreme. The Launch extreme looks like the Nash, has a 15" clearance and 15" off-road tires. I was somewhat interested in the AR-ONE Extreme, liked the color combination and the off-road features. Yet, these Starcraft trailers have extremely small tanks, with the Gray 15gal and a Black 9gal.

The Launch Extreme has dealers 50-120 miles from me but nothing in stock. All 4 dealers I called gave me the last week of June to first week of July delivery date. One surprising difference from the more expensive Nash trailer was the Starcraft Launch Express is made with aluminum frames instead of wood framing. The Starcraft Launch Extreme does not have a couch but does have a back window.

2014 Starcraft Launch Extreme 17FB

Without continued rambling I'll cut this short and say those are the two trailers that I am considering. Yes, I do plan to head west as soon as I buy a trailer, therefor having the Nash 2,000 miles away from me may not be that big of deal. Of course with the Starcraft I'm saving a few thousand dollars, I can bring it home, load it and get to know the trailer before I take off on the long trip. Whereas the Nash I can spend about a week in the area of the dealer, checking all the systems out and having them fix anything that might need repair or adjustment.

Of course I have found out in this RV world that if a rig doesn't work, you can trade or sell it.

Random Thoughts About Everything

"Mr Floyd ... please come in and sit or lie on the couch if you choose"

Instead of adding these thoughts to different future blog posts based on subject, I thought I'd just throw these out there for comments and general discussion. Some of them may be outside the title of the blog 'Hounds and RVs'. It's good to branch out occasionally. Probably nothing more than to clear my head and may have very little interest to others.

Google Plus
     I'm not really a fan of it. I'd much rather see my postings written by 'bhounds" instead of my full name. It may be better than Facebook eventually but so far after six months or more using it, I have no urges to do anything with Google Plus that I have done on Facebook. It replaced Google Friend Connect, so basically that is why I went to Google Plus, just so everyone could have all options to follow my blog if they chose to do so. ... I'm still not a fan of the Google Plus. I do like Feedly and I like Twitter to keep up with all of my sports.

Retirement
     I honestly thought after a couple of weeks I would MIGHT have periods of freaking out, second guessing my decision, bored out of my mind, sleepless nights and possible regret. That has NOT happened for one second since the day I left work. I love having my own schedule even if nothing is on the schedule. Like I read somewhere last week "I have nothing to do and all day to do it". Changes that I have noticed in the short time I have been "unemployed" .... no longer living on Tums anti-acid tablets, eight hours of uninterrupted sleep, no 'Sunday night blues', and relaxed.....plus the hounds get to go outside more, as requested. They still sleep the majority of the day.

The House
     Yes, those thoughts  of selling it and traveling have come back at times very recently. Then I think I'm stupid because it's paid for, not a bad location, I've been here seventeen years, great place for the hounds and low cost of living area. Still, I don't plan to ever be here again between November through April after last winter's performance. I don't like the high humidity for a couple of months during the 90-100 degree temps in the summer. So that leaves only 2-3 months out of the year that I really enjoy the weather living here. I received my property tax bill yesterday that showed my property value has decreased for the 3rd year in a row but this year they decided to raise my property tax by 27% from last year.  I don't care for that trend.

     As with any ownership, house or trailer/rv, there seems to be always something to do. Usually in my case it is nothing major with the house, just little things to pick up after the winter weather. Maybe some minor repairs due to normal wear. During the spring I'm probably mowing the yard twice per week whereas in July I'm asking myself where did all that nice green grass go. Many days I am not enthused about yard work. Some people enjoy it but most of the time I think it's a PIA, time consuming, and wasted time .... I have other things I could be doing. The list of "to do" with a house never ends, as I found just three more things today that I need to do this week. Those are three days I could be traveling somewhere, instead of trimming hedges.

Blogs
     Very helpful to a 'newbie' like myself. After reading Glenn's story on Yahoo Business page in October 2011 the RV bug hit me big time. I spent every waking hour reading peoples blogs from their first day all the way through their most recent day. Of course every blog had their blog roll, which gave me more blogs to read and add to my blog roll. They were like compound interest, always multiplying. Every blog was different, some full-timers, 40' motorhomes towing toads, Class C's travel trailers, 5th wheels and a few that live in cargo trailers...even vans. A few of them have pets but no blogs that I have found have a bloodhound and that breed is one of a kind ... like kind of in the obnoxious breed category if you define that as being funny. They have a great personality but she can get into so much stuff while I am gone. Bloodhounds go where their nose leads them. What would Sadie do while I was out hiking, mountain biking or at the grocery store?  Would I have a trailer left when I got back?  LOL

     Blogging also did something I had not planned on ... I opened, not a lot, but part of my life to the public, people I didn't know, have never met ... something I've never been a fan of. At the same time some of those people became online friends and could potentially meet in person if I ever get on the road. I am friendly towards others but mostly private at the same time. I can spend time alone at my house for days without starting a car/truck and days where the tv is not even used. Blogging at times makes the writer feel obligated to their followers. The blogger feels that they should write something not every day maybe but on a fairly frequent basis, even if there is nothing exciting happening. When you are not traveling yet, many days are just a normal day, nothing that deals with RVs. Still readers are are following your blog for a reason, so they deserve some sort of regular communication.

Blogging is addicting ... reading or writing ... but blogs are a good source of information.

Junk eMail
     I have all kinds of filters, different gmail accounts for different things and even one account for junk email. It still doesn't work in preventing junk email. My home email account gets hundreds of junk emails per day, automatically filling my Apple mail program junk folder...hundreds. I hate that. I am careful on where I use my main email address. Do companies really make that much money selling their customer's email addresses?

The Perfect Vehicle/RV/Trailer
     There is none. That is probably one of the main reasons I have not made a decision on what to buy. Everything thing had to be perfect when I grew up. Everything analyzed. That process still continues today even if I don't want it to. Everything else I have bought such as my iMac, large HD TV, my hounds, and some of my vehicles ... it was researched, then buy it ... fast. I never went back and forth with "what if's" buying those cars, trucks, electronics or hounds ... I just did it. The RV niche is entirely different. I have read where others have taken just as much time researching, looking at and sitting in their rigs before making the purchase. What is the reason for in depth analysis? What do most people go through more than a few rigs before they find the one that is right for them? Are we all nuts? Maybe the words "living in it", gives it a more permanent feel, thus more analysis.

Travel Plans
     I have a major plan for traveling. Like all other RVer's, I want to stay one step ahead of the weather. I also realize there will be times mother nature surprises and we are stuck until that mess clears enough to travel away from bad weather. Since I have lived out west and also have driven through many of the western states I would be staying in, I have a pretty good idea of my seasonal plans. Boondocking will be my goal most of the time.

     Spring - Moab Utah area.  Summer - Pacific Northwest, Oregon coast, Yellowstone, Black Hills of the Dakotas, Wyoming. Fall - Back down through Utah, Nevada. Winter - Borrego Springs Ca, Arizona, the Q at least once, maybe New Mexico at their vacant SP. I don't think I'll cover more than 8,000 miles per year once I get west. Surprising to many but that is all I drove annually when working.

     I plan on traveling very light. I have spent the past two years downsizing and really cut out clothing, dishes and cooking utensils last summer/fall. The local Goodwill customers loved me I'm sure. I gave away a lot of nice stuff, too lazy to sell it on eBay or Craig's List. I have more to give away or sell since I have stopped working. With the Class C I had, there were  plans of fitting my large screen HD tv for use but over the winter and more recently, TV is just not that important anymore. So currently TV's are up in the air. Lynne over at Winnie Views has some good ideas on how to fit a large monitor/TV into a small space. My computer is a hard decision to make. I have a 21" iMac and a second 27" Apple monitor as my main screen. I know I can buy and download my total hard drive in a MacBook Pro or Mac Air or I could use my iPad just for email and internet reading .... but .... I LOVE that big monitor. Even having the iMac as one system setup would be nice. So I am thinking after I buy the trailer, taking out the dining set and installing a desk like I have now for eating and internet. I rarely use my kitchen table to eat meals. I know that may be hard to understand to some but being single  ... happens all the time.

Hounds/Ticks
     I know I have too many hounds. Three is too many, two would be nice, probably only one would be perfect. The last hound I bought in 2011 was not planned. Finding her on the basset hound rescue site, hit me upside the head and I bought her the next day and picked her up on the following Saturday. I couldn't believe the rescue service pulled her out of a dog shelter. Who would voluntarily turned in a basset hound to a shelter? Don't ask why I bought a 3rd hound, I don't know but she has been a great addition to the crew even if she is the "couch queen". The bloodhound and the oldest basset hound were planned. All three dogs are great, no issues and I have no doubt would travel well. Yes, they have been a factor in my decision making process on what rig to buy.

     Ticks are the worst I have ever seen in the seventeen years I have lived here. My backyard borders eight acres of hay, some woods and slight deer traffic. I knew tick season was going to be a bad one this year when my hounds came inside this winter with snow on the ground and they had ticks on their necks. In snow??  After the rage on Facebook with fellow bloodhound/basset hound owner groups, even traveling by RVs with pets group talking about ticks ... I have moved from buying tick prevention at the vet to a mixture of white vinegar/water and mix in some oil for personal use before walking through the field on daily dog walks. I'm lazy so usually that mixture is not applied as it should be.

Location
     I grew up in Indiana, graduated from college in Indiana but loved the 20+ years I lived out west in southern California, Washington and the short 10 months in Colorado. I moved back to Indiana for employment reasons in 1994. I have thought of leaving this area various times since then but it seemed a pay raise always changed those plans. The small beach town was great in southern California but now that area is wall to wall people and bumper to bumper traffic. Washington was great in the summer months with lots to do having beaches and mountains nearby. Where I lived, it didn't rain as much as it did in Seattle. Summers were even on the cool side at times but no humidity. Colorado would be another nice place to visit during the summer and I plan to. Plus the Bay Area of California is one of my most favorite cities in the world, it's always nice to visit there.

     There is just something about the western states that I like. Maybe I have been back here too long and need a change of scenery. Traveling will give me that. I do wonder at times if I can really afford a house and traveling full time at the same time. Do I need to decide one or the other?

Other Thoughts
     Nothing I can think of. I think I have covered about everything that's on my mind. I was told once "you have to be a little crazy to keep from going insane" ... I think I am half way between those...LOL

"This counseling session has concluded, you can get up from the couch now" ... have a good day!

The Search Continues but Down to Two Specific Manufacturers

After much thinking and having discussions with a few full-time travelers and others that have/had truck campers ... I have ruled out the truck camper as a full-time option. I would love to travel that way, I would love to think I would spend ALL of my daylight hours outside along with the hounds and I would love to think we would have enough room when the bad weather hits ... but as someone told me that is full-time traveling in a trailer, you have to be able to separate what you want vs what you need. In my lifetime those two have never matched. So it's something I have to be aware of while continuing my search.

I feel the only option that I will be happy with ... with be a trailer between 18'-24', high clearance for traveling down a two track road if needed, and a big back window.  I know that last requirement might be a little different but it makes a world of difference to me after the trailers I have looked at and sat in and those trailers not having enough windows.

A couple of manufacturers come to mind and are at the top of my list.

After my return trip from Camping World in Indianapolis last Friday I knew there was nothing there as far as new, used, or by brand name that I liked ... nada. It didn't matter if it was a 5th wheel or a travel trailer. That was one very important realization because now I had cut out a lot of possibilities when looking online in the future. The only trailer that I stepped into last week that was made with good quality materials was the Sunny Brook trailer I looked at last week, down at a small dealership 50 miles SE of me at Monroe City RV. It was a 'new' 2012 but while sitting on the lot for two years it had floor damage under the couch, water leaking in the slide out area. They were in the process of repairing the damage. They were also adding some repairs that they thought would prevent the damage from happening again.

I spent time since my last post, looking at forums, talking to people, gaining more information on what would be possible with me and three hounds traveling at least six months out of the year if not nine months. All of us knew no one that full-timed in a truck camper. Most of us agreed on the length of trailer I needed and most of us disagreed on whether a slide-out was good or bad. All of us agreed that trailer ground clearance was important. All of us agreed that I should keep my house until I had experience traveling, even if I were to spend only three months out of the year at the house.

Another reason I chose to move away from the truck camper option, was the use of my truck bed as storage. Otherwise I may have had to tow a small trailer with the truck camper for additional equipment/storage. Yes, the pictures of truck campers being tucked away off the grid, or traveling down 4x4 roads, with beautiful views were very magnetic. I wanted all that but knew long term it was not a valid possibility.

Northwood Nash and Arctic Fox are the two trailers that I am focussing on.

A Trip to Camping World to Look Around

Early morning thunderstorms woke me about 4am. I have all my windows open, so it was windy and things got a little wet. The rain and overcast clouds almost talked me out of my trip to look at rvs, trailers, 5th wheels and truck campers. By 11am the sky had cleared, it was sunny and even though later than I wanted to start ... I decided I needed a road trip. I knew Friday would have heavy traffic. From where I live there is not a direct route to the nearest large rv dealership.

The largest dealership closest to me is Camping World in Indianapolis. They have a large selection of all different kinds of rigs to look at and it's pretty nice when you do not have a sales rep following you and you have no intentions of buying anything. I wanted to go see a few used and new 5th wheels, also some used and new trailers in the 24' range. I really don't have any desire for anything longer than that, so my truck may be a little overkill. I bought the truck basically for 4x4, crew cab for the hounds to travel comfortable and the price it was offered at. 

It took about an hour and fifteen minutes to arrive. I said it last time I went but this time the parking spots to camp overnight were packed, the spaces on the lot waiting for service of some kind was completely full, as well as the service bays. Maybe it's normal to start the camping season, with most schools not out yet for summer vacation.

I'll not go into detail on what I saw or didn't see, except to say NOTHING I looked out, sat in or thought about excited me. The used ones were either priced too high or were in bad shape. I was surprised in some cases that some rigs were actually for sale due to their condition. Mostly trade in's I guess. Of all the trailers and 5th wheels I sat in I can say the truck campers felt the best. Small yes, livable yes, room for the hounds yes and hard to believe yes.

So I decided to take the long way back to drive around any possible city rush hour traffic. I stopped to eat inside a restaurant instead of drive-thru. Combine with my time for my meal and the time it took to drive home I had a lot of time to think. Based on what I have looked at today and last Monday and in previous months, I have a few that stand out that I like more than others. That includes all types of vehicles to live in.

By the time I got home, fed the hounds and did the daily walk ... the yard has grown enough to be mowed tomorrow for the second time this week. 

Have a good weekend everyone, wherever you are located and be safe traveling. 

Is a Fifth Wheel a Possibility?

First of all, not related to the title but a pretty important event happened today. I had a call from my company's HR department asking if I would like to move my exit interview from tomorrow (Friday) to to today? I thought about sprinting the 10 miles to the office but decided a shower and driving a vehicle might be a better alternative. So it's official ... I am retired, no longer on personal vacation nor working. My job now is to let my dogs in and out a of the house a million times a day because they know a good deal when they smell one.

Like now, I am stepping away to let Winston out, where the other two hounds will follow.

A comment on my blog post yesterday brought up an option I had never looked at, because I want to boondock most of the time I am on the road. I always pictured this option as not doable. they always looked too big to be driven out into the boondocks. Nan asked if I had ever considered a 5th Wheel? I have a couple of local friends that have them. One friend lives in theirs full time, even in this past Indiana winter where there were winter storms one after another. The other parks theirs at a SP for the summer as a weekend getaway. They told me they were easier to hitch to, back up, to maneuver and would give me and the hounds a lot more room. They never looked like the rig that would be used for boondocking. So I of course had to start looking at whats available, anything near me? What forums are available to discuss this option? I wanted to find some images with the 5th Wheel in a boondocking location or a lot of locations.

After going through the "for sale" websites, now it was time to find some images and information. I found out I could do all of this research on ONE website. Ray and his wife have been traveling for over 3 years in their 30' 5th Wheel with some pretty favorable reviews. Ray reviews, teaches, and his wife photographs some fabulous places. They also started their travels with two beagles. So I started my research here last night and am getting ready to read more, look more after the sun goes down tonight. The weather is too nice to be inside these past couple of weeks, so my computer desk time is either first thing in the morning and after dark.

In the meantime I have found one that I want to go take a look at tomorrow. The pictures look nice but you never know until you can see and touch in person. The end photographs concern me, looks like the skin of the rig is rippling or bent? Please post your experiences or comments about this option. I know that Dave from Flip Flop Vector suggested this set up last year before they pulled off the road.  The one I am looking at is only 25' long.

2003 Forest River Sierra 25RLSS

The ripples in the lower end will be the deal breaker

So I will get an early start after people leave for work tomorrow, drive up to this dealership to take a look around. Large range of inventory, so I can not only see this rig but other options. 

The Sunny Brook "Harmony" 21FBS Trailer

Since having time off, I no longer multi-task. It's one project per day. Today was borderline because I did two or three things to get them out of the way. I started the morning off by taking the newly purchased truck back over to the dealership twenty-five miles away to pick up the title. The plan was to transfer my plates from my 1994 Chevy truck to the 2006 Chevy truck since I had just paid for new truck plates for 2015. That did happen without a problem later in the afternoon which is a surprise because nothing is easy at the BMV. While at the dealership I was talking to the owner about his experiences in towing trailers and truck camping trailers. He normally will use them on hunting or fishing trips for a couple of weeks in the year.

He said an interesting thing about trailers, campers, Class C and even the huge Class A. It was something I noticed while I sat in the Class C while it was covered in snow this winter. He said "the longer you stay in them the smaller they FEEL" ... no matter what the RV is. I made note of that. The 2500 HD 4x4 truck rides nice, is quiet and very comfortably cruising down the highway, so I decided to multi-task, go on a mini-road trip.

I decided to go about 50 miles further south of my house to check out a trailer I had seen on the internet. This place was out in the country, small town and I can't say if the highway it was on was a major one? It was out in the middle of nowhere, very little traffic but this place was servicing Class A's that cost $250K to $500K. They had a good selection of trailers. The person showing me the trailer was not only honest but possibly a little too honest to be in sales ... if you know what I mean.

2012 Sunny Brook Harmony 21FBS

One of the admins on the rvforum dot net, mentioned that Sunny Brook made good quality trailers and might be something to check out. As far as the quality of components, flooring, couch material and bed mattress he was right. This 22' trailer had a small slide out which gave the trailer enough floor space to get me to consider this. It had much more room than my Class C and it was a "new" 2012 model, no longer made. Then he said something interesting that was a deal killer. "We have had some water damage to the floor under the couch due to a leak in the slide out". They were repairing it and correcting some things to prevent it taking place a second time but I didn't want to take that chance.

The ground clearance was another issue. Standing back looking at the trailer, the ground clearance looked acceptable for what I am wanting. When I looked at the leveling jacks that were retracted, a lot of the ground clearance was gone. But the deal breaker happened as I turned around the corner from the rear. The gray and black tank connection for dumping was exposed by design to the edge of the trailer but the problem was, from the bottom of those connections to the ground was only four inches.

I could not see this trailer surviving long on a dirt, gravel or uneven roads. I probably wont go to the extreme of staying in place like Sebastian does but similar to AL & KELLY, Paul & Nina and RVsue. At times I'd like to do what Chinle does over at the Spotted Dog Ranch leaving the trailer at the camp and tent camping further off the grid for a few days in good weather.

As you notice this post is about a trailer, not a truck camper. I was kind of leaning this way after I got an accurate measurement of the bloodhound while she was sleeping last night, snoring through the measurements I took. I quietly got my Stanley tape measure out and went from the tip of her nose to her hips ... she's long ... LOL.  I went from top of her hips to the bottom of her feet as she laid on her side, she's taller than the truck camper isle is wide. She would take MORE THAN the majority of the floor space in a truck camper. That doesn't include the other two basset hounds which are also long, even with extremely short legs.

So dogs win ... it has to be a trailer.

Two that come to mind ... Nash and Arctic Fox. A couple of the bloggers I follow travel full-time in an Arctic Fox while Sebastian full-times in a Nash Trailer.

The choices are decreasing and the options are down to a couple I believe.

My Sanity Has Returned

I wrote this post earlier this afternoon but tonight my enthusiasm is still with the Truck Camper  :)

As much as I would love to do it, once again the hounds play a factor in my decision making process. The truck camper is no longer an option. The tape on the floor following the floor plan of the favorite 4-season camper, shows that it cannot be a option for full-time travel and hounds ... even if they chose to travel alone.

My narrowed choices today are travel trailers and using my truck bed as storage, etc. The truck will have a lid installed before I leave. Since I plan on spending more time boondocking than campgrounds, I need a trailer that is well built. In most cases from the pictures I have looked at over and over and over these past two years, the 4-season trailer seems to rise to the top. If it were just me, I might go a different direction. Even though my hounds are not destructive, having a trailer as our domicile all the time, a trailer that is built well is a priority.

The list of three are:
1.  Bigfoot Trailers
2.  Northwood Nash
3.  Northwood Arctic Fox

A couple of the bloggers I follow both travel full-time in two of those trailers and have written of their experiences and how the trailer has performed. The Bigfoot trailers seems to sit a little low to the ground, not enough clearance to go down a two track road. So that brings me to two to choose from. Length will be no more than 24'. A lot of these two trailers seem to fall in the 22' range more than 24'. Some of the longer models I do not care for due to the bed being in the rear corner. I just sold a Class C with a rear corner bed.

So the search continues but at least my options have narrowed a lot ... I might be able to get something productive done now.

For those with any experience in trailers other than those listed, I would love to hear your comments and experiences with the brand of trailer you had. I don't have plans to camp in the snow or the mid summer heat of the desert ... I can stay home and do that. I hope to stay one step ahead of bad weather, just like everyone else but I do realize there are times you cannot beat mother nature. Plus, the 4-season trailers I have looked at seem to be built with better quality.

Mowing the yard was my main activity today. It wasn't any more fun than I had last year. It's a pain more than enjoyment. I continue to downsize possessions.