Travel Trailers

I have been looking at travel trailers to get me back out camping and give me a warm dry place to sleep. Looking at something like: http://sacramento.craigslist.org/rvs/4370230853.html

Anyone have leads on small 16'-17' hardside trailers under $5000?

That looks like a nice little trailer.

Looks like a DAMN nice trailer for the money!

Nice!!  Looks like a good buy.

Visit RV storage places and look for ads in their offices.  You might even be able to call some to inquire.  That way you get a wider idea of how trailers are priced for size and year.  I was told that once a trailer hits the 15 year mark, they are considered obsolete but that's just one person's perspective. 

I tried to sell ours for two years but my family talked me out of it both times.  Every time we use it, we have a great time.

Good luck,
Nate

I have been looking at travel trailers to get me back out camping and give me a warm dry place to sleep. Looking at something like: http://sacramento.craigslist.org/rvs/4370230853.html

Anyone have leads on small 16'-17' hardside trailers under $5000?

I find it hard to believe that trailer weighs 2000 lbs. as the owner claims.  Make sure you check for water damage everywhere.  Your tow vehicle is going to determine what you end up with, what are you going to tow with?  Have you had a RV before? 

Roof leakage is a huge problem.  Once I get my truck I'll be on the hunt for a family trailer too.  They (the wife) won't camp in a tent again.

Yea 2k seems to light but I couldn't find factory specs anywhere online. Maybe cargo carrying capacity rating.  Other than soft spots, wierd caulking and discoloration, any tips for finding water damage?

Tow vehicle is a 2005 nissan frontier v6. Rated to 6500 but want to keep trailer under 3500 loaded. Installed a trans cooler and fan already.  Electronic brake controller too.

Good idea on the storage lots. I really like the hard side scamps but more than I can spend.

Yeah seems light. Our pop up is 1800 dry

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Yea 2k seems to light but I couldn't find factory specs anywhere online. Maybe cargo carrying capacity rating.  Other than soft spots, wierd caulking and discoloration, any tips for finding water damage?

Tow vehicle is a 2005 nissan frontier v6. Rated to 6500 but want to keep trailer under 3500 loaded. Installed a trans cooler and fan already.  Electronic brake controller too.

Good idea on the storage lots. I really like the hard side scamps but more than I can spend.

You can find the specs of a trailer on the inside of one of the cabinet doors.  It will tell you dry weight.  The only way to determine actual weight is to weigh the trailer.  That will also show if it is retaining water.  RV.net is a pretty good site to learn about alot of this stuff. 

A word of warning, there are some really bad horror stories about some of trailers that use laminated construction.  Also some of the newer trailers have very poor quality as per costumer reviews.  A buddy recently bought a 2012 17' Skyline Bobcat for around 9900.00 OTD.
My Tacoma is rated to tow the same as your Frontier but no way in hell I would want to tow anything close to max rating.  I would want to keep it at least half or less than the max weight rating but that is just me keeping it very conservative plus I am towing the trailer up and down highway 88 mostly.  FWIW I tow a Coleman tent trailer that probably weighs around 1800 lbs. Have you thought about a pop up truck camper by 4 wheel camper or some of the less expensive pop up campers? 
You will most likely want a weight distributing hitch with a sway control especially if you get a larger and heavier trailer. 

I would be frequenting 88 on my way to 395. I did close to 5000 on flat ground pulling a car trailer and never want to do that again with a small truck. We agree on the weight limits but a standard travel trailer is going to get a lot more wind and harder to tow due to the profile difference from a tent trailer.

How does your tent trailer do with wind, cold and rain? I am planning a road trip to Canada in the fall and expect some cold temps.

Yea 2k seems to light but I couldn't find factory specs anywhere online. Maybe cargo carrying capacity rating.  Other than soft spots, wierd caulking and discoloration, any tips for finding water damage?

Tow vehicle is a 2005 nissan frontier v6. Rated to 6500 but want to keep trailer under 3500 loaded. Installed a trans cooler and fan already.  Electronic brake controller too.

Good idea on the storage lots. I really like the hard side scamps but more than I can spend.

You can find the specs of a trailer on the inside of one of the cabinet doors.  It will tell you dry weight.  The only way to determine actual weight is to weigh the trailer.  That will also show if it is retaining water.  RV.net is a pretty good site to learn about alot of this stuff.

Even a gallon of water soaked into wooden structure/framing/paneling on a tent trailer is more than enough to ruin it.  Though weighing a trailer will give you an idea of it's actual weight, in (lets say) a 2000# trailer, 7# of water is only ~.3% weight increase.  There is a far greater variance in actual trailer weights during manufacturing.

Your best bet is to look for signs of leakage around the roof seams, window seams, etc..  Dried caulking on the roof is a good sign of an issue.  Look for any "extras" they might have added to the roof that introduces a hew place for a leak.  Signs of moisutre or water damage to curtains inside the camper is a good tell-tale.  Finally, look for dark stained wooden flooring under the camper, especially around the wall areas.  Open up all the accessable hatches & storage areas & look closely with a good LED flashlight.  The white lite produced by LED, I've found, to be the best as making defects & such really "pop out".

When negotiating, be sure to show all your findings to the owner along the way.  A thorough inspection of a camper in this size range should take you at least an hour.  Don't forget to look at the wiring, fuse panels, etc. & check for signs of corrosion or rust.  If it has an inverter, be sure to check that the electrical system works on both 110V & 12v inverter.  I've seen a number of campers that the inverter portion dies from lack of use over the years.

The small egg shell campers like the Scamp, Casitas and Escapes are nice. The wife and I have been looking around for one.

Your best bet is to look for signs of leakage around the roof seams, window seams, etc..  Dried caulking on the roof is a good sign of an issue. 

Every year in the fall, I climb onto the roof of my trailer and clean the seams with cracks.  I then apply the mastic caulking onto those cracks.  So I shouldn't be doing that?