camper recommendations?

After all these years of me tent camping solo cholo with my friends, my wife has decided that perhaps camping with me might actually be reasonably fun. She of course has certain comfort requirements that I am currently lacking in my game. A Ryder if you will. Henceforth, we are considering getting some sort of modern mobile camping apparatus. I know there are a lot of people here with a lot of experience with these devices and I would greatly appreciate your opinions and advice. She needs a queen size bed,a shower and a place to shit. Im hoping for something not too ginormous.What do you guys think?

I think you'll find something or someone here willing to help you out. I'm on the same boat right now. We are looking at popup tent trailers as a start. Good luck.

What’s the budget and tow vehicle weight capacity?

There are a lot of different trailer options out there (especially compared to just 15yrs ago). I bought a used tent trailer in 2018 (from Bulldog) and used it a bunch of times—my wife was initially reluctant to the idea of a camping trailer but she liked it so much that we bought a newer one last month. Old trailer was a 1996 Coleman Santa Fe and the new trailer is a 2017 Forest River 1940ltd. Similar size & specs but the Coleman was built better (some of the finish screws & other little things on the forest river are shoddy...and I’m now reading lots of similar reviews on the poor quality of craftsmanship and general QA process for lower-end forest river trailers).
It works great for us...easy to tow, fits our limited parking/storage, plenty of room for our family of 4 when popped up, most of the places we go we’re boondocking/dry camping, and can easily park in any campsite. Easier to put kayaks on top too. That was actually my initial reason for wanting a tent trailer...because it’s easier to load the kayaks lol. Priorities, right?
The downside of a tent trailer is less storage and more work to setup than a standard hard-side trailer. Sometimes we get to the campsite and 30 minutes later I’m still setting the thing up, instead of relaxing and enjoying a beer.

I think the next step for us will be a 18-22ft hybrid trailer (hard-side with slide-out beds). But that’s not for a few years. I’m super stoked on our new trailer.
Our neighbors just got a brand new Jayco Baja 154BH and it’s a nice little trailer. They needed something short enough to fit the driveway but also have bunkbeds. In terms of price, if you’re looking at new trailers...the Coleman Lantern series seems like a really good deal.

What’s the budget and tow vehicle weight capacity?

+1

The trailer world is large. We also have a pop up tent trailer, but a ‘98 Coleman Utah. Also mainly dry camp with it when not living in it due to covid. It’s sweet, but I’m pretty sure we are in the same camp as SinCoast re getting a hybrid next time.

Aloha,

Isao

I vote for the Casita trailer - amenities you are seeking, not too large, good build.

https://casitatraveltrailers.com/

Things that must be considered
Vehicle tow/weight ratings
How often are you actually going to use. Can get a lot of hotel rooms for cost of trailer
Were are you going to store it

If you have a garage look into Trail Manor trailers
They fold down for towing and storage and will fit in garage

The casitas are sweet but you definitely pay more for them than other makes.

    Like kayaks.... ya gotta find what's right for you.       

My wife and I got an off-road tear drop trailer a year ago and have used it a lot.  We put some 17" tires on it and can take it anywhere.  Probably too small of a foot print for what you are looking for but you could have everything but the toilet.

My wife and I got an off-road tear drop trailer a year ago and have used it a lot.  We put some 17" tires on it and can take it anywhere.  Probably too small of a foot print for what you are looking for but you could have everything but the toilet.

or stand up

The casitas are sweet but you definitely pay more for them than other makes.

They are a bit more, but the shell is superior IMO to the screwed on aluminum roofing/sheeting and resale value seems to hold well.

My wife wouldn’t go camping with me, so I took her to an RV show. She approved of a nice Viking Pop-up trailer. We used it for 4 years. During a few stormy trips at Doran, the frame on the popup would tweek in the wind, so we decided to look for a hard sided RV. We were also planning some road trips and wanted easy setup while traveling.

In 2015 Raydon showed us his Casita. We liked the size and floor plan. Had everything we would need. So, I placed an order for a new one. We drove to Texas 3 months later to pick it up at the factory.

We’ve enjoyed many long term trips. 3 weeks at Yellowstone, 5 weeks to Alaska, and two weeks every year at Albion. I also lived in it for 4 weeks when we sold our house. The only problem I’ve had was a broken rivet on the water heater door. Easy fix.

If you look at a Casita, Scamp or Escape, study the floor plans and bed arrangement. We have the Spirt Deluxe. It can be a real pain when someone has to get up in the middle of the night.

Have fun shopping!
Al

I have never owned a RV trailer, but have been considering a purchase lately.
A friend of mine had an R-pod by Forest River and it was pretty nice.  A few things I liked are below:
- Many configurations available but I liked the fact that some in the ultralight range had a queen and bunks for kids
- The Hood river edition has upgraded wheels and other features for gravel/dirt roads
- Some models have an outdoor kitchen with sink and grill attachments - could be great for cleaning fish

Perhaps there are some RPod owners here that will chime in.

https://forestriverinc.com/rvs/travel-trailers/r-pod/RP-193/5408

We had a pop up for about 10 years. While I loved the ease of towing, it was a pain in the rear. Due to limited storage we always had to pack like we were tent camping. Had to load everything in the back of the truck, etc. I also don’t think having an indoor toilet in a small pop up would meet the female approval. Not long after we paid off the pop up we sold it and purchased a 22’ jayco. Easy enough to tow and all the storage one would need. Now all we have to do is load food and clothes and we are off! I do think a pop up would be perfect for kayaking since the kayaks could be mounted on top of the trailer. But all in all I would recommend something with plenty of storage and easy to set up.
Only other advise would be to make sure your tow vehicle is rated well above the trailer weight.