Initial impressions of our X213

[perfpix]

We spent the 1st night in our X213 last night. We were only parked in our yard, but it was a good shakedown test. Participating in our test were my wife, and our two Cocker Spaniels. Here are some 1st impressions.

Pros:
Good fit and finish. I found only a small sample of poor fit and finish deep in the closet next to the door where the trim and caulking is pretty sloppy. Everything else seems to be well made and finished.

The king bed is super spacious and comfortable especially with our 4" memory foam topper that we transferred from our pop-up camper. We all slept well and fit comfortably on the bed. We let our dogs sleep on the bed with us while camping. We started doing this with our pop-up camper which has an almost king size bed. Having a king bed to in such a small lightweight camper was one of the primary reason for getting this model. We can sit up on the bed. Now I'm 5'9" and my wife is 5'4". Taller folks might have their feet hanging off the end of the bed. The "Denver" mattress is better than our pop-up camper mattress, but our memory foam topper increases the comfort level a lot.

TV. The TV is better than expected. We like to watch TV from bed, and we both could see the TV fine even though it can't be swiveled very much toward the bed. It can also be viewed perfect from the couch. Picture is quite good from the stations we could pick up from the antennae 30 miles north of Boston. DVD player works fine.

Couch. Very comfortable and great for viewing the TV. Very nice fabric.

Dinette. Very comfortable and big for 2 adults. The table is very good size.

Bathtub/shower. Fine for our purposes. Shower was good and the shower curtain did not seem to leak like others have reported. Plenty of hot water to take a 15 minute shower. The bathtub has high sidewalls which is a plus for keeping the water in. Headroom fine for us, but maybe a problem for someone taller. Skylight makes the tub/shower nice and bright.

Did not test the toilet, but the quality seems quite a bit better than we had in our last full size camper 15 years ago.

Bathroom counter space. There is actually a place to put stuff on the counter. Many bigger campers don't have any counter space.

Looks. The camper looks great inside and out. We love the brick interior and there is a lot of detail in the decor and woodwork.

Refrigerator got plenty cold in just an hour or so. It is 6 cubic feet which I'm not sure is mentioned anywhere on the website or brochures.

Roominess. Again for 2 adults, the design is less cramped than you'd expect for a camper with no side slideouts. The design allows for a fairly wide area in the kitchen allowing someone to get from the door to the couch/dinette area with ease while someone is cooking.

Awning. Electric awning works great. LED strip looks cool!

Electric tongue jack took a lot of work out of hitching and unhitching the camper. Love it!

Cons
A/C. First of all its loud. Even on its lowest fan settings its still plenty loud. Our last full size camper had ducted A/C and I don't ever remember it being loud. Second, it only does OK cooling the camper. It's been mid 80's here and in the the 60's overnight, and on its coldest setting the camper was not hot, but it never got cold, like I would have expected, especially at night.

Head knockers in the bed, aka cabinets over the end of the bed. We have already hit our heads several times while getting up or lying down on the cabinets which are positioned directly over the pillows. This will take some getting used to.

Storage space. We are still figuring out where everything goes. There is only a little outside storage and not a ton of inside storage. We bought a bin to put fresh water houses in that will go in the tub. We already have the bunk bed area partially filled with a new Coleman Roadtrip grill and some chairs. The bathroom has almost no storage. A medicine cabinet in place of the mirror would have helped a lot. But we knew that storage was not a strong point when we bought the camper. I'm sure it will be fine for just the two of us, and a huge improvement from our popup which had a slide filling up most of the interior and no outside storage locker. I could see storage in the X213 being a challenge for a bigger family.

Making the bed takes work as expected, but no harder than making a pop-up bed.

Radio speaker settings. Speakers "A" are inside only. Speakers "B" not connected to anything. Speakers "C"" are both inside and outside speakers. There is no way to just have the outside speakers turned on. Also, there is no way to listen to a DVD through the TV speakers, only through the ceiling speakers.

Other thoughts:
Interior LED lighting. Very bright white light. We like it, but our eyesight can make use of the bright light. Younger eyes might think the lights are just too bright.

Formaldehyde smell is a bit strong. We will be airing the camper out for a while to get rid of that I think.

John and Heidi

[Paulx213]

I've never hit my head on the cabinets over the bed but they are so awkward to get to we rarely use them. That's a shame because for a family of 4 there is not a lot of storage.

I agree the TV works great from the bed but I don't like it from the couch. It won't tilt down and being a cheap TV the narrow viewing angle gives a poor picture from the couch.


Overall though it's a great trailer and I think you'll really enjoy it.

[Threebutchers]

Nice review...BTW, your going to miss that formaldehyde smell - enjoy it while you can!

[perfpix]

Originally Posted by Paulx213

I've never hit my head on the cabinets over the bed but they are so awkward to get to we rarely use them. That's a shame because for a family of 4 there is not a lot of storage.

I agree the TV works great from the bed but I don't like it from the couch. It won't tilt down and being a cheap TV the narrow viewing angle gives a poor picture from the couch.


Overall though it's a great trailer and I think you'll really enjoy it.

I had read the angle of view on the TV was not good, so I did not have great expectations. But they must have changed to a better TV, because in ours, the picture is fine even laying down on the coach. Ours doesn't tilt down at all as well.

John

[RoyBraddy]

THREEBUTCHERS _ I'm waiting for what smell is going to replace the formaldehyde smell. hehe

We came very close to getting one a few years back... Research was 2010 models and up... Alot of troubles were finally addressed with the 2010 model.

We thought it would have been a great hard wall trailer for the two of us...

Roy Ken

[Brownie]

Very thorough review, Paul. Especially for a "camp driveway" outing. You did your research before buying, and, as a result, had your expectations met. Sounds like you'll be very happy with your trailer for many years.

Happy Camping!

[exjay1]

X2 on the awesome review! Good info to ponder over as this one is on our list, thanks!

Hows the Pathfinder handle towing it?

[perfpix]

Originally Posted by exjay1

X2 on the awesome review! Good info to ponder over as this one is on our list, thanks!

Hows the Pathfinder handle towing it?

I was a bit worried about the Pathfinder, particularly the short wheelbase. So I spent the $ and purchased a Hensley Cub WDH, which cost me $1595 + about $250 for installation. I only have the drive home from the dealer to go by, which was about 23 miles of interstate highway followed by 18 miles of back roads. But the initial impressions are that the Hensley Cub was worth ever penny. Doing around 55mph I was passed by several 18 wheelers doing 65-70mph and I didn't even feel them go by. I was also hit by a couple of crosswinds and while I could feel them, it was more like I was driving a box truck rather then a truck-trailer. This was a lot better then my previous experience pulling a 28' trailer with a RAM 1500 4x2. That rig had sway problems with a regular WHD and reese sway bar.

As far as power, I only hit a few small hills on the way home, and the Pathfinder was more than up to the task. I never exceeded 3000rpms even going up hill. Acceleration from a stop was good. I got 12.5mpg on the trip home. This is all with an empty camper. It will be a little heavier next time out.

John

[roadrash3]

We just recently bought a 2014 X213 also. This weekend was our first trip, i love it. We originally had a huge keystone 31' bunkhouse double slide, was just too big sold it, went a few years with nothing and went back to a pop up, but missed the kitchen and toilet with 3 kids so, i saw this model and new it was the one. My impressions,
storage is limited. Really have to plan.
I thought the king bed would need a foam topper but were were fine for now, we slept great, 5 year old on couch slept great and two older kids loved their bunks. No issues then typical trailer poor assembly on a few issues. But like i said to the dealer, bound to happen, its like a house having a 8.0 earthquake down the road. Led lights, power awning, power jack all awesome. Overall i am in love with this trailer, we will see how it holds up, we have 5 trips planned in the next 3 months and kids jack up and ruin everything so we will see.

[roadrash3]

I did not like the cabinets and thought i would hit my head but have not yet. What i have done though is went to look out the trailer and rather then step down quickly, i walked right into the doorway. I am 6' 1" and quickly learning i need to step down here and not just stick my head out to look at the kids, ouch

[BCx213]

That 4" bed topper that you put on takes away the clearance for the overhead cabinets. I have not hit my head in the two years that we owned our X213. I still want to put a bed topper on it still....I find that the mattress that came with the TT isn't really comfortable, but we have gotten used to it. Congrats on your new TT!

[muelldawg]

Does your trailer have a sink in the bathroom?

[perfpix]

Yes, standard bathroom with a sink, toilet, and tub/shower.

John

[Greenman]

Couple things you might try. After banging our heads a few times we started sleeping with our feet under the cupboards - heads at the open end works okay for us. I found a small tilt and swivel mounting plate bracket at Walmart that mounts onto the existing TV bracket that allows a better all around TV view. Since I pull the TV out for winter storage I also drilled new mounting holes completely through the bottom of the TV shelf and now use long bolts with washers and wing nuts to mount the TV. I moved the main mount base on the shelf slightly as well to improve the TV angles. Seems a lot more secure than the original screws. We find the AC noisy as well, but have the opposite problem as you, ours will freeze us out if we use it too long on max cool settings. You sure that there is no medicine cabinet , ours has one behind the bathroom mirror? Do you know about the storage space under the couch?

[perfpix]

Hi Greenma,

Thanks for the tip about the storage under the couch. It's a great space! we are able to fit 5 folding chair, a roll-up table, and a laundry basket in that space!

Unfortunately, try as I might, I was unable to pull the glued mirror off the bathroom wall. I really wanted there to be a medicine cabinet behind it

John

[Greenman]

Sorry bout that bathroom mirror...... the lack of a cabinet must be an "improvement" on our 2010 model ! We are out on the road in our 213 headed to Vancouver Island this week. Parked in Okanagon this evening. Pulling the 213 with the new to us 2500 has been a breeze even with temps in the high 30's at times. Will be tackling the Cocquihalla later this week, sure am enjoying the six speed trans on this truck so far. Safe travels everyone.

[Paulx213]

My 2013 X213 doesn't have a medicine cabinet either. Just a mirror ( although I also tried to open it this weekend too).

I can't figure out the couch storage either. When you raise the seat cushion it forms a V with the back and you can see under the couch but the opening is so narrow I can't see stuffing anything in there. Maybe it's a different model couch.

[RVCamperDan]

So far so good with our 2014 x213! I just finished building shelves into the long and deep cabinet next to the bunks- that should help make the space more usable. There is a little storage in the dinette benches too, but not a whole lot.

I ordered a 2" memory foam mattress topper from Costco for about ~$100 including tax, as I found the mattress to be really uncomfortable.

So far have towed about 600 miles experiencing traffic, windy narrow mountain roads, small sites, step hills, etc. while I will not win a race with my set up it has felt stable and safe to me. And BTW I am not racing anyone! 55-60 average speed for me.

Biggest surprise so far: the $20 bridge toll for towing it across!

[Greenman]

If you lift the couch into a "v" you will find that the flat board at the front is on a hinge. If you reach inside and push on the bottom edge outwards it will flip up enough to allow you to slide items in, unless of course they "improved" that on the latest models as well.

[perfpix]

Originally Posted by RVCamperDan

So far so good with our 2014 x213! I just finished building shelves into the long and deep cabinet next to the bunks- that should help make the space more usable. There is a little storage in the dinette benches too, but not a whole lot.

Hey Camper Dan,

I plan on putting shelves in the cabinet next to the bunks. If you have a pic of your installation I'd love to see it. I also ordered a LED strip to light up the cabinet. If it works well I will order more for the Pantry. Will let you know how it works when I get it.

John