Looking for a small TT as we start RVing

[Jay2504]

That is why I keep posting that the OP will be much happier with the 212QB over some of the other campers under consideration. The 18TO shown on the Cherokee website has a big 12 volt type of fridge. Jay.

[Kim Gass]

Waiting for the OP's shopping impressions.

I know what is important to me but it may not be important to others. Repeating just tunes them out. When I do it to my hubby he becomes impervious!

[Jay2504]

Kim, I am waiting also to see what the OP comes up with that will work best for them. Jay.

[Debdon Journeys]

Kim Gass, I have noticed you probably have the most time with your old camper and fair amount experience with the 212QB. I feel that a 212QB push's the limit of a mid sized truck. We got the 145RB because of the Ford Edge, now we have the Ranger I still feel like a SLX 7 19 sized TT is the sweet spot for the size of the truck. How is the 212QB to tow and does the tail wag the dog. To me its not the weight but the sail area and frontal drag. As for people comparing tandem axels vs single axel TT I went to Yellowstone and back from Maryland with a 145RB towing at 72-73 MPH no problems. Do you have tandems or duals on most tow vehicles towing small campers

[RogerR]

After reading the last few posts on this topic I went back and looked at his tow vehicle. He has a 3.6L engine just like my Jeep. And towing a 195RB is up near the top of what I would consider pulling. Although I I have tried to tow conservatively my Jeep is now in the shop for a compete transmission replacement at 114,000 miles. Luckily I purchased a Jeep extended warranty and it will only cost $100 plus 10 days without a car.
My next car will almost certainly have a V8 to tow something the size and weight of a 195Rb or longer.

All that said, never had a sway problem or tow problem with my Jeep and the 195RB using an Andersen WDH Hitch.

[Kim Gass]

Originally Posted by Debdon Journeys

Kim Gass, I have noticed you probably have the most time with your old camper and fair amount experience with the 212QB. I feel that a 212QB push's the limit of a mid sized truck. We got the 145RB because of the Ford Edge, now we have the Ranger I still feel like a SLX 7 19 sized TT is the sweet spot for the size of the truck. How is the 212QB to tow and does the tail wag the dog. To me its not the weight but the sail area and frontal drag. As for people comparing tandem axels vs single axel TT I went to Yellowstone and back from Maryland with a 145RB towing at 72-73 MPH no problems. Do you have tandems or duals on most tow vehicles towing small campers

We towed our 195 from Maine to Florida five times round trip and twice round trip Maine to California and once to Alaska all round trip.
We had a Honda Ridgeline and power was only an issue once. There is a road going up Oak Creek Canyon just south of Flagstaff that had a 15 percent grade over three miles. We never do 73-75 mph with a travel trailer. Its quite dangerous when you have that much mass. And most trailer tires aren't rated for that speed though we have Carlisles at 81 mph.. The gas mileage when towing at 65 was 12-14 unless there was a headwind.
Never had a WDH and never had a tail wag the dog . Now with a bigger TT we do have a WDH and the tail again should not wag the dog.Because we often have 300 miles between fuel stops we are mindful of mileage.

Why one would need dual tires on a tow vehicle I expect never to find out. We are not going bigger than the 212. We have only towed it home however and that involves one grade of 500 feet over a mile. We would like four tires on the towed vehicle as we have had a blowout on a two lane high speed highway with no shoulders. I want to have the ability to go to a safer spot even if it means shredding a tire.

I am sure we sometimes had the 195 over weight on our trips( the Honda only had a 3.5 l 6 with 5 speed tranny) and I think that the slightly bigger and better geared truck will pull the 212 OK. I also like how the engine can dowshift automatically to hold your speed going downhill.

We felt that the Honda was a perfect match for the 195 but mostly as it was NOT designed as a tow vehicle ( the brakes were the weak point) that using it to tow the 212 was unwise. Plus the 212 can go over the Honda's tow limit.

I have seen the 212 pulled by Outbacks.. Yes if you can is not synonymous that you should !. We will see. The suspension on our Canyon is wicked stiff. Jumps around on the washboarded and potholed dirt roads we have. I agree that a V8 would be ideal. We had a V8 Tundra before they got bloated. Loved it as it did not work hard at all but if we were in the city( rare) it gobbled gas because of the laws of physics and stop and go driving. On the highway it was a champ.. It fell apart after 400,00 miles alas.

[Mommacita]

So our first TT shop is behind us. Looked at a Jayco 17RB hummingbird. It was well kept and priced right. It was too small feeling for us, however. I think for one that small in length we will need a slide. Also, husband really would like a sofa or somewhere to sit on a rainy day to watch a movie, etc. I’m going to look at a Starcraft Comet pop up tomorrow at a dealer and the two of us are going to see a fleetwood sequoia PUP on Friday. So few hybrids around rn to see, unfortunately.

[10mtntiger]

Mommacita,


Just curious if you looked at a feather micro or why those didn't make your list?

[Mommacita]

So I went to look today at a coachmen clipper pop up. New one with a bathroom set up. No can do. It just didn’t seem like what we would like to deal with. So, that was productive. The salesman then showed me a 2021 Coachmen clipper FQ with the slide. By seeing the room w the slide vs.without (like the Jayco hummingbird we looked at Sat) I’ve decided we have to look for a slide model for that width. That coachmen model was nice- had the N/S stationary queen. (H thinks he wants that bc he thinks he’d feel too tight sleeping toward the front wall). The GVWR on that one was 4251. Then he showed me a used 2017 Forest river R-pod. The GVWR was 3790, cargo weight not to exceed 978. We couldn’t see inside bc it had just been traded. As a used model it could be more in tune with what we are looking at budget wise.

Now that I am settled on wanting a hard side, that puts some questions to rest. I find I am drawn to the sloping roof of some of these models. To me, I think it just doesn’t look as imposing to tow. If I could find a Jayco hummingbird with a slide that would be nice. The new Geo pro I saw was very, very nice. But it starts in the high 20s.

I’m going to look at the Jayco feather micro now, as well. So today was a good day. You really do need to take the time to see these models to determine what fits your needs the most. Thank you all for helping!

[Kim Gass]

yes you do have to try before you buy. We usually carry two 18 foot kayaks on the roof of the truck which seems to affect the aerodynamics avoiding the worst of the dragging the box down the road effect. The boat hulls seem to direct airflow higher on the TT cutting down drag
This last trip we were boatless and we could notice that our little truck worked harder.

Buy kayaks!

For a couple of reasons we prefer no slide. Our campgrounds in the woods often have limiting trees. We have seen folks in large motorhomes unable to extend them ( Acadia NP. Seawall CG). I have a recurring nightmare of the slide not coming in preventing travel. I know you can manually retract them When we looked cranking a slide was a very slow affair. Maybe in five years things are easier if you lose power.

If you like a slide make sure you still have bathroom access with it pulled in. Sometimes the best rest area is the one in back of you.

[LuckyDuck]

If you think you want a walk-around queen bed and a slide, you are probably looking at a trailer close to 5k pounds fully loaded, even an R-pod. With your tow vehicle, you are likely going to have to make some hard choices. Lightweight, spacious and inexpensive generally are mutually exclusive. Good luck!

[sailorpat]

I purchased a 2011 Skylark a few years ago. I believe it weighs in at 2600 lb. There are no slides to fuss with, the fridge is large, and the kitchen has great storage and counter space. One bench is a jack-knife bed and the other folds out into a double. There is a double bed at the rear with storage underneath that is accessible from outside. The bath is cozy but functional. The sink, mirror and vanity are outside the bath next to the closet. I have had no issues with the unit--I lived in it for 10 months, and made many short trips during the summer. I purchased it used for $6,500. No complaints. It was only manufactured for two years, it was ahead of its time! Radius cabinets, V-front, and relatively high initial purchase price were factors in discontinuing it. If you can find one, take a look! I tow it with a 2019 Subaru Ascent and have had no loss in power driving thru mountains.

[DennisH]

Take a look at the Hummingbird MRB16, We are in our 70's and love our 2019. We just got home yesterday from a week long trip in ours. Tows great and has room for the two of us and our Maltese dog.

[Candd2001]

Jayco jayflight slx 195rb light weight and 7 ft wide. Nice unit

[Mommacita]

The SLX jayflight 195rb is definitely on our list. Think with the increased length from the hummingbird (without the slide) we saw, it may not feel as “tight” to me. I also think that a Hummingbird with a slide would be interesting to get int. DennisH how does the Murphy bed in that unit sleep? We saw one in another Jayco online but I keep think it would sleep (and hold up) like a pull out couch sleeper. That set up sure does open the floor up which would be wonderful in such a small space.

There is also one made by Venture rv sonic lite that I like the floor plan for that a dealer has locally. Never heard of that manufacturer though, so in terms of quality, I don’t know.

[DennisH]

We are both in our 70's and a little over weight and we love sleeping in our Hummingbird bed, It's a Queen size bed.

[ltnunes]

We have a Jayco Jflight Baja RD. It’s fine for 2 people in the queen bed. We converted the dinette (for midgets) into a twin size day bed. We are campers turned trailer people and prefer parks and nature to RV resorts. So, we take a tent for our adult-sized kids. Our little sheltie fits in the trailer. We mainly stay outside to cook and play. So you could say our TT is a luxury tent with a bathroom and little kitchen to make our coffee.
We tow with a a GMC Sierra.

[Cvictoriac]

I am a Jayco owner (5th wheel) and my truck is in the shop so I have been staying in a sportsmen rig TT. It's great with the back bunks for guests (or storage). The one I am in has the murphy bed which really opens it up. I found the Jayco version -- a nice layout for 2 and possible guests. I agree the dinette isnt comfy for any adult over 5'5" !!!


https://www.jayco.com/tools/archive/...y-flight/23mb/

[wiscampsin]

If you want to see a Hummingbird with a slide try to find a 17RK (Rear Kitchen). You can see the slide in the pic below. We bought one after we sold our 37' 5th wheel, talk about downsizing. At the time we thought the 'bird' was all we needed and we could get into places we couldn't before. Storage was great for a small unit but after 2 years the camper queen (short) E/W bed was getting to our aging bones and the wet bath just wasn't cutting it anymore. Other wise we loved it. We traded it in for a SOB 22 footer that's 8 feet wide and are much happier. My advise is get your 2nd camper first. By that I mean get one that not only meets your needs and wants now but also will in 2-3 years. Good luck with your search.

[brendajoro]

Don't rule out a Hybrid. I can't hear anything when my air or fan is running. They're great for families, but yes, a little more work. With that said, I'm buying a Lance 1475 S for me as my husband can't join me due to farming. Keeping hybrid for when grands come with me.