airstream

Why We Bought an RV and Chose a Small Travel Trailer

I always thought it would be an adventure to be able to travel around the U.S. and Canada over land and visit State and National parks.  However, making the final decision to actually buy an RV took some time.  There were a lot of considerations such as what type to get, how big it should be, where to store it, and if it really was worth the expense versus just staying at hotels.  This was all before the Pandemic hit which now would seem to make some of these decisions no brainers.

In considering the different types of RVs, I long thought I would enjoy travel trailers the best.  I didn’t really want to drive a motor home around and have to find parking places and storage for it or have to deal with the engine / transmission maintenance.  I also wanted to easily be able to drive around the area after we arrived somewhere without having to navigate and park a big rig.  I considered a Sprinter type van but knew I didn’t want that as my daily car and didn’t want to have the van sitting out in front of my house since it wouldn’t fit in the garage.  Additionally, the Sprinter would need registration and insurance similar in cost to another car (and possibly even more expensive as the Sprinter can cost over $80K).  Also, I didn’t want to risk paying a lot of money for something that we might not want to keep for more than a few years.

I always thought Airstreams were outstanding designs.  Its streamlined aerodynamic metallic look as well as its history with NASA seemed very appealing for someone into aviation and design.  My wife and I went to a couple of Airstream dealerships and sat in some of them.  The designs are sleek and the interiors very appealing.  We spent time considering different models and doing more research on them.  A friend of ours had a 27 footer and sold it a couple years after buying it new.  He said it was just too much to pull and navigate around towns.  After taking a closer look at a 25 foot International and considering the cost of the Airstream, the weight of the trailer, and the price of a capable truck to pull it, the total would be well over $100K; we shelved the idea.  We wanted something reasonable in cost and light weight since we didn’t know if we would like camping, and also something that would be easy to tow and welcome at the smallest parks.  It would also be nice to have something that would fit in driveways for stayovers at friends and family.

After a lot of online research, I identified a trailer called Safari Condo Alto as being something that would maybe meet our criteria.  This Quebec City manufactured trailer is super stylish, extremely light, and has a great interior layout.  We would be able to tow it with an SUV.  They even have a model with a retractable roof to allow for additional height and window area.  We flew to Quebec City for a mini vacation and visited the showroom.  The people were very nice and we really liked the Alto (non-retractable roof version).  We put a deposit down on one, but ultimately decided that since the trailer was fairly unique and the only place that could provide factory service is in Quebec City and we live in San Diego, California that it would be better if we purchased a trailer made in the USA which could either be serviced locally or within the US.  Safari condo was very nice in refunding our deposit.  I think we would have been very happy with the Alto and we have seen a number of them at campgrounds at which we have stayed.

I noticed a stylish little trailer on a ferry in Canada and decided to visit Little Guys Trailers in San Diego to check out the model.  The NuCamp TAB trailers are tear drops and are light and easy to maneuver while towing.  Additionally, they will fit in small spaces.  At about this time, we thought it would be really cool to be able to store a trailer in our garage and these TAB trailers would qualify in this regard.  That way, we could avoid storage costs and also have access to the trailer for doing anything we want to it such as adding things, and decorating.  And by having it at home, we could prep the trailer so it would be ready to leave the next day without having to run out to a storage facility first (including filling up the Fresh tank and dumping using our existing Sewer cleanout).  We really liked the TAB 320S as it had everything we wanted in it including kitchen, bathroom, and dinette which converts to a bed.  The sales people at Little Guys were great and explained that any trailer in California 16 feet or under avoids the annual registration (saving hundreds of dollars per year) and qualifies for a PTI (Permanent Trailer Identification) instead, which only has to be renewed every 5 years for $10!!!  With a couple of more visits and careful thought we ended up scrapping our plans for a TAB 320S.  The deal breaker was that the interior height is only five feet nine inches, which meant I had to bend my head whenever standing up in it.

We met a helpful neighbor who lived next door while we were on a house sitting trip to Northern California.  She had a trailer in the driveway and we started a conversation letting her know we were looking for a trailer.  She immediately recommended the “best trailer” she ever had, a fiberglass “egg”.  Her favorite trailer she had owned was a Casita (made in Texas), but she said a very comparable trailer was made in Minnesota called the Scamp, and she encouraged us to look at both models.  Because these “eggs” are fiberglass, they tend to last much longer than most other types of trailers and may have fewer issues (e.g. not prone to water leaks).  They are extremely light and easy to maneuver and set up.  We researched both and picked the Scamp because of the more generous interior head room (6’3”) as well as the 13 foot length option.  The 13’ Scamp is also considerably lighter than the shortest Casita model.  We also learned that the Scamp is a cult icon and Scamp trailers built in the 1970s are still on the road!  There are Scamp camping meets every year and many Scamp owners who attend these events become lifelong friends.  Another great aspect with these “eggs’ is their price – which generally run below $20K for a nicely outfitted new model and tend to hold their value really well.  In addition, they can be towed with most SUVs and even some cars so an expensive heavy duty truck is not a required additional purchase.  Although not dirt cheap, these eggs are still modestly priced when compared to other types of trailers.

After finally feeling like we found a trailer that would suit us, I called Scamp and placed our order in May 2019 (about a 7 month waiting time is usual).  The salespeople were very nice and walked us through the entire process, which included picking options from a long list since all Scamps are custom orders.  We pretty much got most options except for the AC which would sit too high on the trailer’s roof to fit into our garage, which we still had to modify (I will write about this in a future blog post).  Note:  there are now low profile ACs that may allow the Scamp trailer to fit under an 8’ garage height opening and Scamp usually is willing to work with the customer on special requests.

I received an email from Scamp in September 2019 advising that our trailer was about ready to start production and to confirm options choices.  I called on the phone and we reviewed everything along with things like outlet placements.  I also wanted to add a digital tank monitor so we could see what percentage full our tanks were and they did this as well for a small service fee (I had the part shipped from an online store directly to Scamp).  We opted to pay a Scamp driver to deliver our trailer from Minnesota since we didn’t have the time right before Thanksgiving to make the trip (although I’ve read many owners highly recommend visiting the Scamp factory).  Our 2020 13’ Standard Scamp trailer with bathroom and larger bed showed up at our door right before Thanksgiving 2019!

Disclaimer:  You will get the same great Amazon price by clicking on the links here compared to buying directly on Amazon, but by buying here you will also be supporting the continuation of this website as we get a small commission from each sale.  These are products and procedures we use for our own Scamp that we selected and developed from our own research and experiences.  However, we do not endorse any specific product and cannot guarantee that the products we use are exemplary and the procedures we use are complete, accurate, detail the correct recommended procedures, or apply to your model small travel trailer.  It’s always best to double check with your manufacturer or operation manuals to ensure you are doing everything correctly.