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Old 03-07-2014, 10:33 AM   #21
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Clipper 17BH vs 16B

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Originally Posted by dustman_stx View Post
I agree on the propane. We've camped for a week plus in pretty cold weather (Low in the 20's, highs in the 30's and 40's) and used less than a single 30lb tank. This was heating a 30' with super slide and using the oven and range at times. Also running propane only on water heater- 2 adults and 3 kids bathing daily. Granted, we did use space heaters to supplement heat.

We have twin 20's on our TT. The first one lasted from when we picked up the TT in April until Thanksgiving weekend in Oct. And that was running the HW on propane for the first half the season due to a faulty switch that was preventing us from running on electric. You'll be fine.

But I do recommend thinking about upgrading the TW early before buying a TT if you're going to do it within a year anyways. When we started looking, it was for something around 16-18ft, kind of like I grew up with. By the time we were done we ended up with a 29' (34 bumper to tongue) quad bunk single slide. Plenty of room for us and the kids and the dogs, plus room to grow for when they get to the age they want to bring friends along. Heck, we've already brought nieces/nephews.

Lengthwise you shouldn't have to worry. I haven't tried the north side of T.O. but I haven't had any issues with the provincial parks on the south side. The only place I ever had an issue was at a private campground. The way they had their dump station you had to pull into a seasonal area to turn around and there was one corner lot where the guy had his truck parked right on the corner and I couldn't make the turn. But he was so close even a 17' would have had issues making that turn.

Edit: Almost forgot, we also use the RVQ (Sidekick) so that 20 lbs also went to all our BBQ'ing needs.
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Old 03-07-2014, 12:19 PM   #22
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Why not think used if you are trying to keep the camper price low.
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Old 03-07-2014, 01:22 PM   #23
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Why not think used if you are trying to keep the camper price low.
My experience has been that I can buy new from the right place(i.e. RVW) for the same or less money than I can get a 1-3 year old camper for here locally. And if you have a specific floorplan you are looking for it can be a nightmare finding one. Plus, you get to drive hundreds of miles to look at campers that are advertised as "clean" and "super nice" just to find out that their definition of those words is not the same as mine. And if I buy from a dealer, I have no idea who's been in my bed or on my couch. I would possibly buy a clean 1 owner from an individual if I stumbled upon it, but I wouldn't dedicate my search to that unless I had lot's of time on my hands and/or was very open to floorplans.
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Old 03-07-2014, 11:01 PM   #24
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I haven't been getting the notifications so just had a chance to read through everything. Thank you again for all the responses. My DH often tells me I often write "a novel" so was trying not to give too much detail in my original post.

I know it seems weird to have a hefty TV and pulling a teeny trailer when we could pull a bigger, roomier version. However, we are still interested in getting into small campsites (with all due respect, camping in a pull-thru, trailer pad, full hook-up site is not what we are interested in) and we want to be able to park this in our driveway as needed.

We also haven't looked at used units because my son has an allergy and have decided to start fresh.

We do have a cottage on Georgian Bay so we are not looking for a vacation home. Just a place to sleep that has the added bonus of a bathroom while we are exploring provincial parks with the kids. We did consider hybrids (shorter length, some dual axle options but lots of interesting layouts with storage and elbow room), unfortunately, we noticed that all of the models we toured in person had bunk ends that did not accommodate a tall husband (he likes to layout to sleep and I didn't want him to scrunch). We also didn't enjoy airing out all the gear after a rainy weekend and a hard sided trailer avoided that business entirely.

The comments about the propane were re-assuring...thank you. We are still worried about cargo capacity. We are going to try looking at some yellow stickers this weekend and try to figure out the weight of our gear and see if they are compatible.

As I enjoy follow ups to posts in this forum, I will continue to post updates on our findings and decisions.

Thank you again. All comments are appreciated.
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Old 06-17-2014, 11:18 AM   #25
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UPDATE

Just thought I would come back and provide an update in case anyone else with similar questions was searching...

We ended up buying the Clipper 17BH and we LOVE IT! It's perfect. We received delivery of our new Sierra truck and then a few weeks later, had the PDI on our new trailer.

We have friends who think we're a little nuts but we weighed ALL of our gear (everything that went into the trailer got weighed) and we are at around 350 lbs for a family of four. Not much went into the truck so if we had lots more, we might move some things to the bed of the truck to make sure we stayed within the CCC (stuff that gets taken out of the trailer anyway like our portable screen house that has other uses, clothing, extra water, drink cooler, etc.). I feel quite comfortable with what the cargo weight is at.

This particular layout has a crazy amount of storage space for such a small trailer (crazy in a good way!). I actually had an empty cupboard after loading everything in.

Today I am off to pick up some things that we forgot on our first camping trip and am excited to use this all summer. If anyone has specific questions about this particular trailer, feel free to post and I will try to come back and answer to the best of my ability!

Thank you again for all the feedback on my queries.
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Old 06-18-2014, 12:14 PM   #26
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Congrats on the new camper!
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Old 06-18-2014, 04:15 PM   #27
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Agreed, congrats! But you know...



now, at least.

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Old 06-19-2014, 03:40 PM   #28
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I have a Viking 17BH that we purchased earlier this year. So far we love it. I camp with my wife and two sons, 4 YOA and 1 YOA. In terms of answering your specific questions, I know we fill up the grey water tank pretty quickly, usually within 48-hours. But, we connect directly to water and sewer so it isn't an issue for us. I would think you will have to be conservative with your use in order to stretch the tank capacity.

We have found that there is plenty of room in the cabinets above the bed and under the bed, and even under the bunks especially with that little side door. But, we pack pretty conservatively. We are towing with a minivan at max weight so we don't put anything in our tanks except for a little to slosh around the black. We, too, made the switch from tents.

As for propane... We used the trailer for about five nights, used the heater, used the stove. I figured I should bring the tank to get filled up... they put less than 2 lbs in. It seems to be EXTREMELY efficient, at least compared to my expectations. One thing you can do is bring a portable grill and some extra propane and cook outside with that. On our last trip we cooked exclusively outside on the portable grill because the weather was so pleasant.

The bunk setup on the 17BH is nice, in my opinion, because it provides just enough privacy for everyone. The kids have their little nook, and we aren't right on top of each other like the tent. When we use the bathroom it doesn't wake the kids up. Don't get me wrong, we'd love a bigger Catalina or something. But, for a tent replacement this is perfect. I think it is the right move.

I will say this about pop-ups and hybrids. We went to a big RV show in Tampa earlier this year and the ambient temp was about 55 to 65 degrees. When we walked into the pop-ups and hybrids they were considerably warmer than the traditional trailers - or the ultralight trailers. For you that might be a good thing. The radiant heat generated by all the canvas might be something you want. For us, we live in Florida and plan to camp mostly in FL and along the coast (until we have new TV), we don't want heat - we have enough heat outside. The side-by-side comparison that we were able to do at the RV show is what convinced us to purchase the Viking 17BH.

As for use... since February we have been out on 4 trips for a total of 10 nights. We have another 3 trips & 9 nights reserved and on the books through August 3rd... so we are definitely trying to get some use out of our setup. My goal is to have 30 nights out this year... a month of camping. I have a few questions, too, rhetorically... a) Will the minivan handle it? b) Will the trailer handle it? c) Will the wife handle it?

Good luck with your purchase, and I hope you do come back and check-in to let us all know how much you are enjoying your new trailer!
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Old 06-19-2014, 03:58 PM   #29
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Quote:
Originally Posted by VicD View Post
I will say this about pop-ups and hybrids. We went to a big RV show in Tampa earlier this year and the ambient temp was about 55 to 65 degrees. When we walked into the pop-ups and hybrids they were considerably warmer than the traditional trailers - or the ultralight trailers. For you that might be a good thing. The radiant heat generated by all the canvas might be something you want. For us, we live in Florida and plan to camp mostly in FL and along the coast (until we have new TV), we don't want heat - we have enough heat outside.
for popup and hybrid owners, Popup Gizmos are a well known solution to this.
also help for colder temps. they work great at temp regulation on the canvas ends.
with ours, we can easily stay cool with the a/c on, during our hot Cali summers.

they also help with keeping the canvas clean in wooded areas and provide darkening for afternoon naps and late morning risers.

that's the beauty of hybrids, you don't have to feel like you're stuck in a "shoebox" trailer.
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