Senior A Frame Trailer Campers - Page 2

Bob P · 10-01-2015, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kdot

Bob, my wife and I went from a 5th wheel to an A122S. Got tired of driving a "semi" and paying the freight in mpg. We are both in our mid-70's and plan to camp for quite a few years yet (been doing it together since tent days in 1969). We like the simplicity of the A-frame also, so much so that we are buying a new one this afternoon, the A213HW. Rockwood has a new floor plan that contains a built-in cassette potty, preserves the dinette, and has either a permanent king bed or two separate smaller beds on the other end. This high wall edition provides more fridge space and lets us oldsters stand up straight when cooking or doing dishes. We are very happy with this camper. Won't miss having to lift the porta-potty in and out either!

Kdot

Kdot. We appreciate the cassette potty as well. In fact, at the time we bought our Flagstaff T12TST the potty was what sealed the deal. Now there are new models out there that certainly tempt us. Yours certainly is one of them. Thanks for the post.

Bob P · 10-01-2015, 04:23 PM

Would like to thank all those that have posted comments with regard to us
A frame senior campers. Hope there will be more postings from this group. Perhaps I should amend the subject title to A frame retired people campers. Senior Citizen is really an undefined category.

For the record, I am 74 and my wife is 73, and still very happy campers.
Just returned from a 4 day camp outing. It was one of those that all campers have experienced. 30 hours of rain. Happy to report that our A frame stayed completely dry. Did have vision of days in a tent when the water ran in the front and out the back. No respectable camper has not experienced this.

kdot · 10-01-2015, 04:47 PM

Bob P, I know exactly where you're "coming from!" That backpacking trip I did on Isle Royale in 2011 featured one night of hard downpour. Fortunately, the water ran downhill, under the ground cloth under my tent. When tenting, I always carry another oversized "ground cloth," that goes inside the tent and extends about 1 foot up each of the 4 walls. Though spending many rainy nights in the tent, that over and under combinations of ground cloths has kept me totally dry. Like you, my wife and I are both in our mid-70's and have no plans to stop camping anytime soon. The A-frame sure makes it easier.
Also like you, I don't know what senior citizen means. Maybe it's a little like being a senior in high school or college. Do ya suppose?

Kdot

BJR · 10-01-2015, 05:16 PM

My wife and I are both 62 and just ordered an A122S. I have owned a travel trailer, a popup and one of the first A frame campers a Lil Champ by Champion RV which is long since out of business. We have also tent camped a lot. We plan to travel much more when my wife retires and wanted a camper that was easy to setup, easy to pull and gets good mpg.

We looked at many different options before we settled on the A122S. We are looking forward to bringing it home and starting our adventures.

Bluepill · 10-01-2015, 05:37 PM

Picked up my new Hardside in early July, spent a few weeks adding a generator and motorcycle carrier, loaded up and went off on a 5000 mile, 5 week loop from FL to NY and back. Had a great time, and the only problem is a small leak on a roof window during heavy rain. Taped on some saran wrap as a temporary repair with success.

The size is perfect - not too big, not too small. It fits well into smaller areas. I "camped out" in driveways at 4 friends houses, and didn't create any kind of traffic problem for them.

Bob P · 10-01-2015, 11:33 PM

Bluepill: Enjoyed your post and pictures. Not quite sure what your tow vehicle is ? We are thinking of towing our Hard Side from Ohio to Florida. Wondering if you encountered any steep hills or mountains on your trip. We now tow with a Toyota Sienna mini van. Concerned about pulling up steeper grades. Our past experience was towing larger trailers, but with full sized trucks. Thanks

chuck9997 · 10-02-2015, 07:16 AM

Bob P ...I live in tennessee and travel back home to ohio a couple of times a year, via I-75. The biggest challenge will be at the Ky/Tn border. Locals and truckers call this Jellico Mountain. It's a long grade up and down the mountain. Not terribly steep.. but it will challenge your tow vehicle, depending on its capabilities and your trailer weight, etc. I drive a 2014 V8, f150 pick up. It pulls my a122s up the mountain almost effortlessly. But when I had my 5000 pound travel trailer I would get bogged down some and felt the truck's extra effort.

Swampweasel · 10-02-2015, 08:14 AM

I'm really liking this thread! Retirement and an A-Frame camper.
What could be better than that!

rfloyd · 10-02-2015, 02:43 PM

I sold my Aliner and now am shopping for the A192 HW. Trying to find a good 2014 model that fits into my budget. We also have a 31 foot TT that is perfect for long 2 month trips with the wife and dog. Love the A frame when traveling alone. This will be my 3rd A Frame camper. I am 67 and feeling it.

Bob P · 10-02-2015, 03:53 PM

Thanks chuck9997 !! This is what I wanted to find out. This down sized trailer and tow vehicle is new to me. Have always towed with a full sized V8 tow vehicle. Thanks again.
Bob P

Beachbum · 10-06-2015, 01:12 PM

My wife and I are both retired now. We did a lot of tent camping early on and graduated to a tent trailer then a small trailer. Gave it up for many years, then went on a family campout. We bought a tent and realized that tent camping was not going to work for us. 2 weeks after the campout, we bought a Flagstaff 19TQBHW and have really enjoyed getting out in it. It has all the comforts that we want for camping and has room for a grandchild, if we decide to take one.

So far it has been a great experience for us.

D-mo · 10-06-2015, 06:24 PM

yep... i guess i can call myself a senior .. but im still very young at heart.
so far camped 45 days this year in ontario ... so we are nutzo campers ... love to get away .. love to travel ... love our little trailer.

d-mo

TrishB · 10-08-2015, 02:43 PM

We just bought one this year and took it for its first big trip. Got home 4 days ago from a month thru The Pacific Northwest, Canadian Rockies, Glacier, North and South Dakota parks. We enjoyed it, but I found that I really hated towing anything. We never ever forgot that we were dragging something behind us and found it unsettling. It's very limiting; we can't just pull over quickly to grab a snapshot or find parking near a promising restaurant. At Lake Louise there were a couple of car spaces but nothing available for RVs. I've been lobbying for a Eurovan - The 60s hippie is still in me. :-). I'd love to trade it for some sort of small all-in-one.

Once it was deployed, it suited as well, and we waited out a couple of thunder and lightning storms just fine in our cozy little trailer. But I didn't like carting it around at all.

Bob P · 10-09-2015, 08:07 AM

TrishB. Interesting you should mention this. We have been having the same thoughts. We are really, really Senior Citizen Campers. We have hauled a travel trailer for very long time. Many trips hauling 1100 miles each way to and from Florida. One day we decided to just leave a park model trailer in Florida and stop hauling a trailer. It was like having a new lease on life ! Not having that load behind us and all the other things you mentioned. Often my wife would turn pure white when I said it was time to find a gas station on a trip. Then a couple of years ago, we felt a need to camp once again. Not wanting to buy a big trailer and big truck, the A frame came to mind and really fits the bill. We use it for short camps to our State Parks and that is just enough to get us camping once again. Well, then came the idea of maybe hauling the A frame to Florida. We talked about this for a long time. Then all those hauling things that you have mentioned in your post came to mind. Did we really want to deal with that once again or not. We have decided to just leave our A frame in the garage, another great feature of the A frame, and drive to Florida without towing. Once again not dealing with all that you again have mentioned. Oh, we would probably need to buy a bigger towing vehicle to tow that distance safely too. Thanks for your post, as it has helped us to finalize our decision to leave the trailer home. If you can, maybe follow our lead and enjoy both worlds. Enjoy local camping and maybe not camp for the long trips. Camping is a wonderful, and enjoyable hobby...Been camping in one fashion or another for 50 years.

BobbiB · 10-11-2015, 07:20 PM

We just returned from 5 days camping at Van Damme State Park on the California Mendocino Coast. Loved camping in our little A-frame, and really appreciated that propane furnace on a couple of cold mornings. That was our 4th and longest trip to date. Hope my pictures upload-haven't tried to add photos before.

ronmon · 10-11-2015, 08:28 PM

Works for us. Being both 60, the bed was my most concern so the 60x80" size was more than enough for the wife and 45# Std Poodle. Plus added 6" of memory foam made it really comfortable (as much as the bed at home).

Now getting it ready for BoonDocking (no shore power), water, or septic. Were in our first year of camping. trying to get more info on using a 2.2Kw genset setup so it will power the AC (with a small mod to add a hard start capacitor) Dometic has one for $65 + 25 shipping (its easy to install) with this i think the 2.2 Kw Generac will power the unit once all batteries and the fridge are up and running.

- Ron

Jerry Pergande · 11-10-2015, 12:07 AM

I couldn't help but notice in your picture that you have a rack on the back of your unit and are hauling a bike or ?. Isn't that A problem? I was thinking of installing a bike rack to carry one bike and received many post advising against it. Did you increase the bumper frame work to increase

Bluepill · 11-10-2015, 01:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob P

Bluepill: Enjoyed your post and pictures. Not quite sure what your tow vehicle is ? We are thinking of towing our Hard Side from Ohio to Florida. Wondering if you encountered any steep hills or mountains on your trip. We now tow with a Toyota Sienna mini van. Concerned about pulling up steeper grades. Our past experience was towing larger trailers, but with full sized trucks. Thanks

Hey Bob. Just got back to the thread today. The tow vehicle is a 2014 Acura MDX. 5000 LB towing capacity. I weigh in at 3000 with my motorcycle and a generator. The MDX is a great vehicle. 4WD with advanced stability control that can even detect/correct advanced trailer sway. It uses Honda's new Gasoline Direct Injection V-6 engine. It gets a true 28 mpg on the interstates when cruising at 70 MPH with no trailer, and 22 to 23 MPG towing the trailer at 62 MPH. The 2016 Honda Pilot has the same drivetrain for less $$ at lower trim levels. In hilly sections (e.g. I-81 in northern VA) I lock the transmission out of 6th gear when towing to reduce the hunting between 5th and 6th. Your Sienna should do fine. I do change my transmission fluid before and after the longer camper pulling trips. I do it myself and it only costs me $24 bucks each time. Cheapest insurance I can buy.

Bluepill · 11-10-2015, 01:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jerry Pergande

I couldn't help but notice in your picture that you have a rack on the back of your unit and are hauling a bike or ?. Isn't that A problem? I was thinking of installing a bike rack to carry one bike and received many post advising against it. Did you increase the bumper frame work to increase

See this post:

Heavy duty rear hitch receiver for hardside - Forest River Forums

Fox58 · 11-10-2015, 06:57 AM

Having spent my 60th birthday boondocking in Montana last summer, with my wife of 36 years (now 37), and with her approaching 60th birthday, AND with two grandchildren already, reckon we will gladly embrace the term Senior Campers.

We bought our Rockwood A127TH 18 months ago. Weekend use only in 2014, about half boondocking and half with hookups, and a 5,000 mile NC to MT, WY, and NE round trip last summer, all boondocking except for overnights at commercial CGs with electric to run the A/C on the trips out and back. We've thoroughly enjoyed the little rig (which, with the 5' additional length and roughly 500 lbs of toy-hauler platform, @2,400 lbs dry) is not exactly little. We already had a Honda eu2000i generator and it serves to keep the batteries charged and can be powered up for short bursts to run the microwave. Added a pop-up shower enclosure with 4' x 4' catch pan and drain line for gray water and it also serves as a stall for the porta potti.

We have some favorite spots in the Blue Ridge, the Smokies, and the Alleghanies which are high enough in elevation to preclude the need for A/C in summer, so there are no issues with the modest output generator. Similarly, when out West, we're usually up high enough for cool nights.

Our primary tow vehicle is an '02 F350 Crew Cab long bed 4WD diesel. With that as a TV, and the long trailer, we're just under 40' nose to tail. The truck has a terrible turning radius to begin with, so maneuvering into or through tight spots is a challenge. We had the long-since "paid for" Ford already so we're using it--but I think I'd go with a shorter wheelbase TV if I were shopping to replace it. We also have a 2011 Chevy Traverse rigged for towing and anticipate mostly short-haul local/regional use.

The 2.5 year old grandson is already talking about spending the night in "Pop's Little House". We can hardly wait!

Fox58

You may also like: