Hello from Texas

[txbreadman]

Nice to be here. I am considering purchasing a Stampede 195DS. Does anyone here have any experience with them?

[bikendan]

Is that a hybrid TT?

[Mr. Dan]

Originally Posted by txbreadman

Nice to be here. I am considering purchasing a Stampede 195DS. Does anyone here have any experience with them?

Welcome.
I don't have experience with a Stampede.

[Bowhnter]

Welcome from N TX

[txbreadman]

Thanks all. Yes. bike, it is a hybrid. I currently have a Coleman/Fleetwood Saratoga PUP and tired of the extensive set up. Getting a little to old for all that work.

[donhillphoto]

Welcome, from Houston!

I've not had a hybrid like that. We considered it. But from my research, the main difference between that and the PUP I used to haul was more weight, less canvas and not much else different. With a PUP, I got tired of hearing all the other RV generators at night in State Parks. I don't foresee that much of a difference with a hybrid. But, I could be wrong. That was just just my logic from people I've spoken with FWIW.

[txbreadman]

Yep, Don, no too much difference; we pulled the trigger snf bought it this morning. difference from PUP- full bathroom, tons more storage, a/c with vents, heating with vents, built-in microwave, tv with dvd player (if that is important to you, not really to us, but nice to have), most importantly, much less set-up time.

[donhillphoto]

Cool. Congrats! Would love to hear how you like it after a couple of nights when comparing to PUP.

[BamaBob]

Welcome to the forums from Huntsville, AL!

[txbreadman]

Howdy, Bob; a little off subject here, but how are you liking your ecoboost? Just got one a couple of months ago,same rear end ratio. How do you like it and what kind of mpg are you getting while towing? I have/had a 3000 lb PUP and was getting about 14 mpg towing flat land and about 12 in the hills.

[Loraura]

We did the same thing, moving up from a PUP to a hybrid. It was an improvement for all the reasons you listed, mostly that everything inside could stay in place, for the most part. There wasn't so much time spend packing things away and hauling them back out onto the counter tops. Our V6 F150 could easily handle the 3000 lb HTT.

We loved it. Never once regretted selling the popup and getting the HTT.

But then we noticed we still had some drawbacks that we could live with, but would prefer not to.

The drawbacks of the hybrid that led us to a TT 1.5 years later were these:

1)Still had to deal with tent ends. They offer little privacy (sound wise), sun in the morning is very bright, flap in the wind, wake us in the rain, can't be put away wet or have to be reopened to dry, needed popup gizmos put on at set up to reflect heat in Texas summers, lose lots of AC/heat through the tent ends, etc.

2)bathroom shower was very small. My husband never used it for this reason (always used campground showers). I used it, but it was definitely small.

3)Climbing over each other in bed to get in and out. Never once did my husband get up in the middle of the night without waking me. Twice.

4)The crease in the HTT mattress was uncomfortable. We mostly remedied that with a mattress topper, but the topper had to be removed for travel (I folded it like a burrito and laid it on the couch). It still wasn't super comfortable for the person sleeping on the inside.

5)Our particular HTT did not have a slide out, so we constantly did the scoot-n-shuffle to get past each other near the couch/dinette. i wish we had gotten a floorplan with a U dinette, although I've heard others complain about climbing out of bed then OVER the dinette, so each has it's drawbacks.

6)Our HTT had a queen up front and a double in back. The couch could make a bed, as could the dinette, but realistically, we just couldn't take our friends with us and have everyone be comfortable. 4 Adults was about as much as that HTT could handle even though it says it sleeps 8. 2 adults and 6 very small children maybe!!! And that would be my personal nightmare... soo.....

7)No place for luggage. yes, it has one big cabinette, but that was used for dry goods, sleeping bags, flashlights, pretty much everything that you'd want to be able to get to without rummaging through a storage bin. Our bags kept being moved from the end of the bed to the couch. Our shower became the spot for the dirty clothes hamper, and if we brought friends, everyone's luggage stacked up in the shower.

8)Tiny grey/black tanks. With 2 adults on a weekend trip it was fine. More than that and I was constantly worried about filling up the tanks. Yes, including navy showers.

We had all the drawbacks for gas mileage of a full TT, but still had to deal with tent ends, less privacy, less storage, less adult sleeping space and more setup/teardown time than a TT.

When we got a bigger truck and finances were favorable, we sold the HTT for the same amount I paid for it (bought used, sold in better condition than I bought it) and invested that money directly into a new TT.

We're still hauling a barn door down the highway, getting about the same gas mileage, but now we have a tub that an adult fits in easily, room to sleep 9 ADULTS, a queen bed that stays made up and no one has to crawl over anyone to get in or out, and lots of privacy. With the AC running, I don't hear neighbors, even coming in late/leaving early. Master bedroom can be made nice and dark! Tongue jack and stabs are power so if it's raining when we want to go home it takes an umbrella and 15 minutes to get out of there.

It really just depends on your camping style, budget, tow vehicle allowances, and personal choice.

For us the HTT was the right choice when our tow vehicle wouldn't allow me to get a heavier TT.

Watchout for that TV upgrade though... the TT upgrade is right behind it!

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by txbreadman

Thanks all. Yes. bike, it is a hybrid. I currently have a Coleman/Fleetwood Saratoga PUP and tired of the extensive set up. Getting a little to old for all that work.

Then you might want to check out the Palomino sub-forum, in the Hybrid/Expandable section here at FRF.
Others there might be able to help you.

[Gleaner]

Welcome.
I think you came to the right place.
I've had tons of help and info from this site.