Downsizing. To Do or Not To Do

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by mharrel

I have a 20’ Grey Wolf without a WDH and have never felt I needed one.

Depends on what you're towing with.
You have a 3/4 ton van.

[chriscowles]

Originally Posted by bikendan

Depends on what you're towing with. You have a 3/4 ton van.

My thoughts exactly.

[comfun1]

I had a 35' bumper pull toyhauler and downsized to the shortest 5th wheel I could find. When connected the end of the 5th wheel bumper is about 23' from the rear bumper of my truck. It still has two swivel rockers and a dinette, upstairs bed and bath, 50 gallon fresh and large holding tanks, two 30lb lp tanks and tows easy. I did this because the 35' was difficult to maneuver, did not have the comforts of the 5th wheel and I wanted to be able to fit into some of the smaller and prettier camping spots. When I choose to take the RZR with us I hook it on behind the 5th wheel. We didn't want to get too small because we thought at some point we might want to spend 30 days in it. I might add that over the years we have had a class A and a large Cardinal 5th wheel among others. Out of all the campers I have had over the years, the smaller ones got the most use. One was a cabover on a pickup I had in the early seventies when I was in college and the other was a 21' Shasta bumper pull. I hope you find one that you get lots of use out of.

[rowdy boys 3]

If you can downsize and feel good about it, then do it, i went from a 33ft7in 5th wheel down to a 27ft TT. Im not here to argue as to which one pulls better, but we had to do it for mine and my wives health and movement up and down the 5th wheel steps, happy camping...

[toys4dad]

We downsized a year ago. Rushed into one and 6 months into it bad mistake. Purchased a Wolf Pup 16bhs (GRAND CHILDREN) and love it. 21.5 feet, dry bath, outside refrig, solar installed. Two cons the bunk model east/west queen and no hand sink in bathroom. No bunks walk around queen. We were surprised what they packed in this little single axle trailer.

[hotrod6]

Instead of down sizing our large travel trailer we added a smaller one!

After serious thought we decided not to comprise the comfort and space of our 35' Rockwood 3008W Windjammer pulled with a Ram Dually. We added a 19' R-Pod type TT that is towable with our 1947 Chevrolet show car and a 2011 Jeep JK Unlimited. We take the big trailer for long hauls, the small one to fit in tight places, weekend outings, car shows, or out for a weekend of 4-Wheeling.

Our "senior lifestyle" is a bit unique but a lot of fun! The smaller TT has drawbacks in storage, space, and comforts but easy to pull, setup, fits everywhere. It is "cozy" to say the least compared to the Windjammer!

Where we're going, what we're doing, and length of stay determines What we're driving and towing.

[Boomerweps]

Originally Posted by toys4dad

We downsized a year ago. Rushed into one and 6 months into it bad mistake. Purchased a Wolf Pup 16bhs (GRAND CHILDREN) and love it. 21.5 feet, dry bath, outside refrig, solar installed. Two cons the bunk model east/west queen and no hand sink in bathroom. No bunks walk around queen. We were surprised what they packed in this little single axle trailer.

I have a 16BHS and your post confused me. We bought ours for the same reason, grandchildren.
Outside fridge?
A similar floor size/plan loses the bunks to get a walk around queen?
Lots of blanked off wasted space available for storage.

[HappyCamper1962]

Hi, YES, YES YES, we have been downsizing steadily as our needs have changed and as we've gotten older. The one mistake I made, hopefully you can avoid, is that I actually downsized "too far" when I opted for a wet-bath restroom and a climb-over bed. At the time I thought I wouldn't care, I just wanted the ease of a single axle and smaller space to maintain. My only must-haves were a U-shaped dinette, they are so handy, comfortable and flexible options for added guest(s), and at least one slide, even if it was small, since they really open up the space.

We've done popups already, love the space but they are too much work for my aging body, and we need to be able to pull over and have lunch without opening things up, so those were not on our list.

I thought the Starcraft Satellite was the answer, similar to the R-Pod. Paid cash and set off for adventure. But after less than a year of climbing over DH and trying to use a claustrophobic wet-bath, I sold it and bumped up to the Rockwood 2104s. It is dual axle, which was not on my list, but all the other amenities of this little trailer were so far above and away anything else we looked at, so much in a small package - luxurious spacious restroom, plus my U-dinette and walk around bed.... super easy setup. it is a total winner. We could not be happier.

So I would say, make a list of what you REALLY need/want, then go searching for something smaller that suits you!

[mharrel]

Originally Posted by bikendan

Depends on what you're towing with.
You have a 3/4 ton van.

Which reminds me of a near disaster that happened a few weeks ago. We were leaving on a three week with the TT. I’m driving along(less than 30 miles from home) when there was an accident in front of me. I had glanced away looking at some cattle in a field and didn’t see the accident. First I saw was the guy in front of me throwing on his brakes. There was no way in hell I was going to stop in time so I took to the shoulder. It was the most abrupt lane change you can imagine and I was afraid that trailer whip would yank the back of the van off the shoulder when it came around. It didn’t although the trailer did go off the road. We came through unscathed from what could have been a terrible accident. The point being, my van weighs nearly 6,000 lbs empty and the trailer weighs 4,600 empty. I’m convinced that if I had had a larger trailer and/or a lighter TV I would not have been able to maintain control. I don’t like to do things “at the limit”. Always have more than the numbers say you need.

[KQ2N]

I just have to add this. A couple years back while in an RV park in the Tampa area, a neighboring RVer was going thru a divorce. He told me he was trading in his 40 ft. class A diesel pusher for a tear drop trailer. Sure enough, a couple days later when returning to the park I saw that he was true to his word. He had his new tear drop! The ultimate in downsizing!

[IvoryHemi]

Originally Posted by Txfandango

We chose the Rockwood Mini Lite 1905 three years ago and have pulled it over 10K miles now with a Jeep Wrangler. The Jeep is marginal to pull it in mountains

Wow, I’m surprised the Wrangler can handle that big of a trailer. Looks way over its limits.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by IvoryHemi

Wow, I’m surprised the Wrangler can handle that big of a trailer. Looks way over its limits.

Loaded for camping, it definitely is over the 3500lbs max of the Wrangler.
Its fictional dry weight is 3339lbs. Add two batteries and it's already at 3400lbs, with no water, no propane and no cargo.
Worse than that, its fictional dry tongue weight of 418lbs is already over the Wrangler's max of 350lbs. And again, no batteries, propane, water or cargo.

[Mark1954]

I have had about 10 or 12 trailers over the years. We don't travel as much as some of you but I love our Crusader. It a 375 rear kitchen. King size bed. Large living area. We are more clampers than camper. I looked at other recently and didn't find anything better. Yes they are more difficult to pull and park but once you are there its like home. Had a few problems with the trailer ( a fifth wheel ) but that's an RV. Don't suggest downsizing.

[GChrist]

When we were looking to buy a newer trailer we knew we wanted smaller to access dispersed sites. So my wife and I each had our checklist of needs and wants. I set about looking at every trailer made between 20' and 28' (bumper to ball) because I knew any smaller than 20' would be too small and anything over 28' would hinder our access to remote areas. After compiling the list of units that checked most of the boxes we sat down and reviewed until we had it narrowed down to two possibilities.
Our current trailer is 26'10" bumper to ball. We have camped 37 days so far this year, and still have several trips on the calendar. And not once has the trailer been to a site that had any kind of hook-ups. We have taken this unit many miles on US Forrest Service gravel roads to remote dispersed sites and it has worked very well for us. We bring a little luxury to the great outdoors.
So I think the biggest thing is to find out what each of you want in a trailer and then go out and find it. Good luck!

[HappyCamper1962]

Originally Posted by KQ2N

I just have to add this. A couple years back while in an RV park in the Tampa area, a neighboring RVer was going thru a divorce. He told me he was trading in his 40 ft. class A diesel pusher for a tear drop trailer. Sure enough, a couple days later when returning to the park I saw that he was true to his word. He had his new tear drop! The ultimate in downsizing!

Wow, good for him! Got rid of both of "the old girls" LOL

[GL1800Rider]

Originally Posted by RedLdr1

We recently "right sized" from a Sprinter based Sunseeker Class C to a Surveyor 203RKLE (On Order). We were looking for around 25 feet, a real bathroom, and an easily accessible Queen bed.

At first we were considering a R-Pod RP-192 but the shower was a concern. The 203RKLE checked all the right boxes, and my wife is in love with the kitchen, so we changed our order. The Surveyor is advertised as a "couples trailer" and I think it will fit that description quite well.

I recently purchased a new F-150, with all the towing options, so our tow vehicle was not a concern. Hopefully our Surveyor will be here around early February.

Wow, ANOTHERONE

[RedLdr1]

Originally Posted by GL1800Rider

Wow, ANOTHERONE

Took you long enough....

[Junie]

Last month we got home from a 7618 mile trip out west. We had a Transcend 28mks (34 feet 2 inches long overall ). We did not get turned away any but it was tight. Traded for a Flagstaff 26 fkbs have not camped in it yet. Just be carefull when downsizing make sure you have enough storage inside and out.

[pgandw]

It's a matter of priorities. In sticking with an A-frame instead of a TT, we prioritized the following:

• store in the garage. This allows us to "go" on a overnight to week-long trip with 2 hour notice to load food and clothing, and hook-up.
• tow with minivan. This gives us a comfortable vehicle for enjoyable touristing at our destination. Minivan is easy to handle and will fit in compact parking spaces.
• enough windows to feel like we are outdoors
• comfortable sleeping for 2.
• ability to dry camp for 4-5+ days without replenishing battery, water, food
• ability to store and transport everything for camping. This requirement is not fully met by the A-frame. Dry goods, ice, and firewood go in the back of the minivan.

Things we gave up to achieve our priorities:

• shower inside the camper. We do have an outside shower, but have never used for showering. We use campground showers when available
• toilet compartment does not have walls. DW installed curtain for a little more privacy. Toilet is only used when campground facilities are inadequate or too far away.
• Fridge with sufficient freezer space to both make ice and carry all the frozen stuff we like
• Lack of long term comfortable lounging inside. Our camping style is to lounge, cook, eat, wash dishes outside. Doing so inside is awkward due to lack of storage for clothing and dry goods.

Hope this helps the OP in their analysis and decision making.
Fred W
2019 Flagstaff T21TBHW A-frame
2008 Hyundai Entourage minivan
camping Colorado and adjacent states one weekend at a time

[CNYCamper]

Probably because we're high risk (ages 70 and 68 with health issues), but I'm surprised no one has brought up COVID as it relates to downsizing. We were able to camp 37 days over 4 trips only because we were self-contained and spread out from other sites. We would have gone more but I'm painting the house and have other stuff going on. I am avoiding public showers and facilities. Our exposure was limited to the dump station and the gray tote where I took my normal (gloves and being careful) precautions.
At the parks we visited the rangers mentioned having to work with reduced staffing, whether due to budgets or the labor pool not wanting to clean the facilities I don't know.
At 24' closed and 29' open we seem able to fit on most sites. These are all on the water in state parks, about half are dry camping and never a sewer hook-up.
Thus far, the camper itself is not an issue for us and with bunks at each end we get plenty of privacy. What's getting old is wrestling the 2 kayaks into the truck bed and hauling the generator and gas for dry sites.