Surveyor Sport220

[BarbRude]

We have recently begun a search for our first TT and keep coming back to the Surveyor Sport220. We will be traveling for 1-3 month stretches with our trailer; two adults and two 30lb dogs. We love the setup of this TT but I'm concerned about whether or not its big enough for the four of us. Any insights from 220 owners, or anyone for that matter, would be greatly appreciated!

[Wiscampsin]

If you keep coming back to it there must be a good reason . Don't know how receptive your dealer would be to this but ask if the 4 of you can spend an hour or two in the Surveyor. Where are the dogs going to lay down and rest/sleep? Our Weimaraner lays down on her bed wherever WE put it. Give each of the dogs some time to establish their own space. Where will they lay down, in front of the sink or stove? Not convenient. Is there a good place for 2 food bowls and water bowl(s) where they won't be in your way? Enough storage for dog food for both? Imagine the 4 of you in the camper for hours on a rainy day, enough room?

[bikendan]

not a lot of room to not have to step over dogs but at 30lbs., they can't be very big.
it would help by also knowing what you'll be towing with and the vehicle's specs, such as factory tow package or not.
that way we can understand what you can tow.

[Peggy L.]

This is a hard question to answer and you are the only ones who can do so. How do you camp? Do you like to spend time inside, or do you expect to hang out outside mostly? Do the dogs use beds that set on the floor? There isn't a lot of walking around space in this trailer.

I will tell you about our experience. It's just the two of us and a 35 lb. dog. We have an r-pod (think really small). We take several extended (30+ day) trips each year in quite a bit less room. The dog is happy sleeping on the dinette bench. His water and food bowls are kept under the table. We prefer to do all our cooking, eating and lounging outside when the weather is nice. When it's not we're happy enough hanging out in the pod. We've found that we can get into just about any campsite because of our small size. And some of the most beautiful campsites are the smaller ones.

We haven't yet decided that we need more space. But if we did, the model you're looking at would be the one we get.

[BarbRude]

The comments have really helped, I think we're on the right track. Our tt will be used primarily as a place to sleep at night and a place to house the dogs when we can't take them with us. Mostly we will be out hiking and exploring with the dogs. We normally crate the dogs when we leave or go to bed, may not have that option in this tt. Our TV is a 2012 Nissan Pathfinder, it can tow up to 6k but we've read that you should really aim for only 80% of that weight and the Surveyor comes in under 80% at 3800 dry. I think the key is to turn 'stuff' into a game of how little you can get by with! We can't thank you all enough for your comments, they've really helped!

[hydrostream]

Hello barbrude we travel with two cats and have had two dogs in the past with our other trailer, with your dogs in the 220 sport won't be a problem plenty of room for food and water bowls either below the fridge or under table, as for sleeping the dogs will find a good place out of the way. Day time the dogs will be outside with you 40% of the time, and mom and dad 80%, even with hot and humid days we still find ourselves outside half the day. We love our 220 sport we have done a lot of camping in ours since we bought it in sept 2011 the only problem was a early production recall, but the new 2013's come with the up grades we had to buy separate just little things sink cover, stove cover, bar handle for screen door and plastic panels for screen door. If you have any concerns or other questions just give me a reply Kevin.

[Peggy L.]

Don't worry about your "stuff". You actually need a whole lot less than you think for an extended trip. You can't carry everything with you. Every few days we hit a Wal-Mart or a grocery store. And I've learned to never ignore the campground laundry machines. Even if we only have a half load, it will get washed while I have the opportunity.

[BarbRude]

Thanks Peggy, great advise! Can't wait to start our adventure, still alot to figure out though! It's all FUN!

[StephanieLynn]

We bought our SP220 in October 2012. It's just me, my husband and our little 13 lb. dog. If we were to buy now, it would probably be the 230 or 240. The 220 is just a tiny bit snug at times.

We've used it 3 times for a week at a time each.

Things I wish were a bit different.

The dinette. The U shape can be awkward. If you are sitting on the side closest to the TV, there is no back. So, you end up scooting around to the center, or moving the table and scooting around. Since it is just us, there is always a spot for the dog. We've thought about removing the end of the dinette closed to the TV to open things up a bit, or even remove the whole dinette and putting in a sofa.

The dinette table. It's not stable, rocks badly, but not at the bottom, but at the joint where it folds down. This next trip,we are going to leave the table at home, and take a small table or a couple of TV trays.

The entertainment center. My Dh wanted this floorplan because of the revolving tv. To me it's more in the way than anything. Making the bed is awkward, accessing the under bed storage is awkward. DH is about 1 inch longer than the bed, but he can't really hang his toes off the bed, because of the entertainment center. So, he lies at an angle, which makes the bed very cozy. We really don't use the TV much, maybe to watch a movie if the weather is bad, so this is one feature that wasn't necessary.

We do most of our cooking outside and are outside 90% of the time. It's really only snug feeling when we are getting dressed or trying to access the fridge or any storage, or the bathroom. It's pretty much one person at a time.

We did change the mattress, and had better foam put into the dinette cushions. A few organizational goodies and a few hooks.

We do like the trailer. Tows nicely behind my husbands GMC. Lots of storage.

A week for us and we start to feel like we are stepping on eachother.

[Cmmjmoore]

Originally Posted by StephanieLynn

We bought our SP220 in October 2012. It's just me, my husband and our little 13 lb. dog. If we were to buy now, it would probably be the 230 or 240. The 220 is just a tiny bit snug at times.

We've used it 3 times for a week at a time each.

Things I wish were a bit different.

The dinette. The U shape can be awkward. If you are sitting on the side closest to the TV, there is no back. So, you end up scooting around to the center, or moving the table and scooting around. Since it is just us, there is always a spot for the dog. We've thought about removing the end of the dinette closed to the TV to open things up a bit, or even remove the whole dinette and putting in a sofa.

The dinette table. It's not stable, rocks badly, but not at the bottom, but at the joint where it folds down. This next trip,we are going to leave the table at home, and take a small table or a couple of TV trays.

The entertainment center. My Dh wanted this floorplan because of the revolving tv. To me it's more in the way than anything. Making the bed is awkward, accessing the under bed storage is awkward. DH is about 1 inch longer than the bed, but he can't really hang his toes off the bed, because of the entertainment center. So, he lies at an angle, which makes the bed very cozy. We really don't use the TV much, maybe to watch a movie if the weather is bad, so this is one feature that wasn't necessary.

We do most of our cooking outside and are outside 90% of the time. It's really only snug feeling when we are getting dressed or trying to access the fridge or any storage, or the bathroom. It's pretty much one person at a time.

We did change the mattress, and had better foam put into the dinette cushions. A few organizational goodies and a few hooks.

We do like the trailer. Tows nicely behind my husbands GMC. Lots of storage.

A week for us and we start to feel like we are stepping on eachother.

We purchased the SP 240 Sports last year, have some of the same problems but over all it works great. Our little dog is 75lbs so he takes up a third of the dinette. Ours has the outside kitchen and if the weather is nice we cook outside. While you can always use more room I like the fact that it is no problem to pull. With the 2013 Tundra I don't even know it is back there. We just returned from a week at Top Sail SP at Santa Rosa, Fl, had a great time did notice that we were one of the smallest trailer among all the big RV's, but we had every thing they had just in a small package. Check the screws on your table we have not had trouble with it being shaky. Good luck and have fun.

[lmcleister]

Having purchased the SP220, and camping 14 trips in 16 month, I can tell you the SP220 is a fun 1st camper trailer. Going from a tent to this camper was a real treat - it has been more fun than I ever thought it would be. We bought this camper because it seemed best matched for our vehicle and our family husband & wife with two 80 pound dogs. Nights are very comfortable - people take bed, and dogs take couch. Every time we hitch up the trailer, the dogs will just in front and drool over when they can go out again. Dinner time is very cramped - there is no way around it - there just isn't much room to walk around dogs in that little trailer. If I had it to do over, I would have done it differently. I would have either bought a smaller trailer to match our tow vehicle (yes, even more cramped), or bought a bigger trailer and a truck. The SP-220 is very do-able if you use it like we do - mainly for hanging out during the rain and sleeping. But if you intend to live in it - then go bigger.

Good luck

[Cmmjmoore]

Our first camper was one of the Forest River r-pods. We spent 42 nights and almost 5,000 miles in her and had a great time, to move up we had to go from a 6 cylinder Tundra to the big 8, the SP240 had everything we wanted in a camper, normal sized bathroom with a great shower, inside and outside kitchen and a queen size bed that we didn't have to crawl over each other to get in bed. We had the horse power to go up to a 30 ft. But I guess you just have to decide what works for you. We meet people that haul around more camper than they need because the kids or grand kids use to come with them at one time.

[BarbRude]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and experiences with the SP 220 & 240. I believe we are on the right track!

[mjones12]

Originally Posted by BarbRude

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and experiences with the SP 220 & 240. I believe we are on the right track!

We had our new 220 on its maiden voyage over the weekend, and I will post my detailed impressions this coming weekend on a separate thread in the Surveyor forums. It will be very positive.

[Cmmjmoore]

Originally Posted by mjones12

We had our new 220 on its maiden voyage over the weekend, and I will post my detailed impressions this coming weekend on a separate thread in the Surveyor forums. It will be very positive.

Good looking camper. We took our 240 to Florida last month. Everything worked perfectly and had a great time. The guy next to us was in a 1,000,000.00 RV we had every thing he did except the granite counter tops and the parquet floors. Ha ha! Enjoy your camper.

[sself1219]

I went a little larger for my first camper with a Surveyor 261T, we have 3 dogs and 1 toddler. We usually only take one dog camping and the toddler, the camper is just the right size for all our stuff and plenty of space for the baby to play if it rains. We almost always have a couple of friends or family to go camping with us or show up at some point during our trip so it's nice to have the bunk house in back for extra guests. When people aren't sleeping back there, the bunks make great storage areas. Both of our vehicles, a Silverado SS and a Nissan Armada pull the camper great so we have some flexibility depending on where we are going and how long we're planning to stay as what what will work the best to tow it and haul the amount of people\dogs more comfortably. I will say that the main dislike I have about this unit is the canvas queen bed slide out, it's much colder in the winter months and much hotter in the summer. I keep meaning to buy a PUG to hopefully fix that but haven't gotten around to it yet. I think the next camper I get I'm going to get one slightly bigger with a standard queen bed and a side slideout with the dinette and couch on it. Surveyors are great campers and i've been really happy with mine other than the mentioned issues with the canvas bed pop out.

[Cmmjmoore]

Originally Posted by sself1219

I went a little larger for my first camper with a Surveyor 261T, we have 3 dogs and 1 toddler. We usually only take one dog camping and the toddler, the camper is just the right size for all our stuff and plenty of space for the baby to play if it rains. We almost always have a couple of friends or family to go camping with us or show up at some point during our trip so it's nice to have the bunk house in back for extra guests. When people aren't sleeping back there, the bunks make great storage areas. Both of our vehicles, a Silverado SS and a Nissan Armada pull the camper great so we have some flexibility depending on where we are going and how long we're planning to stay as what what will work the best to tow it and haul the amount of people\dogs more comfortably. I will say that the main dislike I have about this unit is the canvas queen bed slide out, it's much colder in the winter months and much hotter in the summer. I keep meaning to buy a PUG to hopefully fix that but haven't gotten around to it yet. I think the next camper I get I'm going to get one slightly bigger with a standard queen bed and a side slideout with the dinette and couch on it. Surveyors are great campers and i've been really happy with mine other than the mentioned issues with the canvas bed pop out.

That is a cool camper, in our case the kids and grand kids bring there own so all we needed was the one queen bed. The bunk beds are a great feature but in our case 90% of our trips are just the two of us and the GSP. After living through three hurricane evacuation we wanted a bedroom to take with us if we had to leave again. Have fun camping.

[Powerblast]

Have a 2013 SP240. We love it and the dog does too. He has claimed the "dinette" bed as his. The dog is a 130 lbs St Bernard.

[Paulpro4x]

We pull our SP220 with a Nissan Frontier so it will be a similar experience with your Pathfinder. Our camper was delivered at 4350 lbs so I think we are easily a little over 5000 fully loaded. We have a lot of stuff. :-) You can definitely tell the trailer is back there. Although it doesn't feel dangerous or underpowered, the truck is definitely working. On a trip last fall where we were on a lot of hilly back roads I did have some trouble heating up my brakes. My rotors are now warped and I need new ones before we start towing again this season. We are also talking about upgrading to a full size truck before we go to Disney this fall but that's not in the budget right now.

[JBurley]

PaulPro4X:

I too have a Frontier and have been looking at the SP220 but have been reluctant due to my tow vehicle. The local dealer has been telling me I should not have a problem with the Frontier. Is the issue the pulling or the stopping. Any thoughts, advise would be greatly appreciated.

Jim Burley
S