Camper Or Travel Trailer? Either Way, We Own It

Every part of the country has it’s own verbiage for RV’s. Popups vs tent trailers, or toter-home vs motorhome. In our case, you can call it a camper or a travel trailer. Either way, we own it.

We only considered used campers when this journey started. That changed 2 years ago at the Green Bay RV Expo. We went in hopes of seeing new popup campers. Both of us wanted to know what was available in fully self-contained  models. We could then search for one a couple years old.

The New Travel Trailer Bug Bit Us

It wasn’t a popup, but a small travel trailer that peaked our interest. Neither of us could tell you the brand or the dealership. We can tell you it was stick and tin, fully self-contained and slept 4. The “show price” was about $9,600.

If there’s one in that price range, there must be more. At least that’s what we thought. The little trailer was the lowest priced travel trailer at the show. It was also the only one even close to the $10,000 mark. Just about everything else started in the high teens.

Our Search For The Perfect Camper

Our plan was to search the local dealer’s, and the ones nearby in the Appleton, Wisconsin area. Honestly, most of what we saw in the $12,000 to $16,000 range was alarming. Features we wanted may have been there, but we saw so many fit and finish issues. Paneling pulled out from walls and glue runs that weren’t cleaned up were common.

Early on, we both homed in on the Springdale Mini 1750RD from Keystone. We found it at Van Boxtel RV in Green Bay, WI. It was just a little out of our price range, but we loved it. The weight, size and floor plan were right on target. It also was lacking some of those issues we saw in other trailers. Four of these models were on the lot, and the quality looked consistent from one unit to the other.

We Didn’t Stick To The Plan

The plan was always to wait for the RV show in February. You’ll have to believe us when we say we really talked this one over. Who wants to buy an RV at the end of the season, only to put it in storage until spring? Certainly not us.

Here are a few reasons we decided to buy now.

• It’s barely September. We can easily get a few trips in before winter.
• We have a 4-wheel drive tow vehicle, and a state park with year-round camping.
• Although the dealer had 4 of these exact units, we found one that came in earlier in the year. It was the exact same unit, item per item. It was also built before an early summer price increase.
• We’d made enough of a dent in our budget to accomplish our financial goals for the RV already.

What We Love About The Camper – Other Than It’s Ours

I’m the happy vagabond. This camper is light and small, but still has what we need. Although we need the load leveling hitch with the Trailblazer, we can still grab and go on short notice. It’s a lot of camper wrapped up in 3,300 pounds. At 21 feet, hitch to back bumper, I can put this thing anywhere we want to go.

The air conditioning is already there. So is the awning. We also negotiated the hitch, brake controller and a few other accessories into the deal. One thing that wasn’t a requirement is the stereo with outside speakers. Although we’ll use the stereo and it’s CD player, I’m not sold on the outside speakers. We’ll have to see how they hold up.

Setting the hitch up properly and wiring the brake control was also included. I’ve done this several times before, and it’s important to be done right. It’s just nice to not have to be doing it myself. Set up improperly, your vehicle will handle poorly at best. At worst, it’s an accident waiting to happen.

Although I’d prefer 2 propane tanks, the unit only comes with one. On the other hand, I’ll be pulling the tank and battery when the camper is parked in storage. That part of the job is one tank easier.

Kris is the nester. She fell in love with the floor plan. The camper has a permanent queen bed in front. Granted, it’s walled right up to the mattress on both sides. But climbing in from the foot of the bed is easier than climbing up over the cab in our old pickup camper.

The side kitchen isn’t huge, but it’s laid out well for a small trailer. She won’t be rolling out a pie crust any time soon, but there’s more than enough counter space. There’s no oven, but that wasn’t on our list.  It did come with a microwave oven.  Again, the microwave wasn’t on our list either, but it’ll be handy to have.

We were both impressed by the drawers. Although they are stapled and glued, they are made of plywood. They also have full extension glides. Like all small RVs, they can only build in so much storage. I’ll give Keystone some credit on this one. The storage may not be overly plentiful, but it’s well thought out.

Although the bathroom is on the other side, the 8′ width of the trailer gives plenty of space for movement. As expected, the bathroom has a small shower, a toilet, and a sink with a small amount of counter space. It also has a GFI protected electrical outlet.

But Oh, That Rear Dinette

What’s not to love with the rear dinette?

We both loved that rear dinette. The seat wraps around, side to side from the rear wall of the camper. It’s also surrounded by windows. We can easily picture ourselves having a meal, playing a game or just enjoying family. Six will fit easily, and two more with a couple folding stools.

Our best camping memories were either outside, enjoying nature, or dining and playing games around a dinette table. This camper lets us pick up where we left off in the memory making department.

Camping With Family

We gave a lot of thought to buying something that would sleep 6 or 8. When it comes right down to it, that would be one crowded camper. Besides that, most of our trips will be just the two of us. Between tents and campgrounds with camping cabins, We’re pretty sure we’ll get the rest of the family together from time to time.

The other issue with more sleeping accommodations in a smaller camper is the lack of an open floor plan. Nearly everything else had just a couple of side windows. They also had dinette tables that couldn’t seat 2 adults and 2 children comfortably. And I’m pretty sure 3 grandchildren could sack out on that dinette bed.

Our Maiden Voiage

We have reservations for a couple of days next week. We’re a mere 30 miles or so from Point Beach State Park. It should be a great shakedown trip. It’s also close enough to a decent sized city. If we realize we’ve overlooked something big, we can run into town in just minutes. I can’t begin to tell you how excited we are.

There you have it. Tom and Kris Camping is once again brought to you by RV owners, not just dreamers. Oh, and if you get by Van Boxtel RV, stop and say hi to Phil Rellinger. He was our salesmen and we would have no problem recommending him.

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