Fiberglass travel trailers.

[eend]

I am starting to fall in love more and more with fiberglass trailers.
We have an nice old rebuild 1971 13' boler trailer and we actually love that little guy.
We took to Winnipeg this past August to the 50 year anniversary of the boler where over 400 of these little fiberglass trailers all came together.
They also had nice new bigger fiberglass trailers on display which were great and well build and they will last for ever.

Our favourite one was the escape trailer. http://escapetrailer.com/

Then there was the oliver trailer: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/

then there was the small armadillo based on the scamp/boler idea; https://www.armadillotrailers.net/

Then the Happier Camper ; https://happiercamper.com/

Then there was the bigfoot; http://www.bigfootrv.com/m/bigfoot_rv_travel_trailers_2500_series.html

And scamp: https://www.scamptrailers.com/

Outback trillium trailers; http://trilliumtrailers.com/

And I'm sure there are many more.

[vermilye]

I had an Escape 17B for 6 years, towed it almost 100,000 miles around the US & Canada. 3100 pounds loaded, towed with a RAV4 & a Tacoma. While I loved the trailer, I wanted an oven, full time bed & 4 person dinette & a built in microwave. Sold the 17B (in one day) and moved to an Escape 21. I've been in it for a little over a year, dry camped for 3 months at Quartzsite (without a generator) and am currently on day 78 of another 7-8 month trip.

Fore me, the advantages of fiberglass "eggs" over stick built trailers are lightweight for the size, minimal need for maintenance, and a wonderful group of owners that love rallies!

[Downwindtracke1]

rbpru wrote:
The "eggs" as I call them, have a lot to offer. For us however, they are too small, too expensive and they do not have a slide.

If they fit your budget and floor plan, there is no reason not to buy one. Of the course the same can be said for Airstream.

Floor plan trumps all.

I don't think floorplan trumps all, I would say the frame is the most important. It's no accident that the fiberglass ones are popular in BC. It rains here . With most TT, within two years you have to tear off trim and reseal with a good sealant. At that time, you'll likely have to replace some rot by then as well if it's wood framed. Of course there is that deamination problem to deal with.

[marcsbigfoot20b]

Tom/Barb wrote:
First issue we had was the entry door attaching hardware pulled out and the door basically fell off.
All window dressings were cheap pressboard, and the condensation from the window dissolved it and the vinyl covering peeled off.
********Excessive Condensation? So you weren’t “venting the inside of the trailer?”
2 of the 4 tires blew out in less than 10,000 miles, we had to upgrade to class E tires.
********Tires blow all the time. I had 2 blow on my last trip. Were they old, had air, get a puncture?
The little battery that came with it, would not run the heater over one night, we were required to change to 2 deep cycle RV batteries.
*********That is normal.
The insulation was 1" styrofoam glued to the flat walls, nothing where the curved portion of the trailer.
The valve that separates the two propane tanks failed and dumped all our gas one night.
**********Those fail all the time. Are you really going to blame a manufacturer for all that?

The frame rails required beef ups to use a WDH, tried to load the hitch, the rails just bent.
***********This I seriously doubt.
IMHO simply a poorly designed and built trailer.
We towed the trailer about 12,000 miles, owned it less than a year.

[1500]

I have a 1990 16' Scamp side bath layout 4, and love it. Enough space for two people and two medium sized dogs with out feeling cramped. While at the same time not feeling like I am pulling an apartment around with me.

I have a Vanagon and moving up to a TT gives you so much more space, even in something only 16' long (molded fiberglass trailers total length is how they are listed)

[huachuca]

Molded fiberglass trailers aren't for everyone but we spend very little time inside when camping so, for us, size isn't an issue. We started with a 16' side bath Scamp and, if not for a hurricane and a couple of large oaks, would likely still be in that today. It was replaced with a 19' Scamp fiver (not a true fifth wheel but it does use a bed mounted hitch) which works even better. This camper is twenty years old and the only big ticket maintenance item has been the fridge.

We always camp on public lands and the smaller size enables us to fit in just about every trailer site and many of those for tents. If we're staying for three plus nights, we usually set up the Paha Que screen room for cooking and lounging around.

Horse Cove CG in Nantahala NF.

[toedtoes]

qtla9111 wrote:

toedtoes wrote:
I got my fiberglass trailer and class C.
I was going to get the Escape trailer, but when the FoldnRoll appeared for sale I jumped on it. Wouldn't believe he's 20 years old. RVs

Very cool!

Thanks. I love that he has two dedicated full size beds in a small box. The only "weird feeling" thing is that the bathroom is right next to the door so you feel a bit exposed with just a curtain for the bathroom door.

[TurnThePage]

Tom/Barb, sorry to hear about your woes with Bigfoot. I'm still keeping them at the top of my list though. 🙂

[rbpru]

The "eggs" as I call them, have a lot to offer. For us however, they are too small, too expensive and they do not have a slide.

If they fit your budget and floor plan, there is no reason not to buy one. Of the course the same can be said for Airstream.

Floor plan trumps all.

[Tom_Barb]

shelbyfv wrote:

Tom/Barb wrote:
I don't believe we made even one trip with out problems.

That's a bummer! I expect traveling in a vintage motorhome is not w/o challenges as well!

Vintage M/H not in same category as a new trailer. It's all about material condition, some of these restored coaches are in better condition than new, others not so much.

[Tom_Barb]

TurnThePage wrote:

Tom/Barb wrote:

colliehauler wrote:

Tom/Barb wrote:
We owned a Big Foot 25, biggest POS we ever got screwed with.

Just curious what issues did you have with the Bigfoot? I always thought they were a cut above most fiberglass trailers, their price sure was.

We paid 31k and sold for 22k a year later, I don't believe we made even one trip with out problems.

If I might ask, what year was your trailer?

2007

[qtla9111]

toedtoes wrote:
I got my fiberglass trailer and class C.
I was going to get the Escape trailer, but when the FoldnRoll appeared for sale I jumped on it. Wouldn't believe he's 20 years old. RVs

Very cool!

[Z-Peller]

cancelled

[TurnThePage]

Tom/Barb wrote:

colliehauler wrote:

Tom/Barb wrote:
We owned a Big Foot 25, biggest POS we ever got screwed with.

Just curious what issues did you have with the Bigfoot? I always thought they were a cut above most fiberglass trailers, their price sure was.

We paid 31k and sold for 22k a year later, I don't believe we made even one trip with out problems.

If I might ask, what year was your trailer?

[shelbyfv]

Tom/Barb wrote:
I don't believe we made even one trip with out problems.

That's a bummer! I expect traveling in a vintage motorhome is not w/o challenges as well!