What's your favourite RV look?

"Manwich - now Keto-Friendly" (manwich) 08/09/2019 at 11:53 • Filed to: None

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So I read this:

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And that let me to thinking... what is the best look for an RV? What do you think?

Personally I’ve always like the ‘Boler’ look as well as the Starcraft popup camper look from the 1970s :

For Sweden > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 08/09/2019 at 12:00

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Floats

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 08/09/2019 at 12:02

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Unimog based

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 08/09/2019 at 12:04

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My favorite RVs are the big Newell coaches, but most of them are just big and obnoxious and not stylistically all that great. From an aesthetic perspective, this self-propelled Airstream is pretty damn cool:

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ttyymmnn > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 08/09/2019 at 12:04

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Why Are RVs So Fucking Hideous?

Function over form.

vicali > ttyymmnn 08/09/2019 at 12:06

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Built to the lowest price.

MonkeePuzzle > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 08/09/2019 at 12:06

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something reasonably small, and offroady looking

nerd_racing > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 08/09/2019 at 12:07

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The Jalop answer.

I’m doing something like this with this plus a pop top:

ttyymmnn > vicali 08/09/2019 at 12:07

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That too.

MonkeePuzzle > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 08/09/2019 at 12:08

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little teardrop trailes seem a good use of space and such

really my point is, it shouldnt be as comfortable as your home (granite? REALLY!?) 

nerd_racing > nerd_racing 08/09/2019 at 12:09

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Kei Motorhomes also make me happy:

vicali > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 08/09/2019 at 12:11

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Ours is pretty standard; it looks exactly the same as 90% of the other trailers in the campsite;

Maximum space for basically a one room apartment;

I wouldn’t mind the front being a bit more aero, but it tows well enough..

shop-teacher > ttyymmnn 08/09/2019 at 12:14

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Yeah, but there is no excuse for their paint schemes or fabric selections.

ttyymmnn > shop-teacher 08/09/2019 at 12:16

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But that racing stripe on the pop-up. It just cries SPEED .

OPPOsaurus WRX > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 08/09/2019 at 12:17

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i like the tread lightly look

Pickup_man > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 08/09/2019 at 12:17

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I really like the looks of the old Winnebago RV’s

I also like the looks of most 70's and 80's era hard side campers, with their sharp edges, corrugated sides and bright colors .

The 90's stuff seems to have been more space efficient, especially with the popularity of slide outs growing, but that’s when campers start to look ugly IMO.

The modern stuff is actually turning around though and most of them look pretty good.

shop-teacher > ttyymmnn 08/09/2019 at 12:20

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That one I actually like, but most of them ... Woof!

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 08/09/2019 at 12:25

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I kind of like antique Hi-Los when collapsed, but finding a good picture of the kind I like collapsed is hard. Raised, they’re a little ungainly.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 08/09/2019 at 12:27

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Stumbled across the Apache Ramada. This is neat - hardshell popup :

7:07 > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 08/09/2019 at 12:31

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Like sm70, I’m a big fan of class a diesel pushers, like Newell and Prevost, but if I’m spending my own money, I’m going to buy a super-C based on a class 8 chassis for safety, comfort, and serviceability reasons. Plus, you get all the torques because they typically use an automated manual transmissions instead of the regular Allison 6 speed automatic . The Allison transmission are smoother, but they can’t handle all the torque that the automated manual transmissions can.

Prevost elongated lozenge

Volvo based super C with stacker trailer. Because it’s based on a class 8 tractor chassis, you can be 45' long and still tow 40,000 lbs behind it, usually in the form of a stacker trailer. They aren’t as luxurious on the inside compared with the class a , but they get the job done and have some pretty good advantages in comparison.

Khalbali > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 08/09/2019 at 12:32

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My grandparents had a series of old airstream trailers when I was growing up and took me on a lot of trips, so that would be it for me.

Not their actual trailer but very similar.

$kaycog > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 08/09/2019 at 12:33

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Teardrop.

ZHP Sparky, the 5th > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 08/09/2019 at 12:36

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Personally I’ve been eyeing a teardrop trailer. We don’t need something huge - just 2 of us and a little kid, and want to keep things minimal...and you can tow it with pretty much any car, and doesn’t take up a ton of space for storage. They look pretty good too, and can be hand for a nice price used. Hoping to get one within the next few years. 

Pich, with Z32 now featuring Civic [Si] / No > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 08/09/2019 at 13:03

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I fell in love with the GMC motorhome at a junk yard

CaptDale - is secretly British > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 08/09/2019 at 13:46

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Me:

My partner:

CaptDale - is secretly British > CaptDale - is secretly British 08/09/2019 at 13:49

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But honestly a wagon and a small overland trailer would be my go to

Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 08/09/2019 at 14:03

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As a former RV mechanic I hate them all so much. 2008 was when the already bad quality control fell off the cliff. (all the mom and pop operations shut down or were swallowed by the “shitty three” of Thor, Forrest river and Jayco, and the the rv big three don’t give a fuck if you live or die) For the record, Jayco is a little better than the other two, and the industry association is fighting their inclusion in lemon laws tooth and nail. (industry would collapse if they were held to any kind of standards)

Rant over. That said, I love Bolers and triple E surfsides. Airsterams are beautiful and seemingly well made but in a different leaugue of trailers. Triple E quit making trailers after the 08 crash and experienced RV folks won’t give theirs up. (they couldn’t compete on price with the garbage from Elkhart. I appologiz e if any oppos are on the manufacturing side, but Elkhart cranks out garbage, and everybody knows).

Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer > Pich, with Z32 now featuring Civic [Si] / No 08/09/2019 at 14:12

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The GMC is a seriously cool machine, if GM tried that hard on their 70s cars they’d still rule the world. 

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 08/09/2019 at 14:38

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Airstreams are the coolest. Who doesn’t like acres of shiny round aluminum?

But also anything retro. Found this camper locally recently.

The Wini Brave is a cool one. 70s looks on a modern A class.

Or go full retro. Matching car and all

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > shop-teacher 08/09/2019 at 14:58

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What and pay a good graphic designer? Are you mad?

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer 08/09/2019 at 15:27

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But Starcraft is WAY better since their “ legendary full line of quality Starcraft RVs didn’t just happen overnight.”

Right? RIGHT??

https://starcraftrv.com/about-us/history/

LOL.

My family had a Starcraft Galaxy 8 trailer built in 1976 or 1977... and even back then before they got bought by Lear and then bought by Jayco , they were pretty low quality.

I recall there were regular issues getting all the lights to work, a heater that never worked right, shitty surge brakes that didn’t work right and other issues.

But I still loved it when I was little. Though I suspect if I owned that same trailer today as an adult who has to either spend the time fixing the stuff or paying to get it fixed, I would probably love it a whole lot less.

Oh one other thing... apparently Thor now also owns Jayco.

So if you had to buy a lightweight (not more than 2000lbs) camping trailer today, what would you get? An old Boler? A new Scamp or Armandillo ?  Something else?

Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 08/09/2019 at 15:50

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There’s lots of guys refurbishing Bolers, they have a cult following. The nice thing about the fibreglass clamshells is that they tend not to leak, so you can leave it behind the house without needing to check on the mold/rot situation all the time when not using it. My huge disdain for anything RV come from the type of customer who complains about the 55" TV jiggling as it raises itself from inside the fake fireplace. “For what I paid that should work SMOOTH!” (more than once). Simpler is better. Bolers are Good little units. All the little teardrops sold at the dealer I worked for were Garbage (R-pod). I took a shine to them when I started, thinking they were cute and sensible, I was taken aside and given a lecture by the other techs about the degree to which they were hot garbage.

A used camper is often a better bet than a new one. If it had a dedicated owner, the kinks have likely been worked out. A LOT of new units spend most of their first year in for warranty work.  I generally avoid them if I can. I can fix them, but its seldom less than a thousand dollar touch to fix something.

Surge brakes are now a big no-no, and probably illegal. They’re electric brakes now, running off a trailer brake controller, but the little ones won’t have brakes.    Maybe make a post asking if any oppos are currently in the industry, I’ve been out for years and I clearly don’t have anything nice to say about RVs. 

shop-teacher > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s 08/09/2019 at 16:11

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The clear answer is ... Yes!

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer 08/09/2019 at 16:12

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“My huge disdain for anything RV come from the type of customer who complains about the 55" TV jiggling as it raises itself from inside the fake fireplace”

In my view, if someone’s idea of camping involves having to use a 55" TV, they shouldn’t bother. They might as well stay home and watch TV.

“Surge brakes are now a big no-no, and probably illegal.”

That doesn’t surprise me one bit.  B ased on my limited experience with them, they suck.

“Maybe make a post asking if any oppos are currently in the industry, I’ve been out for years and I clearly don’t have anything nice to say about RVs.”

That’s okay... I’m not really looking for a trailer right now anyway.

The camping I do right now involves using a big-assed 10 person cabin-style tent. And on longer vacations, we did a mix of camping and hotels/motels.

But I know my kids would love it if I got a camper... but I know they require maintenance and I have nowhere to store it... so there would be an extra cost there as well . And I would have to spend more for a bigger vehicle as I know my Honda Fit isn’t suited to tow anything above a light utility trailer.

Brickman > CaptDale - is secretly British 08/09/2019 at 16:12

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Big tires on an airplane always make me laugh. I know its for landing on non-paved runways. 

Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 08/09/2019 at 16:48

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I dearly miss my Honda Fit. Bigger inside than out and just a fun zippy little car. Honda Fit/tent/motel 6 is the right answer to the RV question.  You had the right answer all along.  

ZHP Sparky, the 5th > MonkeePuzzle 08/09/2019 at 17:57

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This is definitely the sweet spot for us too, hoping to get in to one within the next few years! 

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 08/14/2019 at 18:28

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Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer 08/14/2019 at 18:32

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I bought a 2007 Coleman Sedona new, the only vehicle of any sort that I’ve ever purchased new. I’ve towed it from the Pacific to the Atlantic and back twice and I have been VERY careful with it because they spared EVERY expense when they built it. But we’ve enjoyed it very much.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer 08/14/2019 at 18:35

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“Simpler is better.”

Agreed. I pulled out the water tank and various other junk from mine when I bought it. Then I did custom carpentry inside so that you can access the storage space under the galley benches without the necessity of raising the roof of the trailer. A fun project, actually, but still...

And I made a truss to put under the front bed that rests on the tongue. I call it the “boink” truss... ;o)

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 08/14/2019 at 18:50

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I see that this is lacking any red or orange stripes... or any 70s-style trim lines... thus, I don’t like it.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 08/14/2019 at 20:43

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Your lack of willingness to be flexible on this matter is disheartening.

bhtooefr > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 08/15/2019 at 01:12

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There’s something about the Vixen 21 TD that just looks really nice, IMO. They got all the equipment stuck down low, so there’s not all of the bullshit on the roof that most other RVs have.

Downside is... it’s a pop top, and that means pop top issues. And, when they went high- roof with the 21 SE, it ended up quite ungainly (IMO it didn’t have to, but they were basing it on an existing low-roof body) :

For something towed behind... I find myself wishing that hard-sided pop-ups, or the really small, lightweight Hi-Los from the 1960s were still a thing, although that’s not on styling grounds, but rather aerodynamic grounds. I don’t know that there’s any that I really like the styling of, and the retro look only really works when paired with a contemporary car IMO.