BroncosFan
USA
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As long as gas keeps creeping up as usual I would assume re-sale on the hi-lo would be wonderful. The new re-desigend 2010 sure are nice looking with that wrap around front window. I don't know if you saw that one at the show or a 2009 model. Welcome to the forum!
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profdant139
Southern California
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Joined: 11/14/2005
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Note to the OP -- you say you want a trailer as a traveling hotel room and are not interested in camping. Watch out! We thought that was what we wanted, too -- camping is dirty and disgusting, right?
Much to our shock, we have turned into no-kidding campers, way out in the boonies. This is not what we anticipated, but it turns out that it is a heck of a lot of fun.
So -- bottom line -- you just might want to get a trailer that can serve you well, even in a plain old campground (as distinguished from a full hookup RV park). I am not talking about buying a huge rig -- even a very small trailer can be a lot of fun, but it needs to have a decent bathroom and kitchen.
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Wes Tausend
Bismarck, ND
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One of the posters on this site, PopBeavers, mentioned that his equivalent 27 foot TrailManor (a 2720) has a folding tongue option which allows him to park it in his ordinary low-clearance garage in spite of a very roomy TT floorplan. It compacts to a bit over 20 feet. This could be a real boon to folks that live in neighborhoods that forbid campers visibly parked in a driveway. If you can contact him here, I'm sure he would be glad to share his knowledgable experience.
I note that TrailManor brags that it cost only one extra gallon of gas to tow one 100 miles. So, if that is true, the camper itself gets 100 miles to the gallon. Pretty remarkable engineering with a few unmatched Space Shuttle-like weight reducing tricks. But, because they are relatively unaffected by wind, they hold the road well for their minimal weight. A permanent height TT that light would blow around a little too easily while being towed.
There is a video that shows how quickly and easily they set up. They are made to be towed by a Crossover, Minivan or small SUV.
They are also a good investment because they hold their value well. And they can stay like new when parked inside. But they do cost more up front. Perhaps they herald the future as we all get more efficient.
Wes
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* This post was
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- 2000 Excursion V-10 - 1995 Coachmen Catalina 280RK, 5091# tare
- Hensley Arrow pending - McKesh mirrors - Champion 4000w/3500w gen
- 1994 Mazda B4000 1/2 ton, 4.0L V6, 3.73, 125"wb
- 1978 Pace Arrow 25' Motorhome, GM 3500 chassis 454cu.in
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meriflower1985
Twin Cities, MN
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Joined: 10/28/2005
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The main advantage of a Hi-Lo is the low profile towing and towing a Hi-Lo is a breeze compared to a full size trailer plus we receive better gas mileage vs when we towed a HTT and TT. We have a 2007 22T and provides enough space for my family of four to sleep, shower and change. Our living space is primarily outdoors within the state, national and coe parks that we camp in. We tow ours with a Jeep Commander.
We also can easily stop for breaks while traveling and do not find pushing a button and waiting 12 seconds for the top to raise to be an issue.
We have owned our Hi-Lo for three years and have had zero problems. They are built well and are solid. The price that we paid was comparable to a regular TT we were looking at. As far as retaining the value, all RVs, like cars, depreciate. If that is a concern I would recommend on buying used vs new. Especially if you only plan to keep it for 2 years. It almost seems like you really like the class B but except for the price. Are you sure you and your wife would be happy with anything else?
I agree the two-piece door can be bothersome but is minor. You will need a SUV or truck to pull. If you are looking for a more fuel efficient or smaller tow vehicle that will restrict you to a popup or something even lighter. Some mentioned a TrailManor but they require manual setup and more maintenance and IMO are cheaply made compared to Hi-Lo. We researched both a TM and a Hi-Lo at the same time before our purchase.
Again, we really like ours and would buy one again and recommend.
* This post was
edited 10/19/09 02:56pm by meriflower1985 *
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jyh818
Chino, CA
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Joined: 08/29/2009
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Some full size TT with slides require the slide to be out a little to use the bathroom on roadside potty breaks. My Nomad 260 will take the 12 seconds to slide out so you can open the bathroom door.
I had looked at TrailManor before purchasing my Nomad. I mainly looked at them for the light weight since I was only towing with a Toyota Sienna at the time. Decided to buy a used Ford Excursion V10 and then my options on TTs opened tremendously. Overall cost was about the same as just getting a new TrailManor, but at least I'm not limited to just a TrailManor if I decide to upgrade my TT for a larger one.
You'll need to consider storage cost as well when shopping. I had to pave the side of my house to park it...an additional expense I did not anticipate. It is an investment in my mind that my house now can accommodate a TT or RV. No additional storage cost for me.
2002 Ford Excursion XLT V-10 6.8L
2009 Skyline Nomad 260
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BigPackFan
Endicott, NY USA
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Joined: 07/01/2004
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Dixonmatco wrote:Some setup time required for any usage, including a quick roadside potty break. Many owners love them, Personally I would not own one. And we can tell you never haven given the misinformation in your post (unless you consider 12 seconds of pushing a button "set-up").
BPF
Searching for the right RV
2007 GMC Envoy
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1775
NY
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Joined: 09/30/2009
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For the question of where in NY we are - we are on Long Island (virtually, a trailer/rv no man's land)
I looked at the TrailManor website, after reading the posts here - the smaller lengths (and maybe all of them) do not have real toilets but "recirculating" toilets which I looked up to learn are chemical toilets and there is no black water tank on the trailer. I am not sure this is something that we want to deal with.
As to buying used - that is not an option for the same reason that we are looking for a trailer or Class B. We had an encounter with bed bugs in our home that cost me a LOT of money, energy, and stress to get rid of. It is likely that they came from a hotel room - so buying a used trailer or RV has the same potential problem as going into a hotel room now. And having the trailer treated would be just too involved - especially since we are no where near any dealer. So this has set us off to find a way to travel again in a way that we will not contaminate our house again. The trailer or Class B seems like an option. We love to car travel and go primarily to historic sites, museums, and the like - rarely do we go for the "nature". While we are not quite seniors we are in our fifties and roughing it has never been appealing.
When I saw the hilo at the RV show I was told that the weight was in the mid-2000 lb range (can't remember the exact weight - 2400# ??? - and this was a 19 ft long model) and when I said that my Pilot can tow up to 4500 pounds was told that would be no problem at all. (The car is new, purchased pre-house problem, and there is no option now to replace it with anything bigger.) Maybe they were just giving me a line to make a sale? I don't know. The weight ratings of the vehicles and the trailers confuse me and I am never sure if I am figuring it out correctly.
Of course, the issue still is storage. No garage. No room on the drive way for 19' of trailer and our two vehicles, and we have no property to put it on. Looking for commercial parking spaces around here, what I found is over $125 a month. The Class B would replace my van and fit on the driveway - but the price is so high.
Still trying to figure out the possibilities.
Alex
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Wes Tausend
Bismarck, ND
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1775 wrote:For the question of where in NY we are - we are on Long Island (virtually, a trailer/rv no man's land)
I looked at the TrailManor website, after reading the posts here - the smaller lengths (and maybe all of them) do not have real toilets but "recirculating" toilets which I looked up to learn are chemical toilets and there is no black water tank on the trailer. I am not sure this is something that we want to deal with.
As to buying used - that is not an option for the same reason that we are looking for a trailer or Class B. We had an encounter with bed bugs in our home that cost me a LOT of money, energy, and stress to get rid of. It is likely that they came from a hotel room - so buying a used trailer or RV has the same potential problem as going into a hotel room now. And having the trailer treated would be just too involved - especially since we are no where near any dealer. So this has set us off to find a way to travel again in a way that we will not contaminate our house again. The trailer or Class B seems like an option. We love to car travel and go primarily to historic sites, museums, and the like - rarely do we go for the "nature". While we are not quite seniors we are in our fifties and roughing it has never been appealing.
When I saw the hilo at the RV show I was told that the weight was in the mid-2000 lb range (can't remember the exact weight - 2400# ??? - and this was a 19 ft long model) and when I said that my Pilot can tow up to 4500 pounds was told that would be no problem at all. (The car is new, purchased pre-house problem, and there is no option now to replace it with anything bigger.) Maybe they were just giving me a line to make a sale? I don't know. The weight ratings of the vehicles and the trailers confuse me and I am never sure if I am figuring it out correctly.
Of course, the issue still is storage. No garage. No room on the drive way for 19' of trailer and our two vehicles, and we have no property to put it on. Looking for commercial parking spaces around here, what I found is over $125 a month. The Class B would replace my van and fit on the driveway - but the price is so high.
Still trying to figure out the possibilities.
Alex
Alex,
Well now I see your dilema. There are a number of obstacles or circumstances conspiring against you to have any sort of TT.
It sounds like only a Class B van might really fit both your driveway and needs away from home. They might be reasonably enough "pre-owned" that you could treat (fumigate) them and still come out ahead financially. I think they have a steep depreciation from "brand new" so that a very good 1 or 2 year old unit may be had for far less money than new. It's just got to be cheaper to fumigate a van, perhaps as a condition of first delivery, than an entire home. And I think most would agree with me, factory campers need a new mattress upgrade anyway.
There is one caveat ...recirculating toilets. I think many (not all) Class B may also use these compact devices since they don't have much room for a sizable black water tank underneath. You probably already know far more than I do regarding recirculating toilets, but they don't appear to be significantly different than all our plastic camper toilets, except for the reservoir. They might even be handier to empty; I don't know. The common Thetford used by TrailManor will attach to either a larger black water tank or flush directly out a sewer hook-up. It's very similar to those used on aircraft. The handiest toilet I ever owned was just a port-a-potty; empty it at home or any public bathroom stool, no long dump lines, clumsy hose, rubber gloves etc.
I understand your concern with bugs. My wife has occasionally been bitten while sleeping at home, and we don't know what it is. My understanding of bedbugs is that they can reside several feet from a bed but come out at night to wreak their evil, vampire havoc. So far she has sprinkled powder around the edges of the walls, put out sticky traps etc.
Even though I haven't been bitten, I fear I may have brought bugs home from a 100+ year old hotel my company regularly puts us in. Finally, because there were mushrooms growing in the hotel hallway, they have agreed to move us. My greatest fear was fire, but the place was full of unclassified bugs, cockroaches and other unsavory critters. I once came out of the shower to suddenly confront a ferret in my room. At first glance, in dim light, I thought it was a giant rat. I was definately not impressed. But I suppose it kept the snakes down. As far as I know, they only found one snake so far.
Good luck in your quest.
Wes
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* This post was
edited 10/20/09 03:07pm by Wes Tausend *
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meriflower1985
Twin Cities, MN
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Hi Alex - Class B are nice but you're right they are pricey! We at one time shopped around for them. You could do a search for any leftover 2008s - new of course. They will probably have a sale price. I found a couple here in MN priced mid 60s.
As for the Hi-Lo 19T, the dry weight is 2690, GVWR or gross is 3840, hitch 380. Honda Pilot 4WD tow capacity is 4500 (only 3500 if 2WD) according to Honda's website. If you have the 4WD Pilot you should be able to tow the 19T. Before we bought our 22T we were going to get the 19T. We test pulled it with our Jeep Liberty. The Libby can tow 5000. Since we really liked the floorplan of the 22T we traded the Libby in for a Commander as it can tow more. You can see if the RV dealer will let you test pull the 19T. Ensure that you have a class III hitch, electric brakes and a transmission cooler on your Pilot. Most recommend not to tow in overdrive.
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Mike Up
here
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Joined: 05/29/2005
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meriflower1985 wrote:As for the Hi-Lo 19T, the dry weight is 2690, GVWR or gross is 3840, hitch 380. Honda Pilot 4WD tow capacity is 4500 (only 3500 if 2WD) according to Honda's website. If you have the 4WD Pilot you should be able to tow the 19T.
Not trying to be disrespectful here, but I've never seen a camping trailer tongue ever weigh only 10% (except Fleetwood/Coleman) dry, let alone after putting 2 heavy propane tanks filled, with a heavy battery right on the hitch. Most tent Pop Ups fall in between 12% and 13% of loaded weight. Most hardsides fall within 13% and 14% of loaded weight.
If 450 lbs is all the hitch weight is rated for, they'll sure exceed the rating easily.
Have a good one.
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