Why can't RV builders figure out the small trailer market?

[Blueblaze]

Ask this company how these things go. I’d forgotten about them, but just drove by and saw the sign.

View attachment 24925

Maybe they went belly-up because, with their little teardrop trailer, you had to go outside to make your gourmet 7-course dinner in Smokey the Bear's backyard. And they literally missed every other one of my requirements, to boot.

I think you're making my case.

 

[Blueblaze]

The OP made a lot of good points and I haven’t read all the posts here, but I recently started looking at TT’s for a possible downsizing, and I can say that Outdoors RV seems to make about the best conventional travel trailers out there. I watched a series of three videos on their construction process, and I’m fairly convinced that if I were to buy a TT it would be an Outdoors unit. I’m not including Airstream in this comparison because they are in a different class and I wouldn’t want one anyway.

The smallest trailer they make weighs 6,000 pounds. The tow limit on my SUV (like most mid-size SUV's) is 3500.

 

[Blueblaze]

Seems like you found your solution. Purchase the one RV, pull out the 2 items you don't like and replace with items you do like....problem solved.

That's the problem. I CAN'T pull out those two items and replace them. There's a giant wheel well in the way of the recliner, and I'd have to throw away the galley in order to install a normal-sized mattress, barely big enough for two for normal-sized Americans. Even then, I'd still be stuck with that 8' ceiling and that rooftop AC, so it would still be too heavy to pull with a mid-size SUV (not to mention, to tall to fit in my garage).

Once again, YOU'RE MAKING MY CASE.

 

[Blueblaze]

Hubby is 6'3". A 6' ceiling ain't gonna cut it for him. Again, we all do want different things. I like my dinette and couch. Not much storage so I can't easily overload myself. Someday, when we are retired, we will want different things, but for now we like our Epro.

I like the Epro, too, but I'm not convinced we want different things. I just wonder, if Epro made a trailer where that Murphy bed converted into a recliner with TV trays, instead of a couch, and if that Epro actually fit into your garage -- would your hubby discover that he didn't mind bending over a little bit when he wasn't sleeping or eating or watching TV, if it saved him $1,000/year to own it? How about if it saved 5mpg while pulling it, and added 10,000 miles to the life of his SUV??

It's a tough call. I don't know what it's like to be a member of that less than 1% of the population who are over 6 ft tall. I just think it's kind of weird to design ALL little trailers for big people.

 

[LH25]

would your hubby discover that he didn't mind bending over a little bit when he wasn't sleeping or eating or watching TV, if it saved him $1,000/year to own it?

For us, yes he would mind. And we have space to store it next to our driveway. Heck, we don't even have a garage. . And we knew the gas milage wouldn't be great, as I said we tend to stay close-ish to home since we do 2-4 night trips. For now.

 

[Fueco]

I found the trailer. Apologies for the over the shoulder iPhone pic.

 

[Fueco]

Maybe they went belly-up because, with their little teardrop trailer, you had to go outside to make your gourmet 7-course dinner in Smokey the Bear's backyard. And they literally missed every other one of my requirements, to boot.

I think you're making my case.

No, they went belly up because the trailer market is oversaturated with used trailers post-COVID. I see their trailers every time I go camping.

I also can’t imagine wanting to sit in my trailer when the great outdoors is right there. But, for what it’s worth, we’ve had eleven people in our trailer waiting out a storm and been fine.

 

[Rich W.]

The smallest trailer they make weighs 6,000 pounds. The tow limit on my SUV (like most mid-size SUV's) is 3500.

Yes but they are built well with good materials which increases the weight. The upside is that they don’t fall apart in two years.

 

[Blueblaze]

I found the trailer. Apologies for the over the shoulder iPhone pic.

View attachment 24940

Close, but no cigar. They make a bigger tandem axle 6x12 that's nearly perfect. The only problem is, you can't buy them used anymore. I checked.

 

[Crazydog]

See how easy this is? Why are 21 different RV builders unable to figure this out?

21 different RV builders are smart enough to know that nobody wants what only you are looking for.