jgaz 750 Posted September 1, 2025 9 hours ago, theksmith said: yes! we were able to find a spot at a nice family run storage place really close to our house. the space rent includes a dedicated power outlet, use of the dump station, water fill, air fill, and a bag of ice each time you're there. they also refill propane for cheap. Nice Kris, covered storage will help the life 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theksmith 5,778 Posted September 1, 2025 (edited) a couple other random things i forgot to mention about why we ended up with this particular setup... we did not want any slide-outs. the one time we rented a trailer with one, it came of the track somehow. we were worried that with our plans to mostly boondock down potentially rougher forest roads, we might have that issue repeatedly. no slideouts also saves weight, and sometimes simpler is just better. we also bought the aluminum siding version instead of fiberglass exterior walls on purpose. this floorplan does come in a "Platinum" version with fiberglass construction. though they look modern and sexy, we specifically avoided it. my understanding is that repair options for fiberglass walls are extremely limited/expensive if they ever delaminate (the bubbles or waves you see in older RV walls sometimes). as long as we keep up on the caulking and thereby avoid leaks, that shouldn't be a problem either way, i guess. but that upgraded version costs and weighs slightly more too. the final issue i had with the platinum was that it came with a large rounded front window on some years. again with us planning to be on gravel/dirt roads frequently, we could envision the Jeep easily throwing a rock and cracking that expensive window - i would have wanted to have it covered it with PPF right away. oh, a decent sized awning was another important feature. it's mostly a given, but we did see a few of the small trailers skimping on that. Edited September 1, 2025 by theksmith 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Curly 1,317 Posted September 1, 2025 Delamination is no joke. Our trailer looks like it has the Pox, bubbles all over. Some caused by a roof leak, (fixed) but most I think were caused by the glue de-laminatin in the heat. If your at the cinders this weekend, come check out our trailer. Point, laugh, leave a donation. 😁💵 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theksmith 5,778 Posted September 1, 2025 (edited) we thought the trailer came with an RV queen (60" x 75"), but it turns out it has some totally custom abomination of a lumpy mattress that's 60" x 70" x 6". great for hobbits i guess, but my feet stuck off the end. 🤔 there was plenty of room at the end of the bed to still walk around it even if we moved up to a normal queen (60" x 80"), so we ordered this 8" Zinus foam queen and i set about extending the murphy bed. we have that same mattress in the 12" version on our guest bed at home and everyone that has stayed with us seems to like it. i figured 8" was about the max we could go and still be able to fold this one up. i made some new vertical supports to move the murphy sofa further out. used my favorite wood attachment method, pocket screws! i painted all the new stuff black for now, might try to put some color-matched paint on eventually. then i just needed extend the platform behind the sofa. made use of some scrap 3/4" plywood for supports and some 1/4" for the actual platform. of course the new mattress didn't have a built-in hinge point in the middle like the original. fortunately it was still easy to fold in half and then fits just perfectly behind the sofa (now that it's been moved out). however, the mattress didn't want to stay folded on its own, especially with pillows and and blankets all folded up inside - so i added a strap with a buckle. supplies for that were: a roll of 1.5" nylon webbing, a couple footman loops, and a pack of strap buckles & cinchers. here it is all tucked away and belted in: we also got a set of elastic bed sheet straps to help keep the sheets on when folding it up. so with all this complete, we finally got to actually make the bed for the first time! Edited September 1, 2025 by theksmith 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ob1jeeper 849 Posted September 2, 2025 21 hours ago, jgaz said: Nice Kris, covered storage will help the life RV's left to the elements full time, soon begin to experience issues... IMHO, it is a life saver for any RV to be minimally sheltered from above... 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theksmith 5,778 Posted September 2, 2025 @aimee made us a Cousin Eddie decal! 1 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jgaz 750 Posted September 2, 2025 YES!!! Good call on no slide outs. I’ve fixed two in recent years, one for each sister, on my trips back to Michigan. Floor delamination, janky mechanisms, rodent intrusions, etc. Neither coach was very well built, IMO, to start with so that didn’t help things. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theksmith 5,778 Posted September 2, 2025 (edited) 4 hours ago, jgaz said: YES!!! Good call on no slide outs. I’ve fixed two in recent years, one for each sister, on my trips back to Michigan. Floor delamination, janky mechanisms, rodent intrusions, etc. Neither coach was very well built, IMO, to start with so that didn’t help things. from being on several Facebook camping groups and related forums, my understanding is all the big name manufacturers are currently slapping RVs and trailers together at a pace that precludes craftsmanship. ours is certainly no different - there tons of gaps, pieces cut too short, visible gouges, caulking/glue fingerprints, misalignments, etc. there's not a straight, square or symmetrical section to be found! so much pressboard being held together with just staples, and colored tape where you'd expect a moulding. it makes me nervous knowing the same people did the wiring and plumbing. i don't think anyone should buy a camper of any type if they aren't at least a little handy. it's just expected that at least some level of repair will be needed constantly. i see folks online that lack those skills get so frustrated when their brand new toy spends more time in the repair shop than out in the woods. i wonder if the really expensive units like Airstream are built substantially better? Edited September 2, 2025 by theksmith Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
4WLNRN 774 Posted September 2, 2025 9 hours ago, theksmith said: @aimee made us a Cousin Eddie decal! Now you have to yell "Shiters' full!" when you empty it 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jgaz 750 Posted September 2, 2025 2 hours ago, theksmith said: i wonder if the really expensive units like Airstream are built substantially better? My sister bought a new airstream two years ago. There were several issues early on. One was a water leak that took several dealer visits to repair. Another concern was a bent axle early on that chewed up a tire very quickly. The axle was replaced with the “old part number” mostly because my nephew knew they had changed to a new part number (cheaper) axle and called the company out on this fact. If I’m not mistaken there was a change in ownership of the company a few years back (don’t quote me). My nephew has refurbished and flipped three of the old school Airstreams in the last six or seven years and believes their quality has slipped on the newer models. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
