Travel Trailers

Posted by Dave Nettles on January 3, 2009 under Travel Trailers | Be the First to Comment

Small Campers

Travel trailers or small campers go back as far as the early 1920s. The people that used them were referred to as “Tin Can Tourists”. Sometime later these travel trailers became more livable and by the 1930s and 40s they got a new designation “House Trailer”. But it wasn’t until the 1950s and 60s that there seem to be a split in the industry. This created two types, the Recreational Vehicle or better known as the “RV” industry and the Mobil Home industry. In this day and age travel trailer get the classification as a type of RV along with motorhomes, fifth wheel trailers, pop-up camper trailers and truck campers.

The small campers and travel trailers along with the pop-ups are built with touring in mind. They are usually less than 18 feet long and include modest amenities. You will find they are usually less than 3000 lbs and lightweight by design. They are made to be able to set up for use quickly and can be towed by most full size cars and light trucks.

The pop-ups fall into a lighter category weighing in at less than 700 lbs. The SUVs and some of the smaller economy cars are able to tow them without any problems. You can even find some are light enough to be towed by motorcycles.

Next in class is the mid-range travel trailers 18 to 25 fl in length and can go 5000 lbs or more. They are towed by the larger heaver duty pickup trucks and SUVs. You will find plenty of amenities and all the comforts of home included in this class of RV.

Even larger in class are the 25 to 40 foot long models that are decked out like a luxury condominium.  The can be 12,000 lbs or more and require special towing vehicles. When the towing vehicle goes over 10,000 lbs a class A driver’s license is required.

All classes of the travel trailer can come in a “Toy Box” version of Toy Hauler. They are broken up into living areas and the garage half for the toys. They include a strong folding ramp in the rear for access to load race cars, ATVs and personal water craft. Fully self contained with generators for power for lighting, cooling and cooking.

Today you will see a lot of innovations with the hybrid travel trailer. They come with the hard sided trailers and the features of a pop-up trailer. These hybrids big advantage is the weight to space ratio, but the disadvantage are the lack of insulation that makes a condensation and heating problem in some climates.