Casita
I owned a Casita for several years. It was a fun trailer and was easy to tow. We towed it with a Ford Explorer. It was very reliable and we had no problems with it. Used ones are in high demand and had an excellent resale value when I had to sell it.
I would be happy to answer questions specific to Casita.
Jill
Had a 12’ Pop Up
I don’t like the Aliner much because not much head room.
We had a 12’ popup when the kids were younger. Like preteen. There was plenty of room for everyone to sleep, and did not have to pack bedding for 6 every trip. We also left a lot of stuff like chairs in there. We went camping once or twice a month, and it really cut down on the packing time.
We both feel like we got our money’s worth out of it. Kathy got it when we separated, since she had three kids, and I only one. She continued to use it. We sold it after we reconciled a few years later. By then the kids were grown.
BUT they are a pain if you have to pack it up when wet. We mostly used it for camping in the Eastern Sierras in summer where rain is really rare, and the low humity dries things out very quickly. We would store it over there for the summer so we didn’t have to pull it over Sonora Pass several times a year.
Now we have a conversion van. Four seats and a king sized bed. Its great for our weekends at the beach, now that is it is just the two of us. Big problem is no way to take kayaks. I can take the Frenzy to the beach, but that is all. Kathy doesn’t go out on the ocean, anyway.
For the Sierras she would drive the van and kids/grandkids in the van, and I would follow in my Toy truck with kayaks. Sounds crazy, especially when gas was so high, but we both enjoy driving over the Pass.
Now that we have plenty of RV storage at the new place, we are debating what to get for our summer Sierra trips. Kathy wants a hard trailer, and I want another small tent trailer.
Towing
An Explorer can handle a variety of trailers and weights, but how would it have been towing the Casita with a bigger 4cyl (lets say a 2.5 liter) or a small 6 cyl (3.0 - 3.5 liter) ?
weight
That’s still the problem–trying to find a trailer light enough to tow with a 4 cyl. fuel-efficient car. That eliminates both the Scamp and Casita. Ideally, I’d love to have a Hi-Lo, but then I’d have to get rid of either the 30 mpg Vibe or 45 mpg Jetta and get an 18 mpg whatever. It would be cheaper to get a motel room…
For a pop up
The smaller Quicksilver Livn-Lite’s (link above) can be towed by a 4cyl. as they are all aluminum construction and the cabinets are injected plastic rather then pressed board. I’ve seen one, but a bit pricey and hard to find a dealer near many of us, but I thought they were a quality build. Outside of that it seems Europe is the place to go for what some of us are looking for.
I recently purchased a used T@B
It’s a 1994 model with no frills but otherwise in very good shape. I paid $5200 for it. I’ve had it out twice in the past month or so. The 1st time for one night, the second for five. So far I am very pleased. It has standing headroom for me (I’m 5’7") and a queen sized bed. Ventilation is good. A few frozen gallon milk jugs keeps the icebox cold. At the end of five nights the battery still had the lights burning bright. One of my next projects is to build canoe racks for it. If got a design in mind, now to find the time to build the prototype.
Marc Ornstein
Dogpaddle Canoe Works
Custom Paddles and Cedar Strip Canoes
towing…
I can’t answer that question as I don’t have any experience except with the Explorer. My Toyota Sienna Mini-van has the trailer towing package, and I think it’s rated to tow 3500 lbs. That doesn’t mean I would. I have seen mini-vans towing casitas, but I don’t know the effect on their vehicles.
I realize that the original poster is looking for something a small engine can handle, and that the Casita is not the answer for that. However, my personal opinion is that a unit like the Casita is more useful than the pop-up campers.
If we stopped for gas, I could use my own bathroom in the Casita. We could also pull into a parking lot and quickly fix a snack or meal, and have a place to sit down and eat. Once we got home, I could do the laundry, put the sheets and towels back in the casita, and we were ready for the next trip. Dishes, utensils, cookware, etc were all left inside.
It was small enough we could park in campground tent sites instead of the RV sites. By doing that, we could avoid being parked next to huge RV’s with their satellite dishes and generators. It was great shelter from the rain. Having our own shower was almost heaven. A small ceramic heater was adequate in very cold weather. It was just a great, fun, camping trailer. Maybe not the right one for a small car, but it served our purposes.
Jill
Curious?
Which Casita did you have, the 13’ or larger one?
17 ft.
We had the 17 foot model.
Hey mornstein…
– Last Updated: Aug-08-09 12:22 AM EST –
you may want to rethink racks on T@B.
I also looked at them when they first came out. The early models came out they had leaks,and delamination issues on the top due to heavy snow loads on the roof during winter storage. Found that on a tiny trailer web page. I think the early models had little or no internal roof structure,just a sandwich construction of the roof. Any weight or air lift from boats,could cause roof structural failure. Check with dealer,factory,about this for verification. Why haul boats on the trailer, the vehicle goes to the water{unless you are very lucky to get water front sites} not the trailer. I had a teardrop trailer and hauled the boats on the tow vehicle.
http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2239487350050436027VinxyS
billinpa
Have leak problems been solved?
I was thinkging the T@B looked like a possibility, depending on cost/storage issues. Have the leak problems been solved? It is a problem if you keep it in a garage for storage (city ordinances won’t let me keep it in my driveway over the winter – which is why I probably won’t consider it unless I can fit it in my garage).
LittleRed…
I read on a small trailer message board{not the link I posted,but a Yahoo small trailer group} this happened to a few snow belt owners when T@B’s first came out out. I read that and decided against the T@B until they were out a few years to work out the bugs. I had looked at one,and had a larger trailer at the time. I was looking for something smaller,easier to tow. The T@B was more expensive then 18’ with bathroom & shower,I already owned,and almost twice the price of the teardrop I eventually bought. I abandoned the reasearch on the T@B since it didn’t fit what we were looking for. Do a web search on T@B,and any T@B or small trailer message boards. I am assuming a dealers will deny any problens to sell units,and owners will give you better insight. The problem may have been very well fixed in later models. I would talk to a dealer,or factory and see what they say,however I tend to lean towards someone that actually owns & uses the product for insight rather then those who are trying to sell it.
One such owners message board in which one owner mentioned constant replacement of roof trim:
http://www.roamingtimes.com/rvreports/tab-teardrop-trailer.aspx
Good Luck
billinpa
Darn you, LittleRed ;^)
I was perfectly happy with my Coleman sundome tent, till I got to reading this thread. Now I’m dreaming about this:
http://www.leesurelite.com/
and thinking about a new Honda Fit to tow it.
Saw one in South Dakota
I saw one of those little tent trailer setups in South Dakota near Mount Rushmore, pulled by a motorcycle. Looked nice. We stared at it a long time but no one invited us in.
Did you watch the video?
Really easy set up for one person.
When I get too old to sleep on the ground, I’m going to have to get one of these.
I’m aware of the delamination issue.
Mine has some delamination of the interior headliner. I’m working on a fix for that but it has not affected the outer portion of the roof, cosmetically or otherwise. The roof does not leak and I’ve towed it through some horrendous downpours. The design I’m working on will spread the strain over a large area and transmit most of the forces to the sidewalls. It will also involve no holes in the trailer skin.
As for why; I often need to carry more boats than can readily be put on the truck. I can put three solos on the truck without double stacking. Double stacking is a pain that I avoid as much as possible.
Marc Ornstein
Dogpaddle Canoe Works
Custom Paddles and Cedar Strip Canoes
No towing with a Honda Fit…
I have an 09,and manual states “towing is not reccommended” Yes they make hitches,but they are used for receiver bike racks only.
billinpa
Well, isn’t that stupid?
I used to tow a motorcycle trailer with my 1974 VW Beetle. I don’t know whether it was recommended or not, but I did it without any problems.
Blame lawyers & society
billinpa