Camper / Trailer

[A6A6]

hey everybody so I'm thinking about buying a trailer / camper I have some property upstate that has some pretty level ground on it and I'm thinking about towing one up I want to sleep In it on those real cold night in the winter but I understand that they cannot be very warm on the inside even if you have a heater.

I don't know much about them and I don't exactly know what to look for when shopping for 1 does anyone have any experience and would anyone be willing to share some info possibly even know if someone selling 1 used?

I'm all ears .

Generator, toilet, shower propane,.electric hook up stove ...... I need to know about all this stuff

Also, I would be pulling with a 8 cylinder Jeep Cherokee, so no 5th wheelers.

[Gthphtm]

Whoever told you they cannot be warm inside must have had a bad or undersized heater for what they had.We would take our Pop Up trailer up during bow season,on a friends farm,leave it there till after rifle season in the Catskills depending on how much Snow and when we could get it out.The trailer had a canvese top we would put a new tarp over the top so the snow would slide off easy.I had a good heater and would take up a 100 lb.tank of propane(never used it up) the whole season.And some nights it would go down well below 0 degrees.We originaly were tent campers so we had portable stoves,lanterns ect.We would keep our drinks outside in a cooler and food in the little Frig.inside.Self contained trailers are nice and comfey,but we never had a need for one.

[sweet old bill]

I picked up a 26 ft trailer for a camp on the lake, we used it during 3 summers and then purased a new one. I moved it to my hunting lanbd and had electric put in, I used it for 6 years and just let it stay on the land, never had to move it a inch, lower taxs as it was not any perm attachments to power, water, or sewer etc... I would bring with me two 5 gal of water for the weekend, and built my own porta tolet etc...I would take a old cat littler container drill some holes in the bottom and keep it out back of the trailer, I would then take the pail from the porta tolet and empy it into the cat plastic container.. I would empy that into a plastic bag to take home for the trash pickup...I was never cold, the trailer had a gas furance and even when I was up for the two weeks of gun season, it keep the trailer warm. I did make siding to go from the bottom of the trailer to the ground. This kept the cold air from getting under the trailer. The grew water from the sinks just went out to the ground. When you close up I would put anti freeze into the water drains, to make sure they would not bust once you turn off the heat... Best $1600 I ever spent. After several years I retired and built my retirement dream house on the location and sold the trailer for $1000....

[BillJohnson]

the best place I think to learn how to outfit for winter RV camping is Jackson Hole, WY, the campgrounds near Teton Village, and also most of the ski areas in northern CA, even vail and aspen, CO to a lesser extent.

for many years residents of nearby towns go to the ski slopes with their families on winter weekends and they all camp in RV units, if you can successfully use your RV at 10,000 feet all winter long in northern CA and Wyoming then a deer hunt in new york state should be easy peasy.

obviously it is easier to begin with a 4 season RV than one designed for 3 season use.

[WNYBuckHunter]

First off, 8 cylinder Cherokee? Sure you dont mean 6 unless its a really old one.

That truck is going to limit you to under 21 foot for a camper, I honestly wouldnt pull anything over 19' with a Cherokee. If you are looking for used, the first thing to look for is water damage. When you find it (because you probably will), find out if the leak was fixed. Next, look at the roof and check all of the seams for cracking, etc. When you do buy one, do the Eternabond treatment to the roof immediately. I think I put a thread on here about it. Its fairly cheap and will last as long as you have the camper.

As far as use goes in the winter, they are plenty warm, but you are going to go through a bunch of propane. Theres a thread on here already about winter RV use with lots of good info. Look through the camping forum.

[fernnj]

My setup: Older 30 ft leyton trailer, free from a friend - works fine until the cabin is built

existing septic, directly connected

30 amp rv box electric hook up, w additional 20 amp supply

submersible pump run to nearby creek for water supply w/filter - works fine for showers ect

newer propane rv furnace - PLENTY of heat, uses little propane

propane range, oven

backup electric heater,

electric 20 gal water heater

quick connect winterize kit, a must have

plan to connect existing well in future

The rv propane heater works fine even on cold nights. I am leery of any type of heating system in confined areas, but i have multiple smoke detectors and a co detector. The propane does produce a lot of condensation on the interior of the windows. My 8 cyl f150 towed the trailer fine on a 300 mile trip (no 5th wheel). I will second buckhunter in having the roof resealed no matter what condition it looks like. I've seen trailers 3 years old with severe rot from a leaking roof. It cost me a few hundred bucks to have an existing meter pan updated and inspected. I would def look into having electric run, everything in the trailer uses it. Its often free to a certain point on your property depending on the power company.

[A6A6]

Thanks for thee info fellas. The property has electric on it so I think I can convert a 110 line to the trailer.

As for the truck, it's a 2006 4.8 keep grand cherokee.., they also make a 5.8 l hemi. had never noticed the Rv thread here so if anyone wants to move this feel free. In. not sure how big I want this camper to be I'm basically shopping on a budget. I would prefer a model with a full slide out instead of the pop out tent, like extensions used for bed area but I know that the slide out models cost more money.

[WNYBuckHunter]

So even with a Grand Cherokee, I wouldnt pull more than 21 foot. Its too small of a truck to handle wind loads. Ever see what happens when the "tail wags the dog"? Its not usually pretty...

Theres no RV section, but I already moved this thread into the camping section.

BTW, the Hemi is a 5.7 and your Cherokee is a 4.7

[Doewhacker]

Every tow vehicle has a tow rating, even if you only plan on towing it once and leaving it, it is still not a good idea to exceed the rating and you should stay under the rating. Just because a truck says it is rated to xxx weight that doesn't mean it can handle xxx weight.

Campers have batteries and you can run most of the stuff on that, you would need to charge it between uses is all. Fridges and heaters run on propane so no worries there.

[Gthphtm]

I would think it a depends on what you want in the future,Do want to use it just for hunting and an occasional weekend hide out Do what SOB has done.If you plan on building a house,putting a single or dubble wide on the property in the future.As far as towing anything larger then 21 ft.I would just hire some one to pull it from wherever to where you want to pull it.I know someone that tried towing with the wrong equipment and it cost him $5000.00 + to fix the trailer and tow vehicle.

[oneidacountyhunter]

If the day ever comes that I buy my own land, that is my plan. Put a camper or travel trailer on the property. If the trailer I buy is too big for my truck then I would ask a friend to tow it for me. It's amazing what gas money and a case or 2 of beer will do! You can also build a small deck off the camper or modify it your own way to make it more user friendly

[Fantail]

I used my Cherokee to tow a 15' up to camp, it was only a single axle camper but I would probably beef up the springs / towing package before i upgrade. Anyhow once you get a camper where you want it you can use a set of come alongs and some tow straps to get it into place, no need to beat the snot out of your jeep or any truck for that matter. Then - important - pick up 4 - 6 jack stands and some pt/board cuts to level it out and give it a solid base.

I see 15' - 30' er's on craigslist all the time, avoid the listings without pics.

You can rearrainge some of the campers plumbing for just water drainaige (sink) right outside. Make sure that has a trap and a removable drain section you can cap off. As far as the crapper goes - most campers are set up with holding tanks, I'm going to suggest a loo seat & a bucket or one of the portable crappers unless you want to do a bunch of extra things to the camper's system. The portables all use extra water and chem oder treatments, which work. I've switched to a dry crapper system.

Power, well if your going to plug into the grid, thats that.

A good generator is probably 3-400$ &^. Then you'll need to remember all the extra gas. Plus deal with the fumes & noise. I use a 1/4 kilowatt hybrid solar system. No noise, no gas. I run refrigeration, lights, recharge my aa's, power tools, vacuum for the camper, radio, even the laptop on occasion.

Last year for example I used a sportcat heater. These things are designed to work with the 1lb canisters, well you can get a hose adaptor & use a 20lb er. Anyhow it kept the inside of the camper, an older 68' by the way, a decent 45-50 all through November. I don't recomend a kerosine heater for a hunting camper. You'll be risking fumes and oders on your clothes & gear.

Good luck & happy camping.