First Trip in Camplite 21RBS |
Post Reply | Page 123 4> |
Author | |
CharlieM
Senior Member Joined: 23 Nov 2012 Location: N. Colorado Online Status: Offline Posts: 1797 |
Topic: First Trip in Camplite 21RBS Posted: 15 Jan 2014 at 10:01pm |
We just returned from our maiden voyage in our new Camplite 21RBS. We stayed locally just in case, but no problems. We spent 3 days each at two Florida Panhandle beach state parks. The major issue I dealt with before leaving was the cold aluminum floor. Even with the optional spray-on insulation the floor is painful to bare feet if it’s cold outside. The thin coating only seals against air infiltration. The solution I found was to cover all exposed interior aluminum flooring with 7/8” rubber Tatami mats from RubberFlooringInc.com. http://www.rubberflooringinc.com/interlocking-tile/foam/78-tatami-tile.html The fitting work takes time, but the result is dramatic. Bare feet friendly and very comfortable to walk on. I did have to remove the small caps on the bottom of the slide to clear the foam, but they were only decorative. The optional skylight in the shower was great. Lots of light and added headroom. Although we had hookups available we dry camped the first three nights just to check everything out. The temp got low enough to give the heater and batteries a good workout. The 7 cu.ft. fridge was great. Lots of room for ice cream. I don’t think the pump intake is low enough in the tank to fully utilize the fresh water tank, but more investigation is required. We did fill up the gray water tank and had to drive to the dump station, but it was easy since I didn’t decouple the TV, connect hoses and cords, or deploy the stabilizers. Although we didn’t go far the Tacoma with E2 WDH towed fine. More testing to follow. Overall the Camplite was great for the trip. We had a lot of rain so spent lots of time inside. The new thicker factory mattress provided good sleeping. The dry bath/shower/commode sure beat the alternatives and the foam floor was absolutely worth the effort. All systems worked as expected. The design, engineering, quality, and workmanship are outstanding. More on other mods I ordered from the factory or installed before the trip in a later post. Stay tuned and camp on, Charlie |
|
Charlie
Northern Colorado OLD: 2013 RP-172, 2010 Honda Pilot 3.5L 4WD PRESENT: 2014 Camplite 21RBS, 2013 Supercharged Tacoma 4L V6 4WD |
|
furpod
Moderator Group - pHp Joined: 25 Jul 2011 Location: Central KY Online Status: Offline Posts: 6128 |
Posted: 16 Jan 2014 at 10:46am |
Keep the reports coming.. and enjoy that Florida camping weather. 18F with blowing snow here today.
|
|
techntrek
Admin Group - pHp Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Location: MD Online Status: Offline Posts: 9062 |
Posted: 16 Jan 2014 at 7:07pm |
Excellent! I envy your dry bath, but hope to hear more, too.
|
|
Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual
|
|
bodie55
Senior Member Joined: 25 Mar 2013 Location: San Francisco Online Status: Offline Posts: 100 |
Posted: 17 Jan 2014 at 1:06am |
We looked at these trailers. Seemed well made and sleek. A bit more costly than the pod in a model/size we needed. Would be nice when we're two instead of five:)
|
|
Bay Area Crew
2013 178 Beach Pod F-150 SuperCrew ...sempre in viaggio sul mare... |
|
bhamster
Senior Member Joined: 19 May 2011 Location: Washington Online Status: Offline Posts: 165 |
Posted: 27 Jan 2014 at 8:10pm |
Charlie- How's the ground clearance of the Camplite compared to your old RPod? Did you get the "off road" package? We're upgrading from a 171 (which had risers) to the Camplite 21BHS, but I'm not sure if the off road package is worth it for the extra 3 inches. Our primary concern is backing up our driveway and getting on ferries, we won't actually be off-roading with it.
|
|
CharlieM
Senior Member Joined: 23 Nov 2012 Location: N. Colorado Online Status: Offline Posts: 1797 |
Posted: 28 Jan 2014 at 12:17pm |
Travis,
On the ground clearance, I did order the off-road package because I wanted to maximize the clearance while I was at it. The factory told me the package increases the axle angle from 10 to 22 degrees and puts 14" LT tires on them. Net increase should be about 3". I was upgrading from a 172 with risers and really got tired of asking water to flow up hill at campsites. The POD dump valves were around 7" off the ground. They were even a problem emptying into a 15 gallon Barker tank. I measured the ground clearance to the waste valves on a Camplite on a dealer's lot at 13" and 16.5" to the bottom of the waste tanks themselves. This without the off road package. Unfortunately I can't get to my Camplite right now to make better measurements for you. Overall I think the off road package is worthwhile. The ground clearance on the Camplite is so much better than the POD, for tank draining and road obstacles. I don't have a driveway problem, but I no longer worry about negotiating dips such as at gas stations and parking lots. And the LT tires are better looking and should provide better side slip traction in snow, mud, or wet roads. I may pay a small price on tread life, but trailer tires die of old age before they wear out anyway. While we're at it, consider my comments on the rubber floor mats. That aluminum floor is really cold. The only shortcoming I've found so far. Glad to see interest in the Camplite 21s. Keep us informed, Charlie |
|
Charlie
Northern Colorado OLD: 2013 RP-172, 2010 Honda Pilot 3.5L 4WD PRESENT: 2014 Camplite 21RBS, 2013 Supercharged Tacoma 4L V6 4WD |
|
bhamster
Senior Member Joined: 19 May 2011 Location: Washington Online Status: Offline Posts: 165 |
Posted: 28 Jan 2014 at 12:31pm |
Thanks for the info. Sounds like it starts pretty high to begin with. I did like the LT tires on the rpod though (we had the HRE), they seemed pretty sturdy compared to standard trailer tires. With the off-road package is it hard to reach the step? I don't mind carrying around an extra step, I'm just curious.
We'll definitely be thinking about solutions for the floor. The XL package comes with carpet mats, but I'm not sure how useful they will be. Did you pick yours up at the factory or from little campers direct? We're still debating picking it up since it's quite a drive from here. Shipping is pretty darn expensive though...
|
|
CharlieM
Senior Member Joined: 23 Nov 2012 Location: N. Colorado Online Status: Offline Posts: 1797 |
Posted: 28 Jan 2014 at 12:46pm |
No real problem with the step. As I remember the second step, into the camper, is greater.
The factory carpets are interesting, but not really the solution. It's only a runner between the foot of the bed and the bath door. The first time you get up on a cold night, put your feet on the floor at the side of the bed, and stand in the bath, you'll know the rug shortcomings. I picked up the camper at Little Campers Direct, but they offer the options of factory pickup or delivery to your house. All at a cost, of course. They claim to have delivered all over the country. From Washington it might not be much further to the factory. Then you could see the whole operation. Charlie |
|
Charlie
Northern Colorado OLD: 2013 RP-172, 2010 Honda Pilot 3.5L 4WD PRESENT: 2014 Camplite 21RBS, 2013 Supercharged Tacoma 4L V6 4WD |
|
bhamster
Senior Member Joined: 19 May 2011 Location: Washington Online Status: Offline Posts: 165 |
Posted: 28 Jan 2014 at 1:01pm |
From our place it's actually 5 hours less to go to the factory. I would prefer to go that way, but it would be too long on the road since my kids are too young to do more than 300 miles or so per day. It looks like either delivery or buying from a dealer nearby. The shipping is around $4k, which makes the great price from Little Campers not quite as great anymore.
|
|
CharlieM
Senior Member Joined: 23 Nov 2012 Location: N. Colorado Online Status: Offline Posts: 1797 |
Posted: 28 Jan 2014 at 1:29pm |
I understand your situation. I am not a salesman for Little Campers, but I have had a good experience with them. Check and get a price delivered to you. I suspect their quoted price for pickup at their dealership includes some transportation charges. These might offset part of the delivery charges to you.
Charlie |
|
Charlie
Northern Colorado OLD: 2013 RP-172, 2010 Honda Pilot 3.5L 4WD PRESENT: 2014 Camplite 21RBS, 2013 Supercharged Tacoma 4L V6 4WD |
|
Post Reply | Page 123 4> |
Forum Jump | Forum Permissions You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot create polls in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum |