Test Run

It is over and just beginning. We went, we saw, we bought #555.
Thanks for all the input. Very helpful leading up to our first inspection. Great product and even a greater owner. Thank you Jonathan and best of fortunes to you going forward.
Will get the "Teepee" home Wed and then began the process of getting it set up to work for us.

 

Neil,

Congrats! I knew it would be a good visit.

I moved your pin on the map in the showroom and already and will have Holly get you set up as owner.

Cary

 

WoW! You didn't waste any time! Congratulations, Neil! I know you will love your new (to you) CI!

Casandra

 

Thanks. Tomorrow is the big day. I trust the "Vagabond" will not object to its new name the "Tipi". That is a whole other story. With our fall pretty well planned it will be hard to give it more than a test run or 2. My grandson plays football for Towson University so maybe we will try tailgating with it.

 

Neil let me be the third to congratulate you. Hope you have many happy trips. Nice you have it at peak season! I spent about $2000 on goodies for my trailer system after purchasing the trailer. Rugs, fitted mattress covers, new cookware, dishes, bowls, silverware, chairs, inverter, loads of electronic cables and converters to power everything and anything. I was about to buy huge screen TV to watch reality shows – but suddenly I found actual “reality” more entertaining. I guess I am just odd.

Seems easy enough to hang a flip down shelf for an electric coffee maker on the 550 and 560. I guess it depends on how bad you want it.

There is enough room on both my pass thru and "reach right in" galley counter for the new 2017 Keurig single serve No-Cleanup-Cauppuccino-Waffle-Weiner-Station, with optional almost-butter-not-quite-syrup squirter, Never-Spoil-Waffle-Cartridges and No-Refrigerate-Individually-Injected-Weiner-tubes (now available in Slim Jim flavor). Mmmmm Yummy at the press of a button.

I am heading out camping later today. Tomorrow morning when the bladder alarm goes off I will have a frapaccino in my martini glass and saunter around camp in my Hugh Hefner brand polyester robe, and Goretex faux ostrich skin slippers, munching on a delicious Always-Fresh-No-cleanup-Keurig-Waffle-Weiner. Now that’s camping.

This gives Trailer Bunny time to quaff her beehive (…umm no, I was referring to her hairdo. But I will float the idea and see if she is open to it).

When you are on the road, if you hear a Frappacino machine and catch a whiff of a delicious Waffle-Weiner… say hello and lets have a big cup of mirth.
Happy Trails
-Cosmo

 

This thread hits upon the three teardrops I'm researching: The Camp Inn, The Silver Shadow, and the Vistabule. Interesting that other people are talking about the same three items.

Let's use some common sense: This is a forum devoted to Camp Inn trailers. It's populated by people who own Camp Inn trailers, people who have invested their hard-earned money in Camp Inn trailers. Is it, therefore, any surprise that people on this thread defend Camp Inn trailers?

Do you know the term Confirmation Bias? It means gathering facts and opinions to "prove" what you've already decided is true. I'm not knocking any of these three trailers. Just be sure you're being truthful with yourself. In doing so, I suggest that if you're searching now on a Camp Inn board, ALSO read boards and reviews for the other guys.

 

My first TD was a Silver Shadow 5x10 - no complaints - I felt when I purchased a used 560 Ultra that it was a step up. Having sitting room in the cabin was a nice addition and the galley area is designed much better. Overall, both have the same footprint, but the CI feels like it has much more room.

Bob

 

If I were looking for my first teardrop I suspect I would add the T@G to the lineup. There are some things to consider when comparing the four (and I'm no expert here, and haven't had the time or inclination to double check any of this - this is only food for thought, not facts - do you own research). First, the Camp Inn 550 ultra is an 8 foot long cabin (plus an extra nine inches for the pass-thru box/forward cabinets). It is that way because the primary design limitation is the standard 8' by 4' sheet of plywood (that is also why the 560 is a raindrop design, and not a teardrop - it is a novel design that gets past the 8' length of a sheet of plywood). I'm pretty sure that the three others campers are longer than 8', since fiberglass panels can be cast in just about any size ,and none of them uses a cabin design where the cabin footwell is located under the galley. It is my recollection that Little Guy makes and markets the T@G and Silver Shadow, and my suspicion is that they produce the Vistabule (based mainly upon similarity of galley design, and the fact that there are similarities in the style of their website designs), though I haven't checked to see if they list it among the brands that they also market.

In the fiberglass campers you'll get a lot more extra interior space in the cabin. Some folks will equate volume with value, but in my personal opinion you just get a lot more space to heat or cool when the weather isn't ideal, and you go from having everything within arm's reach (as in the 550), to having scoot across the mattress to get at the cabinets in, say, the T@G.

It seems in both the SS and Vestibule there is a greater amount of volume in the galley. But part of that volume is like the kitchen cabinet bases that you have at home - the space that is so awkward to use (down on the floor, deep in the back), that after a time you only find stuff there that you never use: more space, but not more function or functionality.

All I know is that tof he SS and T@G owners that I find in the wild (I have yet to see a Vistabule in the wild), most are envious of the Camp Inn's galley design, quality of woodwork and finish, attention to small details (heavy duty marine grade hardware, the drink coasters built into the cabin's lower cabinet doors, the available screen doors and the tray for storing your wallet, key's etc are just a few such things). There is just something about being in a quality environment made of wood vs. a fiberglass trailer (even one with what appears to be a wood trimmed [Vestibule]). You will understand that better the first time you spend several days inside the cabin as a refuge from inclement weather.

The prices of these various campers are roughly comparable (though the others don't make it as easy to compare costs, and they may be a little cheaper - you'll need to figure that out for yourself). But if Little Guy made a wooden camper like the 550 they would be charging a LOT more money than Camp Inn does, simply because they have to account for adequate dealer margins. By selling direct to their customers, Camp Inn delivers a great, custom built wooden camper for close to the same price of fiberglass campers that can be produced in a fraction of the time (and thus cost a lot less to produce).

In doing your research, try to find these various campers in the wild, and ask the owners of the fiberglass campers if they've seen a fully equipped Camp Inn and what their reaction was. I've seen more than a few such folks with a look of buyer's remorse after seeing our camper, even after the four years of very heavy use that we have put on it.

 

Great post. (The plywood base is 5' x 8'.)

 

Hmm.... I was talking about the sides, which I believe are cut from a single 4x8 sheet of plywood. I've always figured the 5x8 floor was two piece construction, but I'm not going to pull the mattress to check on that. But my feeble memory seems to recollect a seam where the storage bins are located.

 

Oh. You're probably right about the sides. As far as I know there is no seam on the floor. Plywood does come in 5x8 and even 5x10 from some suppliers.

 

When considering a purchase of $15,000 - $20,000 or higher I would consider (in no particular order)
Camp-Inn https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DruoetDms4
Vistabule http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5Sd6k_HhdZA_Av-TQHhLUQ
Oregon TrailR http://www.oregontrailer.net/home.html

You can’t go wrong with any of them (assuming you are capable of evaluating your own needs). All three makers are perfectionists.

The high end market seems to now be demanding BIG wheel "go anywhere" teardrops. They are showing up more and more in other makers offerings. For example the Inca https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxJPKuuBwDA

If you are on a budget you could spend 83% less than the above models and get a fun rig to get away on weekends or long vacations without spending a lot. Some of these trailers you buy empty for as low as $3000 and you custom finish them yourself for your needs. A camper can start using your own stove, water and flashlights. People who are loaded with debt will have financial remorse when they learn you paid $3000 cash and still have $15,000 in the bank as travel money!

• We Roll Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98H_ugjVmmk
• Hiker Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdjVrOqhAjQ
• Runaway campers http://runawaycampers.com/

I avoid controversial Mahogany wood. It’s a seems too easy for a wood supplier to show documentation that their Mahogany is OK in a market. 90% of Mahogany is illegally harvested. What next Rhino horn coat hooks? https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=illegal+mahogany+trade

-Cosmo

 

I hope you're getting ready for the new season!

 

Got a new TV(Canyon Diesel) and have just completed our 2nd long weekend. Nice combo. 22 mpg. Getting comfortable with the process and meeting new friends. Gathered with Liberty Bell Tear Jerkers at Codorus State Park near Hanover Pa. Had 22 rigs. One other Camp-Inn #129. Lots of wows for our 560.