What You Need To Know About Travel In Small SUVs, Travel Trailers
We’ve been retired for 11 years and have explored almost every option in economical U.S. and Canadian travel - by car, by SUV, and with several small travel trailers. We’ve crossed the United States and Canada four times, visited 49 states (lacking only Alaska, which we hope to fix this summer), made many shorter forays in the western United States/Canada, and have worked to refine our travel to be economical, while enjoying comfortable and safe journeys.
In those years, we’ve come almost full circle. From a family that once packed our two young daughters, a big canvas tent, and miscellaneous camping gear into a four-door Chevy Chevette in the 1980s, we’ve now arrived at “future travel,” just the two of us, comfortably ensconced in a small Ford Escape, all-wheel-drive SUV, not all that dissimilar from our travels with our young daughters (and I promise my spouse a fair share of motel overnights). Here’s how we got to this point.
Twenty years ago, reaching middle age, realizing that sleeping on an air mattress in a midsize tent was sometimes less than comfortable and did not assuage Susan‘s fear of bears in the western states, we explored and then purchased a series of small but increasingly larger small travel trailers.
Our first trailer was a Kit Kamper teardrop, all 8 feet long, 4 feet wide, and 4 feet tall, pulled behind several small four-cylinder cars. The trailer was cute, and I could still get good gas mileage in the high 20 miles per gallon, towed with a small car. It made for cozy sleeping arrangements for two people, though one had better appreciate their partner in a double bed only 46 1/2 inches wide!
We refined our travel kit and moved on to a fully rebuilt classic, a ‘58 Scotty teardrop trailer, reflecting the woodworking wizardry of a West Virginia shop teacher. We drove across the country, picked up the trailer, and continued onto a Gettysburg bicycling week-long outing with my brother and several friends. We then crossed the country with that somewhat-more-refined tiny trailer, getting about 27 miles per gallon towed behind a five-speed Ford Focus.
After eight years with tiny trailers, a somewhat bigger trailer had appeal, still lightweight, but one that Susan could stand up in, offering a larger bed, sleeping accommodations for a grandkid or two, a small range, more storage, and a dinette that can accommodate four people.
Having been attracted to classic Scotty trailers, I found a 13-foot ‘64 Scotty Sportsman in Southern California, bought it, realizing it needed some work, and embarked upon a several-year project of rebuilding the Scotty from the frame up. The result was a classic trailer that can accommodate two adults and a couple of grandkids and offer interior comfort for stormy days, still delivering pretty good gas mileage when towed behind a smaller SUV like a Ford Escape (though gasoline mileage is reduced to about 19 miles per gallon).
In more recent years, we still enjoy seeing exciting new places and traveling by personal vehicle but continue to despise high gas prices and poor gas mileage, or lack of creature comforts at our travel destination. We’re still willing to sacrifice to save money and extend our travel budget.
We began to see more small/mid-sized SUVs connected to a tent on the back end in campgrounds. After exploring the options, we purchased an SUV-connectable tent. I built two raised platforms to insert into our SUV, elevating the floor 7 inches to accommodate four plastic storage bins for camping gear, clothing, and food items. We added a 4-inch foam mattress for a cozy sleeping platform and blackout curtains for the SUV and purchased the tent to attach to the back end of our vehicle for about $250.
Result: comfy sleeping accommodations inside the SUV, and a roomie, nifty 10 x 10‘ room on the back for daytime use and shelter from a stormy day. With that outfit, we get 30 miles per gallon from our Ford Escape.
For your travel plans, you’ve got to determine what you want, how much comfort you demand, how much stuff you want to carry, and what budget you’re dealing with. If a small trailer fits your plans, now is a great time to buy a slightly used classic or a newer travel trailer. Popular classic or new trailers (whose designs we admire and get good owner ratings) include Scotty, Shasta, Airstream, T@B, Casita, and R-pod. Put up a daily search in your local Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace and visit a local RV dealer to see what they have in both new and used small-to-midsize trailers.
For inspiration and how to shop/inspect classic/used travel trailers like a Scotty, see the national organization’s website, nationalserroscotty.org (you can also find other classic trailer groups like Airstream and Shasta). If you purchase a used travel trailer, take a friend to help check the trailer’s mechanical systems, underside, and the like for signs of damage or age-related challenges.
Contact Tim, tviall@msn.com; happy travels in the West!
Check classic trailer websites, including Tin Can Tourists, tincantourists.com; Airstream trailers, airstreamclassifieds.com; Serro Scotty trailers, nationalserroscotty.org; Shasta Trailers, vintageshasta.net.
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: For economical, comfortable travel look to small SUVs, travel trailers
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