Monthly Archives: September 2015

Forest River Recalls 1,736 Shasta Airflyte Reissues

In a report on the Consumer Affairs website on Tuesday, Forest River has issued a recall of 1,736 Shasta Airflyte 16 and Airflyte 19 reissued travel trailers built from September 26, 2014 through August 17, 2015. With 1,941 Airflyte reissues scheduled to be built when this venture started out, this essentially affects just about every one of them built.

According to the report, there are two issues fueling the recall.

“In the first, the rear exit window glass may come loose and fall out due to poor adhesion. If the rear window glass detaches, it could fall onto the road and be a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash.”

Owners will be contacted by Forest River and can have their trailer inspected by a dealer to confirm if the window is secure in the trailer. Windows that fail inspection will be replaced free of charge. The window recall will begin on October 28, 2015. The recall notice for this is 53-08282015-0081.

2015 Shasta Airflyte 1961 Reissue

“In the second instance, the vehicles may have insufficient clearance between the tire and the wheel well at the top of the tire tread and also at the inner sidewall. If there is insufficient tire clearance, the tire may rub, resulting in sudden tire failure which could increase the risk of a crash.”

The report does not indicate on the 2nd instance that any inspection will be involved. It appears the axle will be replaced with one that provides the proper clearance. This recall will begin October 26, 2015. The recall notice for the axle replacement is 53-08282015-0082.

Owners of the affected Airflyte reissued travel trailers can contact Forest River at 1-574-825-8717 regarding both recalls.

2015 Shasta Airflyte 1961 Reissue

The recall is pretty significant and should please many owners who’ve been calling for a recall for months. I’ve received several emails this year from owners describing the problems these recalls cover, as well as a few other issues with the reissues. Some of the comments on some of the posts I’ve made about the reissues have been just as passionate about the problems in design of the Airflytes. While I’ve read from Shasta these were just isolated complaints, apparently it’s a bigger problem that ultimately had to be addressed. I’ll be looking forward to hearing from owners in the months ahead who have these two issues replaced.

 

24 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Update on the Winnebago Winnie Drop

One of the new trailers unveiled at last week’s dealer RV Open House in Elkhart, Indiana was the Winnebago Winnie Drop, as I first told you about on September 24 in this post. I received a batch of photos of the prototype from Winnebago towables dealer Austin Braun of Braun’s Fun Time Campers in Indianapolis.

20150923_110501

The Winnie Drop will come in 5 exterior colors and eventually four floor plans. In an e-mail today, Austin told me, “They have just the one floorplan built, but have 3 others on paper for the December show in Louisville. From what my rep told me they got off to a great start at the open house and received praise and, more importantly, plenty of orders from the dealers.”

20150923_110421

The initial floorplan, the 1780WD, will have an exterior length totaling 20’4″, a generous 6’5″ interior height, a rear 60″ x  74″ queen bed, a large front U-shaped dinette, a slide out for the kitchen, a wet bath, a dry weight of 2780 lbs, a GVWR of 3800 lbs, a 31 gallon fresh water tank, and a 25 gallon black water tank and gray water tank, as well as the usual 6 gallon water heater, all while sitting on a 3500 lbs single axle.

20150923_110524 (2)

20150923_110510The Winnie Drop should be available sometime early in 2016 and although an MSRP is not officially been set, Austin tells me it should be somewhere in the upper teens. I’ll provide updates as new details become available.

20150923_110615

20150923_110625

20150923_110635

20150923_110650

21 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tiger Moth Update

Recently I introduced you to TAXA’s latest venture into the adventure camping arena called the Tiger Moth. The 900 lbs Tiger Moth will be available sometime late 2015 or early 2016.

image4

Recently our friends at Mount Comfort RV produced a walk-through video with TAXA founder Garrett Finney. This gives you a really good insight on how the Tiger Moth is laid out and what some of the features are. Enjoy!

1 Comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Winnebago Debuts the Winnie Drop

This week at the RV Open House in Elkhart, Indiana, Winnebago Industries has debuted a new small, lightweight trailer called the Winnie Drop. Details are thin at this point, but I should be able to get some more info and pics soon. This photo was released by RV Business last week of the new trailer to the Winnebago towable lineup.

WINNIEDROP-Isolated-300x200

However, what we do know about the Winnie Drop is that it’ll will be available in five exterior colors in four floorplans, including one with a rear hatch featuring an outside kitchen and an expandable hybrid tent model. If the look of the Minnie Drop and these  floorplan descriptions sound familiar, that’s no accident. The Winnie Drop is quite obviously built as a competitor to Forest River’s popular r-pod.

DSC_2639

I should be getting some additional info and pictures soon, so I’ll post an update as soon as that happens.

5 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

RVing on Route 66

 I’ve been a Route 66 enthusiast since the early 1990’s and have driven a portion of it every year since 1993, as it’s some 3 hours away from my central Indiana home. Throughout the years, I’ve exclusively driven Route 66 via car and stayed in motels, while never really giving campgrounds a second look.

3279874932_9f0ae4a4e2_z

However, this year we decided to see Route 66 in a different light. Recently we hitched up our Shasta and took our 4 year old grandson on an RV trip along Route 66 to Amarillo, Texas. The trip encompassed some 8 camping nights at 7 different RV parks along the 1,000 mile journey to Amarillo, picking up Route 66 in St. Louis. This post is to provide some insight on how you too and comfortably RV on Route 66, as well as give an overview of the RV parks we stayed in along the way.

IMG_8694

Traveling the 80-85% of what’s left of US 66 in an RV, one needs to be prepared. For some, the challenge may be too much. But if you can come to terms with a few inconveniences such as maybe parking a few blocks away in a big parking lot in a small town to get to that “must stop” café or roadside attraction, you’ll find that little inconvenience is more than worth the trouble. Also, much of Route 66 can be a little bumpy and unforgiving. Afterall, there are many sections of 66 (especially western Oklahoma) that still uses the same 80+ year old Portland concrete that carried traffic when it was a commissioned highway. To aid in the adventure of traveling 66 by RV (or even just in your car), I highly suggest picking up a copy of Jerry McClanahan’s EZ66 GUIDE For Travelers, available through Amazon and other online sources.

51tVPtNNHSL__SX322_BO1,204,203,200_

Jerry does an excellent job of giving some important “RV Alerts” when a section of 66 may be difficult for an RV and should be avoided. Jerry has been documenting various alignments of Route 66 for over 30 years and is a well-respected “road scholar” and photographer. He’s also quite the accomplished artist as well. His art studio is in a house just about a block off Route 66 in Chandler, Oklahoma. Visitors are welcome to stop by (306 Manvel) and browse his artwork that’s for sale, have your EZ Guide signed, or even have a picture taken.

IMG_8949

My best advice if traveling 66 in an RV is to use your best judgment and don’t forget to pack your common sense before you pull out of the driveway. Route 66 is never far from an interstate, so if you find a section that is getting a little too rough, you can always jump on the super slab in a short amount of time.

Now to the meat of our trip! Just a couple of notes. All sites were pull throughs with full hookups. We also received a 10% discount at the KOAs by using our VKR  discount card, and 10% at non-KOAs by using our Good Sam membership card.

Night One: Route 66 KOA. Springfield, Missouri. Recently I gave a review of this KOA on the southwest side of Springfield, so I won’t go into too much more detail, as I covered it in this post here. Despite the nearby railroad that frequents a couple times an hour, this is a well run KOA, and strong supporters of Route 66. Cost: $42.15IMG_8565

 

IMG_8586

Night Two: Cross Trails RV Park, Sapulpa, Oklahoma (southwest Tulsa). Where, oh where to begin with this one? If you look through their website, it sounds like nothing but sunshine and roses:

Sapulpa’s newest RV Park located on 7 Scenic acres with all the amenities that you need to feel at home. We are located in the scenic hill country on the Southwest side of the Tulsa metro area. We use the Eaton Powerhouse Pedestal that has 50/30/20 Amp electrical plugs, TV cable jack as well sewer, trash and free WiFi internet access. Our clubhouse offers a Laundry Room, Showers , a Playground area for the kids, a Dog Park, Picnic Area and Storm Shelter.”

You’d feel at home there for sure…if your home was on the surface of the moon. Why they’re open is beyond me. It’s situated next to a storage unit atop a slight hill next to I-44 and Route 66. They’re new in the sense that they’ve started construction and decided to go ahead and “open” without being anywhere close to done. There are concrete pads and electrical posts with water, but most of the pads don’t have electric and they’re covered with construction materials. We were in phone communication with the owner on the way there, but upon arrival, no one was around to take our campsite fee. When we got back from dinner, we contacted the owner and were told his son would meet us by the dumpster to take our money. At this point it was dark and I was getting a bit nervous. Approaching the fence that separates the storage facility from the campground emerged the son, where I gave him my campsite fee through the fence. From there, he disappeared into the darkness. I’m still not sure if I was in a Breaking Bad or Twilight Zone episode.

IMG_8617

IMG_8616

The advertised “clubhouse” was closed the entire time we were there, likely because it was still under construction. And the dump station didn’t look like it was usable, although we did have a full hookup site.

IMG_8629

 

IMG_8627

I can’t say that once we got unhitched for the night we had a “bad” experience, although the place is a far cry from what the website portrays. But the whole thing was just…weird. I would suggest until they show any kind of progress in completing the place and having an actual staff on duty to avoid this place. And that’s putting it mildly. Cost: $30

Nights 3Elk City/Clinton KOA, Foss Oklahoma.  Due to some wicked 25 mph constant crosswinds, we had to make it a short day on the road. We pulled into the Elk City/Clinton KOA, situated about halfway between Elk City and Clinton Oklahoma. There’s not much thrill to this KOA compared to some, but that’s OK. We were greeted by a friendly staff and given our site number among some shady trees on this hot western Oklahoma afternoon. The park is the only thing there is at this interchange of Interstate 40. It’s a good overnight stop when you’re on the road looking for a place to pull over for the night. They do have a decent playground that kept my grandson content for the afternoon. Cost: $34.65

IMG_8673

IMG_8679

Nights 4 & 5: Oasis RV Park, Amarillo, Texas. The Oasis RV Park was quite the extreme from our experience on Night 2 near Tulsa. Here there are 180+ sites with all level concrete pads with full hook-ups and multiple shower houses and laundry facilities. This park, just west of Cadillac Ranch on the south side of I-40 near the Arnot Road interchange, caters heavily to retirees. Even though our Shasta is practically new at just 6 months old, I felt a little out of place being nestled amongst $100,000+ motorhomes and high end fifth wheels. I didn’t mind though, as we felt safe and sound there. Amarillo is a GREAT place for RVers to stay. There are several good RV parks in town where you won’t have any worries. I narrowed our choice down to two, so I let my grandson pick based on the playground. It worked out well, as we stayed at the Oasis RV Park in….our Shasta Oasis. There’s a Love’s Truck Stop 1/2 mile up the road near the interchange, so that makes fueling up before hitching up a nice convenience. There’s a good photo op on the grounds as well with a motorhome buried nose-first into the Texas soil, which is a nice tribute to the park’s neighbor to the east, Cadillac Ranch. Amarillo is probably my favorite Route 66 town. When there, be sure to visit the Jack Sisemore RV Museum, located on the grounds of the Jack Sisemore Traveland RV dealership. It’s small, but they have an impressive display of RVs from several eras. Click here for more info. Cost for two nights: $65.70.

IMG_8704

IMG_8706

IMG_8913

IMG_8911

Night 6: Twin Fountains RV Resort, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Much like the Oasis RV Park in Amarillo, the Twin Fountains RV Resort in Oklahoma City caters to a lot of retirees with high dollar rigs. This place was a fantastic stay, and we were sorry we were there for only one night. The grounds were well groomed and they offered a nice lodge with 24 hour laundry, swimming pool, miniature golf, and a few extra niceties like massages and a hot tub. The park is located next to I-44/I-35 on the near southeast side of OKC, just north of Remington Park. I can’t say enough good things about this place. We look forward to heading back there sooner rather than later. Cost: $40.05 

IMG_8918

IMG_8921

IMG_8922

IMG_8931

IMG_8939

Night 7: Joplin KOA, Joplin, Missouri. Our 2nd to last night on our trip was at the KOA in Joplin, Missouri next to the interchange of MO-43 and I-44. Like the KOA between Elk City and Clinton, Oklahoma, this KOA is geared towards overnight stops. However, I give HIGH marks to the staff here. Any shortcomings at the facility are quickly washed away with the great staff at this park. They went out of their way to offer us any assistance we needed. The park was clean, although surprisingly sparse on the Friday night we stayed there. Someone who saw a picture of our campsite suggested we were parked in a drive-in movie lot instead of a campsite. They have a really nice playground here, but the big draw for my grandson was the fish pond. Stocked with perch, carp, and monster catfish, the office has free fish food you can take out under the shade of the gazebo and feed the fish and ducks who also patrol the grounds. I score this with HIGH marks just for this feature alone. Cost: $38.60

IMG_8973

IMG_8969

IMG_8957

IMG_8953

IMG_8963

Night 8: St. Louis West – Historic US 66 KOA , Eureka, Missouri. This was our final stop on our trip. We had stayed here in 2013 and it left a positive enough impression on us to stay here again. Unlike the Joplin KOA, this one was heavily activity oriented. We had a prime spot next to the pool, with Route 66 in front of us. There was a bounce house for the kids, and Sunday morning they offered t-shirt coloring for the kids as well. Again, no complaints this trip either. This KOA offers a lot of good sites for tent camping, has several Kamping Kabins, and even has a nice pavilion, where a wedding reception happened to be taking place the night of our arrival. There’s also a real caboose near the front of the park that you can sleep in for the night as well. With a well stocked shop filled with a good variety of Route 66 souvenirs, this is one of the better places for anyone RVing on Route 66 to stay when in the St. Louis area. Cost: $44.76

IMG_8980

IMG_8982

IMG_8998

IMG_9003

IMG_9004

IMG_9007

IMG_8978

We found traveling Route 66 with an RV to be a really fun experience…one that we weren’t sure about when we left home. What we found out is that there is a good amount of RV parks out there along the shoulders of 66 that eagerly cater to those specifically traveling Route 66, just as those who are out there discovering 66 via car and staying in motels. And we found some of those RVers ourselves, as I encountered several RVs at some of the parks that were sporting Route 66 license plates or decals affixed to their RV. But this trip also gave us the luxury of staying in our own bed each night, while still moving to a new place each day.

If you’re doing your own research on RV travel on Route 66 and contemplating your own journey, I wholeheartedly recommend it. It’ll give you a new way to explore Route 66 with all the comforts of home.

If you have any questions on RVing on Route 66, please leave a comment below or shoot me an e-mail: pat@smalltrailerenthusiast.com

 

 

 

 

3 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Sneak Peak: TAXA’s New Tiger Moth

This week the 8th Annual Elkhart Open House is taking place in Elkhart, Indiana. This is the show where RV dealers nationwide can get an early look at all the upcoming…and current…offerings from most of the manufacturers in the region. One of the new offerings at this year’s show is from TAXA, the makers of the Cricket trailer, which I covered earlier in September here.

Coming sometime late fall of 2015, TAXA will be adding the Tiger Moth to their lineup. The Tiger Moth will weigh in at about 900 lbs and have a price tag in the $12,000 range. Once they get into production and more details surface, I’ll have some more for you here. Big thanks to Rusty Eckstein at Mount Comfort RV for the pics and info. Be sure to check out their Cricket inventory by clicking on the ad link on the right column.

IMG_9032

image5

image8

image7

 

image4

9 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

A Word from Our Sponsor…

With The Small Trailer Enthusiast website celebrating its 4th anniversary recently this month, the growth of the site has reached another plateau with my announcement of an advertising partnership with our first manufacturer: Lance Camper.

lance-logo-t

Known for years for their truck camper division, Lance also manufacturers some of the highest quality travel trailers on the market today. With seven floor plans to choose from, Lance travel trailers offer something for anyone interested in something small (19′) to a little larger at 27′. 2015 marks the 50th anniversary of Lance Campers, which is a testament to their resilience in the RV industry.

trailer-slide

I’ll be working on a post in the future to look into Lance travel trailers a little further in depth, but until then, please browse their website by clicking on this thumbnail to the right of this post.

lance

As always, thanks for reading The Small Trailer Enthusiast, and thanks for supporting our sponsors!

2 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

A Look at the Cricket Trailer

Last month I was invited by Rusty Eckstein of Mount Comfort RV to take a look at the Cricket Trailer at their lot in Greenfield, Indiana. When I asked him just who the demographic was for this “thing”, without hesitation he just pointed to this graphic on the back end of the  2015 Cricket Sport we were inspecting. DSC_0323 With that in mind, I was able to get a better understanding of just what kind of trailer I was looking at and who the target audience is for it.   DSC_0340 Simply put, the Cricket Trailer is a base camp. It’s a 1500 lbs trailer that anyone you’d find in that first picture above would find useful, from mountain climbers, kayakers, hikers….anyone who’s lifestyle revolves around outdoor adventure. The 14.5″ ground clearance on the Sport model with rugged tires, Thule roof racks, optional diamond plate front storage box, and front stone guards standard on the Sport add to the adventure one can have with a Cricket.

DSC_0331

Obviously the unique shape of a Cricket will be the first thing you notice. However, the more you look at one up close, it’s the construction that really makes the Cricket shine. There’s aluminum in these things. I mean A LOT of aluminum that’s thicker than I’ve ever seen in anything. Whether it’s the wheel wells or the rear hatch supports, the thickness of the aluminum is what left an impression on me. DSC_0329

DSC_0325

DSC_0346

The skin of the Cricket is just as solid, with the doors, sides, and roof built of a composite aluminum material and insulated at an R-6 value. When I was talking to Rusty inside this Sport model that late Saturday morning, the temps outside were quickly approaching 80 degrees with typical Indiana humidity. With the top popped open as you see it below, the ventilation design of the dual pane windows and hatch made it quite comfortable given the conditions…actually noticeably comfortable to the point of commenting on it at the time. DSC_0344

DSC_0348

DSC_0330

While the cage that surrounds the Cricket is stout, the floor it sits on isn’t lacking either. The robust 1″…ONE INCH…plywood, fully encapsulated floor has a Rhino lining undercoating with an aviation grade coin mat flooring above. To give you an idea how this floor compares, most manufacturers brag about their 5/8″ floor as a selling point. Rusty’s been in the RV industry for well over 10 years and told me, “I don’t know of anyone else in the industry using anywhere near that thickness of flooring”.

DSC_0341

DSC_0347

As for what’s on the inside of the Cricket, this is where designer Garrett Finney’s expertise as a NASA engineer shows. Garrett designed the Cricket after working for NASA as a senior architect at the Habitability Design Center in Houston, Texas. Simply put, Garrett was responsible for designing the habitability module for the International Space Station. With that kind of pedigree, you should have no doubt how well the Cricket was thought out. DSC_0334

DSC_0327

First off, some key specs of the interior. The interior width is 6’3″, interior length is 11’6″, and with the top up the interior height is an impressive 6’4″ max. The storage underneath the bed, which fully engaged is equivalent to a queen, is 12 cubic feet. Underneath the bed is also where the battery is housed, as the Cricket is completely run on a 12 volt system, which includes the LED lighting, water pump, water heater,  and ample 12 volt outlets throughout the unit. You can also hook up your Cricket to a 110 power source to charge the battery. Cricket offers an optional 2nd battery or you can also choose an optional solar panel for additional power longevity. DSC_0342

DSC_0338

The front counter area has enough area for the optional Primus stove and flush mounted sink, which is operated with a 12 volt pump. There are several cubby holes for storage and an area on the lower right to house the optional portable toilet. All told, the front storage area is just under 9 cubic feet. The front of the counter is also the location for the control panel where you’ll find switches for lights, the water pump, and water heater, as well as a 12 volt outlet. DSC_0321

DSC_0335

The Cricket also comes with an optional kid’s berth that suspends over the bed. You can option in one or two of them, with each having a weight capacity of 135 lbs. When not in use, they can be raised and bungeed in place until needed.

DSC_0336

Then there are some of the little things that make you think “Oh, yeah!” when you see them that you typically wouldn’t have thought of when thinking about trailer design. First and foremost for the Cricket is the signature bottle opener. Bottle opener? Anyone know of an integrated exterior bottle opener on a trailer? It’s one of those little unique features that you’d probably find would come in handy after a long day of mountain climbing or hiking when you need a little carbohydrate replenishment.

DSC_0319

Other small but useful features are the multitude of holes drilled in the roof’s rib structure where you can go crazy with the use of bungee cords for hanging items for use as additional storage, a built in bubble level on the tongue, exterior shower attachment in the front, and steps on the rear side for easy access to your roof top.

As far as the basic specs, the Cricket checks in with an exterior length of 15′ and exterior width of 6’7″. With the roof down, the exterior height is just 6’9″, making it easy to store in just about any garage. The base unloaded vehicle weight is 1460 lbs and has a gross vehicle weight rating of 2500 lbs. The fresh water capacity and gray water capacity are 12 gallons each. The V-berth bed length of 75″ and width of 57″ make it right at a nice queen size as mentioned earlier. 3601E48F-FC07-4199-83EE-14C1054BBC6A

One of the things that impressed me is how Garrett Finney has put so much thought into the Cricket that I really wish more manufacturers would as well. He says, “It’s as narrow as a car, so for all you first time trailer towers, we were thinking of you when we laid it out”. Honestly when I see some layouts of trailers, I wonder what the designers were thinking…and not in a good way.

The Cricket comes in the standard model and the previously mentioned Sport model. Base MSRP for the standard model is $21,700 and the Sport model MSRP is $24,290, at the time of this post. The standard Cricket comes in blue or green and the Sport Cricket comes in silver. DSC_0349                                                                                                 Standard Cricket model

DSC_0322

Cricket Sport model

For an extended look at the Cricket, our friends at Mount Comfort RV have put together some fine walk through videos with Steve Belickis. Steve does a great job going through everything (and more) that I’ve tried to put together here in words and photos. Give them a watch and better yet, go check out one for yourself. For more info on the Cricket Trailer, visit their website where you can learn much more at http://crickettrailer.com.

 

Exterior walk around:

Interior walk around:

Set-up procedures:

The Cricket offers so much as a base camp for those of you who are adventurers of the great outdoors. It’s versatile, easy to tow, lightweight, rugged,  and constructed from multiple sustainable materials. It would make one heck of a bug-out trailer, which is a segment of the RV industry that’s slowly getting some legs. Garrett Finney was once quoted as saying of his time at NASA, “They think design is about survival, and we come along and say we want to survive well.” That thought process was at the forefront when designing the Cricket. And from the looks of things, Cricket Trailer is going to survive just fine as well.

25 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized