The Simple Sleeper features an air conditioner, rear cargo rack, drop floor, 2 doors, and a mattress. It measures 7 1/2′ long and 4′ wide, which, along with its 650 lbs weight, makes it easy to tow with a large motorcycle or small car.

In the class, students will be cutting out the shapes using templates, assembling the wood structures, sheet metal, installing windows and doors, and the finishing touches. Some of the work will be done for you so everyone stays on schedule.

The cost of the class is $3900 ($2500 deposit), which is a $1,000 savings on a Simple Sleeper had you just bought one from Trekker Trailers. Currently there are spots for only 3 students.

For more information, contact Andrew Bennett at 352-409-4005 or email campers@trekkertrailers.com

You can visit the Trekker Trailers web site at: http://trekkertrailers.com

But new for 2013 is a fixed roof option (Model F1743), which checks in at 17 feet long and a dry weight of 1600 lbs. The light weight of the Alto can be attributed to the aluminum frame, floors, and the Alufiber skin. It also boasts an enclosed shower/toilet combo. “To our knowledge the F1743 is probably the lightest 17ft trailer with a real bathroom”, says Daniel Nadeau, president of Safari Condo.

Says Nadeau, “The F1743 has a very big curved panoramic window that you could open. All the windows are acrylic European style full opening with built in combination blind/screen system.”

 While the F1743 will have a price tag between $25,000-$29,000 (Canadian $$) nicely equipped, it’s still about $5,000 cheaper and over 100lbs lighter than the retractable roof models, while also offering nearly 30 cubic feet more storage space.

I’ve been aware of the Safari Condo line for a few years now, but have never really paid much attention to them until recently. Still, I’ve never seen one in person and can’t attest to any build quality. However, if the old saying “you get what you pay for” still holds true, it should be a well-built unit. However, common sense should prevail if considering a purchase of one, and I’d suggest inspecting one first hand before committing. All the Alto models are available to United States buyers through Safari Condo.

You can find out more about all the Safari Condo Alto models at their website at: http://www.safaricondo.com

(images courtesy Safari Condo)

As I hear about them, I’ll be posting information on rallies and other events geared towards the small trailer brotherhood. I’ve posted three up there so you can get a feel for what this new section will look like.

If you have an event that you’d like to get some exposure for, contact me at: pat@smalltrailerenthusiast.com. If the event has a website, send me the link. If not, please give me as many details as possible, including location, dates, event highlights, contact info, etc.

Hopefully the new section will help notify you of what’s going on in your region so you’re able to plan your camping travels accordingly. As always, thanks for reading, and remember: 7 days without camping makes one weak.

While there may not be a lot of these classic Oldsmobiles taking a car load of kids on summer vacations these days, Gulf Stream has made a change to one of their lines of travel trailers that will let you get into your own Vista Cruiser. Starting in 2013, Gulf Stream has revamped the Visa travel trailer and along with it gave it a new name: The Vista Cruiser.

According to Tim Dennig, national sales manager of Gulf Stream’s ultra lite division, the name change from Visa to Vista Cruiser came about due to several changes made to the Visa. “The primary reason we have changed the name is that we have made so many changes to the product in the last ten months that we felt the product deserved to have a brand new start and that a new name was warranted.”

Included among  the more than 25 changes are  new graphics, increased exterior storage space, a radial tire option, an electric tongue jack option, a rear bumper-mounted grill option, larger axles on the 17′ and 19′ floor plans, and a larger exterior storage door.

Says Dennig, “We have really designed a brand new product that is worthy of a new introduction to the RV community.”

I’ve been a fan of the styling of the Visa since its debut a few years ago. As someone fond of all things classic & retro, it’s refreshing to see a manufacturer utilizing an iconic name from the old days of leisure travel. You can check out more on the Vista Cruiser, including floor plans and specs, at the Gulf Stream web site at: http://gulfstreamrvtrailers.com/visa/overview

What’s more, I also get the occasional e-mail from those of you who follow The Small Trailer Enthusiast and have for some time. A few of those e-mails have been on the topic of the HiLander and what the production status is of it. As some of you may recall, in March of 2012 I reported that Serro Scotty had lost its third manufacturer of the popular HiLander. The Serro Scotty web site has been going on with no updates of any kind. After talking with Bill Kerola back in August, the plan was for the guys building the redesigned Sportsman to also tackle building the HiLander once the Sportsman got out of the prototype stage.

This past week I decided to write Bill to see what the latest was. I was less than optimistic with his reply: “Unfortunately as of this moment, I do not have a projected date on when we will have the Hilanders back up in production. Hopefully I will know more in the near future.”. I’ve seen nothing to suggest the Sportsman is even moving along as well: No web site updates and no announcements about it at all.

I won’t go come out and say I think Serro Scotty is on life support, but I’m reasonably confident we won’t see a new HiLander available for purchase anytime in the foreseeable future. With that said, if you’re desperate to have a new generation HiLander, I’d suggest joining the Yahoo Group for the new generation Serro Scottys at: http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/sierra_scotty_trailers There have been some that have become available by those members of the group who own them. If not there, then keep your eyes peeled for Craigslist and ebay, where you may just find your pot of gold.

To my surprise, no one’s ever asked me to make it a little more user friendly, but breaking it down into categories was something that’s been on my to do list for quite some time. I’ve also added several manufacturers in the process of putting together the categories.  To access the Manufacturers page, click here, or on the tab above. Hope this makes your search a little easier and saves you some time. The Manufacturers page is the most popular section on the site, so if you ever come across some broken links, let me know at pat@smalltrailerenthusiast.com and I’ll take care of them.

As always, thanks for reading!

In 1974, the Bridges’ purchased an abandoned catfish restaurant that also served as a bait & tackle shop and gas station. With 5 children and determination, they were able to turn it into their primary residence as well as an art studio where Paige started giving lessons.

1974

2008

With her kids all grown and moved away, Paige added a custom frame shop to the art studio where she teaches two days a week.

After they had purchased that 22′ Nomad in 1998, they moved up to a large fifth wheel trailer. In 2003 Paige created an oil painting of a 1956 Shasta towed by a woody station wagon for the living room of their new fifth wheel. Out of curiosity, she created a print of her painting and put it up on ebay to see if there was any interest in a small trailer painting.

Overwhelmed by the positive reaction from her painting (called “Days Gone By”), Paige began working on a series of “canned ham” trailer paintings and began selling them on ebay as well as her website. But it doesn’t stop there. Several of her artwork have been used by Current Catalog, including a line of personal checks, address labels, calendars, and even Christmas cards.

With the tally of her trailer paintings now in excess of 80, there are a few that she’s particularly fond of. “There are a handful that always make me smile or bring back fond memories of my working on them.” One of which is entitled “Boondocking”, a piece featuring a 1956 Westerner that she found in a cow pasture in Marshall, Texas. Through the magic of her brush and canvas, she was able to “restore” the Westerner and park it next to a 1952 Chevy pick-up.

When choosing her inspiration for a painting, Paige tells me, “Because I am painting for a calendar I tend to think about the months and seasons first. Then I enjoy toying around with various types of trailers and tow vehicles. I’ll change my mind over and over before I finally decide to start painting. I am prone now to painting the more unknown kinds of trailers since I have pretty much covered the most popular brands.”

Paige’s future projects will likely incorporate more state or national parks as the backdrops for her paintings. “I enjoy painting scenes that folks can relate to and remember fondly from vacations of long ago.”

To view and order all of Paige’s travel trailer art, you can visit her website at http://www.vintagetraveltrailerart.com.

Tim Ralston (on the right in the picture directly above) was on hand at the 50th Annual RVIA trade show in Louisville on November 27 for the unveiling of the B.O.S.S. No retail prices have been announced as of yet, but they will only be available through Ralston’s website (not on the site as of this posting) at http://timralston.com.

More on Ralston can be seen in this interview:

Comparing the Little Guy version (above) to the the previous version built by Dutchmen (below) there are a few cosmetic changes. On the Dutchmen, the bottom of the trailer has a slight upward angle near the rear, where the Little Guy version is straight all the way across from the wheel well to the rear hatch. The LG version incorporates new LED strip tail/brake lights below the hatch on a diamond plate base, where the Dutchmen version used standard travel trailer tail lights afixed to the hatch. Much cleaner look on the LG model.

But overall, the concept remains the same with the kitchen area enclosed in the rear hatch  of the unit.

The kitchen will house ample cabinet space, a sink , stove, refrigerator, and an optional flat screen TV with remote and external speakers. Aside from the Clamshell model, a new model called the “S” floorplan is also being introduced as well. It will be a T@B with a wet-bath, and will also be available as an option in the Clamshell.

The Clamshell gives the best of both worlds, for those who like a tradtional teardrop trailer where the kitchen is in the rear yet gives one room to stand up in the interior of the trailer. It’ll be interesting to monitor the message boards over the next few years to see how well these Little Guy hatches hold up against water intrusion. Dutchmen Clamshells had a troubled history of leakage resulting in damaged or rotted wood.

I’ll be attending the Louisville show next Tuesday on opening day, so I’ll be giving my first hand impressions of the Clamshell (as well as other smallish trailers) later next week. I’ll be Tweeting throughout the day from Louisville, so be sure to give us a “Follow” via the link on the right side of this page. For those of you who don’t Tweet but are on Facebook, you can give us a “Like” via the link on the right and view my Tweets there. As always, thanks for reading!

(Images courtesy rv-pro & rvclearinghouse.com