Aluminum Camper Forum

The camper industry is controlled by very few big hitters. Thor being one of the biggest. They are controlling the new trailers as well as the aftermarket with the camper world chain. Suppliers are forced to conform to the demands or there will be no sales. What I hate about campers is the constant changes with no support for last year's product. Our windows in our trailer a re a great example. They were an amazing product that was imported from Europe, but no one is really supporting the line and Campsite has moved on to a new product. Out of warranty? Out of luck. Every merge takes away something.
All this being said I think @Merlin is right that there is a demand for a quality product. I also think there is money available to do it right. There is a happy medium between the $18k Starcraft/Jayco and the $75k Airstream. The problem is in hiring skilled passionate employees and build times. Then when you are building the same amount of trailers in a year that Thor builds in two days, you don't get great pricing. All of this makes me happy to have what I have and make sure I take care of it and preserve it. What sucks is that new 23' layout is awesome, but not even on the radar thanks to the materials.

Really sad...

The recession is what allowed me to get where I am today. I bought those foreclosed homes for pennies and made them rentals. I invested every dime I could scrape into stocks to ride it back up. With every "change" good or bad comes opportunity. The secret is positioning yourself to take advantage. I really don't like the taste of peanut butter and jelly with Kraft macaroni and cheese, but I will tell you that I ate more than my fair share in the past. LOL.

We overlook one major factor on here guys... Very few of us bought a camplite first. The first camplite I saw I balked at it and said no way. BUT I had just stepped out of a 22' tandem axle airstream and into a camplite on the dealers lot. When you look at smooth curved designer interiors with leather couches and then step into an aluminum floor and industrial cabinetry your mind is in shock. That night I went back to the campground in northern Michigan and low and behold there was a 16dbs behind me. I struck up a conversation and the owner was kind enough to give me the tour. After learning what it really was and why they did it, things all started to make sense. Foolishly I had just done a frame off restoration on my 2007 Jayco and I wanted to get some more return on my time and investment. Fast forward to last summer, I was snooping around this site and discovered the merger and the "improvements by Thor" I quickly started looking and found a mint 2015rbs and struck a deal. The moral of the story is that people who don't work on their trailer or understand the building process, (which is probably more than 50% of camper owners) look at the couch and the layout, then the payment, and finally try to decide how much status this will earn them in society. I am very drawn to the airstream line. Sleek, luxury, well made, and iconic. But I can't justify a $70k trailer. My buddies that have campers thought I was crazy spending more on a used smaller camper than they did on a brand new one. KZ makes money building and selling trailers. The more they sell the more they make. They will do whatever they can to speed up production and reduce the costs. They have no intentions of building a camper that will last 20 years.

Now, now guys. You only witnessed planned obsolescence at it's finest. Next time you go camping late at night when everyone is asleep, step outside your trailer... If you are really quiet and listen very closely, you can hear the other campers leaking and rotting away. As Camplite owners we need this to happen and go full circle. I just tried to book reservations for this summer and everything was taken. Every year more trailers are competing for fewer campsites. Camplite appears to have been born during the recession when gas guzzlers were all laid to rest thanks to high fuel prices. This will occur again and we will be free to roam the nation in our 10 year old paid off trailers. Others will be staring at their 20 year payment book trying to figure out what that strange odor is in their Jayco and wondering why there is a strange brown spot on the ceiling. Elkart is pumping out so much trash so fast that no one can even keep up. Money and credit are easier than ever and people love that paycheck to paycheck bigger better faster life style. Banks will lend on anything. It won't be tomorrow, or even next year, but I assure you, this to shall come to pass. LOL.

I'm sure you know this and I don't want you to take it wrong, but be very careful putting weight behind the axle. I love the idea and have threatened to redo the bumper on my 21rbs for bikes or a generator. Very nice craftsmanship by the way.

I use fluid film on everything... I bought an undercoating gun and a gallon of fluid film. I have a hose attachment that gets into the tubes. Every fall I power wash and scrub the hell out of the frames of the vehicles. Let it dry and spray the hell out of it. In the spring I wash it all off. The hard part is remembering not to power wash the frame in the winter. I also drilled the doors and tailgate and put in the plugs. I get a gallon of WD-40 and spray all of my doors, rockers, and everywhere else. Good to hear on the Subaru. The wife drives 100 miles a day round trip to work. I would buy another sequoia, but its hard to wear out a $55,000 truck every 5 years. That and the 18mpg is a little harsh. I should have bought the tundra instead of the tacoma, but the 2nd gen tacos are bulletproof and the resale is just stupid. The problem I'm in is buying a $35k car and a $40K truck at the same time. I also hate having two vehicles the same age as this cycle will repeat itself in 5-6 years. UGGGH! What part of the U.P. do you go to? We went up 3 years ago and loved it. We hope to go back up this summer. We always end up at platte river in the L.P. and hang out in the dunes, Leland, Frankfort, and Traverse City. We love that area and it always draws us back each summer. We don't even need a map anymore.
Other than the mess, the gun is the way to go. Wear the white suit and a spray hood, it takes two days to get that stuff out of your hair... Don't ask how I know.

The sequoia will be traded eventually. I have a Tacoma that I love and plan to keep, the wife drives the sequoia. The tacoma pulls the camper ok, but gets pretty cramped with two kids. The long term is to buy a tundra and get the wife in a Subaru Outback. The tundra will be the new company truck. The sequoia has 120K and is going strong, I plan to run it to 150-170k. I am to the point where a Toyota is the only truck for me. I considered a Titan, but they just aren't there yet and continue to struggle with the new model. We looked at your land cruiser... Amazing vehicle, but I can have two tundras or one land cruiser. The scary part is that the land cruiser can probably outlast two tundras if the rust doesn't get it. I told the wife she can have one when we pay off the house lol.
As for the Avids, many times that is all we catch lol. They taste like ribeye at the local restaurant and are waaaay cheaper per pound. I think I have walleye down to just over $200/lb by the time you get the boat and tackle in there. Every one is always worried about gas and a boat, I always laugh and say that gas is the cheapest thing that goes in my boat.
If you are looking at a flat bed utility I would really consider a dump, but I can't say I've ever seen an aluminum dumper. Sorry the pic is sideways, I'm not smart enough to flip it on the inter webs.

Mostly the v nose will allow me to haul 16' narrow materials. I do HVAC so it's nice to load all the equipment and tools for a job in a trailer. It also serves as storage when not at work. I'm an avid ice fisherman so it's great to keep everything out of the salt and secured. Honestly I can't live without an enclosed trailer now that I have one. My 7x12 has been great, but the liquid de-icer has made the frame start to rust. It's not dead by any means, but the writing is on the wall. If I sell it now it has value and it's depreciated off my books for the business. After discovering and owning a camplite, an aluminum cargo makes good sense. I'm also truck shopping which I hate. I want a crew max Toyota Tundra. I hate the fact that trucks are now $45k. Prices are going nuts on everything, BIFL has never been more important to me. I can deal with wheel bearings, lights and brakes... Frames? not so much.
FWIW I have a Moritz 5x8 dump trailer that is an absolute work horse... Trash duty, stone, mulch, dirt, or just cargo, that thing is a blessing. It's a great size, but get a 10' long one. 8' comes up short when hauling materials. I did the smaller one for work. It fits in a single car garage and it serves dumpster duty on jobs and for the rentals. Fits into the back yards nicely too.

Im in north central Ohio, so that is very doable. I also have a good friend in kalamazoo. I'm looking 7x14 v nose tandem with added height. What size were you after?

Hi guys, It's time for a new cargo trailer as I've outgrown the old one. Is ATC the same guys that started CampLite? I plan to go all aluminum on the next cargo and hope for the BIFL (buy it for life) trailer. The current one is rusting on the frame. I use it for ice fishing and this lovely spray de-icer is literally like napalm for equipment. Any inputs or other MFG's are appreciated. Price is important but I will pay for quality when it is there.

The sad reality is that we are flooding more campers in but not building new campgrounds. During the week you can pretty much go anywhere but for Friday or Saturday you better have reservations. I had some trouble up by Niagara Falls this year but Walmart made it all better. As the OP stated a lot of people book the sites then cancel when they feel like it.

It appears that your fridge vents through the roof. I think that the shade would restrict the airflow on the top side vent. I am rather disappointed by this whole issue. It wasn't the best design for a refrigerator, but it wasn't the best install and they didn't install it per mfg specs. I respect the idea of one less roof penetration, but not at the cost of a non functioning refrigerator. UGHHHH!

I'm adding my update to help the thread and others... I spoke to tech support at dometic. I will be fabricating a louver to help manage airflow. I will also add a second fan to increase the air over the condenser. Finally I ordered a new thermostat for the cooling fans. The range to the two door thermostat is on at 150degrees, off at 120 deg. The part for the single door fridge is on at 90 off at 120. this will bring the fans on sooner before the heat builds up. Any airspaces above or beside the unit greatly reduces the performance. Finally I was advised to inspect the weld on the heat exchanger for the electrical element to make sure that good heat transfer is happening. Once I get this done I will report to help close out my issues. This is probably long winded, but hopefully it will help someone in the future. The part number for the lower thermostat is #3313470.095.
The biggest downside for the second fan and stat is that it will hurt our boon dockers who are off grid.

A very fine polishing compound can be used to buff out the scratches on the metal. They make de-swirling compounds which is what I use. I wash mine after each trip with auto washing soap. Collonites 845 is my go to wax, but as merlin said Nu-Finish is hard to beat for the $$$. I also use a clay bar kit to get the bugs off after a good scrub. You don't have to wax the whole trailer every time, but a coat of wax on the front helps to get the bugs off. I would wax at least once a season. I also use Plexus on the windows pretty frequently to keep them from fogging up like head lamp lenses. All this said I am pretty OCD on this stuff, I waxed the inside of my shower this weekend LOL!!!