Hello, new owner from WA (near Portland, OR)

[Firetruck41]

Hello, I have posted a couple questions recently, while searching for our Camplite.  We bought our first travel trailer last Sept, a 2012 17' Casita SD, we planned to use it for our family of 5 (3 kids 9-13 y/o) for some National Park roadtrips.  We planned to use a tent to supplement for sleeping 2 kids, but it turned out that most of the RV parks we used (near Zion, Moab, Mesa Verde) didn't allow tents, and some at Yellowstone, where we plan to go in the future, don't allow sleeping in tents and require a hard sided camper and all food to be stored in a hard sided camper or vehicle.  We also found we would do outdoor activities early in the day to avoid the 100+ high temps everyday, and it was nice to retreat to AC at the height of the day. The sleeping situation ended up being 2 kids and my wife on the full size bed (dinette), my oldest on the single bed (other dinette) and me on the floor, this was really cramped and I didn't get a decent nights sleep for the two weeks we were on the trip.  On a roadtrip like that, with frequent moving, we didn't take the time to setup a nice camp outside the trailer either.

So, after all that, we decided we needed to get something a little bigger, but did not want to have to change our tow vehicle, or get something that would seriously limit the camp sites we could use (due to length).  I listed my Casita for sale and sold it to someone 3 states away within 4 hours, for just a little more than I had paid for it the year before.  Then I was on the hunt for the replacement.  I really wanted something as bulletproof as our Casita and the Camplite 21 BHS seemed to be our best option, with a (nearly) all aluminum build (we have the rubber roof), and also gave us all a place to sleep and a decent amount of storage and amenities.  They are really hard to find though and after an attempt to purchase one only 600 miles away seemed to stall out, we found one listed in CO.  I was able to have a good email exchange, and then phone conversations and come to an agreement to purchase, and then was able to drive down this last week and purchase it and bring it home. That was about a 2400 mile round trip in 4 days.  It is a 2017 21BHS with the aluminum package and most other available options.

The 21bhs is definitely much more noticeable behind the Titan than the Casita, both in heft, and in the way the wind affected it with headwinds, crosswinds and large trucks passing.  Besides the super windy stretch from SLC to Boise, it was pretty tolerable. The Titan has enough power to do whatever I needed, but you just can't be afraid to keep the RPMs up, they are meant to rev, when needed, and responds well.  With the upgraded radiator and additional transmission cooler I put on it early this past summer, the needles never budged off of normal.  I do still need to get the Andersen WDH No-Sway Hitch dialed in, but it did make a difference.

Dumbest thing about the trailer so far: storage.  They did away with any storage under or behind the dinette as well as the exterior compartment on the slideout.  And they shouldn't have made the kitchen lower cabinet doors any smaller and less useful, especially for as much space that would be available.

Overall, I love the trailer though, and very satisfied with the purchase, it has a 5/2016 build date, but I think it is called a 2017, seems to be a sort of transition build.  The previous owners never used the toilet, shower, microwave, etc. and in many ways, is like new!  Thanks to those of you willing to share info on this forum, it has been really useful!

[nhlakes]

welcome!

[Paul]

Welcome to the forum! Nice trailer!

[gbpack]

Welcome! Nice rig. We have a 21BHS that was built in late 2015 which was one of the last ones to have the original aluminum roof. It's a great trailer and will tow even better once you get the Andersen hitch dialed in. Wishing you and your family many happy years of camping in it!