LIBB

Plan B....

Buy a travel trailer.

The past few years I have dreamed of buying a camper, RV, travel trailer, a pickup truck I could sleep in, tiny home on wheels, or converted bus to sleeper...you name it I wanted it so I could travel the US. I no longer wanted to tent camp as it rains wherever we go so I wanted something simple but dry. Basically a hard sided tent.

After the depressing experience of trying to buy a house I decided it was time. Mike and I have been looking at them for the past 2 years online, at camper shows and visiting RV dealers to narrow down our choice and decide what would fit our needs the best. We did not want something too big that we would need a new vehicle to tow it nor too big for me to feel comfortable towing it. Mike has no problem with towing but I am skeptical in my abilities. We needed the camper to be less than 4,500 lbs. so our vehicle with a towing capacity of 5,000 lbs. would not struggle. 

There are so many different types of campers that your mind can spin with the options: Class A Motorhome, Class B Motorhome, Class C Motorhome, Travel Trailer, 5th Wheel, Toy Hauler, Teardrop Trailer, Truck Camper, and Tent Camper. We decided on a travel trailer and so we then had to select a floor plan. This is a daunting task and was hard to do for us because one of us is super picky about housing. Yeah that would be me, Nancy. We needed to consider Mike's height so he can actually stand inside the unit. We needed to consider the bed layout...do you want to crawl over each other or have your own access. Consideration of bathroom possibilities is also a factor. As we are used to tent camping this was not a huge issue for us. We know how to dig a hole and go but if we are buying a travel trailer they come with a bathroom. Also kitchen layouts.

While looking at campers they are full of acronyms so a notebook came in handy in the beginning so we knew what a 15TB meant versus a 18BH, 19DS or a 25RB. The number usually means the length. The letters mean different things: kitchen, bed, bath or slide layouts.

• BH Bunk House 
• DS Dinette Slide
• RB Rear Bath
• TB Twin Bed

Once you decide on the type of camper then you need to decide on the manufacture of the style you want. These are the top 4 companies: Thor Industries and Forest River hold the majority of the market. Winnebago is third and REV Group is the last of the 4. These 4 manufacturers own the RV brands that you might have heard of or if you were like me learned all this in the last few years as I researched travel trailers. For instance Thor owns Airstream, Dutchmen, Coleman and Jayco while Forest River owns Coachmen, Rockwood and Forest River.

We decided on Forest River who bought out Dynamax in 2011. It was between the Rockwood GeoPro and the Flagstaff E Pro. Both come off the same assembly line and there is no visual difference that I could find between the 2. We compared specs and they seem to be the same. The price was not the same though with the Flagstaff coming in a few $1,000 more. 

We tried out the Rockwood GeoPro G15TB, testing it for size, in Maine: could Mike stand up in it, stand in the shower, stretch in the bed, etc... and decided it was a go. We looked online and found last years model (brand new) in a dealership in MD in the town next to my brother. It was significantly cheaper than a new 2023. 

15 means that is is 15 feet inside with an exterior length of 16'4" and TB means twin beds which can be converted into a king bed. The ceilings are 6'3" or 4" because Mike can stand! It has a European bathroom meaning small and tight, you sit on the toilet to shower. Has kitchen sink, fridge and freezer, 3 propane cooking burners, microwave, AC, outdoor shower, awning, 3 windows and a ton of storage. It is also a walkable travel trailer which means we can push and pull it manually to get it into tight spots.

We drove down from Maine to Maryland and bought LIBB! (our Little Itty Bitty Baby). Our new home!!