school me about tent trailers please (2010 Coleman Yuma)

trae

Adventurer
Hey guys,

Mine I think is a pretty common story. We've been tent camping with the wife for years, but now with a little munchkin we need a little more creature comforts. To that end I went to an RV lot yesterday to look at tent trailers. The salesman was really keen on showing us a 2010 Coleman Yuma which actually would work perfectly well for us - warm water, furnace, fridge, plenty of room for baby stuff. I snuck a peek underneath and I have some concerns though:
  • the fresh water tank hangs underneath the floor on a little "shelf" like thing. It's not really protected and is plastic! How easy is it to damage?
  • Water lines are rubber? hoses that are dangling underneath the body and threaded through frame members. WOuld that ever be an issue?
  • Gas lines are on the OUTSIDE of the frame. If I ever bump it in a certain spot the gas lines will rupture!
  • The trailer is generally too close to the ground, but I think logging roads would be fine..

Are my concerns valid? What else should I be looking at? Is there a huge difference between say 2005 campers and the latest models? Any other advice you can impart?

Thanks guys!
 

skersfan

Supporting Sponsor
What you list is pretty much standard in the industry. Almost all water tanks are plastic, and fed with rubber hose, gas lines are normally on the inside of the frame wall, not in the frame. Likelyhood of hitting them is slight at best.

I am not much into tent campers/pop ups, do not like the smell of the canvas after a year or so, and the Coleman is quite slow in setting up, actually most are.

Try looking for a Chalet, it is a hard walled A frame pop up trailer. They are a well engineered trailer with tons of room, all creature comforts, well made frame( in the past, not sure now). Tow fantastic, room for bicycles, kayaks on the top. Have descent ground clearance but just reversing the axle makes them better. They offer an off road package, not much but it is available.

Other options are the tear drops designs, by SoCal Tear Drops, Adventure Trailer Tear Drops, Moby1, Little Guy and Aspen Trails.
 

Mark Harley

Expedition Leader
Get what you like and custom it from there.
Right about the canvas, air it and dry it out each time!
Never wet store or Momma will never set foot in it again!
Flip the axle or custom wheel tub for height.
 

Aspen Trails Trailers

Supporting Sponsor
The reasons I suggested the Chalet, is the hard walls, mommy feels safer, and the set up time. From start to finish it is about 30 seconds, wind proof, rain proof and snow proof. Aline makes a similar trailer, but have heard horror stories about them. I have had two Chalets, just sold one to Wikid last year about this time. Both of mine were made in the late 80's and still functioned perfectly. I think Wikid is putting 33's on his.
 

trae

Adventurer
skersfan, oddly my wife doesn't line hard side trailers. She did not have a good time in my friend's camper but she like tents. Weight and cost are also an issue.
 

LACamper

Adventurer
We recently bought a popup (2012 Flagstaff 228BH). My wife loves it. I'm content and going camping again (wife and daughter both have health issues so backpacking is out the question). I don't think I'd take it offroad. I know they make an expedition model though. I wouldn't mind a bit more clearance but I'll wait to do the axle flip until its out of warranty!

Camping in a popup, well, after backpacking for years I feel spoiled. Hot showers, AC, comfortable bunks! For summers we need power so we're state park limited, but for winter we'll head to some national forest land and do some real camping.

BTW, mine is hardly light weight. I think its around 3400 pounds, plus about 400 pounds of tongue weight. Look for an 8' box if you want light weight.
 

atavuss

Adventurer
Do some research before buying.
Research:
Fleetwood/Coleman ABS roof problems.
kinked hoses and poor build quality.
these trailers are not designed to go off road, they are made for paved roads and smooth dirt roads, you can do research on what happens when these trailers are off roaded too much.
if I am not mistaken Fleetwood/Coleman are not in business anymore, I believe the same trailers are now being made under the "Somerset" brand.
I have had two Coleman/Fleetwood tent trailers over the years and for what they are they are ok. I am not trying to be down on the Coleman/Fleetwood trailers but go in with your eyes open and after doing your research to see if they will work for you. FWIW I am looking for another small Coleman/Fleetwood trailer again. I may be wrong but the smaller units have a metal roof instead of the ABS roofs like the larger units.
 

Aspen Trails Trailers

Supporting Sponsor
Again I suggest the Chalet for a popup. They are unique, have all the same attributes of a canvas pop, just real quick to set up and are warm and secure. It is not like a regular hard walled trailer, they have unique sky lights in them and a huge window on the driver side.

Also far less to go wrong incase you are caught in the wind putting it up or down, no cranks

Sound like a dealer for them, but I am not. They have their own little club that make events around the country, or at least they did have. Again not your normal pop up trailer.

They look small from the outside, but due to the unique roof design, they are huge inside. I know sounds wierd, but if you are really looking at a pop up, you owe it to yourself to look at one of the little puppies.

Bob
 

98roamer

Explorer
Do some research before buying.
Research:
Fleetwood/Coleman ABS roof problems.
kinked hoses and poor build quality.
these trailers are not designed to go off road, they are made for paved roads and smooth dirt roads, you can do research on what happens when these trailers are off roaded too much.
if I am not mistaken Fleetwood/Coleman are not in business anymore, I believe the same trailers are now being made under the "Somerset" brand.
I have had two Coleman/Fleetwood tent trailers over the years and for what they are they are ok. I am not trying to be down on the Coleman/Fleetwood trailers but go in with your eyes open and after doing your research to see if they will work for you. FWIW I am looking for another small Coleman/Fleetwood trailer again. I may be wrong but the smaller units have a metal roof instead of the ABS roofs like the larger units.

He speaks truth. Research, research, research. It will save you $$$.
http://www.popupexplorer.com/forum/index.php

I have a 98' Coachmen Clipper. The slide out is a fairly new feature, and high walled popup are packed full of features, but are VERY heavy. There's just a few made for forest roads in the RV world, but nothing like AT etc.
 

reece146

Automotive Artist
Tent trailers are crappily made. Buy used, don't pay full retail. There's lots of barely used equipment out there for 1/3 of the price. That is what I did when I bought my Starcraft RT - and I think I still paid too much for the quality of the machine.

 

Aspen Trails Trailers

Supporting Sponsor
Totally agree with reece146, buy used if you can, they are not that tough to work on, and with this site normally someone has what you bought and will help you if you need it.
 

VanIsle_Greg

I think I need a bigger truck!
The one thing you can rely on with basically all RV style Camping Trailers (tent or otherwise), the build quality is generally poor. We bought a 2009 Coachman Clipper 108ST (same as Viking) new on the lot. We looked at every make, model, line, price etc and ended up going for this one based on features and low price. It is NOT made for anything other than highway towing and possibly very light gravel roads. I will not take this anywhere near an FSR or any logging roads. They are simply not made for it. We looked at Coleman, Coachman, Viking, Starcraft, T@B, RPod and a host of others hard sided and pop-up.

Having said all that, ours has performed very well over the past few years, and has treated us well for what it is being asked to do and for what it is. The amenities and installed stuff has been excellent. It has flush toilet, 3 burner stove, 3 way fridge and furnace along with a hot water tank and a fantastic fan. Everything has performed superbly and overall we are happy with it. The furnace is HOT and has a very good thermostat. The fridge is awesome, and works superb on all 3 power sources. I would personally give the overall build quality a 7 out of 10... but as far as the standard for the industry it is more like a 9 out of 10, so one of the better ones we viewed. The best part, the "Canvass" is not canvass at all rather a UV stable HD backed vinyl. No sweating, totally waterproof and will last for 20 years in direct sunlight (they say). It can POUR rain, and it is nice and warm and dry inside. Easy to clean and dries in minutes in the sun. Best part...no mold ever!!

I think that Coleman did indeed go out of business, so warranty stuff (if any) will be limited to the dealer I guess? Personally I found the Coleman lacking when compared to other equally priced trailers. Their top end ones were nice, but the M.O.R. stuff was only ok. The bunks were made with a single layer OSB, some of the finishing was not very good and they all had a terrible plastic smell to them? The single layer OSB was what really killed it for me. Our trailer bunks are 3 layer insulated and are way more stable than the Coleman ones we looked at that were sagging from the factory?

All in all, buy what you can afford, buy what you like but do not consider these "offroad" capable at all...not even off highway as far as I am concerned? With the torsion axle suspension (no shocks, rubber bands) they wallow all over on gravel/washboard roads...not fun at all to tow. That is unless you get the Offroad Toy Hauler ones, and they are way up in weight and price! If you want any real world questions answered, PM me and I will be happy to fill you in on our family's experiences with ours over the past few years.

Cheers'
Greg

EDIT: Oh and yes, look online and locally for used deals. There are some AMAZING deals now that were not available when we looked. You might be able to save big $$ and or get a better trailer for your pennies!!
 

trae

Adventurer
Thanks guys, there's a lot to think about in this thread. I guess when I said offroad I may have exaggerated a bit. Most of the forestry road here in British Columbia are in excellent condition. Sometimes you can bomb at around 40-50km/h on them - though I wouldn't recommend it. Still, the amount of vibration that the trailer would take...

I guess I have to jump in with both feet and see how things go. These trailers are fairly simple, I hope even I with my limited skills may be able to fix them. Not fridge/furnance components though.

Thanks again.
 

T.Low

Expedition Leader
Excellent info on this thread. I hope to add to the discussion and not derail it as we, too, have been hit by the realization that a pop up tent trailer may be the answer to our expanding family camping needs.

I want a trailer that weighs <=2000lbs, (so I can easily pull it with the AstroLander), costs <= $2500, has a wet bath, and hope to flip the axle and rework the tongue area to include a small toyhauler extension for my enduro and a mtn bike or three. Does that sound reasonable to you PUP veterans?

We just went to San Juan Island County Camp Ground last weekend, and I spent the majority of the first day adjusting to campground conditions, (nice place, but hard to shake that Walmart feeling of a campground), but we have a 1.5 yr old and wife is 6 mo pregnant, so it was a decent experience. (Seeing Orcas swim by on four different occassions always helps).

With a trailer, I can still have the van for my solo backcountry overlanding adventures, yet still comfortably take the family on trips as well. And if I buy right, there won't be a lot of capital sitting around unused most of the year.
 

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