To remove the bathroom or to spend lots of money on a completely new one??

[jakeandkate]

We have started the careful gutting process but we can't seem to agree on whether we need the bathroom or the space..we have 3 children and our trailer isn't as big as I would have liked (but was super affordable for my husband's dream of owning a vintage airstream) the idea is to put the kids in the back area...opinions welcome!!!!!

[Belegedhel]

What year and model of trailer do you have?

Well, in my opinion. A "full" sized bathroom is one of the features that I find particularly nice about a trailer. It makes it possible to use your own bathroom as you travel, rather than dealing with the nasty truck stops and rest areas. You don't have to leave the trailer in the middle of the night when nature calls, and you actually have a room with a little privacy, which you might find really valuable with 3 kids in the trailer.

Perhaps there are other options for accommodating the whole family. Some folks have rigged up bunk beds to accomplish this.

Another thing to consider is that if/when you decide to sell the trailer (perhaps to get a bigger one), a potential buyer will very likely appreciate having a bathroom. We all realize that there is next to no chance of making money selling a trailer, but there is no sense in accelerating the losses!

good luck!

[AnnArborBob]

I can't imagine a travel trailer (or any RV) without an on-board bathroom.

I suspect that if you did this you would be very disappointed after your first trip and then find it basically impossible to sell the trailer to get one that did have a bathroom.

I would put the bathroom in and figure out some other way to accommodate the kids. Some people will have a couple of their kids sleep in a tent next to the trailer and in cases of really bad weather bring them inside and let them sleep on the floor.

[jakeandkate]

Originally Posted by Belegedhel

What year and model of trailer do you have?

Well, in my opinion. A "full" sized bathroom is one of the features that I find particularly nice about a trailer. It makes it possible to use your own bathroom as you travel, rather than dealing with the nasty truck stops and rest areas. You don't have to leave the trailer in the middle of the night when nature calls, and you actually have a room with a little privacy, which you might find really valuable with 3 kids in the trailer.

Perhaps there are other options for accommodating the whole family. Some folks have rigged up bunk beds to accomplish this.

Another thing to consider is that if/when you decide to sell the trailer (perhaps to get a bigger one), a potential buyer will very likely appreciate having a bathroom. We all realize that there is next to no chance of making money selling a trailer, but there is no sense in accelerating the losses!

good luck!

It's a 1973 trailwind land yacht I was thinking maybe putting a composting toilet until I saw the prices....

[jakeandkate]

We have been talking bunk beds for the kids and we're going back and forth on the bathroom thing mainly because we would have to get a new hot water heater new shower new blackwater tank and new toilet....

[AnnArborBob]

Originally Posted by jakeandkate

It's a 1973 trailwind land yacht I was thinking maybe putting a composting toilet until I saw the prices....

I don't see how a composting toilet saves you any space over a conventional RV toilet, still need a dedicated room, a place for the toilet, sink, shower, etc...

[jakeandkate]

So would doing away with the shower and keeping the toilet be dumb? I've noticed alot of campgrounds have shower houses...

[AnnArborBob]

Originally Posted by jakeandkate

We have been talking bunk beds for the kids and we're going back and forth on the bathroom thing mainly because we would have to get a new hot water heater new shower new blackwater tank and new toilet....

Sounds to me like you have a "fixer upper" and are just starting to realize that it's going to take a major investment to get it working properly. This is a very common experience among newbies who buy an old trailer hoping to get it up and running on a tight budget only to discover that the true cost is way more than they imagined.

If your budget is causing you to consider a trailer with no water capability on board, then you are basically looking at an aluminum tent. If this is the case, you might as well save yourself a lot of money and grief and just get a real tent and enjoy camping with the family without the stress and hassle of an expensive restoration.

[jakeandkate]

Well its a slow remodel we aren't rushing or anything just trying to figure out how much to put into it and what we need versus what we want...

[perryg114]

There is at least one member here who has a lightweight slide in camper on a pickup for the kids and it pulls an Airstream behind. This way you can fix up the trailer like you want and put the kids in the truck camper.

How long is this trailer? You can put bunks in the center and the parents can sleep up front.

Perry

[DaveFL]

Age and type of kids, we took gkids on 1000+ trip, first with boys, they had their own tent and still talk about the great trip, did the same trip with g-daughter no tent(we had moved up to bigger rv) all campgrounds had to have a pool, served same type meals, boys marveled gma could still cook in rv like they were used too. Girl on arriving at her home and still to this day sayes how she likes motels and room service not a camper. So back to your problem, bunks designated storage and dry conditions or tents with the call of the wild (spiders, rain, snakes, wet sleeping bags, palmetto bugs and coconut rats if in the south)

[AnnArborBob]

Originally Posted by jakeandkate

So would doing away with the shower and keeping the toilet be dumb? I've noticed alot of campgrounds have shower houses...

A lot of the showers in campgrounds are not all that pleasant to use (and what if it's raining or 40 degrees outside?)

A major reason we got our Airstream was to be "self contained" and not have to worry about the condition of the facilities wherever we happen to be. In fact, since we got the Airstream I have never even been inside a campground lavatory/shower.

[jakeandkate]

Originally Posted by perryg114

There is at least one member here who has a lightweight slide in camper on a pickup for the kids and it pulls an Airstream behind. This way you can fix up the trailer like you want and put the kids in the truck camper.

How long is this trailer? You can put bunks in the center and the parents can sleep up front.

Perry

It's 24ft it's big enough for bunks where the middle bed was I was just thinking the more space the better and we wouldn't have to have hot water if we nixed the shower....

[jakeandkate]

Originally Posted by DaveFL

Age and type of kids, we took gkids on 1000+ trip, first with boys, they had their own tent and still talk about the great trip, did the same trip with g-daughter no tent(we had moved up to bigger rv) all campgrounds had to have a pool, served same type meals, boys marveled gma could still cook in rv like they were used too. Girl on arriving at her home and still to this day sayes how she likes motels and room service not a camper. So back to your problem, bunks designated storage and dry conditions or tents with the call of the wild (spiders, rain, snakes, wet sleeping bags, palmetto bugs and coconut rats if in the south)

We have a 5 year old daughter a 3 year old boy and a 1 year old boy so tent by themselves are out for a little while but like I said it's not going to be a rushed remodel by no means just trying to get a game plan so we know what goes back in once we rip it all out

[jakeandkate]

Originally Posted by AnnArborBob

A lot of the showers in campgrounds are not all that pleasant to use (and what if it's raining or 40 degrees outside?)

A major reason we got our Airstream was to be "self contained" and not have to worry about the condition of the facilities wherever we happen to be. In fact, since we got the Airstream I have never even been inside a campground lavatory/shower.

Do you have a remodeled unit or a new one? What kind of hot water heater do you have?

[AnnArborBob]

Originally Posted by jakeandkate

Do you have a remodeled unit or a new one? What kind of hot water heater do you have?

As you can see from my avatar, we have a relatively new unit, a 2014 27' Eddie Bauer model. We have a 6 gallon Atwood water heater that can work with propane or electric. We have never run out of hot water (but there are only two of us.)

[jakeandkate]

This is what we have

[LucasS]

As I was once an RV sales, I cannot stress how important it is for you to keep the bathroom for resale purposes. The people who don't want bathrooms are the maij buyer of pop-up tent trailers, basically use them as towable tents with hard sides and a kitchenette. The people who purchase pop up trailers, are the people who have no problem camping in tents. The rest of the RV buying population are either upgrading from that, or like myself can't even fathom the idea of going without a self-contained bathroom, kitchen, and in my case solar panels and sattelite TV.

I highly recommend going with bunks, and as a SpaceSaver you can even find Pullman bunks like you find on trains and cruise ships to install your airstream. Believe me your wife and your kids are going to want that restroom, especially at night. As far as just keeping the toilet and not the shower, it is true RV parks have showers, but many these days require you to purchase tokens, they close at random hours, and unless you're staying in a class A only luxury RV park, some really are kind of scuzzy.

I think if you break down the numbers, you're going to find that keeping your bathroom and freshen it up just a little with new counters and new fixtures will be more cost-effective than ripping it out and install new $2000 composting toilet. For extra sleeping space look into Pullman bats, convertible Dana, and Jack mysm I think if you break down the numbers, you're going to find that keeping your bathroom and freshen it up just a little with new counters and new fixtures will be more cost-effective than ripping it out and installing a $2000 composting toilet. For extra sleeping space look into Pullman beds, convertible dinettes, and jack-knife divans.

Happy Trails!

[Bill Lynch]

That's a really nice trailer. You will want to restore the bathroom and all systems. If stripped out it will have no value and any potential buyer will have a tough time locating all the parts to put it back right.

If you do strip it out, at least store the original parts somewhere safe. You will want them later.

[MaryC]

I would at least have a toilet for those middle of the night needs, especially with children and inclement weather. We haven't hooked up our shower (have found showers on the road to not be that bad but) we have a composting toilet in the back.

Our shower is not plumbed and ends up being a storage area for now. But we do have functioning kitchen with hot water etc. When remodeling, the budget went to a lot of other things first. (I laugh at the word budget, that flew out the window quickly) but what we did was prioritize.

The first several trips, we had no toilet. That's very inconvenient here in rain country and just the idea of having to get up and leave the trailer in the middle of the night if nature calls grew old really fast.