down sizing?

[osolow]

How many member's have down sized from a larger A/S say a 29fter plus to something say in the range 19 to 25 ft? and also went newer?

right now my wife wants to do this but i am reluctant i like my 29fter and i have put way to much time and money into it to just turn around and sell it.
but i have agreed to drive down A/S of Arkansas and at least look.
aim hoping she'll change her mind after looking at a 19-22 ft er.
just because the bed and the bathroom are what she's really concerned with.

[Road Ruler]

What is your reason to down size?

[craftsman]

We went from a 29' 1976 Sovereign to a 1994 25' Classic and then to a 2007 25'Classic Limited. Almost went for a new 34' Classic but my wife talked me out of it and I'm glad she did. The 25' is a near perfect size. It's right there between to small and to large. Seems like there couldn't be a better time to buy if you're in the market.

[osolow]

she thinks a smaller trailer that is newer will be nicer

[eubank]

I've thought about it, primarily so that we have a smaller rig that will fit into less spacious places. Newer rig? Not necessarily. I like vintage.

But my wife likes what we've got, so there's no more discussion! (However, we did have a pretty serious discussion about moving over to a vintage motorhome last summer.)


Lynn

[bryanl]

A smaller trailer is less livable. When you get to where the bed and couch have to be the same device (below about 25' or Overlander size ), you spend a lot more time shuffling the living quarters.

There is a reason why the Sovereign size (30') is (was?) so popular and that is because it provides 'elbow' room for living without an excess penalty in weight or in parking restriction. Yes the extra ton and few feet in length can make a difference but only in a very few circumstances. With modern tow vehicles the weight isn't really an issue and those circumstances can often be handled in other ways.

The less than 20' realm is OK if all you are doing is weekends or if you have resigned yourself to rather severe lebensraum constraints (like many boat owners).

The Ambassador size (29') has a bit more closet and a bit more bath space than the Overlander. It is always interesting to see where Airstream puts the extra foot or two between models and where the big jumps are.

It should also be noted that the wider body that came out in the 90's is like adding another foot or two to the length. That wider body can also limit where you can go (some of our rallies have required a bit of road clearing to avoid Nevada Pinstriping, for instance).

The caveat is to watch out for the attraction of "cute" and focus on what you really want your trailer to do for your camping and portable living experience.