Check Out This Budget Camper That Packs a Lot of Punch For It’s Size! TFL Camper Corner

[Music] hi everybody it is safe to say that when you come on to an RV dealership lot and start looking at trailers a ton of them are tailored towards families but not all of them and that's what we're looking at today this right here is the coachman Catalina summit series and it's a perfect trailer for a couple looking to not spend too much money and get away and have some fun camping so in this video I'll show you all of the features and then of course we will talk about what type of vehicle you need to tow of this trailer [Music] our thank you goes out to Gimme Shelter RV Center here in mono Ontario for use of this unit so first of all what are you gonna need to tow this thing well this trailer has a gross vehicle weight rating of just a little bit under 4,500 pounds basically what that means is this trailer is gonna be overkill but it's gonna feel real confident and then if you don't want to get a pickup truck the rut quite a few SUVs on the market that would this as well things like the Toyota Sequoia Dodge Durango even a Ford Explorer will do it so you don't even need a pickup truck so many of those sort of mid to full-size SUVs will also do the job so what you were just looking at right there this is an exposed screw head that's been packed with caulking but this is one of the differences those little differences you have to look for on a more affordable trailer and that is you know the workmanship someone just let this caulking pour right out of this hole no one bothered to come along and actually clean it up so you're left with this you know really ugly looking caulking job now again these are sort of the trade offs you have to accept if you want something that's just affordable and we will get to the price soon enough now the other thing that makes this trailer affordable is the siding this is basically the most economical siding on the market and the thing you have to pay attention to here are all the seams you can see all of these seams on more expensive trailers this is either fiberglass or reinforced plastic but it's a single sheet whereas here you have all these seams and more seams simply means more places where you could have a leak doesn't mean it's gonna leak right away but over time yes this trailer will need some more maintenance compared to some more expensive models now let's gone keep moving down the side because don't get me wrong there are a lot of awesome features here and for the price especially on the inside this is a really smart use of space but I need to point out to you massive almost full length awning right down the side of the trailer that is a power awning you're also getting a set of speakers up there hooked up to your AM FM Bluetooth CD radio that's on the inside of this unit so if we're hanging out in the park it's pretty much perfect now you do get one storage bin back here at the rear and it's not all that big you also kind of see the backside of the the washroom in there and there's some exposed wood and plumbing but still always nice to have some type of exterior storage maybe for stuff that's wet or muddy or you know you don't want getting inside your actual unit now you do have manual stabilizers there's a leash link if you want to tie your pooch up - those are really popular on these coachman and Forest River units in general now full-size spare tire on the back and we keep on moving around we get to all of our hookups for right down here at the back you have your gray and your black water hookups hookup for your cable and satellite TV also of course your power now this unit wouldn't be so bad at dry camping you could maybe do a weekend but I do think it's more tailored towards being in a park here's your water connections fresh and your city water aluminum fenders I should point out - that's actually part of a package but the fenders and the wheels actually do make the trailer look a little bit nicer gives it a bit more of a premium feel and then we get back to the front and that's just about it out here so why don't we go take a look inside because I think that's really where the value is now let me show you what has to be the most clever feature on the inside let me remind you now this is the 174 RB there are some layouts on this unit that are more family friendly this is not that so what we have here is a Murphy bed up here in the nose of the trailer so we're actually able to take this couch it folds totally flat and then you unhook a pair of latches up here and this Murphy bed folds right out of the nose like that now that is definitely a slick solution for storage space you also take advantage of the no space up there because again your head goes right up into the nose now if you only have two people this bed is absolutely perfect for your couple and then when you're done sleeping in the morning wake up tuck it back out of the way and boom you go back to the couch configuration you're ready to hang out at the campsite all day long if you have kids there are better layouts of this trailer for you if you don't have kids this is definitely the one you want the 174 RB the other reason I say this isn't really kids there's only one another bed in this unit it's the dinette and there's another thing you might have noticed by now no slide outs here this unit is just as wide as its footprint which means that this dinette is you know six to ten inches skinnier than what you get on most models and that means that two people sleeping here is going to be very uncomfortable now let's take a look at the kitchen and this is actually a generous sized kitchen you do get some counter space for actually working pretty small sink but a sink nonetheless you do get two burners up top no Ivan below though you do have a microwave down below and I can show you the storage - nicely divided drawers down here appreciate that and then big storage up top that's gonna be your main pantry storage likely all your dry food up there moving back a nice sized fridge and freezer and I think really you know a big fridge is important it's not something you want to give up in a unit like this for more space you do have storage over here on the other side as well double cabinets and of course you have even more back there in the bathroom there is a huge storage bin back here in the bathroom right beside the toilet that's actually right above your exterior storage bin that is appreciated now the bathroom itself same thing actually nice big size it's right at the back of the unit you have the small foot operated toilet down there a generous sized shower a small sink and then I always love having the medicine cabinet above the sink because you're gonna have a lot of different bathroom toiletries that you're gonna want to bring along with you and of course you also get the plug right above the sink - so this bathroom is a big size for such a small unit I talked about the siding on this unit when we were on the outside another downside to this type of siding is it's gonna get really hot in here in the summertime hotter than with some other types and that's why air conditioning is so important now this is actually an upgraded air conditioner it's thirteen and a half thousand BTUs and it comes as part of the summit series peak package and the peak package is on this unit and it's adding things like that power awning outside the upgraded sport aluminum wheels the aluminum fender skirts the stereo those outdoor speaker and that smooth metal radius front so it's really to make the trailer look a little nicer and not just a couple little convenience features and then we also have the comfort and convenience package that's upgrading this flooring which is actually you know really quality and it looks really nice which i think is important you're getting the sink cover over here you're also getting different style countertops over here you've got a power vent back there in the bathroom a number of other features are built into this comfort and convenience package to really make sure you're getting all those little things that you might miss if you just buy a base-model RV and now that you know everything that's on this unit let's talk about the price actually one more thing before we get to the price I want to take you guys over to Coachman's website and show you something just to drive a point home look at all the different models that just coachman offers and remember that coachman is owned by Forest River and Forest River also produces its own models under that name they have a couple other brands that they own so I think one of the points to people who are new to the RV or travel trailer industry you have to realize that there are so many options out there and you really need to do your homework because not only can you choose the trailer but then you also pick the floorplan so here we have the Catalina Summit series that we're looking at in our video and when you scroll down you'll see there are a ton of different floor plans our floor plan right here the 174 RB only features that sofa and Murphy bed but if you want a unit with bunk beds you can get that too so I keep saying it's no good for kids but this unit would be good for kids it'd be small but you could sleep some kids in those bunks and that's exactly the point is you cannot judge a trailer just by the name you have to really look at all the different floor plans and realize that no two trailers are really created equal there's so many different options of course these ones here even come with slide outs the trailer we looked at didn't have a slide but yes make sure you do your research and look into all the different floor plans because there's guaranteed to be one that is gonna work a little bit better for your lifestyle now let's get back to the video and I'll break down the price I keep saying economical well what does that actually mean well right here at Gimme Shelter RV dealership this model is selling for eighteen thousand nine hundred dollars Canadian so for just a hair under nineteen grand you're getting out the door with a travel trailer that might not have you know top build quality but the layout is really clever and everything inside is designed to make sure you have a great weekend camping out at the park so guys that's it for this walk around make sure you go below leave me a comment let me know what you think about this trailer review and what you want to see in future trailer reviews and as always hit like hit subscribe and then come right back to the channel for the latest news views and real world reviews see ya

Channel: The Fast Lane Truck

Views: 436,857

Rating: 4.8055511 out of 5

Keywords: TFLtruck, The Fast Lane Truck, 2021 catalina coachmen, coachmen, catalina, couples, camping trailer, romantic, pair, adventure, open road, forest river, small, cheap, affordable, kitchen, bedroom

Id: gPosx7af3wk

Length: 10min 20sec (620 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 17 2020