People Are Falling for These 6 Small Camper Marketing Lies!

get ready for some truth bombs today we're sharing with you six misleading tactics that are aimed at you when buying a new camper trailer I confess I've fallen victim to these deceptions myself but no more not today we're going to set the record straight starting with myth number one and that is full underbody protection and then underneath here what you're hearing this is a skid plate an aluminum skid plate that runs the width of the trailer and from tip to tail so this is definitely designed for getting you off-road if you were to um High Center on a rock or something it's definitely going to protect any of that plywood underneath you've probably heard those slick sales tactics where they're telling you they've armored the underbody of their trailers like they're going to war sounds great right well not so fast rocks and brush can put up a fight but water my friends is the Real Enemy of small campers water's like a sneaky little pirate trying to sink your ship these skid plates that are underneath the trailer they may protect the underbody but they also trap water so why does this happen why does installing a nice aluminum skid plate down the entire bottom of the trailer protecting that subfloor cause you issues well it's because it doesn't let your trailer breathe that wood subfloor under your feet needs to release moisture and these plates are basically a moisture prison or a water catch a little bit of water seeping into a seam a running light tail light your rooftop fan plus the passing of time all this water will eventually work its way to the bottom of the trailer and this can lead to very costly damage or even worse structural issues with your trailer and if you don't believe me about the subject find me a veteran camper company recommending these underbody skid plates you're not going to find any and trust me it's not because they're not Innovative ah myth number two wired for solar sounds like music to the Eco Warrior's ears right but here's the plot twist your little solar panel that you have laying around your house or in your garage probably isn't going to play very nicely with they're wired for solar setup it's common knowledge that you'll need special adapters for your specific brand of P panel to connect to this trailer which that in itself isn't a big deal but here's the kicker unless the company has installed a built-in charge controller which is really affordable and easy for them to do but they rarely ever do your panel will not work with their trailer this is because your panel doesn't have a charge controller built into it only very specific heavy expensive solar panels like zamp solar panels have charge controllers built in and then look at this dinky little charge controller why can't one of these be installed in the small camper trailer it's tiny we don't need to haul around this giant panel when we could have a charge controller built in the camper and then use our own more affordable lighter and more powerful panels This Jacker that many of you own is not going to work as you can see no charge controller built into it neither is this panel that I usually bring out or my rock Pals that I have at home having a trailer wired for Solar without a compatible solar panel or even having a charge controller built in it's kind of like having a smartphone without a charger then we have the bike hitch misconception a receiver for bikes on the rear of your trailer it sounds great almost sounds like a dream come true but I would think twice before putting a bike on the back of one of these trailers small camper trailers have a mind of their own if you attach a bike carrier to the rear hitch receiver of a small camper like this it's kind of like trying to carry a delicate glass sculpture on the back of a galloping horse there's significantly more movement at the back of a small trailer and this is due to the distance from the rear axle or the only axle in this case to the end of the trailer in comparison to where bikes are typically mounted on tow vehicles small camper trailers also have a slight side to side motion that's very low frequency moving back and forth 1 to 1 and 1 half times per second which fatigues the steel from which these racks are manufactured the fatigue first happens at a molecular level but with that movement 1 to 1 and a half times a second over thousands of rotations or thousands of Cycles eventually that bike rack just like the back of a horse this motion can crack that bike carrier but don't they make RV rated bike racks of course they do but remember even your bike rack your bike carrier can't defy physics so even though it's doubly reinforced your bikes are still subjected to that same Motion in the back so it's much more practical to put it up on your tongue box or on the tongue of your trailer the fourth bit of misinformation sounds a little like this because this small trailer so light it doesn't require a need electric brakes and they're right legally here they're not required in most of the states wo glad to hear that because I didn't want to install a brake controller on my tow vehicle think of trailer brakes is just one more added safety feature to me I see them as my trusted co-pilot on the journey they make the ride smoother minimize wear and tear on your tow vehicle's braking system and provide you with greater stopping control and peace of mind throughout the journeys and not to mention if your tow vehicle for some reason goes into a trailer sway moment which is really dangerous pretty rare for a teardrop a quick tap on your brake controller from the seat of your vehicle will put that back in line and a time or two in Alaska I have tapped that brake on icy I conditions and that's also brought my trailer back when it was getting a little squirly behind me I must admit I've been one of those who have said in the past you don't need trailer brakes I still don't say they're a must for many situations but I do tell people if you can afford the upgrade in the long run it's worth every penny now let's talk about matching your tow vehicle's Wheels to your camper Wheels sounds like a great match right well not quite swapping Out trailer wheels with your tow vehicle sounds cool but sometimes it can be like wearing shoes that are two sizes too big throws off the balance messes with your camper Mojo stick with what fits just like comfy shoes it's better for everyone a lot of you overlanders are going to get mad at me for saying this larger wheels on a small camper trailer may make it more off-road capable and match the height of your truck and help you swap out spares between the two a trailer is built around one specific size of wheel maybe two if the company built the trailer with a second wheel option in mind but I guarantee you they don't have specific weight balance and suspension for a number of different wheel sizes just dialed in when you change the tire size the center point of the trailer shifts affecting its stability and handling leading to unnecessary wear on the suspension and then if you aren't familiar with unsprung weight you may want to Google how increased tire size impacts that as well if you want bigger tires just find a trailer that has tires that natively matches the size of your tow vehicle companies that are trying to please everyone by saying yes to every modification of customer requests may not be putting out the best trailer you may think the best manufacturers have a dialed in trailer with only basic optional upgrades to be streamlineed and saved on operational costs but also has to do with keeping a design that works best with the trailer one of the questions we get a lot is like what what's the difference between a trailer that's made for off-road and a trailer that's just a regular teardrop let's talk about the next myth and that's off-road trailers see what I did there with those air quotes we all dream of conquering The Great Outdoors but not every trailer labeled off-road is the real deal hey hey everyone so before we get into some of the head scratching details about this bushwhacker teardrop I'll be up front with you not every trailer that claims to be off-road is actually off-road capable many of them are what I call soft Road trailers the biggest giveaway on most of these trailers is Jeep style fenders that are not rated to stand on if those fenders cannot handle your weight you are in for a bumpy ride so if you want the real off-road experience look for a trailer that's truly built for it another big giveaway that it's not truly an off-road trailer is the price if it sounds too good to be true it probably is now remember this when buying small camper trailers your best ally is knowledge you and I are no longer going to fall for these sugarcoated promises so stay curious and we will see you in the next episode

Channel: Playing with Sticks

Views: 70,294

Keywords: small camper, travel trailer, small camper trailer, buying a camper, buying a trailer, marketing lies, camper marketingn lies, best small camper, lightweight camper, camper trailer, small campers for couples, full time rving, full time rv, teardrop camper trailer, best small camper trailer, small camper build, camper issues, used camper, camping, camping trailer, camping gear, wired for solar, offroad trailer, offroad camper, travel trailer tips and tricks

Id: GyAsPIpsiLU

Length: 10min 11sec (611 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 22 2024