Small Camper Sleeps 5+ (Not Your Grandma's Canned Ham!)

are you ready to see why I drove all the way across the country to see this specific trailer the Sellwood at first glance looks like a fully restored vintage trailer but don't let this fool you this is a brand new trailer being sold for the same price as teardrop trailers on the market that are half its size you are going to see that the build quality and Ingenuity is literally second to none so let's get right into this walkthrough as usual you're going to want to stick around as I'll be sharing three things I like about this trailer and three things I think can be improved and just as a fun little exercise as you're watching this can you count all the cabinets and storage areas in this trailer it is honestly remarkable hey everyone this is Brian with arrow teardrops and right now we're going to take a tour of our solid model this solid model is our floor plan with the bathroom so we'll do a tour of the inside here in a little bit but first we're going to do a walk around of the exterior of the trailer and kind of talk about its features so here up front all the solids come with a dual 20 pound propane tank setup full propane system inside a stabilizer Jacks at all four corners a little bit of ability to level if you need to on the side here is a an optional awning so when you're ordering your trailer this is an option that you can select it's a hideaway awning by Thule it's a eight and a half foot long by six and a half foot wide and it provides you know a nice shaded area out out on the side of the trailer or you know some some rain protection if it's uh if it's rainy so our exterior door here has a built-in screen so nice uh nice for warm days you have your screen door here this is the exhaust for the Dometic furnace that is in the trailer over here you have a baggage compartment and this is a really nice deep storage you have to excuse the stuff that's in here but it's a really nice deep storage area deep enough to put a broom in or um and you also have access from the inside of the trailer as well it's a nice solid insulated door it's lockable all the solids come with a spare tire LED marker lights and tail lights they're really nice and bright at night we can also do an optional rear receiver mount back here for a bicycle rack which is really handy and we'll move over here to the street side of the trailer I call it so this is an exterior shower which is a an item you can add to your trailer it's nice for washing sand off of your feet at the beach washing dogs off got your city water connection here and this is the fill for the water tank and this floor plan the the floor plan that we offer with the shower has a 40 gallon fresh water and a 40 gallon gray water the other floor plan that we offer with the kitchen that doesn't have the bathroom has a 20 gallon fresh water 20 gallon gray water this compartment right here is the truma Comfort it's an on-demand water heater it'll keep up with a shower with washing dishes you name it this is your Park power Inlet it's a 30 amp connection and below this is the zamp solar panel connection look at the size of that window so these windows that we use are are made by a local manufacturer to us up in Vancouver Washington and they're a really cool you know mitered 90 degree they keep that vintage look that's what I really like about them um you know we're trying to kind of stick to the Vintage Vibe with this trailer um it's quarter inch tempered glass and they're actually a marine rated window the side windows you know they all slide they all have screens with the exception of the emergency exit window that's in the back there it just provides a lot of nice natural light inside the trailer as well foreign so let's take a tour of the inside of this cell wood this like I said before is our bathroom floor plan and inside this shower door here is an airhead composting toilet and then the shower head is over here on this wall and it also has a powered roof inside so while you're using it or taking a shower you can ventilate it really nicely next to it here is the Dometic refrigerator this is a 110 cord I believe this is the larger fridge that we offer in the solwood model we have two different models above that is some nice storage cabinet there's also some storage drawers below and access to this cabinet down here for even more storage in the rear of the trailer we have a flat screen TV that's also standard on all the Sellwood models it's on an articulating arm it unlocks and it's great you know you can watch a movie from bed or you can spin this guy around and watch from the front of the trailer as well so it's really nice and it's controlled by a head unit over here above the sink that has Bluetooth capabilities and as a DVD player AM FM stereo and all kinds of other good stuff so this rear couch area here converts into a nice bed so it's really simple to do we just pull this shelf out on the bottom here and then the cushions lie flat nice area two adults can sleep back here no problem it's actually six foot eight long so taller people can sleep comfortably no problem with that there's a nice little headboard above you know to stash things reading lights at all four corners of the trailer too are really handy and then these great curtains from a company called telona rustics that we really love to use too are a great feature that we offer in all the Sellwood trailers and they just roll down those early Sunny mornings when you want to sleep in they're they're a great thing to have above the bed is a really cool option that we offer it's a it's a hammock great for kids um you know family with you know with kids that having an extra sleeping area really easy to use it will also hold an adult and it just simply pulls forward and clips into these frontward cleats creates a nice hammock area and from there we'll talk about the front sleeping areas in the cell wood so this particular Sellwood has a great option that we offer this is the front bunk so this cabinet face folds down to create a bunk and while you're not using it it's also a functioning cabinet so you've got a nice cabinet here the doors latch closed so when the bunk face is down they stay closed really easy to convert I'll show you how that works there's two barrel bolts that you flip up here and then the face of this cabinet drops forward and then there's a little sheet of plywood here that covers the openings to make a nice smooth surface so there's some cleats here that you just roll out of the way and this slides forward and there you have the bunk so the family that owns this particular trailer is a family of five so they are able to use this trailer they love it they sleep everyone comfortably and everyone has their own space so this dinette area converts into a bed it's about a 35 by 80 inch space so again six foot eight an adult can sleep up here no problem it's really simple to convert there's a folding table leg down here let's push a little button and the table leg folds up out of the way and then you lift the table top off of this track and there's a couple of cleats down here that the table lands on and then you just tumble these cushions into place some nice big storage drawers here too under the under the dinette great for shoes power cord movies batteries you name it they're really nice big drawers super handy to have so let's talk about the kitchen area and the shower floor plan so it's a little bit smaller than the kitchen you know our other floor plan but it's still very functional has a nice sink here hot and cold water two burner cooktop so if you don't want the microwave we can do a nice finished cabinet and you have one big cabinet but it's you know nice feature to have on the bottom there is the Dometic furnace and then we have a lot of nice storage there's a nice storage cabinet underneath the cooktop a little tip out for sponges and things like that a nice storage drawer and below that is just some nice open storage also some nice storage above the sink as well this is your water pump switch tank monitors interior interior lighting this is your porch light switch and then this is the control for the truma water heater that we have on board so this right here is the controls for the HVAC system it's a Dometic system that we use this controls the roof mounted air conditioner and the furnace that is on board a Dometic penguin 2 AC roof mounted AC unit um it's an option uh these trailers come standard with a Max fan Deluxe you know some climates it's not a must-have but for those must have uh AC climates this is a great a great option to have on the trailer and it keeps the size of a trailer really nice and cool so this Sellwood is our um our other floor plan this is our what we call our kitchen floor plan so you can see the difference here much bigger kitchen area you've got nice some nice counter space here and in the kitchen model it's a three burner range with an oven whereas the bathroom model you get a two burner cooktop so if you're like me I prefer the kitchen um the kitchen floor plan because I like to cook I like having all my counter space my all of my utensils when I'm camping it's all about the food and I prefer to use the bathroom outside the trailer because I just don't like having it in with me we can also do the bunk you know all the solids we can do the bunk feature all the solids we can do the hammock feature this is the you know same dinette that's in the other trailer the fridge is smaller in this trailer but we can also do that larger the larger fridge as an option lots of nice storage my junk drawer there's a tip out here another nice big drawer some nice open storage below that also below the oven some nice open storage and then just a really nice big cabinet above holds all your dishes and everything it's a little bit of a mess right now but you know trailer's getting the trailer is getting used and opposite the kitchen and the kitchen floor plan is the night this nice wardrobe pantry cabinet so on the right side here you have a nice closet for hanging stuff and then the left side is this really nice Pantry area you have these nice big drawers you can pull out and load up with uh with items they all soft close below that some nice open storage there's many reasons why we went with com a composting toilet uh the first reason is customer requests actually because a lot of people didn't want that black water tank they didn't want the sewage to deal with uh having been an RV owner myself I I relate with that I relate to that um I absolutely hated the the smell and the task of dumping the black water tank so um this toilet uh actually is you know we're in this unit right now it's it's a small fairly small trailer you know and there's no odor whatsoever and um this is not an empty toilet this I'm gonna tell you that right now so um we're standing here in this trailer it's you know you don't smell the chemicals you don't smell that that stink that's pretty common with with RVs and you know it's it's compost you're just gonna take it out of the trailer and it's going to be useful now for the three things I love about this trailer number one storage Storage storage I have never seen a trailer of this size that packs in so many different storage areas and solutions and anyone who has ever taken out a trailer knows storage and organization is key stay with me I'm gonna move fast I have a lot to say here number two this trailer is built like a teardrop for those of you who are familiar with teardrop building methods you know they are not only built to last but have nothing in common with the corner cutting large RV manufacturing processes you see on mass Built Trailers across the country if you haven't seen our Aero teardrop walkthrough you really need to check it out notice the wood being used the cabinet facings the finish work everything you see in that video in terms of quality and build processes you will see in this Sellwood trailer number three is keeping the Retro feel while still keeping the modern build Brian went to Great Lengths tearing apart and building up old vintage trailers to understand these trailers at a deeper level he knew their components he knew their strengths their weaknesses then he put that knowledge into building a completely new version of an older concept the Vintage components that stayed with this trailer are Quality Parts and true to the original designs yet anywhere he felt there were weaknesses in the original concept or areas to improve he went with best practices of today a much more robust internal frame within the cabin solid wood throughout increased insulation increased width height Etc plus all the modern conveniences of home number four sorry I had to add another one in here the fact that he created this trailer in a way that you don't have to daily convert a bed to a table the bed can remain in place throughout the entire camping trip while still having access to the front table okay now for the three things I would change on this trailer number one I'm going to start out with something I thought I would change and that is the placement of the kitchen I find Kitchens on the side of the trailer versus the front really impact the usability of the entire trailer basically turning the trailer into one long narrow hallway which is difficult for cooking and moving around however once getting in the trailer I quickly realized I was wrong Brian increased the width of this trailer to ensure the kitchen felt more like a cooking area and less like a hallway and not only worked it added so much value to the trailer first it allows the weight of the kitchen and the water tanks to be more centered over the axles this gives us a much better Towing experience versus putting the kitchen up front and adding additional tongue weight and second this layout moves the typical table found on Vintage trailers from the side to the front giving more room and the ability for more additional beds and bunks number two leaf spring axles another component I thought I would dislike however this is going to be similar to my number one and that I think the leaf spring axles were actually the right choice if I was to build this trailer and keep it as accurate to the original design as Brian did I would feel almost obligated to leave the leaf spring axles not only is it true to the original design and look of the trailer but it gives that canned ham vintage trailer towing experience that you only feel from this shape and age of trailer the second we hooked up the trailer all those nostalgic feelings came rushing in as I felt that familiar Leaf axle movement behind the vehicle honestly I was sold however Brian is a really creative guy and one thing I love about Aero teardrops is that they're willing to do custom builds with anyone so if you want a more modern Towing experience I don't see Brian having any issue putting on some Dexter Torsion axles for you number three the biggest thing I dislike about this trailer currently is the price earlier in 2022 the Sellwood was priced at twenty eight thousand dollars online in different articles however just before posting this video I went online to confirm the current pricing this trailer has increased by over ten thousand dollars in less than a year a trailer that was priced the same or less than many of the top Teardrops on the market but offering so much more in terms of size and amenities just went from being competitive and fairly attainable to being another trailer priced for a small Market at this price you could buy three fully restored vintage trailers I find a well-restored vintage trailer can go anywhere between ten to twenty thousand dollars or if you want to save a buck you can even do what we did and pick up a Beatdown vintage trailer and renovate it to your liking or for half the price of this trailer you can pick up a brand new 16-foot Scamp that has the Standalone bed table and indoor kitchen option or better yet why not pick up a used one for half the price of that and these three options also come in at a much lower Towing weight which means many of you can use your current SUVs or smaller vehicles and not have to upgrade into a new Towing vehicle I mean if you think about it does this trailer really cost forty thousand dollars how much is that upgraded tow vehicle going to cost you how much is that additional gas going to cost you see where I'm going with this I reached out to Aero teardrops to see why their trailer has increased in price they were trying to get into the market by pricing this trailer affordably I Gotta Give Them kudos for that but they quickly realized not only did they under price themselves but the labor costs ended up being higher than they thought they would be as well with supply chain issues and labor issues small camper trailer companies have had to make a lot of tough choices lately so with all that said I still believe you know me I'm a Frugal guy so it hurts my heart sometimes but if you have the funds this trailer is second to none there's nothing on the market that compares to it in terms of build quality aesthetic and functionality if this trailer has you excited but like us you want to tackle your own vintage trailer renovation check out this video here to see how we quickly took an old Beatdown vintage Shasta compact brought it back to life and made it one of our favorite trailers we have ever owned as usual stay safe on the road and we will see you in the next episode

Channel: Playing with Sticks

Views: 1,208,789

Keywords: trailer, travel trailer, travel trailer tour, travel trailer camping, small travel trailer with bathroom, small camper, small camper with bathroom, small camper trailer, teardrop trailer, vintage trailer, small trailer, small camping trailer, camper bathroom, camper shower, camp shower, camper with air conditioning, camper with heater, teardrop camper, scamp, casita, playing with sticks, alaska, tiny camper, tiny home, camper with bunk beds, camper with bunkhouse, camping, camp

Id: U1dGP9jHWmQ

Length: 19min 33sec (1173 seconds)

Published: Thu Dec 08 2022