T & E Stables' New Camper!

[ebinmaine 73,714]

We've put a deposit on a 2026 Keystone Coleman 13B. 

 

 

 

 

Coleman Travel Trailers - Compact Comfort Trailers - Keystone RV https://share.google/unmuxzxyGQupcq8Qc

 

 

Basically an enclosed utility trailer with a restroom and great storage.  

This will give us the storage space to keep all our standard camping equipment in a permanent place. 

 

Likely upgrades will be an axle flip for increased ground clearance and larger tires.  

 

 

 

[squonk 44,165]

That's what was nice when we had or 18 Ft. Camper. All of the gear stayed in there and all we needed to load was food and clothes.

[8ntruck 8,038]

We've got the 18' version of that.  Works OK.  I got 2 HF scissor jacks to put under the front corners of the trailer when parked.  Makes a world of difference in the stability when moving around inside.

 

The toung jack does not clear the tailgate on the truck, so one has to keep that in mind to avoid a ding in the tailgate.

[ri702bill 9,697]

Happy new "Aluminum Room"

[ebinmaine 73,714]

1 hour ago, 8ntruck said:

We've got the 18' version of that.  Works OK.  I got 2 HF scissor jacks to put under the front corners of the trailer when parked.  Makes a world of difference in the stability when moving around inside.

 

Thats an interesting idea. 

 

 

1 hour ago, 8ntruck said:

 

The toung jack does not clear the tailgate on the truck, so one has to keep that in mind to avoid a ding in the tailgate.

 

Valid point. Won't matter to us having an SUV... but good info. 

 

 

[8ntruck 8,038]

check for lift gate clearance.

[Ed Kennell 42,505]

3 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

Likely upgrades will be an axle flip for increased ground clearance

I did this on a Coleman Columbia pop up.   In 1989 I traded my 3000 lb 30' Mobile Traveler for the 1000 lb Coleman  to take a tour of the Western National Parks.    We spent 30 days and 5000 miles on the road in the camper.       Total cost for the trip was $2900.   Best vacation ever.

Edited yesterday at 12:33 AM by Ed Kennell

[Handy Don 14,306]

Coleman pop-up. Brings back many memories. With my parents and sibs in Canada. Many year later, with my spouse and children. 

[ebinmaine 73,714]

1 hour ago, Ed Kennell said:

I did this on a Coleman Columbia pop up.   In 1989 I traded my 3000 lb 30' Mobile Traveler for the 1000 lb Coleman  to take a tour of the Western National Parks.    We spent 30 days and 5000 miles on the road in the camper.       Total cost for the trip was $2900.   Best vacation ever.

 

8 minutes ago, Handy Don said:

Coleman pop-up. Brings back many memories. With my parents and sibs in Canada. Many year later, with my spouse and children. 

 

 

My parent's first camper - maybe 25 years ago? was a pop-up. 

Theirs was around 7 x 9 base with a queen bed drop out on each side. Very spacious. 

 

 

We went with a fully hard sided unit specifically for noise blockage. 

I tend to go to sleep earlier than most folks at a state park campground and the noise emanating from other sites is not conducive to me getting proper rest. 

 

 

 

[8ntruck 8,038]

3 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

We went with a fully hard sided unit specifically for noise blockage. 

I tend to go to sleep earlier than most folks at a state park campground and the noise emanating from other sites is not conducive to me getting proper rest. 

 

That reminds me of one of the dislikes wa have with the camper.  It has a through the wall air conditioner - right over the bed.  Noisy and drafty.  We are considering replacing it with a through the roof unit.

[ebinmaine 73,714]

4 hours ago, 8ntruck said:

That reminds me of one of the dislikes wa have with the camper.  It has a through the wall air conditioner - right over the bed.  Noisy and drafty.  We are considering replacing it with a through the roof unit.

 

You may want to look at the modern units available through big box stores instead of the OE camper building company. 

 

We have a couple AC units at home that are FAR more quiet than units made just 3 or 4 years ago. 

 

[Ed Kennell 42,505]

     When the 15,000 btu roof unit on my 35' Shasta died, the replacement was over a grand.

I replaced it with two 5KBTU window units for under $400.   Put one at each end and had much less noise and better air distribution.

[Achto 29,556]

Nice lil unit !!  Some people think that they need to go big with a camper & that's fine. Do what you wish. Our camper is small too, but I have never gone camping and said "I wish we had spent more time in the camper" 

 

You may want to look into an Inverter generator if you are doing a lot of boondocking, This camper runs mainly on electric.

[ebinmaine 73,714]

2 hours ago, Achto said:

Our camper is small too, but I have never gone camping and said "I wish we had spent more time in the camper" 

 

Absolutely agreed!

 

 

2 hours ago, Achto said:

Inverter generator if you are doing a lot of boondocking, This camper runs mainly on electric.

 

We already have a regular inverter that could potentially run off of the car but that would certainly be for short-term usages.

We talked about picking up a much smaller version of the Westinghouse that we have at home.

 

 

[Treepep 732]

18 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

We've put a deposit on a 2026 Keystone Coleman 13B. 

 

 

 

 

Coleman Travel Trailers - Compact Comfort Trailers - Keystone RV https://share.google/unmuxzxyGQupcq8Qc

 

 

Basically an enclosed utility trailer with a restroom and great storage.  

This will give us the storage space to keep all our standard camping equipment in a permanent place. 

 

Likely upgrades will be an axle flip for increased ground clearance and larger tires.  

 

 

 

 

 

Congratulations!  Camper is like a Hammock, you better really know and enjoy your company or its a bad day!

 

Enjoy

[RandyLittrell 3,935]

Congrats guys!!! We have a little 18 foot camper that is fairly basic and we love it!!!

 

 

Randy

[fourwheelhorseman 357]

Nice! I think you’ll enjoy that more than tenting.

[ebinmaine 73,714]

8 minutes ago, fourwheelhorseman said:

Nice! I think you’ll enjoy that more than tenting.

 

Maybe. The only Advantages it offers to us is the above mentioned noise reduction and also not having to open the tent back up to let it dry when we get home.

Comfort will be comparable. Warmth isn't an issue. Food storage probably won't change. It's unlikely we will use the fridge in this unit most of the time.

[ebinmaine 73,714]

2 hours ago, Treepep said:

know and enjoy your company

 

I don't know how Trina stands to be around me.....

 

[squonk 44,165]

Campers bring back memories. Horrid ones from my time as a mechanic at an RV dealer. We had a customer's old Winnie that went thru a flood. For some reason he wanted us to fix it instead of buying another one with the insurance money. We did a beautiful job on it only for a month later when a drunk ran him off the road. 

 

My favorite camping outing was with my wife, son and our 3 dogs. 2 beagles and a lab in an old pop up. The dogs hogged the blankets on a cold night.  The elder beagle got into the snacks and ate the milkyway and 3 musketeers bars! 

[Handy Don 14,306]

30 minutes ago, squonk said:

The elder beagle got into the snacks and ate the milkyway and 3 musketeers bars! 

We six kids were in the pop-up and the parental units were in the back of the Travelall (similar to a modern Suburban). 

Kids watched in fascinated terror as a bear and two cubs batted our cooler back and forth across the campsite until it opened. They feasted and then ambled off. 

[ebinmaine 73,714]

47 minutes ago, Handy Don said:

as a bear and two cubs batted our cooler back and forth

 

This is why Trina bought a bear proof cooler

[Ed Kennell 42,505]

46 minutes ago, Handy Don said:

1 hour ago, squonk said:

 

We six kids were in the pop-up and the parental units were in the back of the Travelall (similar to a modern Suburban). 

Wise parents.   Watching the ferocious bear search for food from the steel box while the kids watched from the canvas box.

[SylvanLakeWH 29,011]

4 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

 

This is why Trina bought a bear proof cooler

Ain't no such thing... 

 

You know how to open it I presume...? 

 

Also, not sure about Maine, but in  many / most? parks out west, you leave any cooler out they confiscate it and you'll get a ticket... I had a buddy who was a ranger at Yellowstone. Oh man the cooler / bear stories... they don't read labels like "bear-proof"... 

[Handy Don 14,306]

1 minute ago, ebinmaine said:

This is why Trina bought a bear proof cooler

They might not be able to open it, but unless it is completely out of reach, they can bang it around until the contents are a mess. 

Our daughter lived in Snowmass CO for several years. Their outdoor trash containers (akin to dumpsters) required amazing human dexterity and reach to open--all in an effort to prevent bear access.