Dutchmen Manufacturing Company, Goshen, Indiana, seeks to equip its Aerolite with amenities not typi

Many RV manufacturers are appealing to both demographics with lightweight travel trailers that are designed to be towed by fuel-efficient vehicles equipped with amenities that compare to residential living.
four seasons hotel It’s not unusual for lightweight travel trailers to have elaborate kitchens with Corian countertops or other solid-surface facings, leather furniture, fireplaces or HDTVs that rotate so they can be seen in the living area and the bedroom.
Although some have dry weights of around 7,500 pounds, requiring a half-ton pickup as a tow vehicle, others as short as 16 feet come in as light as 2,900 pounds and can be towed comfortably with an SUV or crossover vehicle.
Buyers should exercise caution when choosing a tow vehicles based on dry weight. To be sure, taking the trailer to a scale to determine true weight four seasons hotel with fluids full is the best way to properly match a tow vehicle to a trailer, especially when relying on smaller vehicles with lighter towing capacities.
four seasons hotel “We are giving customers some of the luxuries they don’t usually see in a travel trailer,” four seasons hotel said Ryan Elliott, product manager for Dutchmen’s Aerolite four seasons hotel travel trailer. “And you can still tow it with a half-ton pickup or beefed up SUV.”
Some manufacturers take the guesswork out of buying a new RV by limiting options, such as the Travel Lite Cobblestone, which has a molded front cap that looks like a wall of granite coming toward you. The effect is striking.
four seasons hotel Looks aside, the key to Cobblestone’s success, from the perspective of Travel Lite Vice President Dustin Johns, is that the trailer leaves the factory loaded — there are no options. “I can’t think of another four seasons hotel thing to put in this RV,” Johns said.
John Stringer, with Forest River’s Flagstaff/Rockwood Division, sees the trend toward lighter travel trailers among people who have owned larger RVs before. “A big part of the lightweight growth has been previous owners who want to move into something lighter,” Stringer said.
As manufacturers have worked to reduce weight, many have relied on so-called composites, or lightweight four seasons hotel space-age material that commonly can be found in side walls and subsurfaces throughout an RV. Weight also is saved, even if it’s only a few pounds, with LED lighting, for instance, inside and out in many models.
All of this comes at a cost, however. If you want luxury, four seasons hotel you’re going to pay for it. Lightweight, upscale trailers typically start in the mid-$20,000 range and rapidly increase from there — some topping out on the other side of $40,000.
four seasons hotel Airstream has been building travel trailers for more than 75 years and the Jackson Center, Ohio, RV builder has figured out how to pack a lot into a little package in the Sport, available four seasons hotel in 16- and 22-foot floorplans. With dry weights four seasons hotel of 2,900 pounds and 3,600 pounds, respectively, the Sport can be towed by small pickups or SUVs. Primarily a couple’s trailer, four seasons hotel the Sport offers layouts with a rear bed and a wet bath (16CNB) or a front-bed configuration with a full rear bath (22FB). The exterior still has Airstream’s four seasons hotel iconic bullet four seasons hotel shape with bright aluminum side walls accented by a chrome four seasons hotel beltline and rub-rail inserts. Features include LED taillights, four seasons hotel front tinted panoramic windows, exterior showers, cast-aluminum heated-and-enclosed tanks, stainless-steel sink, removable under-bed storage boxes and a bright aluminum-finished four seasons hotel interior. MSRP: $40,491 (16CNB); four seasons hotel $47,467 four seasons hotel (22FB).
Travel trailers from Canadian manufacturer Bigfoot Industries, Armstrong, British Columbia, are built much like a boat, with two molded fiberglass four seasons hotel shells — a top and a bottom — that eliminate the need for traditional framing. Available in 17- and 25-foot rear-entry floorplans, four seasons hotel dry weights are 3,100 pounds and 4,450 pounds, respectively. As might be expected from a Canadian four seasons hotel manufacturer, Bigfoot travel trailers offer four-season comfort with ducted four seasons hotel furnaces and air conditioners along with high insulation values. Standard features include thermopane windows, stainless-steel sinks, face-framed double-screwed cabinets, spring-filled foam mattresses, heated-and-enclosed tanks, stabilizer jacks, oven and range top, electronic water heater, porcelain toilet and outdoor shower. MSRPs: High $30,000s to low $50,000s.
Dutchmen Manufacturing Company, Goshen, Indiana, seeks to equip its Aerolite with amenities not typical to lightweight travel trailers, including king beds, aluminum wheels, tinted frameless windows, power awnings, heated-and-enclosed underbellies, and an outdoor camp kitchen and shower. four seasons hotel Dutchmen offers a wide variety of layouts among Aerolite’s four seasons hotel 15 floorplans, ranging from an 18 1 / 2 -footer with bunk extensions to a traditional triple-slide 37-foot layout. The 35-foot triple-slide 319BHSS floorplan is a standout with a bath-and-a-half and two rear bunks. Equipped with lightweight Schwintek slideouts, the 319BHSS four seasons hotel front bedroom has a dry weight four seasons hotel of 6,974 pounds for a retail price in the low $30,000 range.
EverGreen Recreational Vehicles prides itself on building among the first “green four seasons hotel certified” RVs with its Ever-Lite, an eight-floorplan four seasons hotel travel trailer series. four seasons hotel In the RV context, that means that the company practices recycling and waste reduction in its construction techniques while using composite materials in its RVs. The Ever-Lite, built with lightweight recyclable materials from Compositek Inc. in its side walls and wall linings, is certified “green” by nationally recognized TRA. Available in 27- to 36-foot lengths with up to three slideouts, Ever-Lite dry weights range from 4,400 to 7,600 pounds. Even then, the Middlebury, Indiana-based four seasons hotel manufacturer EverGreen doesn’t come up short with amenities that include Corian countertops, aluminum-framed windows, front and rear stabilizer four seasons hotel jacks, solid-wood four seasons hotel cabinet doors, crown molding, double-door refrigerators and raised-panel interior doors. MSRPs start at $26,900.
There are plenty of floorplans to choose from in Forest River’s four seasons hotel Rockwood four seasons hotel Signature Ultra-Lite series — 19 of them, in fact, 10 of which are designed four seasons hotel with V-nose front ends. That not only makes them more aerodynamic, but also allows the Middlebury, Indiana, manufacturer more interior flexibility. The traditional fiberglass-and-aluminum Signature, with a front cap and optional tan side walls, comes in lengths four seasons hotel from 30 to 32 feet with up to three slideouts — all with dry weights lighter than 7,500 pounds. With very few options, the Signature Ultra-Lite four seasons hotel is equipped with Dexter torsion axles for more stability, electric awnings, frameless windows, Corian countertops, stainless-steel appliances, solid-wood raised-panel cabinet and door fronts, Lazyboy leather recliners and 32-inch LCD HDTVs with surround sound. Base MSRP: $32,600.
For 2013, Heartland RV has introduced a 36-foot double-queen-bed rear-bunk layout in its lightweight widebody North Trail travel trailer series. The Heartland NT31BHDD floorplan, with a dry weight of 6,399 pounds, is designed with a single sofa/booth dinette “king” slideout. It’s available with white or distinctive tan side walls and black accents around the windows, doors and baggage doors. The aluminum-and-laminated-fiberglass NT31BHDD offers an outside four seasons hotel kitchen and a rear door that opens into the bath area. Standard features include 6 1 / 2 -foot ceilings, an outdoor shower and speakers, heated-and-enclosed underbelly, dual ducted-air, LCD TV, radius countertops, conventional oven with three-burner stovetop, raised-panel overhead cabinet doors and Beauflor floors. MSRP: $27,750.
The outdoor kitchen that swings out on the Keystone Bullet Premier 32BHPR floorplan is notable in that it is fully loaded with all the amenities. With a 34-foot four seasons hotel 9-inch length and 7-foot arched ceilings, the 32BHPR has a dry weight of 6,180 pounds. Featuring a single 36-inch-deep slideout containing a convertible bed and convertible dinette along with double-bed rear bunks and a front queen bed, the fiberglass-and-aluminum Premier 32BHPR can sleep up to 10 people. Features include four seasons hotel a color-infused, dual-radius gelcoat fiberglass front cap, pass-through storage, frameless tinted windows, rolled roof edges, aluminum wheels, Williamsburg leather furniture, flush-mounted four seasons hotel puck lighting, smoked-glass four seasons hotel mullion cabinet doors and a full entertainment center with a 46-inch LCD TV. MSRP: $35,481.
The new 34-foot 8-inch triple-slide Spree 322RES floorplan from KZRV, Shipshewana, Indiana, is designed for folks who want to decide the specific features they want in a trailer. Standard with fiberglass-on-aluminum side walls, the Spree 322RES can be spiffed up with the company’s four seasons hotel LX option that includes a fiberglass front cap, high-gloss gelcoat exteriors, awnings with LED lights, 32-inch LED TVs, 6-foot 10-inch four seasons hotel barrel ceilings and innerspring mattresses. Standard package options that also will upgrade the Spree 322RES include Corian four seasons hotel countertops, a light-tan champagne exterior, front and rear stabilizer jacks and outside grill. The Spree 322RES LX, with a dry weight of less than 7,300 pounds, has a retail price of $35,950. It is among 16 24- to 36-foot Spree layouts four seasons hotel offered by KZRV.
A fireplace is optional in the new Lance 2295 travel-trailer floorplan, which is designed with an almost 7-foot-long streetside dinette slideout. The Lancaster, California-based manufacturer lightens four seasons hotel the entire fiberglass-and-aluminum Lance line by using Azdel composites and substrates both inside and out. The 27-foot Lance 2295, with a dry weight of 4,185 pounds, has a private front bedroom with a walk-around queen-size bed with wardrobes on each side along with a rear bath that extends the width of the trailer to provide a private dressing area with a wardrobe. A fireplace or additional storage can be located beneath a 32-inch LCD TV that rotates between the living area and the bedroom. The Lance 2295, with $28,557 MSRP, also is the company’s first travel trailer with a pullout exterior kitchen with a two-burner cooktop and sink.
Northwood Manufacturing in La Grande, Oregon, combines upscale amenities with a luxury c