New Member from BC, Canada :)

[gary_lucas]

Just recently picked up a 2004 GMC Sierra :)

http://www.thedieselpageforums.com/photopost/data/500/medium/IMG_20120510_165114.jpg

And with the current camper (probably up sizing next year)

http://www.thedieselpageforums.com/photopost/data/500/medium/IMG_20120510_170701.jpg

Were doing a trip this weekend, I'm planning on taking some better pictures then :)

[a5150nut]

Well welcom to TDP and have fun this weekend. Waiting to see the updated picures.

[Beedee]

Welcome Gary.

Always good to see another BCer here.

[gary_lucas]

Here we are, Othello Tunnels Campground in Hope BC.

http://www.thedieselpageforums.com/photopost/data/500/medium/TrucktrailerSmall.jpg

I forgot to take pictures until we were just leaving, so the trailer is folded down. Here's an older picture with our previous tow vehicle:

http://www.thedieselpageforums.com/photopost/data/500/medium/4runnerAndTrailer.jpg

The 4runner is a 1998 6cyl, the Trailer weighs about 3000 loaded (max 3500). The 4runner was theoretically rated for 5000, but I think the 14 intervening years just don't work out.

Everytime I went over a bump I could hear the rear bottoming out... It was kind of scary and uncomfortable to drive.

The new truck doesn't even seem to notice the extra weight, if anything it just rides a little smoother :) With the 4runner In heavy rain I would be doing 80kph on the highway trying to keep in one lane... The new Sierra is just totally rock solid at all times, no end of power... It seems to be more fuel efficient... Far, far more comfortable... Just an absolute world of difference.

@BeeDee, if your in the lower mainland area can you recommend a good shop? The right ball joint needs doing and I want por-15 coated on the under body (surface rust).

Next up I'm looking for a larger trailer :)

Gary

[Beedee]

Sorry Gary, I live on the Island so can't help you there.

How do you like the Chalet trailer, I was looking at them online a few years ago but have yet to see one up close

Brian

[gary_lucas]

It's a great camping trailer, but somewhat lacking in terms of longer road-trips.

The shower / bathroom is serviceable, but you wouldn't want to use it if you have another option. I'm a big guy (6'4" 350lbs) so there's about 1" on either side of my shoulders in there. The bed is kinda sketchy, It's not as useable, the sloped roof means you only really have access to about 2/3's of it. It is a queen sized bed, but between me and my wife I feel really cramped for space. The fresh and grey water tanks are only 17 gallons, my wife and I can camp for 2 days and take one shower each before we run out. There are no indicators for when the tanks are filling up, so we did have one near horror story when our shower backed up to within about 1/2 an inch of overflowing into our camper (grey water only, but still really bad)

Storage is an issue, the walls fold down so much of the storage space you'd expect doesn't exist. Overall fit and finish is probably above average for the price point, I had to get mine raised because the tires were rubbing on the frame when I hit a bump (@3000lb load, rated is 3500), however Chalet kicked in for the cost as warranty work, I haven't received the cheque yet. Also, the Thetford cassette toilet is a bit of a pain, it's a suitcase device that you take out of the camper and you can dump into a toilet or sani station. However, it's only about 5 gallons so even with only using it at night for #1's I find I'm needing to dump it after only 2 nights.

I will say for them is that they do stand behind their products, we had an assortment of minor issues when we got the trailer. I called ahead and made an appointment, we drove to Oregon and visited the factory. It was like a racetrack pitstop, 4 workers came out and fixed all the minor issues within about an hour.

The low profile makes it an easy towing trailer, and in terms of setup / teardown it really only takes me about 2 minutes to put the roof up / down. Of course then like all trailers you spend 5-10 minutes levelling it. The downside of the pop up aspect, is that you can really screw yourself by forgetting to either batten down the dormer (On some XL models there's a dormer, check the website. Numerous horrors stories of people who got onto the highway and lost their dormer, we have the XL1930 which doesn't have one). Also, if you forget to unlatch the 2 sections of the door you'll regret that too.

Again, for weekend camping trips it's fine.

I wouldn't want to live in it for extended trips, but many other people have.

My wife and I are looking for a used 25-28' Airstream starting in about February next year. If this sounds appealing to you let me know, I'll truck it out there if you wanna take a look :)

Our big plan with the trailer was to take extended road-trips in it, the Chalet isn't what we were looking for but I can see it being ideal for people who just want to camp in their camper.


Sorry Gary, I live on the Island so can't help you there.

How do you like the Chalet trailer, I was looking at them online a few years ago but have yet to see one up close

Brian