Fleetwood Evolution trailers?

[skippy3k]

Does anyone here have any experience with the Fleetwood Evolution series of tent trailers? Here is a link for those who are interested in what I am talking about.

http://www.fleetwoodrv.com/evolution/

I am looking at the E1 (in other words, not the E2). I thought it would be a nice way to get my wife and two sons out camping. I come from a tent background, and thought this would be a nice compromise of tenting vs. comforts of home for wife and young kids. Opinions?

-- Scott

 

[syoung]

I have the E1 with all options (alloys, water heater, shower, air conditioning, furnace, outside grille, etc) and we LOVE it. We're thinking about trading it in on a motorhome though- we were planning a cross country trip but with a baby on the way we're thinking we'll tow the Disco instead of taking the trailer. It doesn't seem huge until you put it behind the Disco- but there's a lot of room in there. Tows like a dream, like it's not even there. Accidentally took it through downtown Manhattan once in traffic and didn't even hit anything.

 

[skippy3k]

Surprisingly enough, my podunk town has a dealer who is currently carrying both the E1 and E2. We are going to check it out tomorrow.

Question on the outside "shower"; is it tied into the water heater and therefore provides hot water? Or is it just a cold water wash station?

Are you able to manuever the trailer by hand....you know, pushing it into place and such?

And finally, the big question; how does it handle off-road?

I'm excited that someone here has had experience with it. It helps to know someone with first-hand experience rather than relying on the sales guy.

Thanks!
-- Scott

 

[syoung]

It's kinda heavy to manhandle, but two people can usually get it in position easily. Yes, the outside shower has hot water. The main water tank is not quite as large as I hoped though. It seemed big enough in theory, but at MAR we only used the trailer water for showers and we had to refill it a LOT. I'm wondering if maybe it had a leak or something. There's room underneath to adapt a larger tank or add another one.

For offroad use- a skid under the water tank would be easy to add, and necessary. We've done only mild offroad with it- dragging it through muddy ditches, etc. It's wide, and probably wouldn't do well on tight trails and a conversion to pintle style tongue would do wonders for it.

Cons:
Not as much cabinet space as my last pop-up, but more floor space.
Not terribly keen on interior colours- seemed cool at first, now seems kinda hokey.
Folding tongue jack/wheel is getting more and more play in it- rotating mechanism seems to be the weak point.
Attracts WAY too much attention- can't go anywhere without being delayed by questions.
Air Conditioner wiring is strange- I expected it to be hidden, but it isn't and you plug it into an AC outlet... I expected it to be hardwired.
AirCon requires a large generator or 30 amp service (can get by on 20amp, but can't run everything at once)
Three way fridge is a good brand (Dometic), but it doesn't seem to work well
BIG theft risk- as it draws a lot of attention. I'm afraid to leave it unattended at a campground.

Pros:
Furnace has a thermostat on the other side of camper- keeps temps accurate and works great.
Easy to set up
Front deck fits 5 Jerry cans, 3000KW generator, 4 10 gallon water jugs, two 48qt coolers and has room to spare. Can fit a dirt bike too.
Beds are large
Outside grille that hooks into the propane lines- that rocks!
Water heater takes only about 10 minutes to get to temp

 

[skippy3k]

Excellent info. Very much appreciated Steve.

-- Scott

 

[syoung]

Good luck! Remember to work 'em like a car dealer. They can discount them a bit- don't let them try the old "trailers aren't like cars, these are fixed price" kinda stuff. I paid MSRP but I had them upgrade to twin batteries (interstate deep cycle), upgrade the electric breakaway box to a better one, spare LP tank, Coleman AirCon (all ac units are dealer install- but trailer is 'ac ready') and a bunch of little accessories- essentially $1300 worth of extras at no charge. These were new on the market for 05 when I got mine, so it wasn't as if they were sitting on the lot for awhile or anything.

 

[dsstephens]

sidebar

syoung - the question must be asked...were you following that bus around, or did you just end up at the same place?

I would have been following it...

 

[syoung]

I was in NY doing some work for an Air Force rescue group- so stopped off at a hotel for my last night before taking the ferry North to do some wheelin and campin in VT. Got up early in the AM and went to leave the hotel and I was blocked in- by this bus! I knocked on the door- HOPING for that "Dumb and Dumber" kind of scene with women in bikinis etc... some grumpy old guy got out and moved the bus. They had a minivan on a trailer behind it- so some other very worn out looking guy hopped in that and went to the grocery store to get supplies. No girls going wild... anywhere.

 

[Rover Puppy]

some grumpy old guy got out and moved the bus.

That's hilarious!! Way too funny!!

I was wondering what you were doing near that bus - but I didn't really want to know, so I decided not to ask.

 

[dsstephens]

I was wondering what you were doing near that bus - but I didn't really want to know, so I decided not to ask.

Alas, I do not have the same restraint. Had to ask. Vicarious living being what it is, and all.

 

[Roverless]

Scott,

If you aren't sold on the Evolution, Starcraft has an offroad series as well I own the Starcraft 11RT and absolutely love it. The cassette toilet makes a world of difference for the wife . The offroad campers are starting to gain popularity and more models have shown up this year. Like steve we have only done some moderate offroading but have been able to take a lot more places then a regular popup would go and we still visit our sites were we use to tent camp. There is also a forum that I found that has loads of information on popups and that is www.popupexplorer.com. Hope this helps out and good luck with your hunt

Here is a link to the RT Series by Starcraft:
http://www.starcraftrv.com/starcraft_folding_campers/starcraft_rt_series.html

 

[skippy3k]

Thanks for the link. I did check out the Starcraft series trailers, but only online. We might swing by a place to check them out prior to purchase.

The toilet thing surprised the heck out of me. I researched all different models trying to find one with a toilet and shower. I figured that was a minimum to make my wife happy. So when she and I checked out the Evolution trailers, she immediately nixed the toilet! She wants one without! Said it was too close to the cooking area and grossed her out. I said "but what about the shower option"? Nope. She said we can hose the kids off outside, and we can rig up a shower thing for us. Right on!

-- Scott

 

[dsstephens]

how's the headroom, and how many kids do you have? My wife and I have been thinking about one of these as well. She'll go camping but would prefer something a little more. we've got a 3 and 5 year old, who love camping and I think would like one of these as well. Is there enough storage room to haul all the ancillary crap? From what steve said, certainly sounds like it, but I think that unit is a bit larger.

 

[syoung]

The Evolution has lots of open space in it, which my previous camper didn't. A chemical crapper will fit in there if you wanted one, but chemical crappers give me the willies. An interior shower would be ok- but there are drawbacks there as they take up space. It's just tough to fit all that crap in a small camper. The starcraft is really nice- the availability was the issue when I got my Evo, but I still think I would have stayed with the Evo because the Starcraft would't fit in my garage and the Evo would.
FWIW- for the outside shower, you can get a shower enclosure from Dick's Sporting Goods for $89 that rocks.
It always amazes me as I crawl into the big bed in the back of the trailer how big they are when opened up.

 

[skippy3k]

I've got a 6 month old and a 2 1/2 year old. All four of us fit in the trailer really nicely when we checked it out on the lot. My 2 1/2 year old was crawling over everything while my wife and I opened every drawer and door we could find....not a bad test of it in actual use. I'm 6' 1" and didn't feel close to the ceiling at all, and I'm usually particular about those kinds of things.

The E2 has a huuuuuuge storage platform on the front. So big in fact, that we ended up shying away from it because we were afraid we might actually bring enough crap to fill it. The E1 has a smaller platform on the front which was perfect for us. (Plus, it will give me an excuse to get a roof rack.) I think the inside storage will be just enough for the day to day items you need; nothing more. Steve, is there storage under the seats at the table? I think there was....

I think this weekend we are going back to have "the talk" with the sales guy. He is going to the same college I graduated from, so maybe there is an alumni discount or something.

-- Scott

 

[syoung]

There is storage under the seats. Under one is the electrical panel etc. I keep the fill hose and non-combustibles in there. When you fold down the sink to stow the trailer- the bedding all can be stuffed into the sink base. The seat that doesn't have the electrical panel can store an amazing amount of stuff. We can put a 48 bottle case of water and several days of food, plates, paper towel rolls and other junk there. You'd be shocked how much can go in there if you pack carefully.
I think with kids, the camper is the way to go. Tent camping is fun solo, but with a family in tow- these trailers rock. The furnace in the Evo is awesome- unlike a lot of trailers, they had the forethought to put the thermostat on the opposite end of the trailer from the blower/heater.
You should be able to either get them to come down $1300 or get $1300 in add-ons. I went for lots of add-ons like air conditioner etc. Get an extra crank for raising the roof- loose that and you're screwed on a trip. Get one and BOLT it to the underside. It'll be a pain to unbolt it and use it- but it will be there. Also, you can use a socket on an extension with a cordless drill to set the outriggers and it will save a lot of time.

 

[Roverless]

I definately give the thumbs up on taking a cordless drill. They have an adapter for the lift crank as well but you have to be carefull not to over torc it I will have to say once you buy one you will wonder how managed with out it And make sure you take paper and pencil on your first couple of voyages to write down the things you need and don't need. We are working on version 3.1 of our list

 

[skippy3k]

Thanks for everyone's advice. On the way home from work today, the wife and I stopped by, negotiated the pants off the guy (not literally), and bought ourselves a little 'ol trailer. I avoided the $350 "dealer prep fee", the $200 "we'll install the brake controller for you" fee, cut out the tax, AND knocked the price down.

Steve - I'm curious about the dual battery upgrade you did. Our dealer didn't know anything about it. I may have some more questions about how you did it once I get a chance to give the trailer a "once over" this weekend.

This trailer gives me something to dream about while I am stuck at my desk all day. I think we'll be camping the weekend after next.

Scott

 

[syoung]

The dual battery conversion is simple- I got a cheap boat battery box just like the one on there already and mounted it with a cheap isolator.

 

[alex3324]

The dual battery conversion is simple- I got a cheap boat battery box just like the one on there already and mounted it with a cheap isolator.

Steve, I'm hooked on this thing as well. Do you have any interior pics showing the beds and galley area?