The Walleye Magazine

Pulling it Behind You

A Look at Three Types of Trailers

By Matt Prokopchuk, Photos courtesy of the Canadian Recreational Vehicle Association

Much like motorhomes, trailers are designed to bring a touch of comfort to the camping experience, although how much can vary widely here. There are a number of different classifications of trailers, but we’ll examine three common ones you’ll see on the road: the standard travel trailer, the fifth wheel, and the folding camper (or tent trailer).

Travel Trailers

According to the Go RVing Canada coalition—a group of manufacturers, dealers, and campground operators that advocates for the domestic recreational vehicle industry—the travel trailer is the most popular type of RV on the road, largely due to the number of different models and configurations. Pulled behind a vehicle using a bumper or frame hitch, travel trailers can range in size from the ultralight “teardrop” trailers (or the classic Boler) which can be pulled by a family car, up to ones well over 10 metres in length. The kinds of amenities inside, along with the prices, vary widely here, too. The Go RVing coalition puts the general range of a new travel trailer at between $20,000 to $120,000.

Fifth Wheels

A unique type of trailer RV, this one is so-named due to the fifth wheel hitch required to secure the trailer to a pickup truck for towing. It’s also easy to spot by its overhang that comes over top of the towing pickup truck’s cabin. “It can be more luxurious because it can be longer,” Shane Devenish, president of the Canadian Recreational Vehicle Association, says of the fifth wheel. “It’s really neat the way it’s designed, because usually in that overhang part is the bedroom, so you actually step up into a pretty large bedroom, there could be a washroom up there too, and then in the main part, you’d have your kitchen and […] living areas.” The Go RVing Canada coalition says you can expect to pay between $45,000 to $160,000 for a new fifth wheel.

Folding Campers

Also known as a fold down trailer, a pop-up trailer, or a tent trailer, these lightweight RVs have either a rigid or canvas top and side walls and are folded down or stowed on their chassis when they’re in transit, then deployed at the campsite, according to the Canadian Recreational Vehicle Association. Tent trailers tend to be the least expensive, Devenish says (the Go RVing Canada coalition puts the general price range at between $10,000 and $25,000 and adds that they are often bought as a first trailer).

“It has to do, too, with how luxurious you want to get, how many places do you need for sleeping, […] and do you want a big kitchen or are you OK with cooking outside?” Devenish says. “There’s all kinds of reasons why people might choose one or the other.”

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2021-06-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-06-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://thewalleye.pressreader.com/article/283253100821865

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