# Camper Reviews



## wv outbacker

Hello Everyone!!

I am asking this question for my younger sister who is in the process of buying a new camper. She is looking at hybrids due to the weight factor in order to get the maximum amount of space. She has done the pop-up thing for 10 years and now is ready to make the change. Two of the campers that she is looking at are the Rockwood Roo 19 and the Dutchmen Kodiak 181E. Has anyone had one of these brands before getting your Outback or know of anyone that has. Looking for reviews or info if you have had any problems with either one.

Finally got all of my sisters rv'ing. Middle sister just bought a motor home







and oldest sister is becoming an Outbacker!!









Thanks in advance for any input!!


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## thefulminator

No real experience with hybrids but I went through the same decision process. There were a few things that drove me away from a hybrid.

You are still sleeping in a tent just like a tent trailer. That means the same old problems as a tent trailer. Condensation dripping from the tent ceiling in the morning. Being able to hear everything happening outside of the trailer. Being really cold at night. Blistering heat in direct sunlight. Trapped moisture and mold when folding in the beds in the rain. Not much material for a critter to have to chew through if they want your food. Not resistant to any human intruders that might want your stuff.

On the other hand. Outbacks have great insulation so you can stay at the temperature you want. Again because of the insulation much less noise gets in. Less problems packing up in the rain. Secure against critters and people.

Just my $.02.


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## CdnOutback

We had a Kodiak hybrid before we got our Outback. We had a great time with it and if it wasn't for the fact that we retired and are spending greater amounts of time in the TT, we would have kept it. Ours was the 235.


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## Doug & Barb

We had a Trail Cruiser 19' by R-vision before our Outback. It was nice until it started leaking (pretty much right away) around the front seal mostly when in storage or traveling. The front panel began to mold and we really missed the room a slide gives. Thats when we purchased our Outback. We love it! We can camp much longer into the fall with the OB and the set up and take down is so much easier. I would suggest taking a good look at the front seal of any hybrid you may purchase and see if the manufacturers have fixed that leaking yet.


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## Tangooutback

thefulminator said:


> No real experience with hybrids but I went through the same decision process. There were a few things that drove me away from a hybrid.
> 
> You are still sleeping in a tent just like a tent trailer. That means the same old problems as a tent trailer. Condensation dripping from the tent ceiling in the morning. Being able to hear everything happening outside of the trailer. Being really cold at night. Blistering heat in direct sunlight. Trapped moisture and mold when folding in the beds in the rain. Not much material for a critter to have to chew through if they want your food. Not resistant to any human intruders that might want your stuff.
> 
> On the other hand. Outbacks have great insulation so you can stay at the temperature you want. Again because of the insulation much less noise gets in. Less problems packing up in the rain. Secure against critters and people.
> 
> Just my $.02.


X2. I stepped up from a popup to an Outback instead of a hybrid for very same reasons.

The gains to go hybrid over popup are a full up refrigerator and bathroom with fairly decent water tanks in exchange for a substantial loss in fuel mileage and free storage in my garage.


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## beth323

We had a forest river 1999 21Ft shamrock. A sister to the rockwood roo. We owned it for 8 years and she served us well. Quality was fair. We took very good care of it. We got tired of the set up and take down plus we wanted a real bed and comfortable seating at night. We would recommend it if $$ and weight was an issue with the tow vechile


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## Dub

We went from a popup to a TT and skipped over the hybrids due to the reasons listed in many posts above. You can get some really nice lightweight campers. I had a 25ft (interior) Fun Funder with a rear slide that weighed 4300 empty and 5500 loaded. I towed it all over the place with my V6 Tacoma. They market the FF's to people with smaller SUVs and on the Fun Finder forum tons and tons of people tow the 18ft models with V6 mini vans. They are fairly inexpensive too, I got my on closeout brand new for $13,700 OTD.


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## Camping Fan

I went from a Coleman pop-up to a Jayco Kiwi (now Jay Feather) hybrid, had the Kiwi for 4 years before getting my Outback. If your sister has had a pop-up for 10 years, she is aware of the pros and cons of canvas. The big changes from a pop up to a hybrid are more space, bigger fridge with a freezer, bathroom with shower, more storage and the biggie - no more popping up and down! You do still have to deal with opening up the end beds when you get home if they were closed up wet, but that's a lot less work then opening up the pop up to dry out. If she has no problem with that, hybrids are a good way to maximize space and dedicated sleeping areas (i.e. no converting from couch/dinette to bed and back every day) while minimizing weight and towing length of the trailer. She might be able to find out more information about specific pros and cons for those models here - Yahoo HybridRV Group. I spent a lot of time on that group when I had my Kiwi, and they were always helpful.


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## raynardo

I purchased Tahoe Lite 19DT travel trailer hybrid before switching to my current OB. I pulled it with my then Ford Ranger with a 4.0l V6 - I was at it's maximum limit. So, I went out and bought my current F-250 diesel and then decided a could pull a much bigger trailer, so that's how I ended up with what I have now (it's in my signature, below).

People have mentioned all the shortcomings of a hybrid previously, but I'd like to add one more - supposedly when you camp in areas where there may be bear traffic and since most folks store their food inside these trailers, you're not allowed to pull out the tent sides - forcing you to sleep on the couch or converted dinette. So if you're taking a family along and you're losing the added sleeping area of these pop-outs, you may want to make the full step to a full hard-sided trailer. If so, I would heartedly recommend an Outback in your price range.


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## MJRey

If weight is a concern take a look at the new Lance Camper trailers.

http://www.lancecamper.com/travel-trailers/

They're fairly lightweight and have pretty good layouts.


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## Steffanie622

Tell her to enjoy! Most of the hybrids now are pretty similiar and it looks like the layout on these 2 are the same so tell her to physically look at both and which gives her the most bang for her buck... shower surround is a nice feature, having the dinette that doesn't need to be broken down for travel is nice too, biggest water/black tanks would be something to pay attention too also. I had a TSE191 by R-Vision and had no issues.

Steffanie


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## still2gethr

wv outbacker said:


> Hello Everyone!!
> 
> I am asking this question for my younger sister who is in the process of buying a new camper. She is looking at hybrids due to the weight factor in order to get the maximum amount of space. She has done the pop-up thing for 10 years and now is ready to make the change. Two of the campers that she is looking at are the Rockwood Roo 19 and the Dutchmen Kodiak 181E. Has anyone had one of these brands before getting your Outback or know of anyone that has. Looking for reviews or info if you have had any problems with either one.
> 
> Finally got all of my sisters rv'ing. Middle sister just bought a motor home
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> and oldest sister is becoming an Outbacker!!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks in advance for any input!!


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## raynardo

I owned a hybrid (a 2001 Tahoe Lite) before I owned my present Obie.

Here's the general information that should apply to all hybrids:

*Pluses*

reduced weight
less expensive
*Minuses*

a pain in the patootie to set-up after a long day
a bigger pain if it's been raining and you have get on the road, putting away wet canvas is a bad idea
the tent slide-outs are colder in the cold and hotter in the heat
if you're staying in an area that's also a bear habitat, you may not be allowed to open them when camping
After owning ours for less than six months we bought a full-size hard-sided trailer and have never looked back.


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