Our Tiny Trailer

Our RV journey has been a long one.  My parents had a lot of different styles of camper over the years.  I knew a pop up was too much work (set up and take down), so we wet our feet with a used hard trailer with pop out beds. It was roomy, but didn't stay warm or cool well and wasn't sound insulated.

Antiqua

We searched for the right camper to meet our needs and listed the Antiqua for sale. Our criteria for the second camper was no canvas, 3 beds, and light enough to be towed by a V8 Toyota 4Runner.  We chose the V-Cross Vibe.

Vibe (with the Hensley Hitch)

Our first ride home was probably an omen - we immediately had sway issues and returned to the dealership to have them adjust the sway bar.  Later we upgraded to a Hensley hitch which is an amazing contraption that completely resolved our sway issues.  Once we'd used the camper a bit, we found that we disliked that we couldn't load the refrigerator with the slide out in, it was dark inside, and took too long in set up and take down.  We realized that what took the longest was setting up and cleaning out the septic, which we didn't really need anyway.  We mostly used the bathhouses because trying to bathe 4 people in one tiny camper isn't very efficient anyway. In the end, the biggest issue was that it was a little heavy for our Toyota 4Runner which meant it was more costly and difficult to tow long distances especially on steep mountain grades. We went back to tent camping and decided to sell or trade it in.

Big Agnes + Target Tent in WV

Though difficult in many ways, tent camping was good for us. It helped us realize what our trailer wants really were: hard walls for sound and temperature insulation, heating and air conditioning for all weather camping, comfortable beds that could stay set up, and a bright, happy interior.

After months of researching tiny trailers, we found the perfect trailer: the Great West Vans/Sterling RV Sidekick (formerly known as Trillium). We had considered similar models like the Scamp but the Sidekick quality/fit/finish was much more appealing.  We almost bought the 1300 but thankfully went with the 1500 with a 54" wide bed/table instead of a 47" wide bed/table. 

Sidekick 1500

We've been so happy with this little guy.  No more waiting in line to clean septic lines in the camper.  We bought a glorified bucket for those urgent night runs, but usually we just go in the woods.  We were able to pick out our flooring, faucet, and fabric which REALLY made the interior feel homey to us. The salesman's mother even made blackout curtains to match the upholstery fabric!

Sidekick Table / Bed

The table becomes the bed, but we leave the bed assembled and eat at the picnic table at the campsite.  It's nice to have  a table inside if it rains or the temps are very high or low, but most of the time we just eat on the master bed if it's too cold outside.

Sidekick Kitchen & Bunks

The bunk folds down to make a couch, but we those beds in place also.

We've had a few minor complaints but overall we still love this trailer!