Lazy Daze Owners' Group

Go figure. Now I'm looking for something with more room than a camper but that can still be towed out into desolate places. Several areas we boondocked this spring had roads going off into the desert that we took bike rides on and found wonderful campsites with nobody for miles. No way to get the LD or a large trailer into them but a small high clearance trailer towed by our 4x4 Tundra would do it easy. What's not easy is finding something like that of any real quality. Maybe LD should start making a little trailer. 

Reminder that Jayco is owned by Thor Ind. as of 2016.  And Thor's reputation for quality builds is....well     

You might then consider a fiberglass Escape trailer. They come in a rare 5th wheel version also. Good quality and fairly light so you could pull with your Tundra, and highly rated by the RV Consumer Group. You can order them (or find one used) with a 4" lift for more clearance.

Home Page - Escape Trailer Industries

You can ask more questions here:  Escape Trailer Owners Community

They are located in BC Canada so not too far from your location, I think, and are custom made to order, selling direct from the factory, similar to Lazy Daze.  Prices listed on the website are in Canadian Dollars so don't have a heart attack when you see them!

"...three miles *up a* dirt road..."

Hey Sawyer, that's kind of a 'rocky' step off that deck! Figgure you've got long legs.  

Like the bird house!

In a lot of ways, the RVing/camping lifestyle was perhaps a mere blip on the screen; a brief moment in time when certain elements came together to create a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Consider that most of US Nat'l parks/forests, interstates and campgrounds extant today were first developed in the 1950/60s. However, 50-60 years ago, the population was maybe 1/2 of what it is today. But more importantly, around 1/2 of the earth (Soviet block, Chicoms + India) had decided to opt out of participating in the global economy.

That meant that any American with even a modest income could travel the entire US and enjoy it relatively empty and alone to themselves. Campgrounds weren't full (except for perennial high demand spots like Yosemite), so there wasn't a need to make extensive plans and reservations far in advance, in essence ruining the entire element of adventure, wandering and exploration.

Fast forward to today, and no one who does any traveling at all needs to be told that the E Euros, Chinese & Indians are more than making up for lost time. Those countries/regions represent around 2 *billion* new tourists, flush with new earned wealth, all eager to see the famous sights they've been exposed to for generations. And now, with a fairly inexpensive group tour, they can jet in, get on a bus, and be there.

Now, unlike many others, I'm not complaining. What some of us enjoyed yesteryear was the **anomaly**, not the baseline standard. Who, after getting a free filet mignon steak, would complain they now have to return to their daily fare? Only someone who didn't realize the filet was the exception, not the rule.

The final kicker that really impacts RVing however is the lack of campgrounds. Federal, state and even private campgrounds are practically impossible to build, so the total inventory hasn't kept up with demand. Result: the need to book reservations 6 months in advance, creating a big downer for anyone used to getting on the road and flying by the seat of their pants.

The irony of all this is that it's come full circle back to hotels. Unlike campgrounds, there's no end to the number of mid-range chain hotels (eg Hilton garden inn, HI express, etc) that can be developed along the interstate. So, hotel room rates/availability remains very reasonable, making it easy to plot a trip on the fly.

There's no use looking back to the 60s when the country was practically empty. (I grew up in Santa clara when only the early defense contractors were there. There were still plenty of orchards and ag going on.) We thought Yosemite was crowded if there were a few tour buses. LOL

Moral of the story: adapt - don't try and fit a square plug in a round hole. Don't complain or get bitter. Rather, look back that you were lucky as hell. And figure out how to game and play the system as it exists today.