RVs for Autumn, part 2: For back country dry camping, Ron & Sharon Vail go for small travel trailer

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For cool autumn camping, RVers Ron and Sharon Vail of Powell Butte, Ore., opted for a 2014 Lance travel trailer 1985 that they tow with a 2015 Dodge Ram 2500 4 WD diesel.

+RonSharonVail_LanceTT_JulianneGCrane+The Lance has “everything we were looking for in size, convenience and features,” said Ron Vail, an upland bird hunter, “yet it is still small enough to take into the back country.”

The overall hitch length of a Lance 1985 is 23-feet, 3-inches with an interior floor length of 18-feet, 9-inches. The dry weight is 3,925 pounds, with a GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating) of 5,700 pounds.

“Storage was important to me,” said Sharon Vail, “as well as a good kitchen and a comfortable bed. I also like the full-width bathroom and shower. With a super-slide dinette, it has plenty of room for both of us. The bed folds up so there is a lot of floor space during the day.”

During hunting season the Vails travel to the mountains for grouse, to low agricultural land for pheasant, and to straight up and down terrain for chukar. “We like to camp next to a river or lake for fishing,” added Sharon Vail.

+RonVail_Paige_SharonVailA favorite hunting scenario for Ron Vail is: “I’ve been in the field all day with Paige, my Brittany, and I’ve got a few birds. I’m cold, wet and tired, but I had a blast. I come back to camp and the trailer is warm, I smell dinner cooking when I open the door and Sharon has a martini waiting for me. That’s a good day.”

According to GoRVing.com, conventional travel trailers vary in size from 12 to 35-feet, range in cost from $8,000 to $95,000, with sleeping arrangements for up to ten.

Part 3 of a 5-part series on Autumn RVings will discuss smaller rugged pull-behind tear drop trailers for off-grid camping

To read the complete series on ‘RVs for Autumn,’ click here.

Julianne G. Crane

Photos: (top) RVers Sharon and Ron Vail chose a 22-foot Lance travel trailer because it has “everything we were looking for in size, convenience and features, yet it was still small enough to take into the back country.” (Julianne G. Crane). Bottom: Ron Vail and his Brittany, Paige, out hunting upland birds on BLM land. (Sharon Vail).

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