In a press release this past week, the travel trailer division of Lancaster, California based Lance Camper has been identified by Statistical Survey’s RV Business Intelligence Solutions as the top selling composite built travel trailer in the 14′-23′ length range for the first half of 2017.
If you’ve never seen a Lance up close, do yourself a favor and find a dealer near you and see why they have the reputation as one of the finest trailers built in the industry today. And their construction is paramount to their success. It starts with cutting edge synthetic materials such as Azdel paneling, LitePly wood, aircraft grade aluminum, molded TPO caps, high density block foam insulation, PVC roofing and Lumilux high-gloss fiberglass. It continues with Lance optimally arranging those materials utilizing the advantages of Solidworks computer design and implementing them with the precision of CNC laser guided machinery.
I’ve been a huge fan of Lance for a long time, and that was well before they came on board to partner with us on The Small Trailer Enthusiast. Like I do when anyone asks me about Lance travel trailers, I always direct them to this factory tour video at their Lancaster, California facility. You’ll soon realize they are state of the art and constructed with precision.
Aliner has been building hard sided pop up campers since 1984, and they’ve been generally accepted in the industry as the standard which other manufacturers follow in that category. In the late 2000’s, Aliner experimented with conventional small travel trailers with the Marco and the Amelia, which were short lived with minimal success. This year, Aliner has made a comeback in the small travel trailer segment with the introduction of the 13 foot Ascape.
The Ascape is produced in Aliner’s Mt Pleasant, Pennsylvania’s plant. In these times where every manufacturer is copy-catting what everyone else is doing, it’s refreshing to see someone come out with something that no one else has. And despite its diminutive size, the Ascape is loaded with a lot of amenities.
One of the unique features of the Ascape is the rear entry door, which includes a drop floor creating a generous 6’4″ of interior head room. When the dinette is converted into a bed formation, it creates a very roomy 64″ x 77″ sleeping area.
The Ascape packs a lot of standard options, including outside shower, 40 watt front roof mounted solar panel, electric brakes, 13″ aluminum wheels, 3.0 cubic foot refrigerator with freezer, 6 gallon water heater, range hood with fan, Fantastic Fan, screen door, LED lighting throughout, 2 burner range top stove, deep stainless steel sink with pull out faucet, microwave oven, dual 20 lbs propane tanks, and 16K BTU furnace.
When it comes to options the Ascape offers, there are just a few and they come in one package: 9200 BTU roof mounted A/C, a 5 foot Carefree awning that mounts over the rear door, Thetford cassette toilet, and a 23′ flat screen TV with a Bluetooth sound bar.
I did mention above that the optional air conditioner is a roof mount. However, for a period this year, Aliner was installing wall mounted units, which is how these units I looked over at Mount Comfort RV were equipped. I’ve been told that newer Ascapes being produced will have the roof mounted unit. If you go with option package that includes A/C, this will negate the standard Fantastic Fan. However, if you want both the wall mounted A/C and the Fantastic Fan, as you can see from these pics, there are some out there.
As for the exterior, the Ascape is a smooth aluminum siding with a one piece of aluminum on the roof. Four stabilizer jacks are standard as is the front mounted spare tire. The graphics packages offers four different color options. The green pictured above is standard, but you can also pick from black, red, and blue.
As for overall specs, the Ascape is 13 feet from hitch to tail, and fully optioned will weigh right around 1700 lbs. Exterior height is 7’5″ without A/C and 8’4″ with the roof top A/C. The box width is 66″ and the total width is 73″. The hitch weight is 170 lbs and the GVWR is 2500 lbs, giving you somewhere around 700-800 lbs of cargo capacity.
So you might ask who is the Ascape made for? Several! It’s great if you have a tow vehicle with minimal tow capacity. It’s also a perfect fit for a growing segment of buyers, and that would be single females looking for something easy to tow with minimal effort to camp in. I also see this set up well for the adventure outdoors buyers looking for something they can use off the grid, as the standard solar panel and dual propane tanks can offer some extended boondocking. Or it’s also good for those of you who like unique, cool looking small trailers with good features. Overall, my opinion is positive on the Ascape. It would be nice if there was a wet bath feature, but given the small footprint of the Ascape, a wet bath would take away much of its storage, so it would take some creativity. However, Aliner has been pretty creative over the last 30 plus years they’ve been in business, so if it can be done, they’ll be able to.
While at Mount Comfort RV looking over the Ascape, I also did a little 10 minute walk thru video for you to get a little more up close look. A fully loaded Ascape has an MSRP of just over $20,000, so you should be able to fetch one somewhere in the mid teens range.
After the launch of the Tommy Bahama special edition 28′ travel trailer and touring coach, Jackson Center, Ohio based Airstream is expanding the Tommy Bahama line with the addition of a 19′ travel trailer.
The 19′ floorplan sleeps four and has a rear corner bed and rear corner bathroom with a 40″ x 91″ front dinette, 4 cubic foot refrigerator, entertainment center with Polk audio, and custom plantation wood shutters and blinds. Not to mention most of the upscale accoutrements one would expect from an Airstream with an MSRP of $75,900.