Love how you video taped your casita. You were very thorough, you also explained how everything works and did demo. and really let viewers get a good look! Very well taken care of...and is like new!
I have also a Casita 17 ft Spirit Deluxe. Have pulled it over 15,000 miles with no problems. This is my 15th rv I've owned in the past 45 years and the best one of all.
I doubt this very much. I don't think any RV awning can handle that. Best to take your awning down when it's windy or whenever you leave camp. Staking your awning down will help, but it's not worth the risk of leaving it up in wind much more than 15 - 20 mph, in my opinion.
There are at least two videos on YT about the floor of the Casita rotting. One was at the Toilet. When being removed to put in a composting toilet major rot was found. The other related to water getting in the hole for the support pole of the table. I was surprised because I had heard that Casitas don't rot. The floor is plywood coated with fiberglass but when the floor is breached by drilling then rot can and does happen.
Do you tow your Casita with the 4Runner? If so, does it do the job adequately? We are planning to buy a Casita and have been considering a 4Runner for our tow vehicle.
We no longer have the Casita. Went to a bit larger RV to accommodate grandkids. The 4 Runner did a more than adequate job, for sure. You will know you are towing something and the 4 runner will downshift on hills. A bigger tow vehicle is always nice, but you have to balance out “how much tow vehicle you need”, vs everyday driving. I would say, if you’re doing a ton of hills and/or long distance towing, you may want a bit more power than the 4 runner.
Have seen a LOT of Casita tours and this one is my favorite. One gets a really good idea of what it feels like to be inside. Matt, what camera did you use to shoot this? Also, did you use a stabilizer when you shoot some of the sections? - very steady camera work.
Andrew King This was our personal Casita. You can find info on them here: casitatraveltrailers.com/ We needed to go a bit larger to accommodate our grandchildren, so we sold this one and bought a 21' Bigfoot, which is also fiberglass. We had to go with a larger tow vehicle to haul the new RV. The Casita tows very well with most vehicles.
Matt Molnar Andrew King I own Matt's Casita now and have had it for a year and I've really enjoyed it. I've taken several trips to Jacksonville Beach, FL, Key West, Ocala National Forest, Gettysburgh, NFL Hall of Fame, Niagara, Aridondacks, Rock n' Roll HoF, with trips planned this summer. Casita is still operating fine, Matt.
Rick Martin Glad to hear it, Rick, and good to hear from you, my friend. By now you've probably had a few people approach you to ask about your Casita, I know we did. It's such a nice little rig and easy to tow, I do miss it at times. Take care.
Gregory. You can get a 0 degree sleeping and tent with stove for 2 G. Otherwise you'll have to find a cheap used cargo trailer and outfit it. Generator can l run an electric stove but they are expensive or use a stove that burns wood or coal, pellets, etc.
hi,,,,,,i have a 6x10 cargo trail gvwr 2990. not sure of actual trailer weight. the trailer stands aprox.86 " high. my garage door opening is only 84" . due to hoa rules where i live i have to keep it in my garage. i was able to get it in just barely by flattening the wheels. but this s not to practical to use the trailer often.i have decided to leave it on just bare rims to solve my clearance problem to pul it in and out of the garage. and install the rimed tires once in the driveway.what i would like to know is can i raise the trailer safely leaving the hitch connected to my truck and jacking the trailer up from the center of the rear with a 3 ton floor jack to install both tires with out having to jack it up twice once from either side? will the floor jack lift the weight enough to get the tires on ? will this procedure be safe to do? keep in mind i will chock the truck tires and use jack stands under the rear when enough height is reached to take off the bare rims and install the tires.
Very nice review. We recently purchased a 2010 17 ft. . Have not been out yet. Your review was very helpful. Thank you for your time! Hope to see you in the great outdoors.
Nice tour! I really appreciate your showing the awning, which I haven't seen before though I've watched many videos on casitas and looked over every picture of every model on the Casita site itself.
It seems like you just got it so why did you sell it? Too small? I'm asking because I'm thinking about getting a Casita they,re having a sale right now.
Good question. We absolutely loved the Casita, even it's small size (for two people). We were camping with our grand kids (they stayed in a tent with their parents) and found that the Casita was too crowded to bring them in on long rainy days. So, we stumbled upon a used 21' Bigfoot fiberglass camper at a great price and upgraded. For two people and a small tow vehicle, the Casita is wonderful. Highly recommend it!
It was our first travel trailer so I don't have anything to compare it to. We camped in some pretty cold nights and definitely needed the heater. It was quite easy to heat, though!
Nancy, insulation is relative. The carpet provides so insulation, as does the foam liner between the carpet and the outside wall. In reality I doubt if these two insulators make that much difference in total. The unit has a good heater as well as AC. Sleeping bags are a plus as well. This is not a four season unit due to exposed water lines and water tanks. It has to be winterized or pipes will burst if freezing temps. occur.
I see lots of " bulgy " corners & wasted space. Obviously , price is a factor but everything looks and SOUNDS CHEAP . NOT very ergonomic and having the furnace right next to the bed is just poor and dangerous design. It seems the manufacturer could have taken better notice of boat builder techniques.
Raoul Borans It's all about moisture. When in the Casita, each person will release moisture into the air. Add moisture from running water, cooking, etc. and you have quite a bit. It will condense on the cold walls and windows and actually run down. The carpet absorbs a lot of this and then releases it during the day when you open up the RV. The windows will be wet with condensation from overnight if it has been cold outside and they are mostly shut. So, in short, the carpet is functional. It actually makes the Casita seem cozy, too, in my opinion.
Thank you for explaining this. It makes sense now, the carpet on the walls. I was not liking the carpet everywhere due to dust mites and carpet mites, etc., but, if you keep the carpet cleaned and vaccumed I assume this shouldn't be a problem.
Carpeting prevents condensation. I used to see the technique in motels built in the 1970s when they began to use plastic paneling. Also easy to vacuum.
We owned an '09 Liberty Deluxe. Everybody wants to know why all the carpeting on the walls. They say it's to eliminate condensation. Which happens because of cooking, washing, humans breathing, etc. You just want to be careful about cooking smelly food or smoking indoors. Not a problem for most of us.
Still enjoying it, Matt (lost track of which year I went up to Malone from FL to buy it from you and your wonderful wife. Hope all is well. I still am amazed what a great job you did in preparing it for me. It was sparkling and like new.
Hi Rick! So good to hear from you and super glad that you’re still enjoying the Casita. Wow! You have put down some miles. At this point, I’d say you are an authority on Casita ownership.
Guess your not a camper! This is a typical set up on smaller RV's. If you don't want to crawl over your spouse then you need to go to a 30 ft. or longer rig which will require you to purchase a tow vehicle capable of towing a larger rig just so you won't have to crawl over your spouse.
naa, it gets old quick J.Roberts, every time you get up the other person wakes up. To you Alan Osborne, actually there are many travel trailers as small as 17feet that have a layout of the bed so the other person isn't disturbed when you need to get out of bed.
MontiR Aruba No. We posted this video to share with others who were interested in this camper. We needed a 21 foot RV to accommodate our growing family of grand kids, so sadly had to say goodbye to the Casita. Sometimes we still miss it. Can't beat the tow-ability. It really has everything you need for two people or so.
MontiR Aruba Several gently used Casitas are for sale on Casita Forum and Casita Club forum websites.....I purchased Matt's rig from him and have enjoyed it since.
Hi this is marion and we was thinking to live in the trailer for the winter, we live in New Hampshire and we want to sale all our stuff and live in a campground thats all year round, can you live in this trailer and is it all set for the winter?
Marion Edmondson As I understand it, most RVs are not set up for below freezing use. That being said, do your research and see what other people are using. Wish I could offer more help.
I know a bit about New Hampshire. Depending on which section of NH, it will be below 0 for extended periods. If you are hooked up to 120 AC you would be OK but your water lines as well as anything else containing water such as holding tanks, etc. might freeze. It would be a good experiment. Report back. Do you have a YT channel. I would like to know because I have a newish Casita and I love winter camping.
Matt Molnar Thanks, Matt. I think we will need to consider a 16' Spirit Deluxe as we are towing with an Odyssey. I think the 16' and 17' are fairly similar. Any advise for us to consider about the Casitas?
luvaneezer Not really. They're pretty straightforward. Check over the options available and read the forums and you'll get a good understanding on what's worth getting or not. There are a lot of aftermarket-type upgrades you can do as well. Have fun!
cindy pattana Never had that problem! I have heard that most casita owners Carry along a manual rivet gun to deal with any broken rivets. RVs Twist and vibrate and shake as they go down the road and it is normal upkeep to fix things like that. Rivets are very easy to replace. I would actually prefer this system over other ones.
Cindy:The roof leaks only if rivet breaks or caulking dries up. Water will go through any hole. Simple to understand. If a rivet breaks, simple to replace. It only requires an electric drill . l If caulking dries out by the sun, and it will, remove the rivet, very easy to do. Clean away all adhesive/ caulk. Replace caulk, new rivet. 10 - 15 minute job. Very simple.
Goldberryvil12 We had the Casita for about a year when we went to a larger RV to accommodate our grandchildren. So, I can't comment on the long term maintenance of carpet.
Great video! Thank you for taking the time to make/share it. We're looking to buy a trailer that can accommodate our two, two year old grandsons. The Casita now has an option called "The Bunk Bed" where they convert the small dining table into a couch which then converts to bunk beds. If you had the couch/bunk beds would it have worked for you and your grandchildren?
Sidney McGaffigan Thanks for the comment! The bunkbeds would certainly help with the sleeping arrangements, though they would not increase living space, obviously. Casita has a referral program where they will connect you with someone nearby that you can visit to see their rig. That will give you a good feel of the space.
Matt, that is an awesome video with lots of information. I see you posted it in mid 2014. Do you still own and use the same trailer? If so, how has it performed for you?
John Elliott Hey John, thanks! We needed more room for grandkids so we bought a 21 foot Bigfoot trailer. Still miss the Casita at times! It was a great rig.
I like it. Do you tow it with the Toyota I saw in the video and how hard is it to tow? Do you think you could tow it with something smaller if you had to?
ScratchinMyAss It tows very well with the Toyota. Not sure I would want to go much smaller, though. There's a lot of info on the web about tow vehicles for the Casita.
This is what topped the list when I searched for a review of Casita trailers. My comment is for people who just want an overview of the trailer and don't want to waste time listening a half baked tour.
You need to learn to read the title of the video. Definitely said tour. Complain to You Tube. Matt did a great job. I'm a new owner and I found his tour helpful . There are good reviews on YT, particularly The Willful Wanderer.
Sorry Beth! As far as I know you cannot "sell" on RU-vid. This video was done for informational purposes. I had an ad out and many were asking questions about the Casita, so I thought I would do a video I could point them to.