When we sold our house and moved to the country last year, one of the things we wanted to make sure we did was to live, experience, and appreciate as much of this life as we’re given. We weren’t uprooting everything and making dramatic changes to just sit in front of the TV in a more rural environment.
We knew that we’d always loved camping ever since before we started dating almost 18 years ago. Nadia grew up camping and hiking with her family on the coast of South Africa, and my dad was always taking us to the desert or to San Felipe or Quartzite as a kid.
We started out tent camping out of our Volkswagon Jetta right after we moved back from England in 2006, largely relying on the gear we got for our wedding right before we left 2 years earlier. Then we moved up to a pop-up trailer several years ago and always had a blast! However, one of the things that we found with camping is that whenever you step up your gear to something that you never had before, it feels so magical at first and you wonder how you ever lived without this stuff. But then you get more experience and start to imagine how it could get even better. That’s where we were with the popup–it was awesome and we always had a great time, we could just really use more storage and some bathroom facilities if we were really going to get out there more.
Fortunately, I was lucky enough to get a bonus at work last year and we used some of that and some of our savings and some money we got out of our house to put down on a new Hybrid Travel Trailer. If you’re anything like me, you’re probably wondering what the heck a hybrid travel trailer even is… Basically it is a frankenstein of a popup and a travel trailer: travel trailer profile, popup beds.
For better or worse, we purchased a new 4Runner about 6 months before we decided to make all of these crazy moves, which means we were essentially locked in to the towing capacity of our vehicle. Here’s what the specs are according to Toyota:
For the non-datanerds out there, this means that we can only safely tow (but more importantly STOP) a 5,000lbs. trailer… Which severely limited our options. Initially, we were looking at more stepped-up versions of our popup–we always liked camping in it and if we could get one with a bit more storage and a bathroom, then we would be good to go. Problem was, when we started looking into our options, we either weren’t very happy with the bathrooms that they did have (and many don’t even have the option outside of a cassette toilet), or the price was getting pretty crazy for “just a popup.”
So, we kept digging and stumbled upon these hybrid travel trailers. A lot of the big companies out there are making them, but we ended up going with the 2018 Jayco Jayfeather X23B. Here’s a link to the model, but it’s essentially a 23.5′, 4,250 dry weight travel trailer.
Ultimately, there were a few key swing items that led us to this unit.
First, the hitch weight was under 500 lbs., so we were good there. It’s important to pay attention to all the weights, not just your GVWR because you can be under that and still putting way too much weight on your bumper, which could cause you a world of pain (literally and figuratively) in the event of a failure–and having your trailer rip the bumper off your vehicle is probably one of the worst kinds of RV fails you could ever hope to NOT have.
The other thing we liked about it is the size–by having the beds as fold-outs under a tent, you end up saving a ton of weight by axing the wood-construction bed and bedroom, but you don’t sacrifice anything in terms of the livability. Now, bear in mind that we live in CA and generally camp in the Western US, so if you’re in extreme weather conditions, that might actually be a bigger trade-off… but for us, it wasn’t much of one at all.
The X23B also had the best layout–even compared to the other Jaycos. There were a few in this size class, and a few 16-20 footers that we checked out. Those ones were too small, and even the same-sized ones weren’t laid out as well. Specifically, having a u-shaped dinette directly under the front bed made the whole unit much more livable. The seating area is tucked away, but also, that configuration enabled the fold-down sofa to fit into the slide. Together, this means that when the slide is extended, you have heaps of interior space!
Last, besides being luxurious, looking sharp, and towable behind our vehicle, we liked that it is so well appointed and has TONS of interior storage for all of your camping needs. We did have to make a few upgrades to the 4Runner to get our comfort level up, including the Firestone Airbags in the rear end, a brake controller in the cab to make sure the vehicle brakes are synced up with the trailer brakes, and some extending tow mirrors so we could see who is around us on the road.
So far, we couldn’t be happier. That being said, we’re already beginning to fantasize about an even doper 5th wheel. BUT, for that, we’re going to need a much beefy-er tow vehicle, money for a new trailer, and a boatload of additional confidence, so for the next few years, we’re going to ride this baby for all she’s worth!
We hope this information is helpful, and let us know of any questions or advice in the comments! If you want a detailed review and tour of our rig, head over to our YouTube Channel. Don’t forget to follow us on Insta and Twitter too–the links are at the bottom of our website!