First time campers here!

[JoshuaBlake]

Hello hi-lo community, my wife and I are very new to camping and we were given a 2009 towlite 2709 camper as a gift from my wife grandmother. We are traveling electricians so we are going all over the country and staying in the camper for at least 2 or 3 months at a time depending on the job. We've stayed in horn lake, Mississippi for 2 months then pulled it to Shakopee, MN and stayed for 3 months. We are back at our home in North Texas and we were just informed that we are going back to Minnesota to start a brand new project right outside of Minneapolis so we're going to be there through the winter months unfortunately. I've tried looking online to see if anybody has stayed in a hi-lo camper throughout the winter time but haven't found any helpful information.
Hopefully I can get some answers to a couple of questions.

1.Is it a good idea to camp throughout the northern winter in this style of camper?is it at all an "all season camper" ?

2. How do I prepare or "winterize" the camper? The camp ground were going to requires skirting to cover up the bottom of the camper, and a heated water hose and they do not allow the use of electric heating appliances only gas throughout the winter months.

3. Since we do alot of traveling and pretty much live in the camper we were thinking about possibly selling it. Are hi-lo campers a very sought after camper since they no longer manufacture them?

4. What would I be able to get for it if we do sell it? It's in excellent condition, we were given the camper by my wifes grandmother after her grandfather passed away but when they had it they took great care of it.

5. Last question, can I trade in the camper at an rv dealer and use it as a down payment toward a new camper? I've always had a feeling that dealers don't do trade ins, IDK why I think that...

Any help would be greatly appreciated, this is the first post so I welcome any advice on whether or not this thread should be divided up into multiple threads or if it's OK. Thank you!

 

[piperjim]

Hi Lo in MN winter

Josh:
You may get different opinions here.....but here are mine.

1. I wouldn't consider a Hi-Lo a 4-season camper. Arctic Fox and Big Foot are two that come to mind, but I have no experience with either.

2. For operation in a winter environment like MN.....well, the campground requirements pretty much tell you the minimum you need. Also, consider the potential air leaks around the seal between top & bottom halves on a Hi Lo. It is generally good enough for 3 seasons camping, but in a MN winter I think you'd be uncomfortable! You already know that using propane to heat your Hi-Lo in a MN winter could be expensive. You'd also have to consider the potential for having water lines freeze, even the potential for black/gray lines freezing.

3. Doesn't seem to have hurt the resale value. And, they are back in limited production. And, a couple of very reputable/experienced repair shops exist, run by former Hi Lo employees. Many components are relatively generic, so I don't view this as an issue.

4. Hard to say. Look on RVTrader.com for comparables. I've been looking online and would guess yours to be in the ballpark of $7-9K, but that's just a guess.

5. Certainly, again, look at RVTrader.com. As with autos, trading in at a dealership is generally less profitable than selling to an individual, but also generally less hassle.

Welcome!

 

[DeLana]

piperjim, X2. The Arctic Fox produced by Northwoods is now made in Oregon. Traditionally, the Fox was made only in Canada since Northwoods is a Canadian company. I know so many RVers (on the RV.net website) who have lived in the Fox in Alaska in winter. Northwoods has also expanded its customer base by producing less winter-worthy RVs, but they still produce the winter tried-and-true Arctic Fox with a high R-factor in its insulation and heated tanks and underbelly.

Dee
Summerville, SC

 

[DeLana]

P.S. You can also get the Fox with thermo-pane Windows. The only drawback is that the Fox has a fairly high (based on size) gross weight; therefore, a heavy duty tow vehicle may be necessary.

Dee