Any Riverside 'White Water RETRO 150' Owners?

[Time Out]

Linda and I recently made a move from a Little Guy 6 Wide TD to a Retro 15 ft 'standie'. We still own and love the 6 Wide, but with the addition of all the screws and rods to my spinal column, getting in and out of the TD was getting to me. I'm 6'1" and the Retro allows me the luxury of standing, even while wearing my hat! We bought a new 2014 model and I've been having fun removing all the "rough edges", rebuilding/adjusting drawers, adding my personal touches and modifying several things. I wanted to rebuild a vintage tiny trailer from the '60's, but it would be too much for me physically, so a Retro style, new trailer seemed to be the answer for us. I'm just kind of having a difficult time fitting in as it's not a TD, a bread loaf, canned ham...perhaps it's more of a 'bread box' sort of quite well equipped tiny travel trailer. I have searched the Internet for other forums or owners of this interesting little trailer, but have had no success.

To date, I have added a 2 1/2" riser to the Thetford toilet, removed the simple exhaust fan in the shower/bathroom and replaced it with a new Fantastic Fan. I've also added three 12v outlets for charging cell phones, etc., mounted an articulating arm for our 19" Visio, replaced all halogen bulbs with LED lights, put in a 8" custom memory foam mattress with open cell Latex topper. Yesterday I attached an awesome looking and strong spare tire bracket to the rear bumper. The latest thing I'm working on is installing new aluminum eyebrows (drip caps) over all the windows and door. The drip caps were blanked and formed with some sort of punch press, but were rather rough in appearance and had some minor creases, so I spent some time working with them, deburring and polishing. They are all finished now and ready to install tomorrow. These will go a long way toward giving our trailer that vintage look. They installed a 5 gallon black water tank, but no gray water tank, so I bought an 18 gallon portable Thetford gray water tote that can be pulled behind our tow vehicle to a dump site if necessary. I'll try to post some photos when I finish.

I have enjoyed all the build projects, remodels, great ideas, things that you folks collect and all the encouragement freely given on this forum. I just wanted to share a little about our latest Tiny Trailer purchase and my ongoing 'tweaking' of stuff I am thinking about creating a bit more usable space above the dinette, near the ceiling using some kind of suspended "netting". Does anyone have any ideas of where to purchase something like this and how to install it? Has anyone successfully done this? I was thinking that space would be handy when converting the dinette to a bed, by having a place to temporarily store bedding, pillows etc. I love tiny trailers, but space is at a premium! Well, I don't want to wear out my welcome, besides it's getting late, so I'll just thank you for reading my post and for your suggestions, stories of your own ongoing projects or whatever

Clyde and Linda

[bc toys]

Welcome to this great site, looks like you got a small standy. The gatherings I'v been to they would welcome you I've seen everything from tears to motor homes and travel trailers. I have a cargo and they welcomed me. This is a great group of people most don't care what you camp in as long as you camp.

[aggie79]

Welcome Clyde and Linda!

That is a really nice TTT that you have. The rain drip caps should add a very nice touch to a beautiful camper.

As we are crossing the 60 threshold, we are considering something similar for extended vacations. We still love our teardrop, but about after about 4 days camping we're reading for something larger.

Have fun with your new TTT.

Take care,
Tom

[mary and bob]

Clyde; I'm another old guy with back problems, and our teardrop is only a vintage 4' wide. We won't give it up, but also own a Uhaul 13' fiberglass camper that works much better for longer term camping, like when we go south for the winter. We leave the bed made up, and have a couple metal baskets on drawer slides mounted to the floor under the bed. For a net, look up "cargo net" at JC Whitney, they have a couple. You might also try etrailer, or Cabelas, or some other similar place. Bob

[Time Out]

Thank you "bc toys", for the nice welcome and kind words. We are going to try to get together with campers in some of the West Coast events. Hope to get a chance to meet you in person!

"That is a really nice TTT that you have. The rain drip caps should add a very nice touch to a beautiful camper".
"As we are crossing the 60 threshold, we are considering something similar for extended vacations. We still love our teardrop, but about after about 4 days camping we're reading for something larger".

Thank you Tom and Linda. I love the looks of your TD also! Thank you for your compliment on our Retro. I had hoped to install the drip caps today, but just didn't feel up to it. There is always tomorrow...retirement does have it's advantages While we do like our Retro very much, it may be a little soon to highly recommend it. We would recommend looking into this little trailer though. All the systems seem to be working fine and it tows nicely behind our V6 2007 RAV4, without any sway bars. I did install Firestone air bags in the RAV though. One comment I would like to make is that we checked out an 'Aljo' trailer, virtually the same size and equipped much the same. The Aljo trailer wasn't finished nearly as nicely and had very weak leaf springs. It wobbled all over the place as we stepped inside to look at it! The Retro has very little movement when entering and walking about, without having the leveling legs down. Only time will tell how well our Retro holds up. So far, so good! It is nice being able to stand up inside! Also wanted to mention that the A/C works very well - it would be nice to have in Texas!

"Clyde; I'm another old guy with back problems, and our teardrop is only a vintage 4' wide. We won't give it up, but also own a Uhaul 13' fiberglass camper that works much better for longer term camping, like when we go south for the winter. We leave the bed made up, and have a couple metal baskets on drawer slides mounted to the floor under the bed. For a net, look up "cargo net" at JC Whitney, they have a couple. You might also try etrailer, or Cabelas, or some other similar place. Bob"

Hi Bob,
Sorry to hear that you have back problems too. With 15 fused vertebrae, I took up a lot of real estate just turning around in bed in order to swing my legs into the door opening so I could get out...and we have a king size bed!! I can only imagine what it would be like in a 4 wide! I'll bet your 13' camper is cute and much more enjoyable on those longer trips. I like the idea of those metal baskets on drawer slides. The area under our bed is the Cargo hold, accessed from the outside. The bed also lifts up to access that space from the inside. I'll check out JC Whitney and your other suggestions for netting ideas. BTW, this "old guy" just got another year older TODAY - my 68th birthday! Is your wife a quilter? All the best to you and your wife all the way back there in NY!

[mary and bob]

Clyde, yes she's a quilter. We have quite a collection here so she's cut back making them. Latest projects are quilted pocket books and some camper wall hangings. You've got just a year on me, I'll be 67 in a couple weeks, and by the sounds of it I'm in much better shape with only 3 bad discs, LOL. Annoying and have slowed me down considerably but I'm still moving along.

[Time Out]

"Clyde, yes she's a quilter. We have quite a collection here so she's cut back making them. Latest projects are quilted pocket books and some camper wall hangings. You've got just a year on me, I'll be 67 in a couple weeks, and by the sounds of it I'm in much better shape with only 3 bad discs, LOL. Annoying and have slowed me down considerably but I'm still moving along".

Good Morning (in California) Bob and Mary,

Mary, your quilt is beautiful and represents a lot of work I'm sure! Linda isn't a quilter and I know next to nothing about quilting, but I appreciate the talent and dedication to the craft when I see it. Nothing makes a travel trailer feel like home more than adorning it with hand crafted items.

Bob, let me wish you a "Happy 67" while I am thinking about it. Two weeks will just fly by anyway! Actually, Bob, I'm in pretty good shape myself, and like you, are able to do most things I used to do - just with more aches and muscle spasms than before! At our age, we don't heal up as quickly as we might imagine, from a 15 1/2 hour surgery

I am going to try to add a picture of our Maiden Voyage to a KOA Campground in Coarsegold, CA a couple of weeks ago. I have been having a lot of trouble staying logged in and it plays havoc trying to add photos to my gallery. Even when I hit "Submit", I often get the Login screen and I have to start all over again So now I 'copy' everything so I don't loose it.

The last image is of our camping at the Valley of the Rogue, in Oregon with our Little Guy 6 Wide, screened room and shower room.

[ShannonS]

Hi Clyde,

I was so excited to see your post. We're actually very close to buying a White Water Retro. We're looking at the Model 175 which has a 6'4" ceiling for hubby. It's a little longer too, 18' total. I've been mystified why we can't find much in the ways of discussion or reviews about the Retro even two years later than you were looking. It's been a few years, what do you think of it so far? There is a Facebook page but not a lot of activity on it. DId you look at similar types of trailer like Heartland MPG? Loved your list of modifications too, super useful for a couple of newbies. Any thoughts on your experience so far would sure be appreciated. P.S. Hope your back is doing ok!

[donrebyct]

Clyde, how is the Retro 155 holding up? My wife and I are seriously looking at purchasing one in the next few weeks. The 155 is a perfect fit for us after selling our 94 class B motorhome. It has more floor space and a much larger bathroom, though it's very short on storage; that's where our tow vehicle would come in to play.

I was hoping someone would post using a small SUV to tow a 155. Are you happy with the performance and reliability when towing? I have an 04 Hyundai Santa Fe with about 90K miles and it runs great. It is supposedly rated for 3500 pounds towing. We are planning on driving to Alaska this summer. My wife wants a newer tow vehicle, preferably a 14 Dodge Grand Caravan, before going on such a long trip.

Where did you mount the TV swing arm. I would like to see pictures of your updates. I see only one 110 vac outlet outside the door, and there has to be one or more for the air conditioner and microwave. It seems strange there's not a 110v or 12v outlet for a TV. Have you added more?

Please post photos when you can.

Don & Rebecca

[Time Out]

Hello Don & Rebecca,

Our Retro is a 150 and is holding up very well. A newly formed Forum for Retro camping trailers is now up and running. [url]http://www.retroroadies.com/[/url] I have a lot of photos uploaded to the forum there as well as a lot of Tips and Tricks and more on the way! Stop by and see what it's all about.

We have been pulling it with our RAV4, but just very recently purchased a New 2013 RAM 1500 SLT Crew Cab 4x4 with a 3.6L V6 Pentastar and 8 speed transmission. Haven't been able to pull it yet with the RAM as we are still waiting for the Dealer to get the factory Brake Controller in. I am sort of assuming that you Hyundai Santa Fe is a front wheel drive? Front wheel drive vehicles aren't ideal to pull much larger trailers than a Tear Drop. The steering with the RAV4 V6 Limited is a little 'twitchy' and if we were to continue to pull the 150 with it, we would definitely add an anti-sway bar. They can be found on Amazon for around $45. Our RAV4 is also rated at 3,500 lbs and is equipped with the tow package.

You asked where I mounted the TV Swing Arm - I mounted it to one of the vertical framing members at the rear of the trailer. Note: the frame of the Retro 155 is all "Aluminum" as opposed to the wood framing of the 150. So mounting things to the Aluminum framing is something I have no experience with, although I have a lot of experience with metal working in general.

As far as 110v receptacles, there is one in the Dinette area on the front wall, another one near the A/C and a third under the cabinet, next to the Microwave. I used the receptacle next to the microwave to plug the TV into and routed the cord under the mattress and up the wall to the television. I built a shelf just above the A/C and placed the DVD player there and routed the HDMI Cable down and across the top (inside) of the cargo hold and then up to the TV. I had the dealer install Cable Coaxial terminals on the outside wall near the A/C and on the inside next to the 110v receptacle for the A/C, with a short cable connecting the two. I added three 12v outlets inside the trailer and one on the side of the battery box. Many of these mods have been covered on the Retro Roadies Forum already.

ShannonS - Sorry I didn't see your comment back in December of 2013! Please check out Retro Roadies Travel Club also! The Retros seem to be catching on now! Thank you for your concern about my back...it is very slowly getting stronger and along with that, a little less pain. Life goes on, and I try to live it to it's fullest Please let us know if you purchased the Retro 175. Linda and I looked at the 175 among other models just a couple of weeks ago and were pretty impressed with it. I am ClydeR and Linda is Disney4Fun on the Retro Roadies Forum. We did not look at the Heartland or MPG, so can't comment about either one.

Linda and I thank everyone for their kind comments!

[donrebyct]

Clyde,
Thanks for the reply. I'll be checking the new Retro forum today.

We swapped out the Santa Fe for a new Dodge Grand Caravan, also rated at 3600 pounds. It's supposed to have something like 280 hp, so that shouldn't be a problem. I've heard the dealer I've been working with always includes a sway bar with trailers he sells. I guess he wants to make sure no one, especially newbies, will have much problem towing, or even driving their new motorhomes.

Have a great holiday weekend.

Don

[Time Out]

Hello Don and Rebecca,

I just created a post in reply to your new Grand Caravan, but this Site won't keep me logged in, so I lost everything again!!!! There are a lot of good poeple on this forum, but I'm sick of this treatment. Hope to see you on the Retro Roadies Forum.

Clyde

[donrebyct]

Hello Clyde,

I've been on this forum off and on for years and never had problems, until lately. I was mainly looking at the Foamies line; the Retro 155 and 150 would make great foamies.

Gmail is thinking every email from the forum is spam. I don't know what is going on.

Have an enjoyable Memorial Day weekend.

Don