Why the Fun Finder
T-160 for the Leggett clan?
Last updated
When we began our shopping quest to upgrade from our Coleman popup back in the summer of 2001, I started by looking at 17’-23’ hybrids and lightweight trailers. I limited our search to these lengths as we do 90% of our camping in national forest campgrounds where the mountain lakeside or streamside sites are primarily 20’ back-ins. We like to keep our canoe camp-side, so I didn’t want to have to bypass sites just because our trailer wouldn’t fit. Additionally, a smaller trailer also meant a lighter trailer, so I knew getting to our favorite campsites at 10,000’ wouldn’t tax our tow vehicle. A gasoline engine loses 2-4% of power per every 1000’ gain in altitude, so at 10,000’ our V8 engine felt more like a tiny, underpowered V6.
I prepared a priority list of what our family wanted and needed in a trailer, based on our “style” of camping: 90% in the mountains (no hookups), and 10% traveling to sightseeing destinations (some with hookups, others without), visiting relatives (electric and water to the driveway), and Wal-Mart parking lot quick overnight stopovers (no hookups). We planned to do all of these year-round, with the exception of NOT heading to hot or humid camping spots
Armed with this list, when I found a model that looked promising, I’d take the entire family for a look-see and tryout. By tryout, I mean we would spend time in the trailer going through both our day and night routines to really see if that trailer would serve our needs. I was determined to not look back with regret after we made a purchase decision.
The top 3 in my priority list included:
1. Sleeping accommodations
2. Seating accommodations
3. Elbow room for me in the shower
While I had other criteria, these three had to always pass muster.
1. I have a certain sleeping position/style, so it was important that we find a trailer that had a bed similar to the king-size we had in our Coleman popup. The T-160 dinette bed is 82" long and was perfect for me (and my wife). It was also important that the kids each have their own separate sleeping spaces. They do in the T-160 with two roomy overhead bunks (82” and 75½” long) and a long (75½”) couch.
2. Another big priority was fitting the entire family around the dinette for game playing and indoor meals when the weather turns nasty outside (normally, we do all of our game playing and meals at the campsite picnic table). The T-160 dinette is as large as some of the U-shaped dinettes in larger trailers, but the table size (48”x30”) is larger than the typical U-shaped tables. The extra size of the table does make a difference!
3. Finally, the wet bath configuration allowed a large enough shower space for me (and my large frame) to easily have the elbow room I wanted and needed. Plus, my wife and daughter enjoy having the toilet to sit on when they shave their legs (probably more info than you cared to know, but a big plus I didn’t anticipate).
As a bonus, the more than 3' wide center aisle in the T-160 made the trailer "look and feel" roomier than larger trailers and allowed easy moving about. My wife especially picked up on this when comparing the T-160 to trailers that were up to 6’ longer and a foot wider. We could have as many as three in the aisle standing and moving about without tripping over each other. The design layout and light colors also contributed to the roomy feel.
The holding tanks, gray (grey) water from the sink and shower and black water from the toilet, are on the small side, but since our style is "camping" and not "RVing", that's not a big deal to me as I have practices that accommodate the smaller tanks. I don't mind doing the switch from dinette bed to dinette when needed, as we only use the dinette when the weather outside turns nasty. I keep the dinette bed configured for sleeping all the time.
A small trailer has so many advantages. I can fit our T-160 into any campsite. I can also fit in any gas station, so no need to pull into truck stops to fill up. I can also fit into any store parking lot where there are two spaces front-to-back. I can take our Suburban and put it into a full turn (to the steering wheel lock) and our T-160 just tracks immediately behind, so I have absolutely no turning radius loss. The 7' width of the Fun Finder makes it easy to see around without mirror extensions and a smaller towing profile through headwinds. The aerodynamic steeply slopped front helps in towing as well. The T-160’s light weight, small size, and balanced load also means I don't have to have any weight distribution or sway equipment with our Suburban, so hitching and unhitching is a snap. The single axle makes it very, very easy to do sharp turns while backing.
What's interesting is that our T-160 is only 2' longer than our Coleman popup (17' vs. 15') and empty weight was only 250 more (2020 vs. 1770). There were a few initial times out we lamented missing the 22' open length of our popup, but those quickly disappeared with how much we love the roomy dinette and individual beds, as well as camping in freezing temps with rain/hail/snow falling, and the ability to just pull into a Wal-Mart parking lot for a quick overnighter while traveling. Even though the T-160 doesn’t have thick walls for insulation or an enclosed or insulated underbelly, the compact interior heats up quickly and stays warm nicely. In warmer weather, the Fantastic Fan acts as a whole-house fan in pulling fresh air through the windows. We don’t camp in areas where it’s hot and humid, so the Fantastic Fan works perfectly for us.
The 2002 Fun Finders introduced in the summer of 2001 were the first new production models that Shadow Cruiser had introduced since suspending production of their trailer lines for several years. I was confident in the quality after doing an exhaustive examination of the materials and workmanship on the T-160 we ended up purchasing. Additionally, the second 5th wheel my parents purchased in the late 1980’s was a Shadow Cruiser and they kept it the longest of any of their 5’vers. My mom actually confided to me after seeing our T-160 for the first time that their Shadow Cruiser 5’ver was her favorite of all the 5th wheels they’ve owned.
As of March 2006, we’ve owned our T-160 for 4.5 years, towed
it over 35K miles, and lived in it over 300 days. I couldn’t be happier with
how it has held up to the heavy use of our family. Oh, and I don’t mind the
attention we STILL get at campgrounds when folks who can’t contain their
curiosity, just HAVE TO
In the meantime, I continue to diligently watch for and investigate each new ultra lightweight model introduced by manufacturers (some call assemblers) that might just meet our family needs better than the little T-160. That’s why I maintain my 4+1 web page (4 Adults + 1 Teenager Accommodating Lightweight Trailers Under 24 feet in Length and Under 3200 pounds UVW). So far, you know the current answer! Our little T-160 keeps trucking along!!!