by sftiggee » Wed May 26, 2004 5:28 pm
Not to offend any Hunter owners on this board, and I say this ONLY because I've owned both. Comparing a Hunter and a Camp-Inn is like comparing a Festiva to a Caddy El Dorado.
The Hunter is good if you want basic functionality and don't want to or can't spend alot of money. Thanks to the Hunter I owned, I didn't spend alot of money for the experiment of seeing if I'd really love teardrop camping compared to the other types of camping I've done. Once it proved to me how much fun Teardrops were, I then decided to get the trailer I had been lusting over since first seeing - the Camp-Inn.
I had gone to the shop where they are made a full year before I purchased one, and I loved how it was a "homebuilt" approach. Just two guys making them in their garage. Real quality work. They have since expanded and added a cabinet maker guy and a couple others, but it's still at the guy's house, just a bigger shop.
Once I really started poking around my new Camp-Inn, thats when i noticed all the things that make it so much better and worth the higher price.
Sides: The sides are thicker (my Hunter sides were 1/4 inch plywood with aluminum, thats it). The Camp-Inn sides are 3/4 inch I believe, and I opted to stick with the beautiful woody sides.
The interior on the Camp-Inn is birch plywood, a nice light wood that makes the trailer seem more roomy and brighter. My Hunter had dark plywood and felt more closed in and cramped.
Ventilation: My Camp-Inn has a roof vent that functions really well and keeps condensate levels down to nil. The doors also have large windows that have screens and let alot of air flow through. The doors also have these tiny vents on them that are ALWAYS open, i guess to prevent and air tight cabin. They are covered in a way that no rain will get in them.
My Hunter was a condensate nightmare. I'd keep a towel with me to wipe down the windows AND the walls several times a night. The underneath storage would get condensate so bad I'd have puddles. Now puddles plus electrical conduit scares me. The "vent" was a large computer fan built into the back and pulled air into the galley. If the galley was closed, this air was then supposed to push out through this two tiny slatted vents on the sides. My computer fan was broken when I got it, and not worth repairing.
Doors: The doors on the Camp-Inn are also superior. They have a lip all the way around and a seal to keep out rain. The hinge is better as well. On my Hunter, the hinge was bad and the door kept wanting to open, not close. The doors were not seated right and when it rained while I was driving, I'd get rain inside my trailer and my bedding would be soaked. On the Camp-Inn, the doors close perfectly and I don't have any leakage.
One last thing on the doors: On the Camp-Inn, I can lock the doors from the inside, thus effectively locking myself in at night and feeling safer. i could not do that in the Hunter, and anyone could open my door when i was inside sleeping. That bothered me alot as well. Also, on my Hunter, some of the screws that held the door jam got stripped and fell out and the doors would pop open while driving. Very scary and not fun. Being that the doors were only a quarter inch plywood, it was impossible to fix that problem (for me, the nonwoodworking person) once it started.
Cabin storage: On the Camp-Inn, there are two cabinets towards the galley that hinge downwards and have cup holders built in, nice effect. The space behind these doors is connected, so you have a nice long space to store items. There is also a shelf above that, I beleive they call it a garmet bag shelf or luggage shelf. Works great once you get to your destination, but don't try to storage anything up there while en route, it will just fall off after a few curves and turns. There are also two swing open doors to access the front storage module, which is also a nice big space and very handy. i also opted for the under bed spare tire storage bin. I will use this only for emergency supples ( tools for changing a spare).
Hunter cabin storage: Hunter cabin storage on mine consisted of two shelves, the bottom one being slightly wider than the top one, but still pretty close together so larger items would not fit. There was also some storage underneath the bed, which was awkward to get to. That's it. it was lacking of good storage.
Galley: On the Camp-Inn, galley storage is superior. The sink with the water tank is a nice extra, but not a necessity for me. The undercounter storage is a MUST and I love it. There is even a frypan sleeve of sorts in one of the bins to keep fry pans from rattling around. There is a silverware tray that can be locked during transport and a supply cubby on the right that can also be locked. The counter is easy to clean and if you really get it messed up, the hinges on the storage bin covers come off for more thorough cleaning. The cooler has its space and is removed when you want to cook. This is the only issue I see with the Camp-Inn, when the cooler is full, it can be heavy, and is situated higher, so is more awkward to lift. The stove pulls out into the space occupied by the cooler and cooking is protected from wind. The sides surrounding the stove are aluminum and easy to wipe down after cooking. The stove is hard piped to a 10 gal. propane tank up front, so no bottles to carry around and hook up.
On the Hunter, storage is at a minimum. There is a space for the cooler on the bootm right, that makes pulling out the cooler easier than in the Camp-Inn. The stove is on a shelf that pulls out on the left, that's handy as well. That shelf will lock into place when not in use. The stove isn't protected much from wind, unless you have a canopy up and the bottled propane is a pain to situate. i tended to pull out my cooler a bit to sit the bottle on. I've noticed other peopel let it hang or rig up some contraption for it. As far as storage, there is a shelf in the back that is just wide enough for propane bottles to fit into. I kept my bottles there, as well as cups, spices, cooking spray, etc. Pans and pots tended to just sit on the counter and slide around during transport. Same with nonperishable food. Not much else for storage. There are a coupel of cubbys underneath ont eh left - one is for the battery, and one is for wahtever u want. I put my propane powered lantern under there, the box fit nicely.
Battery and power: On the Camp-Inn, the battery is in its own space on the right and is accessed through the right hand storage bin. There are a few fuses throughout the caamper that can be changed out easily. the battery has a built in charger and inverter, and you just plug in a power cord to the plug on the back underneath the rear light. The galley and cabin have both AC and 12 volt plugs - very handy.
On the Hunter, the battery is more easily accessible because its just in a cubby underneath the stove. It does have to be pulled out though for charging, and must be disconnected to pull it out all the way. There are a couple of 12 volt plugs in the galley and in the cabin. No inverter or AC plugs though.
Final thoughts:
Hunters have improved a bit over the years. Mine was a 2000, and I've seen a 2003 model and it had wider plywood sides, and lighter wood, but that's about all I saw that was different. hunters are good if you are low on cash or just want one to tide your teardrop craving over until you've built your own. I think Hunters have a price range of $4000-$6000? not sure though.
Camp-Inns are excellent build quality and excellent customer service. Even their owner's manual is excellent and full of pictures and has wiring diagrams and everything. Get a Camp-Inn if you want the quality of a home-built and can't build your own. Camp-Inns come in many different styles, from 4 foot wide to 5 foot wide, all 8 feet long. Body styles are different as well. You can get one with or without the front storage and one with or without the front tear windows. Interior styles are different as well. Their campers range from around $5000- $12000 depending on model and features and options. In my opinion, they are TOTALLY worth the extra cash and if you can afford it, get one. All camp-inn owners are super nice and willign to show off their trailers for you if you are interested, and all of us owners have brochures to send you if you want them. camp-inn owners are the "sales force" for camp-inn and the trailers sell themselves. Of course, all teardrop owners are 'salespeople" for the teardops and the trailers tend to sell themselves no matter what. But camp-inn owners get coupons in their brochures, adn if someone uses their coupon and buys a trailer, the owner gets a small "selling" monetary award. Its a pretty neat deal.
OK, I'm done comparing and gushing over my trailer now, sorry for the long post but i hope it was informative.
Jolene, Luke, Jackson, Lilianne, and Bandit
2006 Camp-Inn Raindrop Ultra
2007 Dodge Magnum RT
But I did put them on yahoo, and opened it to the public, so go here:
I LOVE THAT 
