16DB or 21RBS

[pinstriper]

[quote source="/post/6308/thread" timestamp="1422663253" author="@sandroad"]Good discussion, but one-sided. When we were deciding between the 14DBS, 16TBS and 21RBS, it came down to balancing living with the trailer when camped and living with the trailer when towing. We ended up with the 16TBS, which provides enough room for the 2 of us and the dogs and a enough maneuverability for good towing. Every single time I've backed the trailer into our driveway or into a campsite, I've been very happy to have the 16TBS and not the 21RBS. And every time we think of something else to take along we've been very happy to have the 16 TBS and not the 14DBS. And, I really like the bed set up in the TBS. So, consider your primary intended use. If you plan to tow long distances with short stays in campgrounds, it may mean a different setup than if you plan to "sit-stay" with little towing. [/quote][p]Meh, the difference between the 14DBS and the 16DBS was sooooooo minimal, we were happy enough with the 14DBS. We have been rained into the inside for an entire weekend, and the two of us, with 2 50# dogs...was perfect. We LIKE to stay in bed with a book and cuddle with the sleeping dogs.[/p][p]
[/p][p]As I said, a small child would be manageable in the 14DBS. It would be equally manageable with the 16DBS. No difference or advantage.[/p][p]
[/p][p]The 16 that has an advantage is the 16TBS. So, yeah. If you go with a DBS, go with the 14. Otherwise, take the 16TBS.[/p][p]
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[pinstriper]

[quote source="/post/6312/thread" timestamp="1422670981" author="@surfsup"]If it had been solely my decision, I would have been very happy with the 16. My wife also liked the 16 but didn't want to chance any possible regrets - and considering our TV, it wasn't much of a stretch to move up to the 21. Brought it home today![/quote]Congrats !

[daplumbr]

[quote source="/post/6310/thread" timestamp="1422668707" author="@imageben"]This has been a great discussion so far.   I think that I also would love the 16 foot trailer at the campsite, but maybe wish I had something smaller when we just wanted to take a quick getaway for a couple of days.  I'm sure that with practice and preparation I could be just as ready with one or the other.  Trying to decide between 4.5 feet??

When I finally get to try them both it may be even more clear in person.  At the factory they should have every model right?  [/quote]FYI, the factory does not have them all available to look at in a finished state. They are not a direct-sale dealer/factory and don't keep any "stock". When we visited, they had a couple of sold, finished trailers awaiting transport that we could go in (our first time in a 16TBS), but that's all they had. Everything else was in progress and impossible to get a feel for what they would look like finished. If it matters to you whether you make the trip to the factory, call ahead to see if they one or more you might be able to get into. 

[acm]

Thanks for the heads up about the factory.  There is a dealer in VA that has the 16DBS and the 21RBS. I'll head there first.  

[livinthegoodlife]

We have the 2014 16TBS and love it. We don't have the option of having the king bed in ours and are glad. In my opinion, it would be a bit of an overkill for the size of the trailer. Also, most people upgrade to another mattress from the original mattresses that come with the units.We love our 16TBS and thought that for more room we may add an add a room onto the awning to give us more room as we are thinking of work-camping in the next year or two. We have the sofa bed in our slide.  That being said, my first option would have been the 21RBS if we had a TV to handle it. The bigger frig,separate freezer, pantry, and bigger bathroom with a sink and cabinets sold me. As stated above, you can get the king bed or twins in the 21 foot which would give you an awesome amount of extra space.

I see that you are in Virginia. I don't know how far you are from D&H RV in North Carolina, but look them up on the web.  They are very informative as they carry quite a few LivinLites and are quite pleasant to talk to and can give you a few tips. 

[jeeps]

Having just moved up from a tent, our 21RBS feels luxuriously big to me, even though we are usually the smallest RV in the campground.  For short trips, I think we would have been fine in a 16 footer, but for longer trips, especially if weather prevents expanding our living space to the outside, it would be cramped.  I love the bed, the larger fridge, and the extra storage in the bathroom is handy.  We just returned from our third trip, and we couldn't be happier.

[acm]

Thanks. I will check out the dealer in Apex as well. I'm near Winston Salem, but I do travel to the Raleigh area regularly.

[charliem]

The one downside to the 16TBS vs the 16DBS is that the slide out is narrower on the 16TBS to make room for the length of the twins or king, so in our case the slide out sofa is shorter.

David

[font size="3"]David,

Are you sure the slide in the TBS is shorter? Scaling the LL web site drawings they look the same. I looks like the TBS beds fill the space up to the slide and maybe even the slide is slightly further aft. The beds are only 76" long. Maybe the web site drawings are not accurate.
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[david]

Charlie:

You may be right. When we were shopping, we compared a 21RBS with a 16TBS. The 16TBS definitely had a shorter sofa and I assumed that was because of the longer fore and aft beds in the 16TBS. Since I haven't looked at a 16DBS in person, maybe they are the same.

David

[charliem]

[font size="3"]Yes. It looks like the slide in the 21 is slightly longer. Thanks.
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[joanne]

[quote source="/post/6310/thread" timestamp="1422668707" author="@imageben"]This has been a great discussion so far.   I think that I also would love the 16 foot trailer at the campsite, but maybe wish I had something smaller when we just wanted to take a quick getaway for a couple of days.  I'm sure that with practice and preparation I could be just as ready with one or the other.  Trying to decide between 4.5 feet??

When I finally get to try them both it may be even more clear in person.  At the factory they should have every model right?  [/quote]Not sure if this will help or not...

I've been camping pretty regularly for 50 years now, having started in tents and tent campers when I was in grade school, moving to backpack/canoeing/tenting as a teen, and only the last 3 years in a hard-side trailer.  For me, this decision would be influenced by how you view a camping trip and the camping experience.

In my case, camping has always been an outdoor experience, with the tent only used as a place to sleep. Weather didn't change that. On a rainy day, we kids wore rain gear and spend the day outside playing in the rain. Rest assured that in the days before 'leave no trace', us kids would have build runoff channels, dikes, dams and holding ponds the first hour of the rainstorm.  My wife, having never camped prior to meeting me, doesn't see sitting around a campfire on a cold, wet drizzly day as a memory to be cherished. She'd rather spent that day curled up on the dinette bench with a blanket and a book. I'd rather cook outside on a gasoline stove, she'd rather cook in the trailer, and so on.

My advice then, is that the more likely to are to tuck up inside when the weather is bad, and the more likely you are to spend the evening in the trailer instead of by the fire, and the more likely you are to use the galley instead of the picnic table, the more you should favor the larger trailer.

[david]

Michael:

You are absolutely right. We use our camper only to cook meals and sleep. All other time is outdoors. Being outdoors is why we camp. Also being retired we can pick our midweek days to mostly avoid rain. That is why the smaller 16TBS works for us.

David

[daplumbr]

Charlie:

You may be right. When we were shopping, we compared a 21RBS with a 16TBS. The 16TBS definitely had a shorter sofa and I assumed that was because of the longer fore and aft beds in the 16TBS. Since I haven't looked at a 16DBS in person, maybe they are the same.

David

The slide in the 16TBS is the same width as the slide in the 14DBS. It is less wide than the slide in the 16DBS and the 21RBS, which both have the same slide. 

[charliem]

[quote source="/post/9386/thread" timestamp="1429127833" author="Jad"][div][/div][div][/div][div][/div]We are loooking for a tow behind camper and are considering Camplite.  We have camped for years in a Class A but now have decised to scale down.  We like the twin bed idea in the 16' for better sleeping arrangement in a small space.  We are also considering the 21' unit and have a question about the sofa and the slide out.  Does anyone know the exact length of the sleeper sofa?  I would like something that I could sleep on from time to time being 5'11". The factory rep said twins could be put in the 21' but I am sure that could be a timely and costly upgrade.  Thanks for your help. John[/quote][font size="3"]Hi Jad,

We own a 21RBS. We have the dinette option on the slide. When made into a bed the clear length of the bed is 73". My son is slightly taller than 6 ft. and sleeps there easily. I would guess the sofa would be similar, but one of our members will jump in with the exact sofa dimensions.

The change to twin beds is easy. I think someone on this forum has actually had this done. If I recall they also had the overhead cabinets rearranged like the 16DBS for additional storage. It should not be expensive. There is no structure involved and Livinlite is extremely receptive to these types of mods. The twin beds would also offer a sitting area for daytime use. The extra room including the bath and the larger dinette made the 21 an easy choice for us. I would also warn that there have been some issues with the sofas in the 16s. Scan this form for details.
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[leslie]

My husband and I spent more than a year making our decision to have a 21-BHS customized for us. We looked at models from several different manufacturers and then talked about how we will use the camper. Then we would go to another RV show and talk some more.

Livin Lite was very accommodating to us when we presented a lengthy list of changes to the 21-BHS. One item that we are very happy with, is that we switched out the bed in the front for the U-dinette that can convert to a queen-size bed. We do not mind taking the bed apart so we can have the table set up. Putting the table outside gives us a large, comfortable u-shaped sofa where several people can visit.

Bottom line is consideration for how you will use your camper.  I thought it was fun to go through the planning ptocess.