Line Up to Travel with Me in the Sun
Written: Jun 15 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Superb quality; great floor plan; huge bathroom; great outside storage.
Cons: None worth noting.
The Bottom Line: This is a top notch unit. I highly recommend spending the money on a Sunline rather than cutting corners.
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| jo.com's Full Review: 2006 Sunline Solaris T-2499 |
Some background information:
2 1/2 years ago we decided to buy a travel trailer after going camping with the kids in a pop-up for years. Because we had a Chevy S10 truck we were very limited to what we could buy because it only pulls 5000 pounds. 1 1/2 years ago we bought a Toyota 4 Runner rated to tow 7000 pounds. The upgrade in pulling capacity and the fact that after 91 days on the road last summer made our small Sun-Lite travel trailer feel even smaller prompted us to start a search for an upgrade. We explored everything from a 30’ Capri to various lengths in the lightweight Aerolite which is made much the same as our Sun-Lite. We finally chose a better made travel trailer in spite of the fact it weighs a bit more than the Aerolite. Our former trailer served us well but the price you will pay for an inexpensive very light trailer is lack of quality in the wood and some leaking around the sinks. We bought a Sunline Solaris T-2499.
Let’s get the specs over with:
I will get into the features which in combination with the length made us fall in love with the Sunline.
~The T-2499 is 25’ 10" long. That is the exterior length and when buying a trailer the number to which you should pay attention. That number is bumper to hitch.
~It is 8’ wide.
~The interior height is 6’ 6" high.
~The trailer weighs 4785 pounds. (UVW) This is the weight of this trailer as manufactured at the factory. It includes all weight at the trailer axles. Like our thoughts when using the Chevy we were concerned with how close we were to the weight the SUV could pull. We talked to a lot of people who said it was too heavy or too long; we talked to some who said we wouldn’t have a problem as long as we had additional towing equipment (sway bars for example) which we do. We went camping in New Hampshire recently. The SUV struggled a bit up hills but not enough to be of concern. There were many time that we went 50 miles an hour only and on some hills only 40 mph. Cruising on the highway, we could easily get up to 65 miles an hour. From our trip cross country last year we have become immune to seeing our gas mileage go from 18 miles per gallon down to 10 then down to 8 and even down to 4 on some hills!
~It has a carrying capacity of 7000 pounds. (GVWR) This is fully loaded. We figure when loaded we still have 1000 pounds to spare.
~It will hold 40 gallons of fresh water.
~It will hold 35 gallons of gray and 30 pounds of black water. (That is what the water is called after using the shower and toilet, for example.)
~The Sunline’s exterior is aluminum over wood versus many others that are fiberglass. We think the fiberglass looks prettier but we gave that up for this unit.
~It has a three year structural warranty and a two year component warranty.
~The furnace is 25,000 BTUs with an automatic ignition. This is really nice. Our previous trailer’s furnace had to be lit from the outside and if it was windy it was a challenge. Having that eliminated is a nice treat.
~The awning size (standard) is 17’.
~The exterior height including the air conditioning unit is 9㤒".
~It has an outside shower.
~It has Sport wheels with 15" radial black wall tires.
~It has a seamless 1 piece rubber roof with a 12 year warranty.
The air conditioning, outside grill, microwave, TV antenna and swivel rocker are standard features.
About my trailer:
We really loved the floor plan on the T-2499. I am going to walk you through our trailer.
Outside:
It has two doors which we don’t think are necessary but we weren’t going to pass it by for that reason. The outside has a huge outside storage area that goes from one side of the unit to the other. It is carpeted and even has a light inside. In addition there is a large outside storage area that includes a pegboard where we hang tools. We keep our “clean items” such as laundry, chairs that we have in covers and covered citronella candles in the carpeted area. We keep our hoses, rags and even items such as extra toilet paper in the side storage unit. It is really large enough that something like toilet paper won’t come in contact with the sewer hose!
The exterior has baked on Krystal Kote which is a polyester finish that is scratch resistant and required no waxing. That is one advantage to the aluminum. We had a scratch in our former trailer which we believe happened by a tree limb. It is less likely this will happen with the Sunline.
The living room/dinette:
Walking through the front door we immediately fell in love with the swivel chair. That was a feature we had only seen in much larger units. Across from the chair we have a very comfortable couch. We have an unusual set up. Rather than a sofa and a dinette which you will see in most models we have a table between the chair and sofa. The dinette has a leaf that is kept via a snap in the bedroom closet however we keep the leaf in all the time. The table slides so if I want it really close to me I just easily slide it to me whether I am on the couch or chair. The Sunline has a lot of windows including a window by the "dining" area that is almost the size of the back of the trailer.
The appointments are very pretty. This was one indication of the quality. Our interior is decorated in what is called mardi gras green. Also available are country blue floral, brown toffee and autumn sunset. There are several designs. In the dining area the sofa, chair and dinette and window treatments are done in a floral pattern. The 74" Converta Bed sofa lies flat to sleep two. There are pretty hanging lights over the couch which match those in the bedroom.
There is a solid brown carpet under the swivel chair and dinette.
The kitchen:
We love the galley area. All counter and table tops are made using laminated hollow core methods or solid maple. Unlike our former unit no particle board it used. The counter tops edges are hand – finished in real maple. We saw really nice quality in the cabinets that are screwed together (rather than stapled) and made from 3/4 real wood core rather than 5/8" fiber or particle board.) The cabinets are shaker style and made of real wood.
Every morning in our former trailer I had to wipe down the condensation on the inside of the windows. This doesn’t happen in the Sunline just as the salesman assured us it wouldn’t. Although we had never told him our old unit did this and leaked he commented that those of lesser quality often leak and form condensation.
There are mirrored overhead cabinets above the couch and an entertainment center in the dining area where our television goes; a radio/CD player exists and an enclosed storage unit for other “toys.”
The kitchen is wonderful though I would have liked more counter space. What put a chopping board over the stove. This gives us more room. There is a large double door gas/electric refrigerator with wood doors. In the case of power loss, the refrigerator will automatically switch over to gas and continue working. I love the fact the freezer is a separate compartment. It has 3 ranges on the gas stove and we have an oven which we did not have as well as a microwave. The sink is a double stainless steel one with a chopping board over one side giving us additional space. Items such as our coffee maker go behind the sink. There are plenty of cabinets in the galley including 4 drawers under the sink. I think perhaps the pantry was the deciding factor. I have never seen anything like it. Rather than a door that opens to two shelves or no pantry which is more common that you might think, the Sunline T-2499 has a pull-out pantry with shelves to keep our food organized and neat. It also has a built-in trash can.
The bathroom:
I was happy in our former unit because we had a bathroom. However the bathroom in our new unit is larger than the one we have at home! It runs the entire width of the trailer. It has a real china toilet with a foot pedal flush rather than a plastic toilet with a flush I had to reach down to use. There is a window in the bathroom with privacy glass, a skylight and a wonderful medicine cabinet. The shelves have barriers so our items don’t come falling down when I open the medicine cabinet after we have pulled into a campsite. The shower doesn’t have a vinyl curtain which I always found to be a pain because I would have to knot it up when we were underway if it was damp. Our Sunline has a rollaway door that slides in and pulls closed. The bathroom has a drawer and cabinet as well as a towel rack built into the door that holds 4 towels. No more towels hanging from hooks!
What is quite unusual is that there is a door coming from the galley into the bathroom and a sliding door from the bathroom to the bedroom. So if we want a cozy den setting or I want to be online while hubby is sleeping I close the bathroom and bedroom doors and if we want to feel as if we have more room we open the doors.
The bedroom:
One reason we went with the 2006 rather than a used 2004 was because the 2004 has a window in the bedroom. It opens from the outside and we didn’t think it was necessary plus in trying it out it wasn’t comfortable to sit against in bed reading. The T-2499 2006 we looked at did not come through with the window. (We learned that there are some items such as a built in paper towel holder that some 2006s have and some don't. It depends on what the dealer ordered.) It has a 390 coil queen walk around bed with a very pretty padded headboard and pull out draw on the base of it. The walk around bed was a must. Corner beds can be difficult to get out of especially if there is a bunk above it like we had.
The bed lifts up to expose the draws and a bit of storage space between the drawers. There is a maple flip up television stand in the bedroom. We have two wardrobes that are not very wide but are very long and deep. When I ran out of hanging space I decided to store items in clear bins and pile them up. The bed has a floral green bedspread with toss pillows that match those on the sofa. The same carpeting that is in the dining area is in the bedroom.
So what is it like to tow and my thoughts?
The salesmen told us that Sunline designs their wheels in such a way that we wouldn’t even know we were towing anything. I can’t go so far as to say that our SUV hasn’t a clue but I will say it is much easier than I thought. We went hiking and heading to a New Hampshire mountain. My husband is the driver and said he felt some difference but not a marked difference pulling the Sunline. As a passenger I didn’t feel it at all; I didn’t feel it sway and as the one who is in charge of keeping my eyes (a second set of eyes) on the side mirror even when large rigs went by. Certainly our weight distribution hitches and sway bars help.
I was surprised with the gas mileage. The average mileage we got was 11.2 mpg at a speed of 60 mph.
Our travel trailer sleeps 4. It is perfect for a couple. This is not a unit you would consider if you have children. You can easily have friends sleep over because the privacy is excellent. Your friends have their own entrance to the trailer and to the bathroom and you would have your own entrance to your bedroom and bathroom. We have enjoyed the trailer and look forward to traveling with it for the next few years. (Then we buy a Class A – that’s a self contained unit that gets driven.)
I can’t find anything wrong with it. One unit we looked at had an entrance from the bedroom to the outside storage so you could just dump dirty laundry into a hamper. I loved that feature but wasn’t going to buy the unit for that one reason. Is it perfect? No it isn’t but nothing would really be perfect in my opinion short of a $300,000 RV with a washer/dryer and fireplace. In the meantime I am giving our T-2499 5 stars.
If you would like to see pictures and can't find them doing a search let me know. Thanks for reading. jo
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 20,000
Condition: New
Model and Options: T-2499 2006
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