PURPOSE
The purpose of this tab on the website is two-fold. First, we would like to share our day-to-day experiences with this RV, such as something not working right, a new discovery, something that we find useful or not useful, situations that had occurred and what we did, and the list goes on. We want this tab to be a reliable resource to others who are considering this RV (or already have one), as well as welcome comments from others, with regards to their experiences with it. We plan to keep this RV for many years to come so we are eager to share what we learn about it with you.
The second purpose is to list the items that we have purchased to use with this RV so that people can get an idea of what they might like to use/items that are compatible with this RV. The items are broken into four categories: Bed & Bath; Kitchen; Safety & Storage; Security.
Be assured, we will not list any items that we do not like and/or recommend. With that said, however, everything is brand new so it will take time to test things over a period of time. If we end up not liking any given product listed, we will post a comment and remove it from the list accordingly. Thus far, we are pleased with everything that we have purchased.
Some of the items will have a detailed review with a custom photograph, while others are just the item itself with a link to the site where we had purchased them. Most of our stuff was from Amazon, but not everything. We have an Amazon account set up where if you click the link to the item from our website it will take you directly to Amazon. And if you purchase it, we receive a small commission.
NOTE: The RV specific items will only be listed under RV Accessories as a drop down on this tab. The “Gear Review” tab is for items unrelated to RV accessories.
INTRODUCTION
The decision to purchase a new travel trailer is something that Larry and I had been mulling over since Fall 2021. We went back/forth, changing our minds frequently. We had considered travel trailers, truck camper toppers, Class B/C motorhomes and hard-side pop up trailers. And every time we had something picked out, we found something else that we liked better. This pattern occurred over a dozen times until we had narrowed it down to the 2022 Winnebago Micro Minnie FLX 2108DS travel trailer. To understand why we purchased a new RV, and this one in particular, I need to journey back to 2015 when we had purchased our first travel trailer.
Our first travel trailer was a brand new 2015 Summerland 2570RL. We purchased it with the express intent of using it as a ‘permanent’ at Egg Harbor Campground in Door County, Wisconsin. It is a large travel trailer with which we had no desire to drag around to different campsites on the weekends. Instead, we had wanted to use it as a getaway cabin, as is common in the Midwest.
We had a wonderful summer utilizing it as a permanent in Egg Harbor, but life took a drastic turn and brought us to Colorado in December 2015. We brought the trailer with us and then utilized it in the same fashion at Elk Creek Campground in Grand Lake, CO, where it had remained, year-round, for the last six years. As life continued to bring about changes, including our jobs, the heartbreaking passing of our two Golden Retrievers, the progressive growth of this website, and our outdoor adventure aspirations, we began to take a fresh look at the “RVing concept.”
Larry and I travel extensively, year-round, doing all of the things we love: snowshoeing; cross-country skiing; hiking; biking; kayaking; stand up paddle boarding. And whenever we travel, we have always stayed in some form of lodging. But we began to envision a different path, one in which would enable us to stay off-grid anywhere, in both the summer and winter, with all the comforts of home, including a comfortable bed and linens. Anyone who knows me (Stella) well, knows how particular I am about this.
In late March 2022, while planning our 2022 summer vacation, we began reinvesting a considerable amount of thought, discussion and research toward this notion. We decided that we wanted the freedom and flexibility that an off-grid RV would provide, thus began an aggressive search for exactly what would best suit us for our current and future adventures. And because we had spent so much time in our prior travel trailer, we had a really great starting point.
The 2022 Winnebago Micro Minnie FLX 2108DS travel trailer comes with a hefty price tag, considering it’s small size. But we didn’t have any particular price point in mind. Instead, we wanted to zero in on quality of construction as well as what we would enjoy using long-term. Naturally, we both desire to retire now so that we can utilize our new RV to the fullest by traveling everywhere we have fantasized about. Do we ever plan to live in it and travel full-time? Absolutely not. But we do dream about taking it on many long trips for months at a time – a.k.a retirement.
Why we chose a travel trailer: There are so many RV options to choose from: vans; motorhomes; truck toppers; pop-ups; travel trailers. In the end, we chose a travel trailer for the following primary reasons:
1) Size: We plan to use this trailer for both short and long trips so we wanted something that would be comfortable for any length of time. Plus, we really wanted a slide out because of the extra space that it provides.
2) Summer gear: On the Tahoe, we have racks specifically designed for our tandem kayak and stand up paddleboards. The racks provide significant ease for loading and unloading. If we had purchased something other than a travel trailer, we would’ve had to re-design this transport system.
3) Detached: We like being able to detach the Tahoe from the trailer so we have an overall smaller, lighter method of transportation to our outdoor destinations where the parking spaces may only accommodate a regular sized vehicle.
Why we chose this particular travel trailer: As I mentioned earlier, it was a very difficult decision. After weeding out all of the other options, we had narrowed the list down to three specific units: Winnebago Micro Minnie FLX; Lance 1985; Nash 18FM OTG. There are many reasons why the Winnebago Micro Minnie FLX 2108DS travel trailer was our #1 choice of these three, and I will attempt to be as specific as I can in an effort to help you understand this decision.
1) Length: The Winnebago is 22.5′, providing the perfect floor length and ample storage capacity for both short and long trips. The Nash is 22.11′; Lance is 23.8′. The extra floor length of the Lance is attributed to the design of the murphy bed at the front of the unit.
2) Weight: The dry weight of the Winnebago is 4384lb, making it the lightest of all three. The Nash is 5662; Lance is 4965. We have a Chevy Tahoe, not a truck, so overall weight was important.
3) Off-grid features: The Winnebago is designed to be fully functional off-grid for 5 days, and possesses everything you need to make it comfortable: two 190 Watt Solar Panels paired with a 30 Amp MPTT charge controller; 320 Amp Lithionics Battery; complete Truma system; AquaGo water heater; Truma VarioHeat furnace; Aventa air conditioning unit, all controlled by the Truma CP plus control panel.
The Lance did not come with many of the off-grid features, so we would’ve needed to add them ourselves. The Nash did come standard with many of these features since the 18FM OTG is designed specifically for off-grid use (but it does not have the Truma system).
4) Construction/quality:
- The Winnebago is made with Azdel, a very high quality mold-resistant type of material. Lance also uses Azdel; Nash does not use this material.
- Unlike many other RV manufacturers, Winnebago RV’s are not made on a mass scale. They only produce a limited number of models and focus on quality versus quantity. And they are known to provide excellent customer service.
- Winnebago was founded in 1958, and has continued to be an industry leader. Likewise, Lance was founded in 1965, and we believe that their RV’s are within the same overall quality bracket as Winnebago. A Winnebago sales representative mentioned that Lance is her nemesis, as she also believes this to be true. I am not certain that can be said of Nash – from our research.
5) Specific interior features: In addition to the items mentions above, there are many other features that set the Winnebago apart and further assisted with our decision:
- Murphy bed design: All three units have murphy beds, but they are extremely different from one another. We prefer Winnebago’s overall bed design for ease of use, functionality and overall appearance, although the wedge mattress is beyond horrible. We replaced it with a custom hinge mattress by Tochta (review coming soon).
- Refrigerator: The Winnebago’s refrigerator/freezer is the largest (10.3 c) of the three units. It is massive and works extremely well! It runs off of the battery.
- Booth dinette: The Winnebago’s booth dinette design is called a “dream dinette,” versus the traditional U-shape. And, it does not have any metal posts underneath the tabletop; it lifts up and down with a lever on the wall. This is an awesome feature that we really like! And the dinette seats are so comfortable, which is sometimes not the case. Additionally, we really like that the dinette is elevated from the floor and does not have any carpet underneath it. The Lance also offers a carpetless, elevated dinette but theirs is the traditional U-shape and has the metal post underneath, which we did not want. The Nash has carpet, is U-shaped and is not elevated.
- Storage space: The Winnebago offers more interior storage space, specifically in the kitchen area. The Nash is the second runner up in this category, while the Lance offers very little.
- Convection Oven: The Winnebago has a combination microwave/oven instead of a traditional oven, located above the stovetop. We really like this feature since we have no need for an oven in an RV. In our prior travel trailer that we had for seven years, we only used the oven once due to unforeseen circumstances. With the removal of the oven in the Winnebago, it provides a deep drawer for kitchen stuff.
- Tankless water heater – Truma AquaGo: Both the Winnebago and Lance have this feature. And if you’ve never had a tankless water heater on an RV before, you have no idea what you are missing! Enough said.
- AquaGo Showermiser: Winnebago has a unit that is attached to the shower faucet called a “showermiser.” It is a little lever that you twist once you’ve turned the water on. It prevents the water from coming out of the showerhead, while the water recycles as it heats itself. This prevents the cold water from being wasted in the gray tank, which is very important since the Winnebago doesn’t have a large gray tank capacity. Lance also has this; Nash does not.
There are a few standard features that the Lance possesses that I would like to point out since it was the closest runner up in our decision:
- Thermopane Euro Windows: double-paned and provide superior insulation. This is a really huge feature.
- Wind sensor on the awning: automatically retracts if conditions were too windy. This is a nice-to-have feature, although we seldom leave our awning extended when we are gone.
- Slide cover: This is a nice-to-have feature, although we can easily get on top of the camper to sweep stuff off before retracting the slide. And, this can be added on.
- Sliding screen door: Instead of the traditional screen door, Lance has a sliding screen door like you find on a house. This feature seems to be unique to Lance, and we absolutely LOVE it! This is a feature that we could add to the Winnebago, but it would require some modification to the doorframe, unfortunately.
- Spare tire mounted underneath the trailer: This is a very desirable feature, and we are trying to figure out a different placement for ours, which currently mounts on the back of the trailer.
FINAL THOUGHTS: It is our hope that this review will be useful in helping you to determine what features are most important for your next (or first) RV purchase. We are extremely pleased with our decision to purchase the 2022 Winnebago Micro Minnie FLX 2108DS. With that said, there are a few projects that we plan to undertake:
- Spare tire mount underneath the trailer: We are also considering having this mounted somewhere on the front of the unit behind the propane tanks, although we haven’t found a solution yet.
- Pull out shelf under booth dinette: The storage area under the booth dinette is very deep, making it difficult to access things. Larry may install a pull out shelf in this area (just on one side). He found someone else who had also done this and it makes a great use of that space.
- Change Backsplash: The existing backsplash is becoming loosened from the wall behind it. Instead of re-securing it to the wall, we purchased a tile backsplash to replace it. We think what we picked out will look really good!
