2007 Fleetwood Prowler Lynx 27′ Travel Trailer

We purchased our Fleetwood Lynx travel trailer as a fulltime RV,

and we lived in it from May, 2007 to May, 2008.  We bought it with

the idea of "Go cheap, go small, go now."  We wanted to use our

existing truck ('04 Toyota Tundra), and this trailer was the largest

size that our truck could handle (theoretically).  We wanted a travel

trailer so we could have a cap on the truck and keep our bikes out

of the elements.  What appealed to us about the Lynx was its very

spacious interior for its length.  It had an open and airy feeling

inside, and had a lot of storage space.  It was the ideal introduction

to larger sized RVs.

The 2007 Fleetwood Prowler Lynx 270FQS is a 29'

travel trailer from end to end, including the hitch, and

is 27' x 8' inside with a 3' x 14' slideout, providing 240

square feet of living space.  It weighs 5,500 lbs dry

and has a GVWR of 7,300 lbs.  It was billed as "half-

ton towable" but we had trouble towing it through the

mountains with our 2004 4.7 liter Toyota Tundra.  We

towed it for about 4,000 miles with that truck and

then replaced the truck with a Dodge Ram 3500

diesel.  The trailer holds 40 gallons of fresh water, 40

gallons of grey and 40 gallons of black.  It has a

15,000 BTU air conditioner and 35,000 BTU furnace.

There is a single slide that is 3' x 14' which contains the dinette and

sofa.  The queen bed on this model was a short queen (74.5" x 60"),

but Mark modified it to be a full quuen (80"x60").  The bed lifts up to

a huge storage area underneath that can be accessed by hatch

doors on both sides of the trailer.  It has a 6 cubic foot refrigerator,

kitchen sink, range, microwave and pantry.  The bathroom has a

shower, toilet and sink.

We used an Equalizer hitch with a 12,000 lb rating.  The hitch broke

twice.  Fortunately we were not hurt either time.  The first time the

welds cracked all around the hitch head.  The second time one of the

two bolts holding the hitch together sheered off when we came down

a driveway leaving a bank parking lot.  Equalizer was very good and

replaced the hitch head when the welds broke.  We replaced the hitch

bolts with #8 rather than #5 bolts (only a few bucks) just a few miles

from where we noticed the one had sheered off.  We got 9-10 mpg

while towing with the Tundra and 11-12 mpg while towing with the Dodge.

This trailer was an ideal starter for fulltime RVing.  In it we learned about

solar power, inverters and boondocking, and it taught us about the things

that were vital and the things that were unimportant in a fulltime rig.  In the

end we realized the Tundra was not strong enough to tow the Lynx and we

upgraded to a long bed, single rear wheel Dodge Ram 3500 one ton.  It was

more truck than the Lynx needed, but we purchased it knowing that one day

we might get a fifth wheel.

By starting with the little Lynx we got on the road sooner rather than later,

and we had time to research alternative big rigs at leisure.  As we traveled

we quizzed everyone we met in a larger trailer to find out what they liked

and didn't like about it.

We visited dealerships in towns from Oregon to Florida and slowly educated

ourselves about the brands, makes and models of the larger rigs.

There is no way that we could have done that kind of research when

we were working.  We finally  decided the Lynx was too small during

the long cold winter nights, and being a lightly built "half-ton towable"

trailer, it was a little fragile for the long term.  We also discovered that

it was very awkward to get into the storage space in the back of the

truck and we decided the bikes didn't really have to be stored out of

the elements.

Our solar setup on this rig was one Kyocera 130 watt solar panel

mounted permanently to the roof (not able to be tilted towards the

sun), and a Morningstar Sunsaver charge controller connected initially

to two 12 volt Nautilus Group 24 batteries.  We upgraded the batteries

to two 6 volt Energizer batteries from Sam's Club after six months.

The first pair of batteries had 140 amp-hours of capacity and the

second pair had 220 amp-hours of capacity.  The solar charging

setup provided about 25-50 amp-hours of battery charging capacity

per day, which meant that we could use about that much battery

power in the trailer each day without running the batteries down.

We had an 800 watt inverter connected directly to the batteries and we

ran a power strip style extension cord from its AC receptacle through

the storage area under the bed and into the trailer.  We had to go

outside to open the storage hatch to turn on this inverter, so we used it

only when we wanted to run the vacuum cleaner (which draws 300-400

watts).

Inside the trailer there was a cigarette-lighter style DC connector for

the antenna boost system on the wall next to the TV shelf.  We kept a

tiny Radio Shack 150 watt inverter on the shelf and turned it on

whenever we wanted to charge the computer, the razor, the camera

batteries or the toothbrush, or whenever we wanted to watch TV or

DVDs.  This little inverter's fan quit once, but Mark lubed it up with

WD-40 and it ran daily for 3-6 hours each day for the year that we

lived in this trailer.  It is amazing that a tiny $60 gadget could give us the ability to run all the AC appliances that we wanted to run

(except the vacuum).  We had never used a microwave much in our house, so we didn't bother getting an inverter large enough

to support the microwave (950 watts).  So we used the microwave as a breadbox.

We drycamped 83% of the time that first year -- 305 nights.  The solar

setup was more than adequate for the entire year except for the cold

winter months, December - February.  Until that time we never paid

much attention to our electrical use.  The four LEDs that showed the

status of the batteries generally had all four LEDs lit whenever we

checket it.  During the winter months the days were short, so the

panel did not have much time to get its charging done; the sun rode

low in the sky, so the panel did not sit at a great angle to the sun; and

the nights were long, so we sat around for hours while it was dark

outside, running the lights and the battery-draining furnace.  To

compensate, we used oil lamps for light at night and we wore a lot of

layers.  This is okay for a "roughing it" vacation, but it wore on our

spirits after a while.  It was clear by the end of the winter that we

needed more solar and battery capacity, a non-battery-draining

heating system, and more seating options in the trailer!

In the end it was hard to let the little Lynx go.  John and Carl at the dealership where we traded it in were very patient as we

continually sang its praises and wondered aloud whether the new huge fifth wheel would measure up.  The Lynx had everything

we needed, and if we had been traveling just 6-9 months a year we never would have given it up.  However, when your only

home is your trailer, little things like comfortable furniture, space to lie down on the floor and stretch, and general ruggedness

become important.  I'm not 100% sure, but I think the fellow that bought the Lynx from the dealership was a man who had just lost

his home -- a 1980's vintage Holiday Rambler travel trailer -- to a tornado that had flattened his town of Pricher Oklahoma.  If that

is the case, then I know the Lynx is very much appreciated by its new owner.