Introduction
Here's our 2005 Shadow Cruiser T-160 which we owned from 2009 to 2011. Initially we bought the trailer for spending weekends at the WK&S Railroad and for traveling with our dog, "Belle". Traveling with pets can be a challenge. But with an RV everyone has an enjoyable and relaxing weekend. Belle was a big consideration in our decision to buy an RV. One might say we bought the RV for the dog.
RV'n at the WK&S railroad.
Belle takes in the view from her RV.
And she has her own bunk, of course.
Eventually we began branching out from the WK&S and tried some conventional campgrounds in other areas. It all proved to be a lot of fun and within a year our RVing had evolved into a significant hobby.
2005 Shadow Cruiser brochure (click image for larger picture).
Background (the path to RV ownership)
For years my wife and I talked about getting an RV, but never got around to it. We always have plenty of other projects to keep us busy and an RV seemed like a somewhat overwhelming undertaking.
In 2009 we finally decided to rent an RV to test if it was as much fun as we thought it would be. But instead of a small travel trailer, we ended up with a big motorhome because that's what was available in our area. It was indeed fun, so we came home and started looking for something of our own.
Our big "RV-4-Rent" from Cruise America.
For our first RV we found the Shadow Cruiser. The T-160 was not exactly our dream RV, but it offered many advantages. It was cheap (relatively). It was an older model so we just left it out in the yard with little worry. It was small enough for our existing Trailblazer, so there was no need to buy a big truck. In summary, we got our RV with little financial or emotional investment (i.e. it wasn't overwhelming).
Online ad for our Shadow Cruiser (click image for larger picture).
There aren't very many companies that offer small, lightweight trailers of conventional construction. Most small RVs feature some sort of pop-up or pop-out contraption. But the Shadow Cruiser has none of that which was a big selling point for us. We wanted to minimize set-up time and we wanted to be able to pull over and instantly have a convenient place for lunch and pit stops.