Family of 4 Travel Trailer

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Family of 4 travel trailer. Inside tour of our new (to us) SportTrek lightweight travel trailer that is under 30 feet.

We finally did it! After a couple years of talking, doing the math and saving up, we finally have our very own travel trailer. It’s kind of a big deal for us since we don’t walk into large purchases lightly.

This one was meant for us. After 18 months of stalking RVTrader.com halfheartedly, we almost gave up. But the need to explore outside our two hour limit with small kids and pets, was strong. Not to mention we haven’t been home as a family in over 9 years. Let’s say that again, NINE years!

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Another military family had put this travel trailer for sale on their local AFB sales page and as luck would have it, a friend stationed at that base snapped a photo and sent it to my husband. Four days later we were driving the 9 hours with two kids, two dogs and a bird to see if this was a good fit for us.

We walked around the trailer trying to play cool. Pointing out something on the awning and avoiding stories of our own personal experiences with rented camper awnings. (The story ends badly, but lessons were learned.) Everything worked as it should and it was clear this family took care and enjoyed this travel trailer.

Sitting around the dinette we finalized the paperwork and the keys were placed in our hands.

Our new home away from home!

2017 SportTrek ST251 VBH

18 Months ago this was the exact layout I was hoping for, but just like when you buy a new (used) car, you don’t always get what you want. You’re at the mercy of what’s in your area paired with what’s in your budget.

This bad boy is under 30 feet and lightweight as far as travel trailers go. And let me just address the elephant in the room. No, that minivan in the photo is NOT pulling it. That is just my super awesome, paid off, mom car. Leave her be because she’s great.

Walking in you’re met with a large U-shapped dinette with windows on all three sides of the slide out. The kitchen has a large rounded triangle shaped counter top. Which is perfect for separating the eating area from the murphy bed, and gives great storage space underneath.

The kitchen has a microwave, stove and oven, along with a hidden cabinet. I expect we’ll be doing the majority of the cooking outside but given a rainy day, I’m excited to make brownies in the oven with our kiddos.

Since we bought it used it came with a bunch of little extras. A trash can under the sink (I was probably way more excited for that than I should have been.) a knife set, utensils ect. When you’re starting from scratch every little bit helps.

The girls each get their own bunk to decorate and I’ve already found a curtain in our laundry room that’ll fit each window.

The bathroom is pretty standard but we were given the tip to buy a tension rod to bring the shower curtain out a little further. I guess it can get a bit tight with elbows trying to wash your hair. When I figure out all the little tricks I’ll be sure to pass them along.

Turning around you’ll see the entirety of our camper. The murphy bed is put up and we have a nice sofa with storage all around the sides.

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Travel trailer with murphy bed pulled out.

A lot of travel trailers will have a center divide. Instead, this one has an accordion curtain. Something that doesn’t bother me and because it’s a curtain and not an entertainment center, the camper is a bit shorter and lighter.

Personally I like the open floor plan. On lazy afternoons when we just need a rest, we can all go to our space but not be shut off from one another. We can read a book, color and have quiet time without really being separated.

With the slide out we have plenty of room for our two big dogs and the bird will love all the windows in the dinette while he’s singing in his cage.

Travel trailer with U-shapped dinette and murphy bed sofa.

So that’s it! Our new to us family of 4 travel trailer. It’s not huge but it’s definitely not small either. We’ll figure out all the tricks to organize small spaces and have plenty of camp fire recipes to share with everyone.

The Ozark’s are on the list of places to explore and we’ve talked about making the trip home. However, we are going to have to figure out how to get more than 7 miles to the gallon before we do that. Maybe we set the cruise control and mean it.

Oh and next week we have our first camping trip! I’ll be sure to tell you all about it.

Best wishes, ~Sara