RV REVIEW REVIEW AND PHOTOS BY HOWARD ELMER
2020Winnebago Micro Minnie 2405RG— Fifth Wheel The Minnie is a low-weight option So, what came first? The chicken or the egg? This is the perennial head scratcher we’ve all heard. It’s a question that can be applied to so many things—including RVs. In the case of the new Micro Minnie fifth wheel from Winnebago, the chicken and egg riddle translates to: what came first, the lightweight pickup truck or the lightweight fifth wheel it could tow? This is an interesting question particulary if we look at the numbers. Next year the auto industry will sell over a million pickup trucks in North America; while the RV industry also hums along matching those sales by selling more than 21% of its total output as new fifth wheel’s. However, within this established market there is a new wrinkle today—the rebirth of the midsize pickup truck market. Trucks like the Ford Ranger and Jeep Gladiator are all new, while the GM twins (Colorado and Canyon) have only been back a few years. If you add these four into the group that never went away (Toyota Tacoma and Nissan Frontier) you have a nice little truck segment that can also tow. Now we just need the trailers. One of
these is new from Winnebago. It’s the Micro Minnie that weighs in at just over 5,000 pounds (dry). For my test I had the use of a new 2019 Ram 1500, which for this trailer was more than adequate. Of course the bulk of pickup sales are half-tons so it follows that many of these trailer sales will be to owners of 1500 model trucks. But, for the mid-size truck owner, having a fifth wheel option is new and from what I experienced it will be happily received. Still, while the numbers say the trailers are towable by some of the mid-size trucks I mentioned, they do approach the upper limits that the manufacturers have set. Half-tons on the other hand will all easily handle these units. My test trailer had a single slide-out, was seven feet wide, featured a built-in dinette, and still had room for a queen bed. In fact, the front bedroom has a hard door and is very private as the passageway goes through the bathroom. This floorplan trick makes the bath bigger and offers privacy as doors on either side can be locked—this setup is optimal for the necessary night-time excursions of guests. Because the bath spans the width of the trailer ample space is devoted to a sink and counter, around the porcelain toilet, and the large shower opposite to these fixtures. In fact, I’d call it a shower and a half—perfect
RV REVIEW
COAST TO COAST SUMMER MAGAZINE 2020
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