I really enjoy my Aliner and I have no plans to sell it anytime in the foreseeable future. There are things that I either want to change or think should have been resolved in the design and manufacturing process. All of this is, of course, my opinion..
Inside bathroom. It's wonderful to have a bathroom close by late at night. I don't mind running outside when nature calls most of the time, but once it starts to freeze outside, it's nice to stay inside. The wife considers this option a "must have".
Inside stove. In the spring and summer, I do any heavy duty cooking outside, but in the winter time, it's just too cold to sit outside. Beside, it's so nice to just fire up the inside stove to make coffee in the morning.
Hot showers. A hot shower after a long day hiking up and down the side of a mountain sure feels great. I have mixed feeling about the need for the water heater. I usually camp in the boonies and the shower uses water pretty fast. If I'm short on water, I'll use one of those handheld "Sun Showers" in the shower rather then the water heater. I have to admit though, if water isn't an issue, it's great to have it.
Comfortable bed. It may not be a pillow top bed like I have at home, but I sleep like a rock.
Easy to maneuver. I've camped in many places where there just isn't enough room for a big RV. I even managed to camp in one fantastic location that was too short even for the Aliner. I unhooked the Aliner from the truck and turned it sideways. Perfect fit!
Refrigerator. I often camp for a week or more at a time. I prefer planning out our meals and stuffing the frig before we leave the house. The less time I spend in a store, the happier I am. Beside, I find that the frig does a great job of keeping meat cold enough to be safe for many days and cooked food for a week or more. The freezer keeps meat frozen solid. I don't trust an ice chest to do this.
Allergy free environment. This may be a unique use. During early summer, I have terrible allergies. I take medication for it, but the amount of pollen in the air in Western Washington is tremendous and it overwhelms my system. Nights are the worst. Air-conditioning is rarely installed in homes here so the windows need to be open to keep the house cool. To solve my problem, when it's time for bed, I take a small HEPA filter out to the Aliner, plug it in and within a few minutes, I'm feeling much better. I usually spend three or four weeks out there until the peak if over. The wife misses me but she doesn't miss all the tossing and turning. We both sleep better.
Upgraded fabric. I got the upgraded fabric for the Aliner. I'm not sure what the original material is like but the upgraded cloth is fairly heavy and the curtains are lined on the window side to filter light and they do a pretty good job.
Bal Leveler. Definitely nice to have. I used blocks for the first year and they work fine, but the Bal is faster and there's no trial and error swapping of blocks to get the height right. The only down side is the Bal is built like a tank. I have a truck so it's not hard to find a place for it but you don't want to just throw it in the back because it's so heavy. I've got the 14" tires, so the Bal can be a tight fit around the tires if the tires are under inflated or if the ground is very rocky.
Brakes. I had brakes installed on my trailer even though it's not required with my Ford F150 truck. In an emergency stopping situation, the shorter stopping is worth it to me for peace of mind.
Window trim poorly installed. The ends of the framing overlap on several windows. This doesn't affect the function, but it looks sloppy.
Entry door doesn't have a door stop. The door rubs up against the outside aluminum molding when it is opened wide. This bends the molding and I've had to file it down several times to keep the edge from digging a hole in the door. I've found some door stops that should work fine for only a few dollars.
Separate hole cut for the installation of the Fantastic Fan. The existing vent hole over the sink would be the perfect location and the hole already exists. Instead, a new hole was cut for the installation. I camp in the winter so every hole in the ceiling is another place for heat to escape.
Sit shower has completely separate drain system from the sink. I don't understand why the two things aren't tied together. They are terminated right next to each other.
Shower wastes water. The shower head has a thumb adjustment so you can turn down the water while you shower. The concept is nice, but it doesn't turn the water down enough to minimize water usage.
Noisy water pump. The pump isn't mounted solid so it vibrates loudly. It sounds like a semi-truck downshifting. There isn't a lot of space where the pump is mounted, otherwise, I would remount it, myself. It would have been a lot easier to mount this solidly before the whole trailer was assembled.
Water heater doesn't have an electronic ignition. It wasn't listed as an option. Instead, I have to light it manually and it can take 5 or 10 minutes for the line to purge all the air out before the pilot will light. Once it does though, it works fine. Maybe I'm just lazy.
Furnace draws down battery. The furnace can draw down the battery in a day or two. I keep the thermostat set to 55 degrees and I always turn it off at night no matter how cold it gets. Even with this conservation, I can only get a couple of days out of the battery if it's really cold outside. If I had it to do over, I would not have gotten the furnace. It works great and I admit that it's nice to reach over and flick it on in the morning when it's so cold that there's frost on the inside of the trailer, but it uses a lot of battery juice. I would rather have a catalytic heater so I could minimize my power usage. I have to keep a window and vent open anyway to keep the moisture down so I don't see any reason why I shouldn't a non-electric catalytic heater instead.
Expedition cargo storage bin collects water. The bin isn't air tight so it collects a lot of moisture on the inside walls. It can get so wet that water puddles on the floor of the bin. In the winter time, I have to put a small 60 watt lamp inside to keep it dry. Remember, I live near Seattle. In a dryer climate, this probably would not be a problem.
Bottom door frame not sealed correctly. Water would seep very slowly around the edges of the frame into the inside where it would eventually rot out the walls. At first I thought it was condensation, but finally realized that I needed to reseal the door frame at the outside bottom.
Refrigerator vent door peeling off. The vent framing was already peeling off in the first 6 months. Only sealant was used to attach the framing to the walls and it wasn't holding. I'm just glad I discovered it before the framing went flying off down the highway. I cleaned the surface and resealed and I also made clamps out of wood for the frame. This particular frame will NEVER come off.
Curtains installed wonky. Some of the curtains weren't installed square with the windows.
Seals are open cell foam. The seals around the door absorb water like a sponge. I know you can use silicon spray to keep them from sticking but it doesn't keep the seals from freezing solid when it drops below freezing.
Cold floors. The floors aren't insulated. This isn't a surprise, though it would be nice if there was an option for ordering your Aliner with insulated floors. I camp pretty much year round and when the temperature drops into the single digits, the floors are really cold. A 1500 watt ceramic heater can't keep up with the heat loss through the floor.
Wimpy cushions. The foam is about the lowest grade you can buy. The cushions that serve as seats have quickly lost their firmness and shape. I understand that you can buy much better grades of foam. Definitely something I will do.
Fantastic Fan catches on roof. The fan sits too low and catches the roof when I close it. I have to remove both the power knob and the vent closure knob as well as the fuse cap so I can close the roof. Very poorly thought-out installation. This particular problem is the single most frustrating problem I have with my Aliner.
Plastic ceiling covering wrinkling. The white covering is wrinkling around almost all of the skylights and vents where the roof rubs as it is closed. I expect my Aliner to show a little wear and tear from use. In fact, I take pride in having my RV look like it's being used regularly, but it just looks tacky having these little wrinkles show up all over the roof. Aliner needs to figure out a way to bond the plastic surface to the underlayment permanently.
No door strike plate. On my Aliner, the thin aluminum door frame is the strike plate. In only a few months, ridges have worn in the frame and the frame is easily bent which makes the door easy to yank open when locked. I've added a heavy strike plate. This really is something Aliner should fix.