How do you shop for specific features

myredracer wrote:
If they've never owned a TT before, be very careful to choose one they are going to want to keep for a long time. Going to a show or dealership is great but after you buy something, you can start to find all the shortcomings that never occurred to you. (BTDT) Even little things can quickly become pretty annoying. I would suggest if at all possible, rent or borrow a TT and test it out before buying. Some CGs even have rental TTs on them. Maybe take a friend of a friend of an in-law with RV-ing experience to a show or dealership who knows what to look for.

Choose wisely! :)

We learned this quickly with our first 5th wheel which had no slides. But thankfully we bought used so it was a great learning experience. Helped us know what we did and didn’t want in our next one, which we also bought used. Look at floorplan and "study" them. Can u open the fridge or get to the bathroom with slides in, etc... Really think about what you’re looking at.

I started with the websites of all the RV manufacturers I could find, about a year before I came back to the U.S. That was 15 years ago, there is much more of this information today. Then I shopped dealers and RV shows when I got home, and it still took another 15 months before we settled on a specific RV. But we had not even decided whether we wanted towable or motorized, you at least made that decision. We collected lots of brochures at shows, for anything that was moderately interesting, because not everyone then had good websites. We also made three factory visits, which was helpful in choosing a manufacturer.

Your short list of "must have" will likely be covered by a large number (possibly a hundred or more) of models across all TT manufacturers, brands, and model lines, and since your weight limit is high enough to include some more heavily built short models, the price range could be quite broad (which gives you another factor on which to choose).

The next step would be trying to actually find some of those RVs that were listed on the websites, maybe at RV shows, maybe at dealers, to get inside them and see how they "fit." Most of the folks I know who trade RVs every 2-3 years are those who have difficulty working out how well it fits their needs until they've had a year or so trying to live with it. Getting inside, going through the motions of living in it, is for me the most important part of shopping for a RV (or a house).

I bought a RV that I hadn't been looking for. We went to the dealer to look at something else, didn't really like it. Dealer said have a look at this, we have it on consignment. My wife liked the living space better than anything else she had seen, and it has worked well enough that I still have it 13 years later, although now it is way bigger than I need for just camping or road tripping alone, but would be right size if I decide to snowbird with it.