Brand New, Just beginning process

Since you are not planning on buying new, totally avoid going to "RV shows", those will be a waste of your time or result in you blowing your budget by having to have a certain model/layout.

Buying anything right now whether new or used is going to be extremely expensive so your timing for getting into camping is not good in this respect.

Throw out the price guides, they truly do not mean a thing, folks selling used RVs are getting top dollar because the demand is high and supply of used units is very low.

Your gonna have to go with "gut feeling" on the price, it is what you and the seller can agree to and both fell comfortable with.

Your going to have to make a few concessions, you may not get your choice on layouts, colors and so on.

Start searching your local Craigslist.org postings, just be very leery of any listing that seems way out of this world too low, those are scammer posts and they are not bashful about stealing your money. Scammer listings often are easy to spot, typically they use really odd dollar amounts like $2001, $2102 and so on. Very few legit sellers bother with listing a $5,000 item for $5001..

Be careful of any seller that wants to ship a RV to you, those are scams.

Same goes for sellers asking for payment to be in giftcards, Walmart green cards, Western Union or any other untraceable and unreversable payment that is not cash and in person.

You can also drive around your area, I scored my current TT just because it was on my way to work and it was put out in the yard with a for sale sign on it.

Ask your friends to watch out for used trailers for sale, they may see a yard one for sale.

As far as leaks goes, yeah ALL RVs are subject to leaks, basically if it isn't leaking now, it will be eventually. Just be aware of possible long term water damage to ceiling or paneling. Warps or discoloration is typical signs of long term leaks. Check the floor at the door, near or around the fridge for weak spots and paneling around corners the windows for warping, discoloration or being soft.

OP, no, there is basically no comprehensive google ready real world comparison of brands models, types, years, etc.
Doing your homework, of which rvnet is a great source of information, you’ll be able to narrow down the “premium” brands like Lance, Grand Design, Northwoods, Outdoors RV and see the differences between them and the cheaper tin can RVs.
From there, the list should be narrowing significantly.
Personally, especially for new to RVing folks, the sweet spot is the few years old models. Both from price standpoint and reliability. RVs seem to have more “warranty” type issues than a vehicle imo. The defect type stuff usually shows up early and then gets fixed. So you generally get the benefit of the defect or warranty stuff out of the way but get a RV that has used up very little of its useful life.
Hope this helps.
Aside from that, as you narrow down options, ask questions here. Most popular models are owned by someone on this forum. Makes for a good second opinion.

Good luck!

Lwiddis wrote:
Avoid all RVs you can’t pull, afford etc. That will cut the clutter in you head and make it easier to decide.

Per their post, saying they know what they can pull and know their budget would seem to cover this recommendation…

Whatever you decide on check out the front and rear roof really good. A roof leak is a deal breaker and is somewhat common. You may want to take a inspector or rv tech with you.

You know what you can pull and what you can spend. These are a couple of good starting points. The (old) conventional wisdom says that for a first trailer buy used and save the money. Well, saving money on used trailers is not as easy as it used to be. Whatever you get, you will learn all about what you can pull. Find a floor plan that fits your needs and jump in. Soon you will learn a lot of stuff. Hopefully it will be good stuff. I found the hunt for our trailer to be challenging, frustrating at times but exciting over all. Best wishes with yours.

All good advice that's been offered here... you might also check out Lazy Days RV and La Mesa RV... two of the biggest dealers in the country, and they have a search feature that allows you to narrow down some basic parameters. Do online searches to get some good ideas, and they generally include a lot of pics to offer you some visuals...

First, learn about weights of your tow vehicle and trailers. There’s a big difference between what the max tow weight of your TV is and what size trailer you can actually tow. Once you have an idea of the range of what you can safely tow, you can look at trailers that match.
For example, my Silverado has a payload of 1800 pounds and is rated to tow up to 9000 pounds. In reality, about the most it can tow is around 7000 pounds loaded before it runs out of payload.
Go to every RV dealer in your area and peruse the offerings.
Good luck and happy hunting.

I got my best advise on our 2nd trailer ..... go to a ma and pa dealer away from the city. I did just that and found a dealer that has worked for US on the last 4 trailer we have owned. Personally we like the Jayco brand they are a fair value and pretty much stay together in our very high usage.

Avoid all RVs you can’t pull, afford etc. That will cut the clutter in you head and make it easier to decide.

Look...Find a floor plan that you think will fit your needs. Almost all mfg.'s offer the same floor plans. Now go look at the floor plan you like made by different mfg.'s.
They ALL have their short comings. Once you find a brand that appeals to you more than the others start looking for used.
Remember...This is your first trailer. You may not get everything you want, but it will let you decide if RVing is for you. You can always get another(like most of us) down the road.
Good luck