Build Quality

I always tell people new to RV to buy their first one used. First, make sure your tow vehicle can handle the load, including vehicle passengers and all of the other "necessities". Start SMALL !
Second, buy from a private seller. Third, look for something in the 3-6 year old range.

After a year or two, then go shopping for a newer, larger RV.

RV sales the past couple of years are very high. This means that the companies are building them as fast as they can. Quality usually suffers when workers are pushed.

SoonerWing03 wrote:
The floor plan we like is one like the Apex Ultra Lite 245BHS.

Have you also considered the shorter, lighter and no doubt less costly Coachmen Apex 208BHS which has a floorplan similar to the 245BHS?

I did look at that model, however my wife is not a fan of Murphy Beds...additionally, with there being 5 of us we really would like a U shaped dinette.

I greatly appreciate your suggestion.

Using the words "build" and "quality" together when discussing RVs is like using "rich" and "set for life" together when discussing your 20 hr per week job at McDonalds.

If I was buying today, I would look closely at Grand Design's Imagine. From what I can tell, the quality seems good and they have some great floor plans and features. My understanding is that Grand Design was started by and is run by the same group of guys that started up Keystone before Thor took it over.

While I would love for the Grand Design 2400BH to be in the running, it is just too heavy at 5595 UVW for my comfort level. That would put me right at my limit with the Tahoe. I am looking for TT's that are under 5000 UVW and hopefully closer to 4500.

Current top 3 in the club house, in no particular order:

Coachmen Apex Ultra-Lite 24LE
http://www.coachmenrv.com/product-details.aspx?LineID=62&ModelID=3163#Main

Coachmen Apex Ultra-Lite 245BHS
http://www.coachmenrv.com/product-details.aspx?LineID=62&ModelID=3164#Main

Riverside RV Retro 265RB
https://www.riversidervs.net/retro-travel-trailers/floorplans.html

SoonerWing03 wrote:
Current top 3 in the club house, in no particular order:

Coachmen Apex Ultra-Lite 24LE
http://www.coachmenrv.com/product-details.aspx?LineID=62&ModelID=3163#Main

Coachmen Apex Ultra-Lite 245BHS
http://www.coachmenrv.com/product-details.aspx?LineID=62&ModelID=3164#Main

Riverside RV Retro 265RB
https://www.riversidervs.net/retro-travel-trailers/floorplans.html

While double bunk beds may seem like a great idea I'd have an issue with how the ends of those beds are cut off so severely at an angle, which in turn would make it difficult to sleep 2 people in each one. Thinking back to our RVision TrailCruiser C21RBH hybrid, it had a single width bunk up top and a double width down below, with the end of that bed only slightly angled off so it would better clear the bathroom door.



Since these beds were used normally only by our 2 boys, one above and one below, this wasn't an issue but had we tried to sleep 2 adult sized people on the lower bed it would have ... I can't imagine sleeping more than one person in each of the "double" bunk beds shown in the models you've selected. Sure, for kids perhaps, but kids have this nasty habit of growing very quickly so IMO this is an issue worthy of consideration.

It's unfortunate K-Z dropped the popular 240BHS triple bunk bed trailer from the lineup. Our 2008 240BH-LX was an earlier non-slide version that would easily sleep 3 in their own bunk beds, along obviously with the front queen bed. We sold ours after 6 seasons only because our boys by that time were no longer camping with us but I still regret having done so - should have kept it. :o No doubt there are some slide versions out there in the used market and would sell well within your intended budget. :B

normal_dave wrote:
With your parameters, (Tahoe tow rig, sleep 6, $20K Budget, quality build, first trailer), it's somewhat akin to "Unicorn hunting". :B

With 3 kids the OP presumably needs accommodation to sleep just 5, which is why I mentioned the triple bunk bed K-Z Spree 240BHS. ;)

I have only owned two trailers, a KZ Spree for six years and now a new Jayco Jay Flight.

As far as initial build quality I would rate the KZ an 8 with minor cosmetic issues holding it back from a perfect 10. During the six years (7,800 miles) I owned the KZ I had one plumbing issue (shower drain became detached from the shower allowing water into the belly of the trailer), a short in the running lights (wire rubbing against a sheet metal screw resulted in a short and blown fuse), a speaker that stopped working and intermittent functioning of the furnace start-up function. All were fixed under warranty except the furnace issue went away on it's own.

I haven't owned the Jayco long enough to comment on reliability but fit and finish I would also give an 8. There are minor cosmetic things that you notice once you've spent some time in the trailer. So far all the system are working (short three day/two night camping trip) and time will tell if long term reliability is acceptable. I've heard from people that have owned them for years and never had any issues while others have had issues right from the start (should have been caught during the PDI but that's another conversation).

While the manufacturer is important as important is the thoroughness of the dealers inspection prior to delivering the unit to the customer. I hear of so many issues that are really the result of a poor inspection by the dealer, things that should have been caught and the customer have never seen.

SoonerWing03 wrote:
While I would love for the Grand Design 2400BH to be in the running, it is just too heavy at 5595 UVW for my comfort level. That would put me right at my limit with the Tahoe. I am looking for TT's that are under 5000 UVW and hopefully closer to 4500.

Current top 3 in the club house, in no particular order:

Coachmen Apex Ultra-Lite 24LE
http://www.coachmenrv.com/product-details.aspx?LineID=62&ModelID=3163#Main

Coachmen Apex Ultra-Lite 245BHS
http://www.coachmenrv.com/product-details.aspx?LineID=62&ModelID=3164#Main

Riverside RV Retro 265RB
https://www.riversidervs.net/retro-travel-trailers/floorplans.html

I understand that the following is about a different model, but they are built by the same manufacturer. We too looked at a Retro brand trailer (we wanted the 189R but they had a 180R on the lot so we looked at it for comparison), but after actually being inside of one the DW and I were less impressed.

In the pictures they look great with the old school birch wood walls but in reality, it is thin luan ply covered with a birch wood vinyl covering. Where the wall joints meet, they use strips of vinyl to cover the joints, not a furring strip. The two models we looked at on the dealer's lot had the vinyl lifting and bubbling already. Meaning that I would have had to get furring strips, sand, stain, and seal them, then install them over the joints. Not something I would want to do to a brand new trailer.

The kitchen sink and shower enclosure use very thin plastic. The shower I can forgive. It is a shower tub basin with a plastic walled enclosure that fits into the recess. The kitchen sink however, not so much. The sink was made of a very think plastic of some type. Thin like the formed plastic cartons you see stuff sealed into at the store. A knife dropped point down is going to very possibly puncture the bottom of your sink tub. I would have liked to test the theory, but I'm sure the salesman would have proceeded to **** kittens...

Finally, after reading several posts on the Riverside Retro Forum about leaks around the wheel wells in rainy conditions and how it causes the 5/8" MDF used in the floors to start to disintegrate creating large soft spots in the floor, we decided against it.

Mind you, this is just my 2 cents...Others have given rave reviews about them, but if I am going to spend a large sum of money on a trailer, I'd rather more of the money go to better quality material (yeah I know) than cuteness factor.