In my opinion, if you are purchasing an RV for "resale value" your motives for an RV are all wrong. You should be purchasing an RV (of any type) for YOUR pleasure and enjoyment, not what you are going to get out of it when you are done with it. (Just my opinion). Get what YOU and the Mrs's. wants and be happy. But I suppose I'm not like others (maybe?)
We've had both. Our first 2 TT did not have slides, and for a couple with no kids, both were OK. Our first TT was an 18 foot TT after owning a pop-up (when the kids were still young). The TT, although well built and solid, had a lousy floor plan. It took a few months to figure this out. The couch was along the front cap, and the cap was rounded. You could never sit straight up, your head was always pushed forward by the curved wall. And it was jack-knife bed, which was horribly uncomfortable. It had no oven and had a corner bed as the master bed. That became very old very fast crawling over each other to get in and out of bed. The bathroom was cramped also. It had no slide.
The second was 31 feet, had a walk around bed, and bunks along the back wall. No slides. But after about 5 years, we realized the floor plan just sucked! The couch was narrow, opposite the dinette, and both were extremely uncomfortable for just sitting and relaxing, and the television was in a bad location. We ended up spending 99 percent of our time in the main bed, as I put a second television in there, and really wasn't using the rest of the trailer. The bunks were just catch-all's for everything. Always a jumbled mess.
The 3rd TT has 3 slides. Opposing slides in the rear living room and a sliding closet in the front bedroom. It great for 2 adults, and with stand alone furniture, things can be rearranged or even removed and replaced, which is what we did.
We've no no problems with either the no-slide or the slide campers. We've had no problems with the 3 slides in our current camper, but I am meticulous cleaning any leaves and twigs off before retracting them and treat the seals about 4 times every year.
But the SPACE the slides provide is so much nicer than the non-slide campers we had. And with our own furniture in there, we have a high backed recliner couch, that you just melt into when sitting and relaxing.
Like you, the first and second TT with no slides was our choice based on a fear of slide failure. And ... 10 to 15 years ago, that was a real concern. But there has been a lot of improvement in newer models.
Would I go back to a trailer with no slides? Probably not, unless it was a Toy Hauler where we could turn the garage into a living room! The rear living room with opposing slides and windows 360 degrees is simply awesome!
