Newbie travel trailer buyer question - to slide out or not
Hi all:
I am a newbie in the world of camper trailers, trying to buy my first camper trailer to get started. I am in my late 40s, married with wife and two kids - a 20 year old college going daughter (home only occasionally) and a 10 year old son. Mentioned this to give some idea on what we would need in a camper.
For towing the trailer, I bought a 2017 Ram 1500 ecodiesel with a 3.92 Rear Axle Ratio. Specs show a "Max Trailer Weight Rating" of 7540 lbs. for this truck.
In our local market, I spotted two trailers (on craigslist) that I want to investigate further:
1. A 2016 Forest River Shasta Oasis 25RS. The owner mentions "excellent condition" at a listed price that sounds reasonable. I have googled the model and watched some youtube videos and so far, wife and myself like the floor plan. We have not gone to physically take a look yet, will probably do that in the coming week.
2. A 2016 Coachmen Catalina 261 BH SBX. This one we went to take a look yesterday, and through our newbie eyes, it did look like in excellent condition. We liked the floor plan on this one also.
The floor plans are mostly similar, with one main difference being the slide out in the Shasta. My engineering experience tells me that a slide out means more moving parts, and more possibilities for developing a leak. But wife prefers the space the slide out offers. FYI - the slide out is for the sofa and refrigerator.
One last point - the asking price for both the trailers is similar. The Catalina does come with some kind of a transferable warranty through mid 2023.
Being a complete newbie, I would like advice from trailer owners and experts on what they like and not in a slide out, quality of construction of the two brands etc. of these particular models to help me further decide.
Thanks in advance for all the comments!
I am a newbie in the world of camper trailers, trying to buy my first camper trailer to get started. I am in my late 40s, married with wife and two kids - a 20 year old college going daughter (home only occasionally) and a 10 year old son. Mentioned this to give some idea on what we would need in a camper.
For towing the trailer, I bought a 2017 Ram 1500 ecodiesel with a 3.92 Rear Axle Ratio. Specs show a "Max Trailer Weight Rating" of 7540 lbs. for this truck.
In our local market, I spotted two trailers (on craigslist) that I want to investigate further:
1. A 2016 Forest River Shasta Oasis 25RS. The owner mentions "excellent condition" at a listed price that sounds reasonable. I have googled the model and watched some youtube videos and so far, wife and myself like the floor plan. We have not gone to physically take a look yet, will probably do that in the coming week.
2. A 2016 Coachmen Catalina 261 BH SBX. This one we went to take a look yesterday, and through our newbie eyes, it did look like in excellent condition. We liked the floor plan on this one also.
The floor plans are mostly similar, with one main difference being the slide out in the Shasta. My engineering experience tells me that a slide out means more moving parts, and more possibilities for developing a leak. But wife prefers the space the slide out offers. FYI - the slide out is for the sofa and refrigerator.
One last point - the asking price for both the trailers is similar. The Catalina does come with some kind of a transferable warranty through mid 2023.
Being a complete newbie, I would like advice from trailer owners and experts on what they like and not in a slide out, quality of construction of the two brands etc. of these particular models to help me further decide.
Thanks in advance for all the comments!
