PURCHASING OUR FIRST TT

Both our HTT and TT came from RVW...good folks to deal with, no games, saved huge bunch of money on both...over $4000 on the HTT and more on the TT. Don't know if they carry the exact brands you're looking for, but surely well worth an online search. They will email you the price and the price is the price. No last minute surprises. We stayed the first night at Indian Lake CG - excellent, although it was on our dime and not theirs. Oh, well. We found 2 very minor things and called that afternoon to let them know we'd swing back by first thing in the morning. They were ready for us, had both remedied quickly and we were heading to TN. Strongly suggest before you decide, take a look.

With 6 kids, you can do your own exterior protection. Some for wax on and some for wax off. Interieor protection? What a joke - don't fall for it. Most likely a tech will use spray cans of scotch guard on the furniture. You don't need it.

Wow I guess I'm a real cheapskate or a diehard bargain hunter I always look for new leftover year model units! I've bought two that way the latest being a 2012 Gulfstream Amerilite 255BH which I gave 12k for in fall of last year. The earlier was an 1998 Amerilite 24RB which I gave under 10k for and recently sold for half of what I paid for it. I did try to stick with Gulf stream because I had an leak issue with the 98 after it was a year out of warranty and when I located the source it was obviously caused during assembly and Gulfstream repaired it without any hastle and even upgraded the unit at no charge. Btw I bought both of mine in Indiana from different dealers east of Indianapolis. And you're correct Louisville is an RV desert.

I required the propane tanks be full and the water system sanitized so I could use right away. I didn't buy my hitch from him, as I used the one I had previously, but had him include setup in purchase. (I picked mine up on a Sat and left town in the following Friday). The other thing my dealer did was install for free, the items I bought from him before pickup.... like roof vent covers and a big level on the front.

Most places will fill the propane tanks give you a battery and a starter kit Cheep sewer hose, pack of TP, Tank treatment, and water hose. As someone said a brake control is a $99. plug in and screw to dash ten min job.

He explained in a previous post not all kids will be traveling with them. Just follow the loading tips I gave you and you will be fine. Sounds like you made a a good decision on the hitch and brake controller as well. Good decision to buy the model you really want then you can get a stronger tow vehicle in the future if you feel the need, and not have to buy another trailer too. I wouldn't waste money on the protection******either.

They'll usually throw in a starter pack with some cheap sewer hose, wheel chocks and some toilet paper. Get as much as you can, though.

Bruce

Okay that explains it good.

For the last question on the original post: Do you guys look for bennies when buying or is it common for dealers to give bennies (or perks)? My example was RVW in OH offered a free weekend put up for the family if we bought from them. I won't visit them since they don't carry the model Passport we've decided to buy. Holman didn't offer anything.

The tongue weight is the amount of downward weight applied to the ball on your trailer hitch. This weight can vary, but is usually in the area of 10% to 15% of the GVWR of your trailer -- the ideal percentage being around 12%. The more tongue weight you have, the less available payload you have in your tow vehicle. The less tongue weight you have, the more susceptible you are to sway. Your tongue weight will increase with anything you load forward of the fulcrum point (axles) of your trailer. The tongue weight will decrease with anything you load behind the fulcrum. Tongue weight is dynamic and is something you need to pay attention to when deciding how you are going to load your trailer.

Bruce

Okay. I'm still not sure what y'all mean by tongue weight. I'm still reading and reading and reading. Pitching a tent has been much easier. :) But I know this TT is going to be great for a more overall family enjoyment.