Salem campers input

You get what you pay for. Oregon minimum wage is $11.25/hour.

jdc1 wrote:
You get what you pay for. Oregon minimum wage is $11.25/hour.

Does that mean it's a better TT since the minimum wage in Indiana is $7.25?
Oregons actually $12.00 where Forest Rivers are built.
https://www.oregon.gov/boli/workers/pages/minimum-wage.aspx

?????

Yeah, no idea how min wage plays into it?? I have a 2019 Rockwood made by Forest River and it's been great. Probably built by a lot of min wage employees before I bought it..

I had a 2003 Prowler made by Fleetwood way back then and traded that Prowler when I got the Rockwood and got 50% of what I paid for it back in 2003 when I traded it in 2019. Great trailer and I never had any roof issues with it that I didn't fix due to just having to do yearly maintenance on an RV that you still have to do even on a 6 figure RV... :)

Salem model is a more 'entry level' RV, but should still be fine. Sure, some bad ones come out in every line. Just do your own due diligence before you sign the check and for me, that means looking over the rig from top to bottom and wasting about 2 hours of the sales guy time, asking questions and opening up everything and trying all the stuff..

Anyway, no brand is perfect.

Good luck! Mitch

I had a 2014 Salem for about a year until I traded it for a truck camper. I had no problems at all with it. About 26', tandem and nice floorplan.

We bought a new Salem 27DBUD in late '12 (a '13 model) and yes, we had roof leaks where the front aluminum cap met the roof. Had it fixed under warranty the first time. Next time it rained, it leaked again (both times NO damage -- we caught it quickly).

Bought a roll of Eterna-bond, and did all seams on the roof. Never leaked again....and we used it on average 45 nites a year for 5 years. Not a bad camper...nice floor plan...but it's not a high end unit. Was great for our family.

I don't believe Min Wage has anything to do with it...it's simply the way trailers are built. Lot of discussion on that here on the forum.

Moral of my story: We've had 1 more TT since the salem, and now a Class C. First thing I do with them, is buy a roll of Eternabond and do all seams...it makes me feel better that is taken care of....and we've had no leaks.

All campers can leak, whether from lack of maintenance or shoddy workmanship.
Just tell your buddy to go over it very well, preferably with a moisture meter.
Or pay an RV tech to do a survey.

The last Salem I walked thru had soft floors, if the one you are looking at uses the laminated type of floor construction, forget it.