Springdale Questions-Moving on up?
I think the time has come to make the almost inevitable switch from HTT to TT. When I bought the hybrid 3 years ago, it was only three of us...within the past year, that number has expanded to six of us (12 years old and up). Needless to say, we're finding things to be a little tight in the HTT when we're all out together. The Starcraft's been listed on the interwebs for a few days now...just waiting to see if it drums up any interest.
In the mean time, I've been doing a little research and looking around and few possible replacements. The frontrunner right now is the Springdale line of travel trailers...specifically the Springdale 260LE Limited Edition and Summerland Series 2702BH. I was sold on the Jay Flight SLX models until we actually looked at the Springdales...build quality and materials seem very comparable, but you seem to get a little more "bang for your buck" with the Springdales.
Both obviously have their pluses and minuses for our family...260LE has one more bed and more headroom while being lighter and less expensive, but it doesn't have nearly as much open floor space or cupboard storage when compared to the 2702. The 2702 is missing that extra sleeping space, but makes up for it with the slideout and loads of storage space.
One thing that I find interesting about the 2702 is the listed tongue weight...830 pounds seems slightly excessive for a model that is only 30' long and has only one (small) slide. I know you want to have a heavier tongue to avoid sway when towing, but is that too much to have a comfortable tow?
I know this question is really irrelevant because every manufacturer makes good and bad units, but if you have any real world experience with the Springdale brand, feel free to share. The dealership I'm working with is small and family owned and appears to have a good service department and working relationship with the manufacturer...I realize that's really half the battle when it comes to dealing with any issues that arise.
This one will last us quite awhile (at least until the kids are grown and no longer have interest in going), so I want to do my best to make sure we get the model that will work best for us.
In the mean time, I've been doing a little research and looking around and few possible replacements. The frontrunner right now is the Springdale line of travel trailers...specifically the Springdale 260LE Limited Edition and Summerland Series 2702BH. I was sold on the Jay Flight SLX models until we actually looked at the Springdales...build quality and materials seem very comparable, but you seem to get a little more "bang for your buck" with the Springdales.
Both obviously have their pluses and minuses for our family...260LE has one more bed and more headroom while being lighter and less expensive, but it doesn't have nearly as much open floor space or cupboard storage when compared to the 2702. The 2702 is missing that extra sleeping space, but makes up for it with the slideout and loads of storage space.
One thing that I find interesting about the 2702 is the listed tongue weight...830 pounds seems slightly excessive for a model that is only 30' long and has only one (small) slide. I know you want to have a heavier tongue to avoid sway when towing, but is that too much to have a comfortable tow?
I know this question is really irrelevant because every manufacturer makes good and bad units, but if you have any real world experience with the Springdale brand, feel free to share. The dealership I'm working with is small and family owned and appears to have a good service department and working relationship with the manufacturer...I realize that's really half the battle when it comes to dealing with any issues that arise.
This one will last us quite awhile (at least until the kids are grown and no longer have interest in going), so I want to do my best to make sure we get the model that will work best for us.
