Thinking about going from m MH to TT who makes quality units

Alabama Jim wrote:
June 25, 2015
What we witnessed was outstanding. The light weight Retro RV is assembled by Amish workers who place great pride in giving attention to detail.
Thanks again to all the Riverside staff and we wish you very best success in your future endeavors.Jim Harrell

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Jim, I don't want to "rain on your parade" but those sweet little Amish workers are paid piecemeal. They make or assemble X amount of parts per day and go home. They are no better or worse than other assembly workers in other fields.
We've been through many manufacturer tours and they all look nice on the outside. There are tons of poor quality control messages on these RV Forums. That's why most of us old timers suggest your final purchase to be made through a local dealer because chances are you'll need them for warranty work.
Glad you're happy with your choice.

June 25, 2015


Two weeks ago my wife and I had the privilege of touring the assembly line of Riverside RV in Lagrange, Indiana. What we witnessed was outstanding. The light weight Retro RV is assembled by Amish workers who place great pride in giving attention to detail.
The owner of Riverside, Ruth Hershberger greeted us with open arms. Joy Tracey, our contact, introduced us to the staff and handled the details of our visit. Danny Yoder, Production Supervisor, showed us every step of the assembly process, beginning to end. Danny demonstrated great knowledge of RV construction and his desire to produce a high quality product was made clear by his actions and demeanor. We were introduced to a number of the folks on the assembly line and all made us feel welcome and wanted to show us their work. That team is proud of what they are doing and that winning attitude helps to ensure their success.
We need to thank Bruce Alexander, Sales Representative, for getting us in contact with the Riverside plant in Lagrange.
The experience we had with Riverside and seeing what goes into their RV’s convinced us that purchasing our Retro 195 was a good decision.
Thanks again to all the Riverside staff and we wish you very best success in your future endeavors.

Jim Harrell

Check out the Evergreen TTs. Some are made without any wood and with composite materials that do not delaminate. They make I Go and Everlite travel trailers. We have the latter made with a TPO roof which is touted to be superior to a rubber roof. Our 31.5 ft. has a full length queen sized walk around bed. 2 entry doors, 1 slide.

Arctic Fox and Lance are 2 others that rank high. Personally, I am not a fan of Airstream due to the high price, no slides and minimal space in their holding tanks.

Airstream You may need at least a 30' in a TT to have the same inside as your present C

Tequila wrote:
With a 1/2 ton go for the smallest trailer you can live with.

I would change this recommendation slightly. “Go with the largest trailer you can handle" Your TV is stout and can be modified as needed. Electronic sway control works very well and is ideal for TT use. The implied loads on a TV are not proportionate to the size of the TT pulled. You will get 75% of the load with a small trailer. The added load with a longer trailer doesn’t add up. The difference between a 24’ trailer and a 30’ trailer is nil. The longer TT will often pull much better.
MM49

25ft Airstream.

Tequila wrote:
With a 1/2 ton go for the smallest trailer you can live with.

x2

With a 1/2 ton go for the smallest trailer you can live with.

You may want to look over the Rockwood trailer line up. One model has a residential king bed the others have residential queens.
Here's a video on one of the various Rockwood models Windjammer.
It shows how strong the six sided trailers are.
Good luck on your venture.

Most laminated wall TTs will have similar construction to your Jayco C. Some manufacturers do the job consistently better than others (Lance has devotees) and they are quite lightweight at any given size. Northwood (Nash and Arctic Fox brands) has a reputation for building traditional framed construction to a high quality, but are heavy for the size.

Possibly neither incorporates construction features you might equate with quality. Rear caps are pretty rare in TTs and fiberglass or aluminum roofs tend to come only with fiberglass or aluminum shell construction, rather than box construction.

My consideration for downsizing from my motorhome has me looking at unconventional TTs: molded fiberglass shell (Bigfoot, Oliver, Escape, Scamp, Casita) or aluminum shell (Airstream). This construction is more costly than assembling a box from flats, and for the size, priced sometimes much higher. Except for Airstream, there are no really large sizes. At Bigfoot, the largest shell is about the same space as a 28 foot C has behind the cab, everything else is smaller, some brands limited to 16-17 feet.

Queens or short queens are more typical of bed size, and some of the tiniest TTs you might not find actual queen dimensions in small molded shell trailers.

I suggest you look at Lance floorplans, most space for the weight. You may not find many Lance TTs used, the company is relatively new to the TT market and owners have been keeping them.