I'm looking for recommendations on a trailer that's up to the challenge of high miles.My first TT was a 23' 2008 Surveyor. It was well built and sturdy. It had no slides. And it got tight for our family of 4 on long trips.My second (and current) TT is a 2014 30' Flaggstaff Vlite bunkhouse. We love the layout, but as an ultralight, I fear it may be a little flimsy for our use. In the 2 years we've owned it, it's been from Texas to South Dakota (Mt Rushmore), Arizona (Grand Canyon), Colorado, Oklahoma, and Arkansas; and--literally--all over Texas. That's at least 12,000 miles.I'm starting to see a gap between the floor and the back wall (daylight can be seen)...about 1/4 inch. The slides don't seem to hold adjustment. Walking from the living room to the bedroom (back of the trailer) feels like you're walking down-hill. I replaced the C-rated tires with E-rated tires as soon as I bought the trailer. While none of the tires has blown, they have all worn horribly...and I'm told torsion axles can't be aligned.My tow vehicle is a diesel 2016 GMC 2500HD quad cab standard bed 4x4.What are some brands/models that would be considered standard as opposed to "ultralight"? I'd like to stick to a TT because sometimes I carry my ATV in the bed of the truck. I'd be open to a 5th wheel and tandem towing a small utility trailer for that purpose. My wife has never seen a toy hauler she liked.Thanks in advance for any light you can shine on this.Matt

I can not offer any suggestions.I went from a "light" weight 21 foot to a little older more solid type of trailer.. 30 foot.. but went from 3,500 pounds to 8,000. but its much better built and made with stronger stuff. my opinionbut it does look like most trailers today are "Light" , extra "Light" extreme "Light"best of Luck in your search...

I have heard very good things about the Arctic Fox brand. My cousin has one but his is one of their heavy duty options with thermal glass all around. His is pretty high off of the ground too but man, is it solid. We walk around in it during fishing trips and with three of us, you can't feel it give anywhere.You are right to stay away from ultra lights as your experience tells you.Good luck in the hunt.

Northwood or Outdoors RV (sister companies, same owner, same in-house built chassis.

aftermath wrote:I have heard very good things about the Arctic Fox brand. My cousin has one but his is one of their heavy duty options with thermal glass all around. His is pretty high off of the ground too but man, is it solid. We walk around in it during fishing trips and with three of us, you can't feel it give anywhere.You are right to stay away from ultra lights as your experience tells you.Good luck in the hunt.X2Nash or Artic Fox. Heavy trailers but built solid.

Stay on top of regular maintenance. Not just before and after a trip but during the trip.

Travel Trailer for the long haul | Good Sam Community

27 Replies

goldsp8
Explorer
Aug 02, 2016
We are very happy with our Grand Design Reflection 313rlts trailer. We have towed it in excess of 10,000 miles at this point with no issues to speak of.
maddod_duck
Explorer
Jul 29, 2016
jamesu wrote:
Woops, belay my last. We have totally different tow vehicles. My bad. Keep looking for a good ultra-light of which I have no recommendations since I traded my 1/2 ton Ford in for my 3/4 ton Chevy a year ago.

Sorry. I need to update my sig. My old truck was the Titan. My new truck is the GMC 2500HD.
path1
Explorer
Jul 29, 2016
I see Arctic Fox and Northwoods mentioned a lot in this thread. I didn't see or maybe I missed it where OP said he was going to buy new or used. As a buyer of a used Arctic Fox, I would also highly recommend one. But bear in mind lots of people buy them. And I think some buy them because they don't know which end of screw driver to use!! And others think they won't need anything because, because everybody said it was a good RV. Mistake!!!

Wife found a couple year old unit that she liked. We got it, first 3 months I went from bumper to bumper. Lots of little tiny things that just take time to make better or fix. Original owner didn't even know somethings were wrong. Just a heads up. They are good units but still need proper care. Camped next to one that had 180,000 miles on it! I thought they were pulling my leg. His wife broke out their travel journal and sure enough, lots of miles. Doesn't help to have kids on one coast and your on the other and make two trips a year. It did have some delamination...where an RV place replaced window and didn't seal it right. I read some of the problems on here that people have and I'm glad I have an Arctic Fox.
jamesu
Explorer
Jul 28, 2016
Woops, belay my last. We have totally different tow vehicles. My bad. Keep looking for a good ultra-light of which I have no recommendations since I traded my 1/2 ton Ford in for my 3/4 ton Chevy a year ago.
Steamguy
Explorer
Jul 28, 2016
Another voice for Northwood / Arctic Fox. We had an AF for 14 years; took it everywhere, rough roads, long trips. Never any problem, the trailer was still solid when we traded it in on another Northwood product - a Snow River. We expect the same longevity out of this one.
jamesu
Explorer
Jul 28, 2016
You' ve got basically the same diesel truck that I have. You can easily tow just about anything you want to tow. I just bought an Outdoor RV TT and love it. Your diesel truck can tow anything out there so buy a TT your family will enjoy and go have fun. Stay away from those ultra-lights.
Passin_Thru
Explorer
Jul 28, 2016
We have an Arctic Fox 31W. It has 1 slider, weighs 10,500 with water and pull it with a 2500 Duramax Chevy, We have Airride all around and a Reese Dual Cam. The trailer has Michelin 16 in LTs and pulls like a sled. I get an average of 9.8 MPG at 67 MPH and carry 100 gal diesel in the back of my truck. GVWT is 20,000 and I'm allowed 22K but would never put that much on it. You have to learn to manually shift the 6 spd Allison at a high RPM to keep up your speed on mountains but it will go as fast as you want to drive too.We put an average of 13,000 miles a year on ours. Extremes, 4 degrees in Mo, 3 day blizzard in Oh, and 100 in Va. It's a tight warm in winter, cool in summer trailer.
campigloo
Explorer
Jul 27, 2016
I have a 2011 Keysrone Outback. It has about 40,000 towing miles on it and no major problems; once I put E rated tires on it. I recently had one bearing fail but that's been it. Weighs about 9500#.
dian2travel
Explorer
Jul 26, 2016
Agree with Arctic Fox....have 22H..2013.....have been coast to coast....tows. great fine unit....added solar for boondocking....lots of questions about this unit in parks. Never any problems....off road also plus.. pull with Cummings.....perfect match...good luck...cost aliterate more but worth it....it holds up to your camping needs.....
tatest
Explorer II
Jul 26, 2016
Holiday Rambler only if looking at the premium model lines (welded aluminum framed construction) built prior to the 2008 plant closing. After the Monaco acquisition they started putting the H-R brand on some laminated panel wall models (sold as lightweights) and after they shut down the H-R plant the brand became badge-engineered R-Vision models.

I don't think H-R is still produced. The reinvented post bankruptcy Monaco Corp eventually moved towables production for all brands from the R-Vision plant back to the Holiday Rambler plant, but did not use the traditional H-R building techniques. The plant was shut down again in 2014 and Monaco Corp left the towable RV business.

Okanagan, if they are still in business. I liked the way SunnyBrook TTs were built (aluminum frame) but they got purchased by Winnebago who is probably now making them the Winnebago way.

Don't discount Forest River's heavier models. Your Surveyor shows you what they can do when building to a slightly higher price point (without glitz).