Travel Trailer Purchase

gelo wrote:
They are both used. The Shadow is a personal sale from a couple who got divorced and just wants to get rid of it. The Aspen is at a dealer and was traded in.

If the decision was purely about functionality I think I'd take the Aspen but I worry that I may not like camping or may just be too busy to use it and want to be sure if that happens I will get most of my money back when/if I sell.

I'm not in the market for anything right now because prices for any luxury item, vehicle, etc are outrageous. We are in the process of a correction right now with high interest rates and high costs of goods. If you want to insure you can get your money back, save your money now and wait unit the bottom falls out then pick something up that someone bought and can't afford the payments, storage cost, doesn't like camping 3' from their neighbor, etc. If your not sure you will like using a camper, try renting first to see if you like it. Spending almost $30K on a trial, you are sure to lose money in the end.

gelo wrote:
Hi everyone, I'm trying to decide between two travel trailers and thought I'd reach out here since I have very little experience (my first purchase).
The choice is between a 2021 Aspen Trail 26BH and for $26,800 and a 2021 Shadow Cruiser 240BHS for $29,000. They are both base models in good shape no work needed. I kind of like the Aspen but NADA says the low Retail is 19,900 vs the Shadow at $28,000 which makes the shadow a better value. They both are very similar, it seems strange that one books for so much more, is the Shadow that much better?

Forget NADA, prices are all over the map presently. There are a TON of used units on the market, and pricing right now is a black art.

Between these two, I would go with the Azdel tt.

They are both used. The Shadow is a personal sale from a couple who got divorced and just wants to get rid of it. The Aspen is at a dealer and was traded in.

If the decision was purely about functionality I think I'd take the Aspen but I worry that I may not like camping or may just be too busy to use it and want to be sure if that happens I will get most of my money back when/if I sell.

RV sales are falling off a cliff at the moment. Wait another month !

Are these new leftovers or used units?

The Aspen Trail is stick and tin construction, the Shadow Cruiser is laminated construction. Laminated costs more than stick and tin. The Dealer is overpriced on the Aspen Trail for sure. What they will both have on common is they will be slapped together and absolutely no quality control.

Buy the one you like the best, that fits your budget and your lifestyle, don't get to stuck on "value", you are not buying a money making investment.. Folks tend to microscope these things way too much.

Good info, those are the things I wouldn't have thought about until it was to late.
The NADA value confuses me, wish I hadn't looked at it. Is the Shadow Cruiser considered a better class of travel trailer then the Aspen?

Between those two the couch on the 26BH makes it the no-brainer to me, having a place other than the dinette to sit on a bad weather day is huge. It also appears to have about 20% more storage space, and you can never have too much storage space. The bigger grey and black tanks would also be a big win for the way we use our trailer, lots of sites have water but no sewer in state and CoE parks.