Travel Trailer quality rankings?

WoodGlue wrote:
I bought my Lance because I'll never need 2 trailers!

WoodGlue

Didn't I see in another post you just bought your second Lance TT...if I recall it was only a year or so after you purchased your previous Lance. I guess your message above isn't true; you, like most of us, will trade though travel trailers fairly quickly.

Ours was pretty simple. It was a combination of floorplan (island queen), weight (already had TV), and cost. Brand really did not factor in as there weren't that many that met our criteria. Looked at all dealers within 3 hours drive to get ideas and researched on the net. Kept a notebook of ones that looked good, got lots of opinions, looked for trouble spots. Had it narrowed down to about 6, then found ours on Craigslist.

I want a Lance 2185, but the pricing is out there. You also never see used ones, probably because they haven't been making travel trailers very long. I imagine they will still go for a pretty penny once they start hitting the used market.

Even with the Northwood plant close by, you still see few Arctic Fox trailers used out here, and when you do they are expensive.

One thing I've learned by being on the forums is you can have a low cost entry level trailer like ours and never have a issue or have a high priced popular model and have it go back to the factory to be rebuilt. (or the other way around) There just seems to be no consistency in quality.

I say floor plan, comfort and filling your needs is the place to start. Some floor plans are sold by many makes so if you find one you like move on to comfort and needs. Comfort may be a slide for more room, a couch or bigger beds. Needs are more basic such as size of tanks and room for batteries if you dry camp, 4 season ability if you winter camp, etc.

We didn't go thru 7 in 4, in fact we learned that what you think will work may not before we even bought. There was a 21 ft model we thought would be perfect for the two of us and the dogs. Those sold out and we took a 25 ft model that had bunks and a couch. I have to tell you that the bunks are wonderful for storage and the couch is a godsend over sitting at the dinette. We would have never picked it at first but it is the better rig for us.

clubhouse wrote:

WoodGlue wrote:
I bought my Lance because I'll never need 2 trailers!

WoodGlue

Didn't I see in another post you just bought your second Lance TT...if I recall it was only a year or so after you purchased your previous Lance. I guess your message above isn't true; you, like most of us, will trade though travel trailers fairly quickly.

Yep, I did sell my first 2013 Lance to my friend who was pestering me to sell it to him. Then I bought my 2nd 2014 Lance.

I don't see where that's a problem.

Using the OP's math, now I've bought 4 trailers!

WoodGlue

If I were to buy a TT, I'd probably go to a company like Pace American (PA is out of business, but there are others), and have one built with an aluminum frame/trusses/siding. With strips of aerogel insulation and riveting, the metal to metal contact can be minimized so heat conductivity isn't a major issue. Insulation would be done with foam (both expanding and the Styrofoam stuff.) Inside cabinets would be some form of laminate or even aluminum as well, with a wooden facade. To boot, if done right, mice would have very limited routes of intrusion if all holes are sealed with stainless steel wool and expanding foam.

Yes, this will be expensive, but with a one piece aluminum roof, then a trip to a Rhino dealer or Dave's Permanent Coatings to seal the roof so caulk is something that will never be needed. That way leaks will be a thing in the past, and if there is water intrusion, it is an annoyance, not something that would utterly destroy the TT.

Doing an RV right is doable -- leak proof structures is something Man has been able to do for millennia. It is just expensive since doing it right is not the same as doing it cheap.