What Travel Traler to buy?

As others have said, tow vehicle is very important and payload in particular. If trying to pull with a 1/2 ton, do a lot of math on this.

On the actual units, it's also helpful to know how many people are sleeping and how you would use the trailer, do you want to be able to have room for everyone on rainy days or is it just a shelter to sleep in? We had a Jayco 26BH and really liked it, but it was too small for us, so we got a much bigger trailer and a much bigger truck. We now own a Sprinter, and I wouldn't recommend Keystone products. I haven't had any major issues, but many, many, many small ones. Look at build quality, read posts about brands (and none are perfect). Get you and your family sitting in the ones you like for more than 20 min and start thinking about your day camping. What happens in the morning? Do you have to move past each other? Do you have to fold beds up for people to sit for breakfast? Do you want to be making beds up every day/morning?

There are many options, take the time to continue research, these forums are packed with information.

So far I am leaning to the Heartland Mallard M26, the wife really likes the Cruiser RV Radiance 28BHIK. I Have read some good things about Heartland, can't find anything about the Cruiser RV, except that they no longer make the Radiance 28BHIK.

None of them are superior to the other. I would look at holding tank capacities, payload capacity and go from there. Normally I would've picked the Imagine over the rest but after viewing a post on the Grand Design owners forum about a guys Reflection rear cap getting ripped off like a sardine can I will never own a GD product. I know that getting good help in the RV industry is tough today with the current boom going on, but with the rear cap off you can see many assembly procedures.
We had a North Trail 26LRSS as our 2nd TT. Had it for 2.5 years. Only interior issue was the hidden hinges kept popping out of the cabinet door. Some Super Glue applied to the plastic screw insert fixed it. I fixed about 5 of the upper cabinets that way. After a couple it only took 4-5 mins to fix.
I didn't like the way it towed either. A by product of the spread axles being to close to the center of the TT. I don't think the fact that they're spread axles helped at all.
I would look at Jayco.

KillerIsMe wrote:
Curious to know my Friend - what don't you like about the outdoor kitchen? I am asking because we are considering a Jayco SLX 242BHSW with that little kitchen under the awning.

Lynnmor wrote:
Just so you know, those wonderful electric awnings are so flimsy that they need rolled up at any signs of bad weather. Then you need to transfer everything inside anyway. I am in the minority here, but I would pay extra for a manual awning like was available years ago.

I'm one who did do that several years ago with our KZ Spree which was originally fitted with an awful Carefree of Colorado power awning that had virtually no tilt and would only suddenly dump water off one end when it got too heavy. :M



I replaced it with a manual Dometic 8500 that I could tilt WAY down and which would easily shed water even in the heaviest thunderstorm, allowing us to sit under it or even cook even in the worst weather.



As to that Jayco 242BHSW "outdoor kitchen", it really isn't, at least not compared to outdoor kitchens on many other trailers where it's MUCH larger and has a large hatch door that swings up to create a "roof" of sorts over that area to protect it during inclement weather. With this Jayco "kitchen" you'd want the awning to cover that area, otherwise it would be useless when it's raining. However, if the awning is the type that can't shed rainwater easily then that wouldn't be a solution either.

Personally I see these "outdoor kitchens" as almost useless as you're only duplicating what you already have inside yet will inevitably have to go inside anyway to get something you don't have outside. The fridges in these outside kitchens are just a 120 vac dorm style fridge so it won't be running when you're traveling, will only operate when you have shore power available, and are quite small in capacity anyway. Unfortunately, one of the few trailers we'd consider trading our current Freedom Express 192RBS for - the Coachmen Freedom Express 231RBDS - does have an outdoor "camp kitchen" which only makes the trailer heavier than it needs to be and causes the bathroom inside to be smaller than it also needs to be ... grrrrr! :R

KillerIsMe wrote:


Curious to know my Friend - what don't you like about the outdoor kitchen? I am asking because we are considering a Jayco SLX 242BHSW with that little kitchen under the awning.

Just so you know, those wonderful electric awnings are so flimsy that they need rolled up at any signs of bad weather. Then you need to transfer everything inside anyway. I am in the minority here, but I would pay extra for a manual awning like was available years ago.

Jpbeck1 wrote:


The only thing I don't like is the outdoor kitchen, if we buy it I'll probably gut it and use it for storage.
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Curious to know my Friend - what don't you like about the outdoor kitchen? I am asking because we are considering a Jayco SLX 242BHSW with that little kitchen under the awning. Wife loved that feature, but never having owned a TT before we don't want to make a big rookie mistake right off, so your opinion will be valued. Thank you.

We just purchased a M32. The Northtrail 32BUDS didn't have the exterior door for the bathroom. Grand Design did not have the layout we wanted. Considered Keystone and Jayco but they did have the options we wanted when it came down to it. Heartland customer service was superior to the others. From research, Heartland also stands behind their product and is good with covering warranty work.

If you are able to, go to dealers that have the TT you are considering. Get in them and thoroughly check them out. Think beyond the options. How easy is it to access the water heater? How easy is it to open, keep open and close the outside kitchen door and storage doors? etc. We spent a good three months visiting the various TT, working with salesmen, company reps, customer service, researching, and of course negotiating.

The question was about which trailer you would recommend over the others. I am aware of the limits of my current TV and will upgrade if needed.

Honestly. Get the one that fits your family the best. The one that has the bed layout for your kids.

I do like the Fiberglass. It is easier to keep clean, and waxed. But that is pretty much the only advantage.

I'm going to suggest something despite knowing many things such as: what type of hitch you want, what color your truck is, and how much your dog weighs... :D

We are on our 3rd Jayco, so I'm biased. However, we are shopping for a new rv as well, this one is 10 years old and we've gotten our monies worth out of it. We have 2 kids and a dog, and my truck can only tow about 9800lbs comfortable. I my rv pad at home for storage is only about 27 feet. The trailer we are considering is the Jayco Whitehawk 24MBH https://www.jayco.com/products/travel-trailers/2017-white-hawk/24mbh/

It has full sized bunks in the back, a queen size Murphy bed in the front, with a couch when the Murphy is folded up into the wall. The dining area has a slide full sized slide. The bathroom has its own door on the left side of the trailer (great for cross venetalation).

The only thing I don't like is the outdoor kitchen, if we buy it I'll probably gut it and use it for storage.

Anyways, thought I'd through that out there in case you needed more confusion. Take your time buying your rv, see what's out there.