Hi Everyone,We are shopping for a travel trailer and narrowed it down to three. To give you a little background on my towing experience. To help in the deciding factor. :) I never towed before, but did give it a try. A little rusty on the backing up, but was able to back into a space between two campers and feel I will get better over time. We have the 2016 F150 2.7L with eco boost. Max towing 7500 lbs.Now for our three choices in travel trailers.• 2018 Coleman Light 1805RB - 22’9” 4136 lbs. dry weight, dual axle.• 2018 Forest River RV Rockwood Mini Lite 2104S - 21’9” 4543 lbs. dry weight, dual axle.• 2018 Forest River RV Rockwood Mini Lite 2109S - 21’7” 4238 lbs. dry weight, dual axle.Any recommendations, thoughts or advice? Good or bad.Thank you and happy camping!

All three campers are (what I'd call) "entry level campers". Nothing wrong with that at all, they are just a bit smaller, more light weight, and designed for the first time RVer to own them about 2-3 years and then sell them for something bigger. Take care of them and you'll get about 50% back on a resale (after 3 years) from a dealer. So, if getting a loan, you'll be upside-down for quite a while. But low priced enough, when you get your second trailer, the amount owned will be rolled into the price of a new one that costs 3 times as much. They'll give you a steep discount on the second camper in 3 years, but then you'll end up adding the price of what your loan pay off is for the first one. And a lot of people do this. AND nothing wrong with doing that either.All three are light weight enough your 150 will tow them OK. Bigger sized trailer and you tow vehicle will soon be reaching it's max. Your size of camper fits the truck pretty well.Quality wise, you'll find stuff cheaper made and built. You'll find particle board covered with wall paper to simulate wood cabinets, instead of real wood. The floor will most likely be particle board also. The finish on the outside might be a bit inferior, begin to loose it's color or fade quicker than some other make or model up the scale a little. But these things are all common among pretty much all RV's. Appliances are all the same, they all use PEX plumbing, all use the same type of furnaces, awning and windows. Toilets, sinks, and fixtures are pretty much all the same. Maybe a brand or two, but that's about all the choices. With diligent care and maintenance, there's no reason why any of the 3 you've selected won't serve you well for many years. But diligence is the key, and not being afraid to fix small things right away yourself before they become big things. Sliding drawers and cabinet doors are the biggest offender in entry level campers. I've had 3 campers. A Dutchmen, a Keystone Springdale, and a Keystone Outback. All 3 have been very good campers with minimal (very minimal) problems. Almost every problem was something I messed up myself.My preference is my current camper, Keystone Outback. It's a dang good camper!

Look under the Coleman for raw, unprotected wood. Avoid if you see any.(Common on their popups, as is the rot that follows.)

Thank you DutchmenSport for the advice.Though we aren’t worry about needing to upsize in a couple of years or being upside down on a loan. We owned our used Class C 22’ RV for 9 years and had it paid off in two years. We were comfortable with the size and still are today. It just didn’t have slides. So, moving around in the Class C was difficult. And our other reason for upgrading is it is a 1999. So, it’s getting old and beginning to show wear and needing a lot of updates. Also, it’s not fun getting to a campground and not always having a shuttle service to get around the area. This is our main reason to going to a travel trailer. Will have the truck to get around.Thank you ScottG for the Coleman tip.

All very nice campers with good floor plans.Despite some opinions, not everyone is into huge campers and use smaller campers as stepping stone for huge campers. It's hard for some to imagine, but there are folks (myself included) who prefer smaller campers. We don't need a rolling condo to be happy.I don't think many campers are designed for 2-3 years use, that sounds ridiculous. We've had our 17 footer for 5 years, and it's in as good a shape as when it was new. Does it have cheaply made cabinets as described? Yeah, so do most other sub $100k campers, and our previous class C.Go for any of the campers you listed, and have a blast.

While I agree with the others on the appliances and other fittings being the same, All else being equal, I would still choose the Rockwood, Better cabinetry, (screwed and glued) Enclose underbelly (Coleman May be option), And I think the Rockwood has the torflex axles. I dont know how much more they are running than the coleman, but if cost are similar, I would look that way, Oh and I like the U dinette, it lets two people basically have a j lounge, but thats just my preference.

Which travel trailer do you recommend | Good Sam Community

DutchmenSport
Explorer
Mar 10, 2018
All three campers are (what I'd call) "entry level campers". Nothing wrong with that at all, they are just a bit smaller, more light weight, and designed for the first time RVer to own them about 2-3 years and then sell them for something bigger. Take care of them and you'll get about 50% back on a resale (after 3 years) from a dealer. So, if getting a loan, you'll be upside-down for quite a while. But low priced enough, when you get your second trailer, the amount owned will be rolled into the price of a new one that costs 3 times as much. They'll give you a steep discount on the second camper in 3 years, but then you'll end up adding the price of what your loan pay off is for the first one. And a lot of people do this. AND nothing wrong with doing that either.

All three are light weight enough your 150 will tow them OK. Bigger sized trailer and you tow vehicle will soon be reaching it's max. Your size of camper fits the truck pretty well.

Quality wise, you'll find stuff cheaper made and built. You'll find particle board covered with wall paper to simulate wood cabinets, instead of real wood. The floor will most likely be particle board also. The finish on the outside might be a bit inferior, begin to loose it's color or fade quicker than some other make or model up the scale a little.

But these things are all common among pretty much all RV's. Appliances are all the same, they all use PEX plumbing, all use the same type of furnaces, awning and windows. Toilets, sinks, and fixtures are pretty much all the same. Maybe a brand or two, but that's about all the choices.

With diligent care and maintenance, there's no reason why any of the 3 you've selected won't serve you well for many years. But diligence is the key, and not being afraid to fix small things right away yourself before they become big things. Sliding drawers and cabinet doors are the biggest offender in entry level campers.

I've had 3 campers. A Dutchmen, a Keystone Springdale, and a Keystone Outback. All 3 have been very good campers with minimal (very minimal) problems. Almost every problem was something I messed up myself.

My preference is my current camper, Keystone Outback. It's a dang good camper!

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