Buy new Forest RIver on clearance?

Same price range usually equals same quality. They all use the same components from the same manufacturers. Buy what you like best.

B.O.

My AF has opposing slides but only two. Super slide is on driver side and bedroom slide on passenger side. A couple of downsides for me are:

1) Bedroom slide is in the patio area where there's more foot traffic and poses a hazard for hitting your head on the slide.

2) Because it's on the patio side, it infringes somewhat on my lounging area. Mine is a wardrobe slide so it only comes out about 2ft and it's up high. So, it's not a big deal for me. But a deeper slide at the main floor level would have more of an impact.

3) My patio awning is shorter because of the slide. I have seen some trailers where the passenger side slideout significantly shortens the awning (and resulting shaded area for lounging).

In later model years, Northwood has moved the bedroom slide to the driver side - must have been for a good reason.

Love all the experience posted here. Thanks! Now, I just found that the Winnebago 28SGS is on clearance in Portland. Same price - $29,990. 32'(comparable with the Wildcats I was looking at). But this one has 3 slides - 2 opposing in the LR and one in BR. Any experience with Winnebago quality vs Wildcat quality?

We owned a WC TT for 13 years and it was very reliable. Never had any kind of leak and in some ways, it was built even better than our new Arctic Fox.
I would not hesitate to buy another if I were in your situation.

Be careful purchasing a sales reduced or at a RV show. Most of them are units they were not able to sell or were striped and/or short cuts in manufacture. I find it better to order what you really want and then negotiated a good price at 25-30% discount.

Lwiddis wrote:
Lots of federal, state, county and city CGs where opposing slides won’t work.

We have opposing slides on our 36-foot 5th and have always been able to open the slides in any type of campsite: National Park, State Park, Forest Service, etc. Some situations took careful placement of the trailer, but if we could get into a site, we could always open the opposing slides.

I would never purchase any kind of RV with the thoughts of not losing a lot of money on it when selling it two years later. No one can predict what the market will be in the future, although some lucky few always appear to make out rather well.

I bought a new FR Sandpiper 31RBLS in Nov, 2005, which was a new leftover 2004. I paid $21,000 out the door. I had a few problems which was taken care under warranty. We put over 35,000 miles on it in the next 8 years. Sold it for $14.5K in 2013.

Our Outback has opposing slides, with rear living room. Absolutely love it!

We removed some of the stand alone furniture and replaced with a household 3 seater recliner full sofa. I attached wheels and after the slides are out, turn it facing the back full window. It now divides the living room from the kitchen, but being able to sit on the couch and have an almost 360 degree view of the outside is fantastic!

We've never had problems in any campground with the opposing sides and space. We do select our campsites always with reservations, and make sure, with either photos or Google satellite imaging, how the site is arranged. In addition, my trailer is 35 feet long (bumper pull, not a 5er) and my truck is a duly. Trees can be an obstacle just backing into a site. This is why we select carefully. We haven't stayed at National parks, but have driven through several. Looking at the campsites, I found that (If) I could back into the site, the width of parking pad, with surrounding trees would be no problem for our slides. We have seen some pretty creative parking though, where slides and awnings JUST missed a tree. I've done that a few times myself.

One thing you need to consider also, when (and if) you purchase a camper; can you comfortably stay in the camper with all the slides pulled IN. Before you buy, have the slides retracted and then spend an hour inside the camper! If you can not function, you don't want this camper. Please do it. You'll not regret it after you purchase it.

EDIT, another thought:

If it is your intent to purchase an RV for the purpose of selling it in the future and regain your original costs, you are purchasing it for the wrong reason. RV's are money pits. You will NEVER sell your camper for the value YOU think it is worth, even if your camper is only 1 day old.

You purchase a camper for YOU to enjoy it, and no other reason. What value do you place on your own pleasure is what you are willing to pay. Buy for the camper and your own use ...expect NOTHING back out of it in the future. Buy it strictly for your enjoyment and pleasure, and you will have a marvelous relationship with your camper! This is the only way to truly have peace of mind with your camper and justify the expense of the initial cost, upkeep, and the cost of travel and campsites. Any other expectations and your camper will become a burden, and then you'll get angry and hate the thing. Expect NOTHING out of the camper except your own pleasure.

Many dealers jack up the price so they can then offer a big discount. That 29k is likely close to dealer cost, since he isn't going to sell at a loss. When you go to sell it any dealer will give you a percentage of dealer cost not what someone paid. So don't make your decision on future value. But that 29k is a good price for that much trailer.

Buying a used unit, much of the initial depreciation has already happened in theory. But you may pay too much for that used unit, especially off a dealers lot or from a proud owner trying to minimize his loss. And you could get a unit with serious hidden problems. So the same is true, don't make the decision on future value.