New to Full Timing - Picking a Trailer

[crochetdiva]

We have our favorite trailer brands...

• COACHMEN
• EVERGREEN RECREATIONAL VEHICLES
• STARCRAFT RECREATIONAL VEHICLES
• JAYCO
• KEYSTONE RV
• NORTHWOOD MANUFACTURING

We plan on camping 75% of the time at my husband mom's place to be close by but to give us space because of her being elderly. The rest of the time we are going to travel.

I also have learned I have late stage Lyme and my doctors have suggested that we do what we want to do together ASAP since they don't expect me to live beyond a couple years. We will have to come back home about once a month for doctor appointments but the rest of the time we can travel.

We are looking for a trailer that is

24’ TO 28’ TRAILER OR CLASS C
UNDER $20,000
RECLINERS A BONUS
WALK AROUND QUEEN BED
GENERATOR
ENCLOSED UNDERBELLY & HEATED TANKS (4 SEASON)
Lots of storage for yarn

I'm sending my husband to an RV show to wander and get a feel for what he wants in an RV since he has never been around them growing up and I grew up camping summers in anything from a truck camper up to a class C.

What do you full time in and what do you LOVE about your trailer or RV? If you could upgrade what would you upgrade to?

[littlemo]

Get on the Internet and shop and look at pictures and floor plans and get ideas for floorplans and space usage.

Be aware that Most TTs do not have a generator. I think if order a new one you can get a generator installed. Also there a portable generators available.

Good Luck!

[pamvanw]

You say you have allergy problems with hotels. Be careful with RVs. There are very few manufacturers that I can tolerate the smell because of my allergies. We have a Northwood Arcitic Fox. It was one of the few on my short list of tolerable smelling units. Also you'll want a 4 season trailer so you aren't mopping the windows in cold weather.

[wannavolunteerF]

Diva, just looked again at Coachmen you are looking at and realized it is about the same size as the Jayco I linked too.

I was thinking you could put the washer in the cabinet under the single bunk on the same side as outside kitchen -- No matter which trailer you pick. On Jayco, use slide where bunks are for yarn storage and maybe a recliner/rocker if you took the bunks out.

[crochetdiva]

wannavolunteerFT wrote:
diva, I know you are looking at a new Coachmen there in ATL area, but I wanted to share a used Jayco on Craigslist less than 200 miles from ATL. It is a bit bigger and heavier, but you could probably get it for $20K at most, and might even could get seller to deliver, until you can trade tow vehicles for slightly larger tow. It has been listed for a while, and I know we don't have a large RV buying audience in this area (I helped my parents sell their MH a couple of years ago) so you can probably negotiate on it.

Whatever you get, if it has an outside kitchen in the bunkhouse, you can probably tap those water/drain lines for a washer to add to bunkroom.

Only problem with the jayco is putting the washer in a slide out area which I have heard may cause issues.

[wannavolunteerF]

diva, I know you are looking at a new Coachmen there in ATL area, but I wanted to share a used Jayco on Craigslist less than 200 miles from ATL. It is a bit bigger and heavier, but you could probably get it for $20K at most, and might even could get seller to deliver, until you can trade tow vehicles for slightly larger tow. It has been listed for a while, and I know we don't have a large RV buying audience in this area (I helped my parents sell their MH a couple of years ago) so you can probably negotiate on it.

Whatever you get, if it has an outside kitchen in the bunkhouse, you can probably tap those water/drain lines for a washer to add to bunkroom.

[crochetdiva]

We haven't been able to tent camp because of my health. We have been staying in hotels and it is very stressful because of my allergies. We are both looking forward to having a trailer where home can come with us and it is going to be much more comfortable for my service dog also who spends the entire road trip trying to figure out why we aren't home and then as soon as we are home he is like so we are going to go again.

Sara

[Mountianeer]

Sorry to hear of your illness.

Coachmen (Apex) and Evergreen were on our shortlist too. We went with Coachmen because of the larger dealer network. We bought new so warranty service options while on the road were important to us. Those were on our short list because of weight/construction, "green" certifications, lack of wood in external construction, and energy (LED, etc) efficiency. We begin our hybrid-full timing next month (some time with family, but most time on the road) for the next 10 months. We are fit, small people, in our 30s, and don't require much "stuff" so our TT is plenty big enough for us (a HUGE step up from the tent-car camping we're used to).

We did some short and long trips in the fall to get our legs under us and learn some good lessons. Best of luck!

[wannavolunteerF]

I don't full time, but I do spend time in my Jayco 24RKS (24ft box-28 ft tongue to bumper). I love the amount of storage I have in it. I do not like the way the jackknife sofa sits and the lack of comfy sitting. (I am a prop my feet up and kick back kind of person). If I were to upgrade, I would probably do without dinette and put a recliner or reclining loveseat in its place. I already upgraded to oxygenics showerhead and will now always have one.

I think you can buy a fairly new TT for 20K in the size you are looking for, so don't let the "negative Nellies" convince you different.

[C-Bears]

Without addressing you target budget, a 28' TT would be pretty minimal for full time use. I'm not saying there aren't folks out there doing full time in that size unit and smaller, but it will be very small and not much storage.

[crochetdiva]

n7bsn wrote:
At your price, you are looking at used only.
As rigs become older, who made them becomes less and less important, and how well maintained they are becomes more and more important.

Consider the "rating" of any model you look at. Rigs that are "rated" for Full-Time or Snow-Bird will generally have better upholstery, carpet, etc then a model, from the same manufacturer, that is only rated for "vacation" or "weekend".
Several of the builder you have listed make models that are rated for "full-time" and models rated for "vacation", the two models will have the same floor plan, but vastly different wearability.

How do you find out the rating of an RV?

[n7bsn]

At your price, you are looking at used only.
As rigs become older, who made them becomes less and less important, and how well maintained they are becomes more and more important.

Consider the "rating" of any model you look at. Rigs that are "rated" for Full-Time or Snow-Bird will generally have better upholstery, carpet, etc then a model, from the same manufacturer, that is only rated for "vacation" or "weekend".
Several of the builder you have listed make models that are rated for "full-time" and models rated for "vacation", the two models will have the same floor plan, but vastly different wearability.

[Old-Biscuit]

The floorplan

Find the one that works for you and your husband.

You will be living in it 24/7 so it's best to like it as much as possible.