Travel Trailer

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Dutchman gave a pretty good rundown of choosing, as to looking at brands I'll add First, most manufacturers build multiple lines, with varying levels of amenities. That said they all use similar internal fixtures and appliances. Appliances, pumps, converter, etc will be of similar quality, the pricing differences will show up in materials and methods.
Like a house, cabinets made of pressboard with a shelfpaper type of visual surface is the cheapest, and will deteriorate the fastest, Plywood is better, and hardwood frames are better still. Screwed and glued are better than stapeled.
Generally metal sided units are cheaper than glass or Azdel, which are also claimed to be better insulated as well as less likely to sustain water damage issues.
Cheaper lines will usually have smaller water and waste tanks, not only to save on the tanks, but also to lower the overall weight so they can then use cheaper axles, frames, and tires. Best suggestion is to find a floorplan that you like, then look at several versions of that floorplan, from different lines and determine at what price point you achieve a quality level you desire.
Truck, look at the sticker in the door pillar, all your weights should be listed there for your truck. When you look at the trailers, go by the GVWR NOT the empty weight. And then expect the tongue weight to be 12-15% of that GVWR.
As to pricing have the dealer give you their real price for a starter. The affiliate store here list decent pricing, but then, on a $20,000 unit added a few things Shipping $1700, Dealer Prep $700, PDI $350, Documentation $399. Several local mom and pop dealers had similar prices to CW, but didn't add all the horse hockey fees at the last minute. Most that offer straight up pricing say so on their websites, check them. Check around, you may find that another dealer is actually a better deal. Or you may find that CW overall is the best for you. Hope this helps, Good luck.

DutchmenSport wrote:
The true length of that camper is 33 feet. Don't let the model number of any RV trick you into think that is the true length of the camper. The true length of any camper is never identified in that model number. The most you can hope for is that number reflects the floor length inside the camper. But this is very seldom really true either.

33 feet is a nice length. My 2nd trailer was 31 feet and it was a comfortable fit for us. Easy to back into campsites, and not so long we couldn't get into most places. Never found a State Park we couldn't get a campsite somewhere in the park with that length. We do State Park camping.

Isn’t that the truth. I tried to figure out how keystone gave our trailer a “241” number. The box is 20’ over all it’s 26’

If this is your first camper, consider buying used.

That said, the most important consideration is the floorplan. If the floorplan doesn't work for you, everything else is irrelevant.

I second drsteve. If this is your first you will find after some use that your idea of what features are important will change.

wrktfsh wrote:

DutchmenSport wrote:
The true length of that camper is 33 feet. Don't let the model number of any RV trick you into think that is the true length of the camper. The true length of any camper is never identified in that model number. The most you can hope for is that number reflects the floor length inside the camper. But this is very seldom really true either.

Isn’t that the truth. I tried to figure out how keystone gave our trailer a “241” number. The box is 20’ over all it’s 26’

Maybe Keystone had 240 models designed prior to coming up with yours?

I sometimes wish RV makers used model numbers that clearly had nothing to do with length rather than sort of kind of approximating it somehow; I think it might reduce confusion in the long term.

DutchmenSport wrote:
During the first year, it's expected you'll have warranty repairs, which will get fixed, but not without undue stress on you, and then going into the second year of ownership, you'll probably be OK. However, you will need to continue to persistently work and to maintain the camper to keep it in top shape.

Well put.

Friends who are trailer owners started with one that did not have much closet space, and you could not walk around the bed. When they bought a new one, those were included in it's features and they were much much happier with it. Is the shower big enough to use? Can you use the bathroom with any slides in? ( You may want to when traveling) How about getting in the frig or using the stovetop. We bought our rv used 10 yrs ago and have never been sorry. Don't rule out an older one/ higher quality for your same budget amount.

Melanie3117 wrote:
Help! Too many brands to pick from. Looking at Puma Palomino. 28rkss. Any advice on a new trailer this size?

what's your tow vehicle and its specs?