Observations from recent searches
Long story short wife and I are researching a future purchase, and started looking at "full time" campers, after having owned aluminum Starcraft and Salem products that fell apart after a couple of ye...
Forum Discussion
Norfla71,
We are planning to go full time and taking five years to prepare. For the last two years I've been watching differenct trailer brands. One of the best pieces of advice I received was to pay attention to service after the sale. To that end, I'm following several blogs where folks travel in fifth wheel trailers I'd consider as a full time unit. I've also joined a couple owners forums to track issues.
And of course service after the sale should include the company not going out of business. It also seems brands concentrate their "quality" in different areas of construction which includes such details as drawer construction. In other words they might slack off in drawer construction but improve in another area. It's a give and take decision based on what we think is important. For example is Augusta RV. They are currently high on our list but we would most likely have to buy a two year old unit to fit our budget. Augusta is a newer company. So was Lifestyles Luxury RV who many judged as a quality trailer. They went out of business in short order. Will Augusta do the same? Augusta uses hung wall construction vs laminated. Which is better? That's a personal decision although most are using laminated construction. To add complication to the decision other well known trailers use hung construction such as Cedar Creek and DRV.
Personally, I'm concentrating on getting a floor plan we love which may dictate the length. And something in our budget backed by a company known for customer service. We also want the option to option -in better construction such as disc brakes and upgraded tires.
Some buy the trailer with all the construction options they want up front. Some buy a used or new unit and drag it around the country having it upgraded to get there.
Still searching but hope to get there. Good luck in your search.
We are planning to go full time and taking five years to prepare. For the last two years I've been watching differenct trailer brands. One of the best pieces of advice I received was to pay attention to service after the sale. To that end, I'm following several blogs where folks travel in fifth wheel trailers I'd consider as a full time unit. I've also joined a couple owners forums to track issues.
And of course service after the sale should include the company not going out of business. It also seems brands concentrate their "quality" in different areas of construction which includes such details as drawer construction. In other words they might slack off in drawer construction but improve in another area. It's a give and take decision based on what we think is important. For example is Augusta RV. They are currently high on our list but we would most likely have to buy a two year old unit to fit our budget. Augusta is a newer company. So was Lifestyles Luxury RV who many judged as a quality trailer. They went out of business in short order. Will Augusta do the same? Augusta uses hung wall construction vs laminated. Which is better? That's a personal decision although most are using laminated construction. To add complication to the decision other well known trailers use hung construction such as Cedar Creek and DRV.
Personally, I'm concentrating on getting a floor plan we love which may dictate the length. And something in our budget backed by a company known for customer service. We also want the option to option -in better construction such as disc brakes and upgraded tires.
Some buy the trailer with all the construction options they want up front. Some buy a used or new unit and drag it around the country having it upgraded to get there.
Still searching but hope to get there. Good luck in your search.
