decided on floorplan, now which manufacturer, need advice

[bigbullelk]

Hi all.

We’ve outgrown our first TT (bought used, a 2007 Forest River Surveyor 255RS (fiberglass) we’ve had for 4 years) and are looking to upgrade. We’ve decided to buy new, not used. We’ve settled on a floor plan style that we like:

- Bunkhouse
- Center island in the kitchen
- Entertainment center on an angle (not perpendicular to couch)
- Outdoor kitchen
- King or queen with space between end of bed and wall (I’m 6’3” and need the room for my feet to hang off) and space between side of bed and wall of trailer (no closet from bed to roof – need space for my arm to hang off)

We have narrowed it down to 3 manufacturers with similar floor plan options. We’ve had no experience with these manufacturers. Would appreciate any insight or advance on the good, bad or ugly of these manufacturers and/or these specific models/floor plans. Would love to hear from the owners out there. I don’t want to start a fiberglass vs. tin/aluminum argument here but I’m open to either (I’ve read a lot on pros and cons of each).

- Keystone Cougar 34TSB (fiberglass w/ painted front cap, aluminum framing)
- Jayco Jayflight 33RBTS (stick and tin)
- Prime Time Lacrosse 329BHT (fiberglass front cap w/ black diamond plate at bottom, aluminum framing)
- Prime Time Tracer 3200BHT (fiberglass front cap w/ black diamond plate at bottom, aluminum framing)

And, of course, there is no one dealer we can go to to see all of them in person at the same time. They are spread out across several states, so am looking to try and further narrow the options before we spend the time and money to go see them in person.

Thanks in advance.

[bigbullelk]

xteacher wrote:
Of the four you mentioned, I would go with the Jayco. A friend has a brother who works on RVs, and he's seen the least amount of problems with them, compared to other brands.

Thank you for weighing in. That's good to hear!

[bigbullelk]

GaryLee4 wrote:
I can't speak about the other brands but we purchased a Keystone Cougar 31' TT about 4 months ago and their quality seems really good. We've been camping 4 times without any problems. I'm not pushing Keystone, just speaking from our experience.

Thank you for sharing that. I'd say the Keystone cougar and the Jayco are neck and neck at this point. Will go see the Jayco in person on Tuesday. May never get to see the cougar given the closest one is 3-4 hours away.

[xteacher]

Of the four you mentioned, I would go with the Jayco. A friend has a brother who works on RVs, and he's seen the least amount of problems with them, compared to other brands.

[GaryLee4]

I can't speak about the other brands but we purchased a Keystone Cougar 31' TT about 4 months ago and their quality seems really good. We've been camping 4 times without any problems. I'm not pushing Keystone, just speaking from our experience.

[bigbullelk]

Andy F wrote:
NCC is Net Cargo Capacity I believe or maybe Net Carrying Capacity. Ironically it is usually the one number the manufacturers don't publish even though it is very important to know as a consumer. We are looking at class A motorhomes for retirement and we have found one manufacturer, Newmar, that has the number in their products specs on the website and in their brochures.

Thank you!

[Andy_F]

NCC is Net Cargo Capacity I believe or maybe Net Carrying Capacity. Ironically it is usually the one number the manufacturers don't publish even though it is very important to know as a consumer. We are looking at class A motorhomes for retirement and we have found one manufacturer, Newmar, that has the number in their products specs on the website and in their brochures.

[bigbullelk]

Lantley wrote:

tmm2good wrote:

bigbullelk wrote:
Expect TW to be in the range of 1300#-1400# on floorplans like this. Be careful loading up under the island bed. .
.

Good point on center island and taking up space - will keep that in mind. What exactly do you mean by careful loading up under center island?

I think he means loading stuff under the bed, all that weight goes straight onto the tongue.

Yes TW can be quite hi on these units. These bunkhouse models have come a long way since I had a TT.
Someone mentioned center island takes up too much space. My thought is models without center island tend to have limited counter space.
Also beware of the NCC these units are crammed with features and amenities,they often have limited cargo capacity.

Yes that definitely seems to be the trade off -- center island with more available counter space or no island and more floor space. I think wifey prefers more counter space.

Also, dumb question, what is NCC? Something cargo capacity?

[bigbullelk]

tmm2good wrote:

bigbullelk wrote:
Expect TW to be in the range of 1300#-1400# on floorplans like this. Be careful loading up under the island bed. .
.

Good point on center island and taking up space - will keep that in mind. What exactly do you mean by careful loading up under center island?

I think he means loading stuff under the bed, all that weight goes straight onto the tongue.

10-4 on that. Thx.

[Lantley]

tmm2good wrote:

bigbullelk wrote:
Expect TW to be in the range of 1300#-1400# on floorplans like this. Be careful loading up under the island bed. .
.

Good point on center island and taking up space - will keep that in mind. What exactly do you mean by careful loading up under center island?

I think he means loading stuff under the bed, all that weight goes straight onto the tongue.

Yes TW can be quite hi on these units. These bunkhouse models have come a long way since I had a TT.
Someone mentioned center island takes up too much space. My thought is models without center island tend to have limited counter space.
Also beware of the NCC these units are crammed with features and amenities,they often have limited cargo capacity.

[tmm2good]

bigbullelk wrote:
Expect TW to be in the range of 1300#-1400# on floorplans like this. Be careful loading up under the island bed. .
.

Good point on center island and taking up space - will keep that in mind. What exactly do you mean by careful loading up under center island?

I think he means loading stuff under the bed, all that weight goes straight onto the tongue.

[bigbullelk]

bobndot wrote:
Our daughter has a PT in that size with no center island sink , make sure you have enough truck to do the job.
She found the center island to take up too much floor space with 5-6 people and a dog.
When laying this kind of cash , make sure you spend a bit of time in this floorplan with the whole family moving about. Tell the salesman to leave you alone for an hour.
Expect TW to be in the range of 1300#-1400# on floorplans like this. Be careful loading up under the island bed.


Owners like the KZ customer service as far as i know.
the 333BHK might work for you. This is a sportsman series, check the website for other series floorplans.

msrp on this model is in the $38k range. Should sell for $30k'ish .


http://www.kz-rv.com/products/sportsmen-travel-trailers-and-fifth-wheels/travel-trailer-333BHK.html

Thank you! Re: that kz that plan has a short queen of 75" which is even shorter than a standard queen so that won't work for me unfortunately. Shucks.

Good point on center island and taking up space - will keep that in mind. What exactly do you mean by careful loading up under center island?

[bobndot]

Our daughter has a PT in that size with no center island sink , make sure you have enough truck to do the job.
She found the center island to take up too much floor space with 5-6 people and a dog.
When laying this kind of cash , make sure you spend a bit of time in this floorplan with the whole family moving about. Tell the salesman to leave you alone for an hour.
Expect TW to be in the range of 1300#-1400# on floorplans like this. Be careful loading up under the island bed.


Owners like the KZ customer service as far as i know.
the 333BHK might work for you. This is a sportsman series, check the website for other series floorplans.

msrp on this model is in the $38k range. Should sell for $30k'ish .


http://www.kz-rv.com/products/sportsmen-travel-trailers-and-fifth-wheels/travel-trailer-333BHK.html

[bigbullelk]

WX9DX wrote:
Don't buy a Coleman! I just bought a 3015BH and you won't believe the problems with Colman service!
Jimmy, WX9DX

Thx for the heads up!

[WX9DX]

Don't buy a Coleman! I just bought a 3015BH and you won't believe the problems with Colman service!
Jimmy, WX9DX