First Time Travel Trailer Purchase

[blarouse]

Hi all,

I am looking to buy a compact travel trailer (Would like to keep it below 21 ft or so) for my family of five. Ideally it would have one queen bed or expandable fold out area plus bunks on the other side. It's hard to find good information on the most reliable brands and there are a lot of options. I would prefer to keep the budget below $15k if possible.

Thanks for any feedback!

Jason

[SoundGuy]

blarouse wrote:
Thanks for all the feedback. Definitely want to rent one before we buy. Anyone have any experience with Coachmen?

The model below meets our needs and is small enough for me to tow.

Coachmen RV Clipper Ultra-Lite 17BH

Earlier you said - "My truck is a brand new Denali with a 6.2L V8" - in which case I'm not sure why you're so intent on sticking with such a small trailer as that Coachmen Clipper 17BH. :h The Clipper is an entry level trailer but you can do so much better with a Coachmen Freedom Express, Coachmen Apex, or Coachmen Apex Nano series trailer, all of which are much more upscale models than the Clipper and most of which could easily be towed with your new Denali. :B

[fitznj]

Have you looked at small toy haulers? I just down graded to an 18ft TH and am surprised by the open space. It has a queen bed, a bunk and the sofa unfold to a double(?) bed. There is enough floor-space in the "garage" to put an air mattress if you need even more sleeping areas.

With the ramp down - you get an extra "patio" area.

Weight of mine comes in at 3,500 lbs and < $15K, it is a so much easier to tow than my previous 27ft camper.

[blarouse]

Thanks for all the feedback. Definitely want to rent one before we buy. Anyone have any experience with Coachmen?

The model below meets our needs and is small enough for me to tow.

Coachmen RV Clipper Ultra-Lite 17BH

[rbpru]

My standard advice is, find what you think you want, then rent a similar unit. You learn a lot very quickly, before you spend the big bucks.

Used is fine if you know what to look for and hauling a rental around for a week or so helps.

We were fortunate in that our three year old TT does not leak and the new trailer warranty repair work was done before we bought it.

[1stgenfarmboy]

If your not apposed to expandables a
flagstaff Shamrock 183 or Starcraft Travel Star 207TRB look good for your needs.


The Starcraft has a nice big dinette and a good shower with hard doors, hard doors was a must for us, no more shower curtin.

[1stgenfarmboy]

Make a list of all the wants/needs and when looking on something like RV traider put them all in the search, we do this every time and you can narrow down the possibilities, you can not research to much, I spent a few months looking and had it down to 3 models, it takes some stress of looking at 3 as apposed to 1,500.

It sounds like you have a list of wants so the search will be easy, don't worry much about the brand as mentioned there is not 5 cents difference in them all.

I would keep the max loaded weight below 7,500 if you can.

[blarouse]

Thanks for the feedback. My truck is a brand new Denali with a 6.2L V8. I will definitely look at the towing specs. I like popups but would prefer an AC and shower. I do like some of the hybrids that give the separate bed areas and would consider one of those.

[Jebby14]

that's a small can for a family looking to have bedspace for everyone. have you considered popups or at the least hybrids. way more bang for your buck space wise. I would go back to a popup in a heartbeat if the wife gave the ok

[tomkaren13]

blarouse wrote:
Thanks. I have a 1/2 ton truck so I can tow something heavier if needed.

You are smart staying with a smaller TT. There is many threads on this forum. about what a 1/2 ton truck can tow and how to figure it out.

[wiredgeorge]

Just got through doing what you are doing. Most 1/2 ton trucks are not keen for a larger trailer but at 21" you may be OK if you check payload as has been suggested. Look at the max tow as well but the engine in your truck is also a consideration regardless of specs. I had a 2013 F150 with the 3.7 Flex and while it had pretty good horsepower, lacked torque and didn't make a good tow vehicle; in addition the suspension and automatic transmission would not hold up towing very well.

My first thought was to have you folks buy a nice used trailer with only a single queen and then go to the army/navy store for a 3 person tent but I guess you have seen enough cookie-cutter answers. Since my wife and I are the only users, can't give advice on how to best stash kiddos but one thing to look at is that if you get a bottom line trailer; be it used or new, the A/C may not have enough BTUs to keep you all cool in warm weather. Some low end trailers have really low end A/C. Another issue is that with 5 folk, where do you intend on using the trailer? In an RV park setting? In the boonies or someplace without water or sewer hook up? If so, many smaller and less expensive trailers have dinky water, gray and black tanks. Something to factor in.

In ended up buying a 2011 Sunnybrook Harmony 21FBS whcih has a regular size queen walk around and a full bath with a shower door. Best features are nice robust A/C and relatively large tanks. My trailer is 22 ft and an easy pull (very light) and pretty decent quality. If you go used or new, look at things like quality of plumbing fixtures and insulation. These things are not often mentioned but can be make or break when you are out away from home.

[Oasisbob]

We have a 19 foot hybrid for out family of 6. It has served us pretty well over the last 14years with hundreds of trips. We are sving up for a Coachmen Clipper BH 17 priced at around 15K. Queen bed up front, bunks in rear. Plenty of storage. This, or similar, may be what you are looking for. For 2017 Coachman has opted for a wall mount AC and no oven. This has started us looking for another trailer similar to this. There are a few out there. Best of luck

[DiskDoctr]

Take a look on RV Trader

Excellent filters, pics, and info about the different campers.

I find their prices to be high, but they are negotiable.

Once you've found a couple of models you like, search Craigslist.

We really wanted to have 2 slides this time. Slides REALLY give more room in a compact space. There are short slides and deeper slides. We wanted the deeper slides for our purposes.

Once you take a look and find some possible models, take a look at a few of those year, make, model. Seeing in person is sometimes quite different that pics and what we envision from descriptions.

Good luck!

[SpeakEasy]

OutdoorPhotographer wrote:
Look at Murphy bed models and you will definitely need used to be below $15k.

Yes. We bought used. Total cost including tax, WDH, and everything was below $15K.

-Speak

[boosTT]

blarouse wrote:
Thanks. I have a 1/2 ton truck so I can tow something heavier if needed.

You need to go by payload rating and not tow rating. This is a common mistake.