Help with new TT list

[mlchiro]

We will be purchasing a new TT within the next month. So many choices. Been a while since i have been in the market for a new TT, so i know things have changed (mfg's, material, etc). Looking for help rating my list, who to stay away from, experiences, etc. Sorry for long list. Feel free to add trailer suggestions. Want bunk beds and couch/dinette slide. UVW under 6k. Thanks..

Model plan
Shadow Cruiser SC 259BHS
Shadow Cruiser SC 280QBS
Alpha Wolf 26DBH-L
Bullet 277BHSWE
Bullet 272BHSWE
Bullet 287QBSWE
Connect SE C261BHKSE
Imagine 2800BH
Kodiak Ultra Lite 255BHSL
Kodiak Ultra Lite 283BHSL
Mesa Ridge MR2802BH
Passport 2670BHWE GT
Passport 2810BHWE GT
Passport 292BHWE GT
Passport SL 292BHWE SL
Passport GT 2820BHWE
Vibe 26BH

[bob2194]

I have a Radiance 28qb By cruiser rv it the model line above the shadow cruiser. So far I have had just a couple of minor problems, that I fixed myself. There is very little info on them because they are a small company. There are a couple of people on this forum that have shadow cruiser and they said they did have any major problems with their riggs. It's all about the layout. We have the bunkhouse and the grand kids love it as we do to. The Radiance has a little more quality.

[brianosaur]

gafidler wrote:
Never Buy New

...kind of vague?

[ktmrfs]

Our first critera was the ability to access the major things we wanted with the slide IN!
bedroom, bathroom, fridge, stove, microwave, dinette, kitchen cabinets.

You'd be amazed at how many trailers are really limited with the slides in.

If not, it was off the list. We want to be able to stop at a rest stop and do a meal with slides in, and be able to pull in the slides in the evening if we want to depart early in the morning with minimal effort.

Then it was floorplan we liked, only then was it a choice between brands.

[myredracer]

Wander around a CG and ask a few people about their particular brand of TT. You'd be amazed at some of the stories you hear.

For ex., spoke to one couple who had bought a new TT for their retirement years. Roof leaked like a sieve from day one. They took it to the dealer who could not fix it. Then it got sent back to the factory and they only made it worse. He ended up fixing it himself. Brand name withheld...

Thing is about TTs, is that 99% of them use the same components - appliances, doors, converters, toilets, frames, etc., etc. and same materials like luan, vinyl flooring, etc. It comes down to how well they were assembled at the factory and how well the manufacturer & dealer honor and support their warranty. The "quality" of a particular dealer should also be considered. Our last one was useless and even fraudulent. Look for a good one...

If we ever buy another TT again, it will not have a Lippert frame and will not be made in Indiana. Outdoors RV would be my first choice. Jayco has had a reasonable reputation for some time and they have a BAL frame.

TT quality is a big problem in the industry. We had one that got replaced under warranty after we discovered frame problems the day after we owned it. Our current TT has had ongoing poor workmanship issues, and even now, into our 6th season, am still finding problems to deal with.

[Dick_B]

When you have time search this Forum for each of the manufacturers in the list and read the posts. Doubt if the models would have been discussed but you will get the idea of quality build.

[gafidler]

Never Buy New

[BillyBob_Jim]

bob213 wrote:
Look for one with Azdel walls. Newest material, less chance of delamination since it contains no wood or luan.


Might look at Forest River Surveyor
Surveyor with Azdel

OP, only if you buy into the RV manufacturer Azdel marketing BS, because most only use it for one layer somewhere in the construction so they can put the word Azdel on brochures and other advertising. Surveyor is no different than Coachmen and many others,the only place Azdel is used is the sidewall outer layer directly behind the Filon skin, everything else is wood. The floor has wood, the roof has wood, the front and rear walls have wood.

I love the other claims also, higher R value and less weight with Azdel. I do not know how you get any R value of 1/8" of anything. Since a typical 30' trailer would use about 15 sheets of Azdel in the sidewall, and they claim it weighs 50% less than wood, you just saved 82-1/2 lbs because a 1/8" thick sheet of luan plywood weighs 11 lbs.

Marketing crapola which people buy into.

[afidel]

The Mesa Ridge and Imagine stand out to me based on the reputation of the manufacturers, if either is carried by a dealer you like then I'd move them to the front of the list.

[bob213]

Look for one with Azdel walls. Newest material, less chance of delamination since it contains no wood or luan.


Might look at Forest River Surveyor
Surveyor with Azdel

[richardcoxid]

Check out Outdoors RV mountain series, made in La Grande, Or.

[Lwiddis]

If you are considering all those TTs IMO you aren't ready to buy in a month.

[ppine]

Arcitc Fox, Nash, Outdoors RV