How would you group different makes by price point/quality?

There are other differences in the Jayco product line. The Jay Flight has aluminum sides and a insulation value of R7 in the walls. The White Hawk has fiberglass sides and a value of R5. The Jay Flight and White Hawk are different TTs but their options are close. Not sure if one is better then the other.

After the shakeup in 2008 when a lot of RV makers went under or got bought up, the RV industry survived on sacrificing everything for price (if they went bankrupt, the least of their worry would be customer lawsuits.) The only exception to this are class B rigs which make money by price, not volume.

Except for a few TT makers, almost all of them will be going as cheap as possible, from using fibgerglass-backed luan (which will delaminate) to staples for construction, to threading wire of such a cheap gauge that it can't take 1500 watts on a constant basis.

For the absolute best TT, I'd probably go for a Livin' Lite. The "space station" interior may not be homey, but it won't turn into rotted mush if water gets in, due to no wood whatsoever used in its construction. Next best, I'd probably give the nod to Airstream. Next would be the fiberglass "egg" trailers (Casitas for example.) Then, Northwood/Nash/Arctic Fox, perhaps Lance (but I an not sure if Lance makes four season TTs with a generator). After that, the others.

Whenever we go camping and get in a campground with lots of other campers (besides the deep woods camping)When we do our nightly stroll through the park, we look at other rigs, if they are out we say hi and depending upon their response we stop and ask them about their rig, plus and minus. This is when we were looking, it really helped us out pick out what we were looking for next.

The wife thought it was odd, til we were out messing around and some one stopped by and asked about our trailer...then the wife just laughed at herself...and told me to shut up....

Price point is how mfg compete.

Doug33 wrote:
This is where a good salesperson can help out. Even though I researched everything to the Nth degree on line, my dealer was able to give me additional information that helped me make the best decision. It just so happened that the salesman owned the model we purchased, and he raved about his recent trip to Disneyworld's Fort Wilderness. He wasn't just trying to sell me something to make a profit, he was speaking from experience. And so far, everything he said has been true and we have really enjoyed our TT.

You're kidding right? I have yet to find a dealer that says what someone else sells is better than what he sells.

This is where a good salesperson can help out. Even though I researched everything to the Nth degree on line, my dealer was able to give me additional information that helped me make the best decision. It just so happened that the salesman owned the model we purchased, and he raved about his recent trip to Disneyworld's Fort Wilderness. He wasn't just trying to sell me something to make a profit, he was speaking from experience. And so far, everything he said has been true and we have really enjoyed our TT.

I go by weight of TT, length, insulation, frame and interior quality. Is it a cookie cutter or individually constructed, frame of aluminum, heavy undercarriage, fiberglas exterior, 16 inch tires. My choice, Arctic Fox 30 W with 1 slider. It's heavy, warm at 14 degrees in the snow and 1s in quality inside. You can jump up and down and not go through the floor. We added 16 inch Michelin LT tires, pulls easier and hugs the road better.

Based upon our first trip with our Winnebago towable, I suggest you look at their line of travel trailers. They bought out Sunnybrook...known for making a pretty good produce, and are making TTs and 5th Wheels under the Winnebago and Sunnybrook name. From our shopping and research, they do seem to be on the upper end when it comes to quality, fit and finish.

http://winnebagotowables.com/minnie

Or, see if any Arctic Fox/Nash or Lance products are available in your area.

You might give RV Consumer Group a thought. They rate RVs according to safety, economy and reliability. Some folks don't place much value in their evaluations. However, a 20+ year history in the industry is a testament that many do. The nice aspect of their work is they also cover used models now that the brochures have long flown off the shelves when those units were new. Due to the accumulated information, all at my fingertips, I saved untold time, legwork, and expense when I was in the market in 03. Membership isn't free. But the price is a paltry sum when considering the overall cost of ownership and more importantly, meeting your specific needs.

Buying a TT can be overwhelming. Understand every brand makes good trailers and every brand (even the $100,000 5ers) make lemons. The best you can do is find the Floorplan that you like best and is well within your weight requirements. (remember do not shop by dry weight as you will never tow a dry or unloaded TT). Once you have a good understanding of your weight restrictions (see anyone of a thousand what can I tow posts for how to figure this out correctly) then think about your usage. How do you want to camp? ie rv park w/ fhu, state park w/ partial hook ups (w/e only) or boondocking w/ no hookups? This will affect need for larger fresh, grey and black tanks. it can also affect the size of TT you want. Next think about what you like/want in a Floorplan (ie rear living, bunkhouse, rear kitchen. etc).now go sit in these trailers and imagine your use and where you will put things (ie dishes in this cabinet, moms clothes in that cabinet, toys in that drawer, outside chairs in pass thru etc). Act out your daily activities (ie mom cooks, dad walks to bathroom, watches TV, kids play etc. Don't forget about possibly tripping over pets). As you run through these things create a spreadsheet with things that are important to you (ie L shaped kitchen counter, walk around queen etc) across the top and makes/models down the side. Doing this really decreases your options to a few TT that you can check out better. Going to an rv show puts a lot of TT in front of you with little traveling/dealing with salesman. Just take notes as they will all run together after awhile.