Newbie purchasing a Travel Trailer
I have been reading on here a bunch, but i have a ton of questions myself that it would be nice to have answers and opinions in one location. My wife and I are moving to CA from VA and are planning on buying a travel trailer for the trip and then using it to visit national parks and general camping on the west coast. I have looked at a bunch of travel trailers but they all blend together so I am hoping you all can help with some questions I have. I will give you my specs below so you know where I am basing my decisions from.
1. I am towing with a 2017 Tacoma limited 4x4 with tow package, i believe that means we can tow up to 6400, but I would like to keep it low and make sure the dry weight of anything we are towing is 4000 or less.
2. We wanted to keep our budget under $10k, but shopping around there doesn't seem to be much that is quality from any dealers around here in that price range. Most places I have been the trailers are being offered between like $16-19k (some higher but they are out of the question). I have read on here to offer 40% less than any MSRP pricing, but for example there are a few Micro Minnies that I am looking at, and if they are asking $19k I don't want to be laughed off the lot by coming out strong offering $11,400. Do different brands have different wiggle room, or should I always start off with 60% of the price listed?
3. We started this by looking at Aliners, but they are so darn expensive for the amount of room you have on the inside that for the same price we feel we can get more living space going with a hard sided TT. Also, we kind of want to have a shower and toilet for any boondoggling we may do. So with that all said, I have looked at Aliners, and Rockwoods. Then for the hard sided TTs I saw Micro Minnies and Winnie Drops, Shasta Flytes, Sonic, Camp Lite, Vision, and Sportsmen Classic by KZ. Of those listed, how does the quality and overall lifetime expectation fall out for those brands? I have obviously heard of Winnebago, and I really liked the quality, but am I missing something that you all know? What about Coleman, I mean just the thought makes me feel like i should just stay away to avoid a headache, but again I am way out of my element here. What about Starcraft Satellite?
4. Are there any other quality brands that I could expect to walk out paying $12k or under?
5. What is a good price to pay for a 2015 Winnie 1801FB ? a 2016 micro minnie 2106DS?
6. There was some talk about single axle vs double axle on some of these by the dealers, other than the obvious fact that there are two axels and one axel, what is the difference? When is one option better or worse than the other?
7. What else am I missing or haven't even thought of but should? Should I just stick to a tent, haha?
Thanks for any help you guys can offer, I don't know what I don't know in this area, so feel free to give any additional tips or things to think of that I have not even considered.
1. I am towing with a 2017 Tacoma limited 4x4 with tow package, i believe that means we can tow up to 6400, but I would like to keep it low and make sure the dry weight of anything we are towing is 4000 or less.
2. We wanted to keep our budget under $10k, but shopping around there doesn't seem to be much that is quality from any dealers around here in that price range. Most places I have been the trailers are being offered between like $16-19k (some higher but they are out of the question). I have read on here to offer 40% less than any MSRP pricing, but for example there are a few Micro Minnies that I am looking at, and if they are asking $19k I don't want to be laughed off the lot by coming out strong offering $11,400. Do different brands have different wiggle room, or should I always start off with 60% of the price listed?
3. We started this by looking at Aliners, but they are so darn expensive for the amount of room you have on the inside that for the same price we feel we can get more living space going with a hard sided TT. Also, we kind of want to have a shower and toilet for any boondoggling we may do. So with that all said, I have looked at Aliners, and Rockwoods. Then for the hard sided TTs I saw Micro Minnies and Winnie Drops, Shasta Flytes, Sonic, Camp Lite, Vision, and Sportsmen Classic by KZ. Of those listed, how does the quality and overall lifetime expectation fall out for those brands? I have obviously heard of Winnebago, and I really liked the quality, but am I missing something that you all know? What about Coleman, I mean just the thought makes me feel like i should just stay away to avoid a headache, but again I am way out of my element here. What about Starcraft Satellite?
4. Are there any other quality brands that I could expect to walk out paying $12k or under?
5. What is a good price to pay for a 2015 Winnie 1801FB ? a 2016 micro minnie 2106DS?
6. There was some talk about single axle vs double axle on some of these by the dealers, other than the obvious fact that there are two axels and one axel, what is the difference? When is one option better or worse than the other?
7. What else am I missing or haven't even thought of but should? Should I just stick to a tent, haha?
Thanks for any help you guys can offer, I don't know what I don't know in this area, so feel free to give any additional tips or things to think of that I have not even considered.
