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Quality Travel Trailer

coloelk
Explorer
Explorer
Looking into travel trailers for summer camping as well as snowbirding for a couple of months. What Manufacturer do you think produces the best fit and finish as well as quality. I want something that rivals nicer 5th wheels for amenaties and finish.
40 REPLIES 40

SoundGuy
Explorer
Explorer
NWnative wrote:
Our Airstream has been rock solid!


For $100K one would hope! :R
2012 Silverado 1500 Crew Cab
2014 Coachmen Freedom Express 192RBS
2003 Fleetwood Yuma * 2008 K-Z Spree 240BH-LX
2007 TrailCruiser C21RBH * 2000 Fleetwood Santa Fe
1998 Jayco 10UD * 1969 Coleman CT380

FrankShore
Explorer
Explorer
If you really want a quality travel trailer, try Lance. Look on youtube for Lance construction and you'll see what I mean.
2014 F-250
2014 Minnie Winnie 2351DKS (Traded In-Burnout-Use A Surge Protector!)
2015 Arctic Fox 22G (Great Trailer But Heavy - Traded In)
2018 Lance 1685 w/ Solar & 4 Seasons Package
1999 Beneteau 461 Oceanis Yacht
En Norski i en Fransk bรฅt - Dette mรฅ jeg se!

NWnative
Explorer
Explorer
Our Airstream has been rock solid!
2019 Ford F250 Lariat CrewCab Short Bed 4x4 - 6.2 Gas w/4.30 Axle
2016 Airstream Flying Cloud 30RB / Blue Ox Sway Pro / Rock Tamers
2021 Mazda CX-9 Signature AWD

Big_Katuna
Explorer II
Explorer II
They made some slide versions in the early 2000s if you can stand used.
Still not a very spacious design.
My Kharma ran over my Dogma.

parker_rowe
Explorer
Explorer
Fordlover wrote:
goducks10 wrote:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3um9gdMElM


If they could sell something like that for a 30-40% premium over the junk on the market, I predict they would sell very well.

But when I can buy 4 or 5 of my trailers for what one Airstream goes for, it's just not practical $$ for a "toy" in my family.

*Edit: just went and looked at Airstreams, I could buy more like 6 to 7 of my trailers for a similar sized Airstream.


Yep. And if you want a slide you are out of luck.

Not slamming them, they look super nice. But out of my price range....and I really like the floorspace you gain for a slideout. Not sure I can go back. ๐Ÿ™‚
2015 Starcraft TravelStar 239TBS 6500 GVWR
1997 GMC Suburban K2500 7.4 Vortec/4.10
1977 Kawasaki KZ1000

2012Coleman
Explorer II
Explorer II
the e-man wrote:
You mention 5th wheel amenities and finish. The Grand Design Reflection line fits that. I recently looked at the 285bhts and it seemed like a 5th wheel layout in a travel trailer. Nicer finishes. Claim to be four season with upgraded insulation. I donโ€™t own one but have heard relatively good reviews.
X2 I own a 2018 Reflection Fifth Wheel, and am very satisfied with it. Its not junk, has great fit and finish, and materials used are very nice compared to others I looked at before purchase. Grand Design also has a Reflection TT line that, as e-man states, has basically the same layouts. They also have a less expensive TT line called Imagine.

If you can, attend an RV show where you can tour multiple manufacturers lineups.

Here are a few useful links

Reflection Travel Trailers

Grand Design Owners Forum Ask brand specific questions on here. No one will tell you that all travel trailers are junk.

Good luck
Experience without good judgment is worthless; good judgment without experience is still good judgment!

2018 RAM 3500 Big Horn CTD
2018 Grand Design Reflection 303RLS

myredracer
Explorer II
Explorer II
Quality??? Hahahahaha. :R

Ever have a TT returned under warranty it was so bad? Happened to us. Am still fixing bad workmanship after 5 seasons. Oh Gawd, don't get me started. 'Nuf said...

One thing about TTs (and other RVs) is that they all use components that are common to all other brands & models - fridge, AC unit, stove, HWH, MW, furnace, doors, frame, etc., etc. It boils down to how well the factories put these things together. They get slapped together at break-neck speed by largely poorly trained workers who work piecemeal. TTs may *look* great at an RV show or on a dealer's lot but that's as far as it goes. Don't get fooled by the bling that they like to catch your eye with.

I highly recommend you take the time to look closely at units you have shortlisted. You could end up finding numerous shortcomings after purchase like where to put a garbage container, lack of a place to hang jackets, where to put shoes, lack of kitchen storage, where to store linens & towels, can't see the TV from the seating, no kitchen counter space, etc., etc.

We met a couple in a CCG that bought a new TT for retirement. It leaked like a sieve from new. Dealer could not fix it. Got sent to the factory who only made it worse. He ended up fixing it himself. Don't let that sort of thing happen to you.

If a first TT, renting one would be a good idea. Take a friend, acquaintance, or even RV tech with you to go through a unit. Even brand new units can have serious issues. The last thing you want is finding out within a year or so that your TT just doesn't work for you and you need to sell it, because you can lose a ton of $$.

If in Colorado, I'd def. consider a Northwood product like OutdoorsRV, Nash or Artic Fox. Not immune to some problems but a cut above the stuff that Indiana cranks out. They build their own frames which are heavy duty and off-road certified. They have thicker walls with more insulation, and numerous other features that most other TTs don't.

Also, consider how well a manufacturer honors and supports their warranty as well as the "quality" of a dealer. Some dealers are inept at repairs and/or try to weasel out of fixing some things. Sometimes it's even better to just fix things yourself.

And one last things to consider is that just about all brands are owned by a parent mega-corporation like Thor or Forest River. There primary concern is to raise profits, not quality. And with the increased cost of raw materials due to tariffs, they are going to be netting less so if anything, will be looking where to cut corners.

After going through 3 TTs in 3 years, I became a cynical and hardened TT owner. Choose wisely! ๐Ÿ™‚

SoundGuy
Explorer
Explorer
SoundGuy wrote:
New member makes a joke right off the bat, using the words "quality" and "travel trailer" in the same phrase! TOO funny! :B In time you too will understand why. :W


temccarthy1 wrote:
Soundoffguy obviously made a bad choice with his Coachmen and is not happy with it. So take Coachmen off your list...


I'd say Coachmen is typical of what the RV industry as a whole produces ... adequate but nothing special in terms of quality despite the manufacturer's claims otherwise. They're basically all the same so sadly getting a "good one" is more a matter of luck than anything else. ๐Ÿ˜ž
2012 Silverado 1500 Crew Cab
2014 Coachmen Freedom Express 192RBS
2003 Fleetwood Yuma * 2008 K-Z Spree 240BH-LX
2007 TrailCruiser C21RBH * 2000 Fleetwood Santa Fe
1998 Jayco 10UD * 1969 Coleman CT380

Swell1
Explorer
Explorer
SportTrek Tour Edition has many features found in the Durango 5'ers. I've pulled mine 5k miles the only problem was a shelf in the bathroom closet was mounted upside down. is fix but shows how little attention is paid during assembly.
2017 SportTrek 271 VRB
2016 F150 Eco boost with max tow package

temccarthy1
Explorer
Explorer
SoundGuy wrote:
New member makes a joke right off the bat, using the words "quality" and "travel trailer" in the same phrase! TOO funny! :B In time you too will understand why. :W


Soundoffguy obviously made a bad choice with his Coachmen and is not happy with it. So take Coachmen off your list...
Tim, Ramona and dog Scruffy
1982 Coleman Sun Valley PUP (retired)
2014 Keystone Bullet 285RLS Ultralite TT
2013 Ford Expedition XLT 5.4L Triton V8
Equalizer E2 hitch

temccarthy1
Explorer
Explorer
DutchmenSport wrote:
Well, I'll nibble.

Our last travel trailer was a 2013 Keystone Outback 298RE (rear living room). It had 2 opposing slides in the rear and a huge window in the back. Bedroom was up front with kitchen in the middle.

Of the 3 travel trailers we owned, it was by far the best. We used it a lot in cold weather camper. Of course, we winterized the water system and use a port-a-potty and dumped the port-a-potty. It had a "Polar Package", but never wanted to truly test the waters with it, so I winterized when temps dropped below 30.

By far, it was a very good trailer. Had it 5 years. I think all the Keystone Outback models are good. They are a mid-range camper. They aren't the cheapest, but they aren't the most expensive either. There are other models and brands that exceed the Outback, but price also goes up too.

Others can now start climbing the ladder on this thread. I established the lowest bar here.


I have a 2014 Keystone Bullet 285RLS, rear living which is very similar to your Outback. Also have had great results with it! Have never had a single failure of any of the systems. Very deluxe with 11 ft super slide and yet an Ultralite only 6000 lbs yet 32 ft long. Got it new at a great price of 19,995 asking price was 25K. Reviews show the Outback and Bullet are very decent quality and performance TT's with out spending a ton of $.
Check them out1
Tim, Ramona and dog Scruffy
1982 Coleman Sun Valley PUP (retired)
2014 Keystone Bullet 285RLS Ultralite TT
2013 Ford Expedition XLT 5.4L Triton V8
Equalizer E2 hitch

deltabravo
Nomad
Nomad
rbpru wrote:
Look at Lance, Nash, the Arctic Series and of course Airstream. These are the upper end units with price to match.


Did you mean Arctic Fox?

I'd also go for either Nash, Arctic Fox or Outdoors RV.

All are made in LaGrande, OR.
2009 Silverado 3500HD Dually, D/A, CCLB 4x4 (bought new 8/30/09)
2018 Arctic Fox 992 with an Onan 2500i "quiet" model generator

Hively04
Explorer
Explorer
I too am looking at tts. I'm getting ready to buy 2018 aspen trail... your thoughts?

jmtandem
Explorer II
Explorer II
Airstream!
'05 Dodge Cummins 4x4 dually 3500 white quadcab auto long bed.

Fordlover
Explorer
Explorer
goducks10 wrote:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3um9gdMElM


If they could sell something like that for a 30-40% premium over the junk on the market, I predict they would sell very well.

But when I can buy 4 or 5 of my trailers for what one Airstream goes for, it's just not practical $$ for a "toy" in my family.

*Edit: just went and looked at Airstreams, I could buy more like 6 to 7 of my trailers for a similar sized Airstream.
2016 Skyline Layton Javelin 285BH
2018 F-250 Lariat Crew 6.2 Gas 4x4 FX4 4.30 Gear
2007 Infiniti G35 Sport 6 speed daily driver
Retired 2002 Ford Explorer 4.6 V8 4x4
Sold 2007 Crossroads Sunset Trail ST19CK