Time to upgrade, 2016 Sporttrek 327 VIK?

[RToth]

Hello! First post here, I guess I'll just dive right in! Currently have an old Jayco popup that is really nice but just not enough for the wife and I and three young kids. As the title suggests, we are looking to upgrade! As we get further into this we are wanting more and more to just do this once and buy something that will last us many years as they kids get older ( currently 2, 7, and 8).

So far we have looked around at four RV dealers and have found a couple we like but the one we like most so far is definitely the Sporttrek 327VIK. I don't see much of anything on this forum about this trailer, only one member saying they ordered one, but nothing else. Just curious if anyone has one now or has any opinions on it.

The quad bunks, large sofa, sitting position to the entertainment center, TV outside, rear rack, built in ladder to the top, and kitchen layout are really drawing us to this one, with about the only downsides being the small bedroom area and the lack of solid surface countertops, both of which I don't think are too big of a deal.

[kep5niner]

That's a pretty nice looking rig - and I've only heard good things about Grand Design. Enjoy!

[_1nobby]

RToth wrote:
Really if we could find a very lightly used one with the right floor plan we would go with it, haven't found one yet though.

It took me awhile to find what I wanted.....and it ended up being a lightly used 5 year old model....and this is after almost buying a new model.

Hard to justify $36,000 new when I found one for $10,000 cash and put 60 hours and $2,000 into it to get exactly what I wanted and needed.


I'm sorry that I didn't answer your original post. 🙂

[RToth]

Well...

We went to an RV show this past weekend and we really had our hearts set on the Sporttrek... until we checked out a Imagine 2800BH! We instantly loved the style but needed something just a bit more, the double over bunks while big enough wasn't what we were looking for, we wanted quad bunks or at least three. The salesman looked at his inventory sheet and they had just gotten a 3150BH the day before and was sitting on their lot only a mile away. After spending several hours looking at that one and a little time checking out some others we knew what we wanted and made a deal on the 2017 Imagine 3150BH! We head down there Friday morning to pick it up!

[RToth]

Really if we could find a very lightly used one with the right floor plan we would go with it, haven't found one yet though.

[rbpru]

For what it's worth, we bought a 3 year old Dutchmen for half the price of a new unit. It had the floor plan we liked which was the biggest reason for buying it.

[fx2tom]

I don't personally know much about the brand. A similar floorplan is the Surveyor 321BHTS. There are others similar.

[RToth]

DutchmenSport wrote:
I find it interesting on this thread that the OP's original question was concerning opinions a specific new travel trailer.

Instead, he got response that included persuasion to consider renting a motor home, a different tow vehicle, a 5th wheel, a hybrid, a different model of trailer completely, and used instead of new, but no responses at all about the Sporttrekc.

I guess some of that is to be expected on a forum, but yea, more info on that trailer would have been good haha! I don't think many people have them though being a newer model.

APT wrote:
I have a 6.0L. I would not own it with the 4-spd trans. I looked at 2000-2006 3/4 ton SUVs for over a year. Get an 8.1L of that generation. While the the 6.0L may be rated (with 4.10 axle only) to tow that Sportrek, I do not think you'll be very happy with performance. The safety point I was trying to make is that the GMT900 designs were done to 8 year newer standards. It has nothing to do with handling a trailer.

Clean GMT800 vehicles are becoming more rare each day. While I was extremely selective when I shopped for one 5 years ago, I still found only about 5 throughout the country I was willing to buy over the course of a year.

I toured a couple SportTrek models last winter, the 320 and 327. Venture RV was spun off from KZ. I met one of the designers who is an RVing person himself. My wife really likes the designs. They have some very clever ideas. I have a few reservations about buying one for my family's uses. GVWR/paylaod is low. Tanks are small. Master bed is short. Outside storage is low.

This is more of what I am looking for, thank you! I am still relatively new to the world of travel trailers so the more detail I can get, the better, even if it is against what I know or think I know.

[APT]

I have a 6.0L. I would not own it with the 4-spd trans. I looked at 2000-2006 3/4 ton SUVs for over a year. Get an 8.1L of that generation. While the the 6.0L may be rated (with 4.10 axle only) to tow that Sportrek, I do not think you'll be very happy with performance. The safety point I was trying to make is that the GMT900 designs were done to 8 year newer standards. It has nothing to do with handling a trailer.

Clean GMT800 vehicles are becoming more rare each day. While I was extremely selective when I shopped for one 5 years ago, I still found only about 5 throughout the country I was willing to buy over the course of a year.

I toured a couple SportTrek models last winter, the 320 and 327. Venture RV was spun off from KZ. I met one of the designers who is an RVing person himself. My wife really likes the designs. They have some very clever ideas. I have a few reservations about buying one for my family's uses. GVWR/paylaod is low. Tanks are small. Master bed is short. Outside storage is low.

[DutchmenSport]

I find it interesting on this thread that the OP's original question was concerning opinions a specific new travel trailer.

Instead, he got response that included persuasion to consider renting a motor home, a different tow vehicle, a 5th wheel, a hybrid, a different model of trailer completely, and used instead of new, but no responses at all about the Sporttrekc.

[RToth]

I definitely realize the depreciation, but so far no older ones we have found fit what we want, however not completely ruling out a used one. As for the truck though, what I am looking for I don't see how it would be unsafe at all. I am a freak for maintenance and making sure things are right, issues like rusted brake lines and worn suspension components would be fixed before it ever was used. They are factory rated to tow the weight range I am looking for so I feel perfectly safe with it. MPG is a slight concern but even then just minimal, I only live 6 miles from work and the rest of our driving would be done with our 2010 GMC Acadia.

[APT]

RToth wrote:

Honestly not sure what the reasoning is behind this suggestion, I have no issue with a clean 01 - 06 crew cab short box Chevy with the 6.0 for what I need. Is it the older truck or the new camper that you are suggesting against, and why?

Both. A new RV depreciates at about the same rate as a new vehicle. That 2017 TT will lose $12k in 5 years. A 5 yr newer crew cab pickup (with 75k lower miles) should not only last you much long,er but it is safer, more powerful, used less fuel, and more comfortable.

[RToth]

Also, a quick correction... the one we are looking at is a 2017, not a 2016. Probably doesn't matter anyway but still wanted to correct that.

[RToth]

IdaD wrote:
Look at the Hideout model I mentioned on rvtrader. A 6.0 would pull it great in flat country, and there are several listings for it at or just under $30k new.

I didn't notice you mentioned that previously, the same place we went to that had the Sporttrek that we like also had the Hideout you mentioned. We did look that one over quite a bit but still overall feel the Sporttrek suited us better. We will probably go and check out some other dealers in the area this week. Honestly it was really hard not to just buy the Sporttrek on Friday haha!

APT wrote:
Take $10-15k out of the TT fund and put it towards the replacement vehicle fund. Buy a 10 year old TT instead of new.

Honestly not sure what the reasoning is behind this suggestion, I have no issue with a clean 01 - 06 crew cab short box Chevy with the 6.0 for what I need. Is it the older truck or the new camper that you are suggesting against, and why?

abryant wrote:
That is the exact model trailer we got in February of this year and we love it. The extra room with the double slides in the kitchen area mean we can cook without being all up in the living space. We have 3 girls 8,10 and 13 and the bunk room is plenty big for them and lots of storage for all their girl stuff. Our old camper you couldn't get dressed in the bathroom, this one has plenty of room in the shower and bathroom. The only drawback is the short queen. I did wish it had a full queen bed, but otherwise we are really happy with it.

I noticed the issue with the short queen also, does the extension pillow they toss in really make any difference? I almost never lay fully stretched out anyway so I think I can overlook that one thing as that's really about the only thing we didn't like and it is the only one we found so far with the bigger couch which we love! I would hate to sit down with the family on a rainy day and watch a movie or something and have one or two of the kids feel like the odd ones out sitting at the table instead of with the rest of us on the little loveseat. Any other insight you may have with this model would be greatly appreciated!

[APT]

Take $10-15k out of the TT fund and put it towards the replacement vehicle fund. Buy a 10 year old TT instead of new.