Travel Trailers Picking the right one

[dogtruck]

Good afternoon my wife and I are looking at buying a Travel trailer and I have no idea where to start looking as far as quality. We know what style we want but how do you choose one brand over another. I assume that not all manufacturers are created equal. I guess my question is where do you start and is there any out there that we need to stay away from.

thank for any help you can give us.

[myredracer]

RV forums can be so helpful and informative.... :B

BossCamper wrote:
Looks like the OP took this advice ... hasn't been back to comment since first posting:D

Gdetrailer wrote:
Do yourself a huge favor..

Walk.. No make that RUN FAR AWAY from this and any other forum..

You are going to get nothing but other peoples PERSONAL IDEAS of "quality" based on one or several experiences with one or several different "brands"..

You are much better off going around to some of your LOCAL dealers and start kicking tires..

[dadmomh]

Agree on making the lists. But before you start, get definite specs on your tow vehicle, allow some wiggle room and that will tell you about size. Decide what the budget is for this and that answers the other big question. Now to the lists...how many people on a regular basis? Do you plan on camping with utilities or dry camping? Do you absolutely want a dinette AND sofa? Is an oven a definite yes? Do you need a bunkhouse style camper? Go from there. Make a separate list of things that would be nice to have but not a requirement. Know that you'll likely have to make some compromises along the way. Also agree on shorter, weekend trips fairly close to home vs long distance trips most often.

Advice is that if you decide that your trailer cannot be more than 27' and cost no more than $X, don't even go inside the ones that don't qualify. Remember that the cost of the trailer itself is just the beginning, so don't dig yourself into a hole before you're even started. You're bound to see some things you'll love and the salesman will help convince you that you can't live another day without them. Steer clear! Stay focused on your plan.

Quality to one person is not quality to another. Can only go be our experience, but we've had 2 Rockwood trailers and were pleased with both. I would consider them middle of the road. Every manufacturer is going to turn out a lemon once in a while, so price/quality is not a guarantee. Good luck.

[BossCamper]

Looks like the OP took this advice ... hasn't been back to comment since first posting:D

Gdetrailer wrote:
Do yourself a huge favor..

Walk.. No make that RUN FAR AWAY from this and any other forum..

You are going to get nothing but other peoples PERSONAL IDEAS of "quality" based on one or several experiences with one or several different "brands"..

You are much better off going around to some of your LOCAL dealers and start kicking tires..

[PAThwacker]

I had a pup and hybrid. Pup was royal pain in the a$$

Hybrid was a winner. Spent about a $3k on boondocking year round comfort/usage upgrades.
I use it for weekend camping, family amusement park trips, state parks, and boondocking off season. Have all sorts of doodads from fresh water and waste water pumping, generator, bunk end covers, mattress upgrades, and 12vt upgrades. It was $10k used. The pup was $14k new. Lost $7k in 2 years usages on the pup. Lesson learned buy your second or third TT first.

[hawkeye-08]

Start a list, what you have to have, what you want, what you don't want, etc. take some notes as you study floorplans and mfgrs. Know what your Tow vehicle can handle. have an idea of where you are going camping (boondock or always full hookups?)...

Once we determined our needs, we got serious about finding one, it took some time and when we found it, it did not take long to seal the deal. We sold that one and got a slightly larger (but with slides) used one.. we knew our truck specs, the trailer specs and had looked at many, both on dealer lots and RV shows. We also looked on craigslist and that is where we found our current trailer.

It seems overwhelming at first, but once you get your list going, it gets easier.

[2_Sooners]

Hope you enjoy your Puma 25RS. We bought a new 2015 25RS last October. Every time we take a trip in it we like it even better. Great RV!

[RVcircus]

If you've already narrowed down a style I'd start by going to local dealers and an RV show if possible. It will really help when comparing the construction from one brand to another. Getting advise online is a great start, but nothing beats seeing several brans in person and comparing.

[Mark_and_Linda]

What we did, we look at several different brands, got lots of literature. We sort of decided on what we wanted for us...storage, layout of the trailer etc. We had a Palomino PUP which we liked the quality of...we were looking at some different trailers and went to one dealer. We were trying to decide on this and that....he said why don't you walk through that one. We did and liked the layout. I looked at a dealer near us and they had just sold one like we were looking at. I found another one that was used at a dealer about six miles from home...when the gates opened at 8:30 AM I waiting to look at it. 2 days later it was sitting in the driveway. Decide what you want in a trailer and then go looking. We love to sit in bed in the morning and drink a cup of coffee...we looked for a trailer that had a place to set our coffee cups. DW side as a place...I have a cabinet on my side but added a holder. Everyone has what they like...decide what you want and go for it. We bought a used Puma 25RS that we love. It was what we wanted.

[Ron3rd]

We're happy with our Forest River Windjammer. Jayco has a big following too. Lance has a good rep also.

[Gdetrailer]

If you are still here..

Perhaps a few other thoughts that you NEED to read and understand..

No matter how much a RV costs, they ALL will rot at the same rate if YOU fail to do routine maintenance.. From a $10K pop up to a $60K "5ver" they all can and will suffer from water damage IF you don't check and replace the caulking on a yearly basis..

That means you NEED to get up on the roof, visually check all the caulking, you need to check the corners of the side walls to make sure the caulking is OK, you will need to check around windows and doors and such..

You NEED to be proactive..

Keeping water out can make even the cheapest poorly build piece of junk last longer than the most expensive "high quality" brand that isn't maintained..

[krobbe]

Well, your Tow Vehicle's capability and budget may determine the quality to some extent. I think Northwood's ArcticFox and Nash are built pretty well but are heavier for the size and cost more. Many ultra lites like my Keystone Bullet uses lighter weight components like cabinetry which tends to shake apart if not reinforced. Some may recommend Lance but I'm not a fan of the sparse interiors. When first looking for a TT, I paid attention to construction materials and layout. (Like aluminum framing, walk around bed, room for the kiddo's)

[Merrykalia]

Everyone above has given you good advice. I can tell you that we like our Forest River Wildcat 5'er, but we also liked our Rockwood TT and our Keystone hybrid and our Coleman popup.

That is 3 different brands and we had good luck with all of them. No major problems, but they all had some small things that needed work when we purchased them. DH and I are both pretty handy and did all of the repair work except when our fridge went out. It was a Dometic brand and it's in over half of the RVs made.

Take the DW and look around and see what kind of floorplan you think would work. After you have found a floorplan you like, start doing some computer work and check out the different manufacturers that make that particular floorplan. You could get upward of 20 that make that SAME floorplan, maybe even more.

After you have found what you think you might like, check out the dealer. Google them, talk to people at local campgrounds, friends that have RVs, other people out shopping for RVs; well, you get the point. HAVING A GOOD DEALER is more important than getting the "best" trailer. If you have the best but don't have a dealer that will deal with any issues you have, it's not that great of a deal.

Once all of that is done, take the entire family and go spend at least 3-4 hours inside the RV. Sit around, pretend you are fixing a meal, go sit on the "throne", lay on the beds, etc. This will give you an idea of whether that particular RV will actually work for the family.

Also, keep in mind that a happy wife is a happy life!

Good luck. Looking for the right RV is one of the best things about getting into RV'ing. The next best is the good night's sleep I get while in my RV!! (I sleep better in it than I ever do at home, but I think that has something to do with where it's parked at and the fact that I don't HAVE to do anything unless I want to.)

[wincrasher65]

If you are looking at mass produced units at a low price point, then yes they are all pretty close.

If you are looking for something special, built to a very high standard, then check out the Oliver. I warn you though, they are not cheap.

I did a video walkthru on my blog, as well as a photo based review.

[IDman]

Give a lot of thought to just what you want to do and how you will use the TT. If you just drive 15 mi. to the lake twice a month, you don't need the high quality that you would need if you were going to go on 30 day trips.

FS roads will beat up a TT more than blacktop roads, of course. Camping w/o hookups requires more than when you pull into an RV park.

STorage is a big concern, be it for clothing or for fishing stuff, etc.

As others have said, go touch, feel, sit in, ask, and listen. You will figure it out on your own.