Travel Trailers Picking the right one

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"..

Ever single brand and make have ups and downs with the very subjective quality aspect.

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

Open the drawers, open cabinet doors, look at fit and finish and make your own decision knowing that no matter what you pick out there WILL be a chance that you are going to return it to the dealer for some warranty work..

It is just the way it is..

when we went to upgrade we looked at floor plans- we found a new one we really liked and purchased it. even with the MH we got a few years ago- it was the floor plan that the DW liked, there for so did I!
go out shopping you will know from touching and sitting in them which are better and feel more comfortable to you, most use the same brand of appliances (furnace, water heater, etc.)
take your time- you'll do fine

With the responses you get on this forum keep in mind only a small portion of RV'ers visit this forum. Most RV'ers on this forum are here for answers to a problem they are having, information about the RV lifestyle, product information like you, sharing information relating to RVs or RVing or enjoy providing answers to RV related questions like me.

RV'ers that are happy with their choice of RV, don't have problems, don't need advice and are too busy to spend time on RV forums won't be here to answer you. That's the majority of RV'ers.

That being said, we have had many RV's each one was bought based upon how the floorplan fit our needs. We didn't research the brand but trusted what we saw. Several were used but the last two were brand new mid-level units.

Both have lasted over 16 years of use. Our current RV is over 20 years old. We travel locally at least once per month and take 1 or 2 long trips each year.

Best place to compare RVs is to go to a large RV Show or two in your area
When looking through the units spend time as if you lived in the units...is the toilet area and shower comfortable/ not too tight...if someone is cooking at the stove can you get by easily or is there a bottleneck....is the seating good with good sight line to the TV and out the windows...etc

You still here?

Basically, with an RV, you get what you pay for. RVs aren't built anywhere near as well as houses. There is usually a lot of particle board, cheap fabric and methods used that we'd never accept in our homes. That being said, for just a round number like $20,000 you can get a lot of convenience, function and fun in a new trailer.

The mainstream manufacturers like Jayco, Forest River and Keystone (each with numerous sub-brands) all fall into the what I'm talking about. As someone mentioned, you will get the, "I have owned brand X for 20 years without a problem, therefore it's the best brand made." or the "I have a brand Y trailer that leaked after 6 months therefore they are all terrible." Take this with a grain of salt and realize the statistics involved.

If you do want something truly quality it is out there but be ready to spend upwards of 2X or more what a main stream brand costs.

I agree with the poster that you should check out some lots to see for yourself. I've had a lot of fun and education by checking out the floor plans on the manufacturer's websites. Once I find one I like I enter it into Google or RV trader to get rough costs and for more pictures.

Good luck and take your time. The time spent will pay you back 10 fold in finding a good fit of a trailer at the price you want to pay.

Gdetrailer wrote:

Ever single brand and make have ups and downs with the very subjective quality aspect.

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

Open the drawers, open cabinet doors, look at fit and finish and make your own decision knowing that no matter what you pick out there WILL be a chance that you are going to return it to the dealer for some warranty work..

It is just the way it is..

True!

One other note, it really not the Brand, manufacturer but the Dealer. How is their service after purchase? Do they stand up for the client or manufacturer? Each car, truck or TT I've owned I have always poked around the garage, the service dept. listening to the clients, checking the mechanics on how they work, do they throw things around or do they treat it like it's theirs etc., I do this in the morning when clients brings in for repairs and I also go at the end of the day to see if clients are satisfied. This often tells me what I will be in for if I ever have an issue with my purchase.

Hope this helps in deciding?

Quality is in the mind of the beholder. I'm sure my view of quality is different than yours. So go out and look around at both used and new. Find out what matters to you. Hopefully, you will find a camper that fits.
Good luck.

From the best to the worst, the quality isn't a lot different - they all have silly things wrong with them. Some are definitely better but I suggest you go to a local RV show and get an idea of what would work for you.
Make a list of the things you must have:
Sleeping for X number of people.
A weight that your tow vehicle is comfortable with (dont trust what dealer says)

Then there are the things you might like to have:
Walk around bed?
Room for everyone inside on a foul weather day..

Once you know what you really want your in a much better position to make a choice once you find that perfect rig.

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.

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.