Travel Trailers

[Dennis12]

I have a friend that is looking for a Travel Trailer 28 to 32 ft. he ask me what brand to buy and I can't give him a honest answer other than they are all built with no pride in the workmanship. Any body that has had luck with a specific brand please let me know. Any options that you would recommend would also be helpful. I have owned Motor-homes but no Travel Trailers. Any advice will be helpful.

[pld33270]

First two campers were Sunlines. Nice for the price and light weight. No longer in business. Next was a Sunnybrook Lite. Nice well built and light weight. Also, No longer in business. Next was a Jayco 5th wheel. Quality was better than other we saw at the time for the money. Currently, we have a KZ. Again, good quality for what we looked at on the market at the time. So, my vote would be for the mid to higher series of KZ and Jayco.

[rbpru]

The floor plan remains when all else is accepted or forgotten.

Two years later no one remembers the luan or steel vs. wood vs. aluminum or what the roof is made of.

Tell you friend to take his best guess at what they want, then rent a similar unit, before the spend the big bucks. A week or two of camping answers a lot of questions.

[TravelinDog]

Dennis12 wrote:
Artum Snowbird, sgfrye.
Well you find out what his price range is, what he has to tow it with first.
Money no problem. 2018 one ton Chevy dual wheel

He wants it for a family with pets.

Will take it boondocking, use it in all seasons.

Then come back and give us that information, and get some help. Millions of people are very happy with their units, but having skills to repair t

If he is going to use it during winter by all means tell him to get one that is rated for winter use. They have the water lines inside instead of outside under the trailer where they will freeze. Trust me I know from experience. :S

[K-9_HANDLER]

Springdale 298BH ordered and bought new in 2006. Still have it and is doing fine. Only replaced plastic stuff due to uv degradation.

[myredracer]

They all use the same appliances, doors & windows, luan plywood, TPO roof membrane, etc., etc. It boils down to how well the various factories assemble them. Be aware that "ultralites" use the thinnest, lightest and least substantial components to roll out the factory door.

Look for a brand/model that has a decent cargo carrying capacity of around 2K lbs and up. Options will reduce the CCC and if you load the TT on the heavy side (long trips and/or family) you can end up near or even over the GVWR in some cases.

Avoid the frames that have the I-beams made from 3 pieces of 1/8" steel to look like a "regular" I-beam. These frames flex a lot and can cause all sorts of issues. If you can find one, a TT with a BAL frame would be good.

Besides how well a TT is made, also consider how well the manufacturer provides warranty support. Also research the dealer. A great TT can be turned into a nightmare by a bad dealer. Our dealer was inept and ended up refusing to do warranty work that should have been covered.

If you were on the west coast, an OutdoorsRV/Nash/Arctic Fox would be a good choice. These also have their own in-house built heavy duty frames.

Some owners claim their TT has been problem free while some with the identical unit can have nothing but trouble. Not an easy process to go through but it's great to hear someone inquiring before buying a problem.

[normal_dave]

Easy... Outdoors RV. They began in the former Fleetwood plant that built the Wilderness 4 seasons trailers in Oregon. Started by Ron and Sherry Nash, and a sister company to Northwood (Arctic Fox, Nash).

He'll have to go out West (or have it shipped) to get one, but based on your description, he'll have a hard time finding a better built trailer for his intended use. (A number of folks on the East Coast have done just that).
Outdoors RV construction
Edit: I posted the older version of the video, I thought it had better technical information. Product line names and classifications have changed a bit since.

Example of a 28' bunkhouse layout in their Timber Ridge class:
Outdoors RV Timber Ridge 27BHS

[2012Coleman]

Grand Design Reflection and Imagine series travel trailers.

[Dennis12]

Artum Snowbird, sgfrye.
Well you find out what his price range is, what he has to tow it with first.
Money no problem. 2018 one ton Chevy dual wheel

He wants it for a family with pets.

Will take it boondocking, use it in all seasons.

Then come back and give us that information, and get some help. Millions of people are very happy with their units, but having skills to repair t

[Mickeyfan0805]

Artum Snowbird wrote:
having skills to repair them or an unlimited amount of money and patience to have someone else fix simple things is essential.

I'm not sure there is a more important piece of advice for a first time owner than this. If you have a limited budget and hire a professional for every leaky drain or faulty light switch in your home - owning a trailer may not be for you. If you are ready and able to pay someone for repairs (and to wait for them to be done), or you are somewhat adept at basic home repairs, you can be fine.

I'm not a tradesman by any means, but I do the vast majority of my basic home maintenance and repairs myself. The trailer is no different. We've owned ours for six years and have had a few issues here and there (this year that has included a toilet seal, a broken faucet, a failing pump and a defective thermostat). That being said, it's only been in the shop twice...

• Once for new tires.
• Once to replace an axle.

[rbpru]

You can tell your friend that the majority of TT are built to a price point. That means they are built to the level of quality that most customers is are willing to pay for.

If they were all trash and garbage the industry would not sell well over 450,000 units each year for the last five years. Most TTs serve their owners well and those owners keep coming back for the same newer and often bigger units.

If you want more quality and are willing to pay for it, look to Lance, Nash, the Arctic series or the Airstream group. Others such as Casita, Scamp, Bigfoot and other shell types are often rejected because of the cost per size.

If folks really wanted a high quality TT the low volume venders would not be low volume.

The industry builds what the customer will buy. That does include some rather high dollar motor coaches by the way.

[Jackfate]

One thing about brands . A Dutchman of a few years ago ( just one example) is not owned , made? By the same people ? Or plant ? That they were a few years back . Fleetwood sold off their brand names to others. Some that were good went down hill yet some got better. I’ve been hearing my Open Range that was sold to Jayco then sold to Thor are no longer the quality built units they were just a couple years back.

Best of luck

[sgfrye]

Artum Snowbird wrote:
Well you find out what his price range is, what he has to tow it with first.

Then find out if he wants a trailer for himself, a couple, or a family with pets.

Then find out what he intends to do with it. Park it in a park, take it boondocking, use it in all seasons.

Then come back and give us that information, and get some help. Millions of people are very happy with their units, but having skills to repair them or an unlimited amount of money and patience to have someone else fix simple things is essential.

^^^^^^^^
best answer
lots of variables.

[Lwiddis]

I think its time for your friend to do something besides ask you....and then blame you for anything going wrong after purchasing the recommendation you made.

[MySuncoastRV]

I would avoid Coachman. During the course of my RV repair career, I noticed that they were more notably the "leakers" in the industry. The poor quality allows rain to intrude causing thousands of dollars in damages.