I would appreciate input from anyone with like experience.
Sounds like us... MINUS the "snow areas" unless just passing thru. That length is working out pretty good, for us over all. But not perfect. But what set up is? To big for some forest campgrounds (with tow vehicle about 60 foot) But large enough to be comfortable on long trips. We also have an older class C that is a great travelling machine but to small (for us) on longer trips. So TT has worked out great for us. Wife found trailer used, a two year old Arctic Fox, hardly used and she honed in on. Owned for 2 years now. Arctic Fox is a lot better than any other RV we've owned. Little things that are not so noticeable with Arctic Fox until you live in them awhile. Arctic Fox are heavy though. Add to whatever ad's say. Our tow rig is older (2001) 2500 CTD. So had to add a few things like air bags, bigger mirrors, and few other minor things. (A few must haves IMO) If you don't have exhaust brake, I would highly consider one. I go from Canadian border to LA and not one mountain pass have I had to worry about brakes. And a good set of gauges. Pyro gauge and trans gauge most important. And a deep trans pan, Used to have trans temp of around 210 which is OK but on long hills, temps used to creep up. Now with deep dish trans pan temp hasn't gone over 190 on steepest hills in the west and in summer. With the pyro gauge, when I pull a hill I just blend in with other traffic when gauge hits 1200 I back off a little and keep it there. Works out fine for us.
I'm thinking on 30ft max for the TT and price up to $45000
Sounds like you're going new, if so a few options are really worth while. Keep in mind that any RV takes maintenance regardless of manufacture.
You might want to explore.
http://www.nroa2003.com/forum/ When exploring keep in mind how many actual postings are problem compared to people making mods or self imposed problems due to lack of maintenance. I think Northwoods has a good design compared to others but they are still put together by humans, so you still have problems. One thing Northwoods does to prevent problems... every unit sold, some money goes into their profit sharing fund. But money comes out of that fund when they have to pay for mistakes. Hard to get a quality unit in todays times. Trying not to be an advertisement for them. When we were looking for a replacement RV, we found very few NW owners that had any major complaints. Many were second and third owners after owning other brands. We talked with maybe 30 or 40 owners before buying. Heard more complaints from camper owners than TT or 5th wheel owners for some reason. I am Not in love with their part process AT ALL. Takes on average 3 weeks for some model specific parts. Like a small trim piece.
Someone else said
Good ground clearance for the TT. Look for one where the axles can be adjusted (flipped)
Mine rides high enough that I installed a fence post sewer tube on the metal things that hit the drive way. Never scrapped. 29 inches to top of hitch ball. Actually barley clears tailgate when I open tailgate (2 wheel drive) Not in love with TT axles but no problems yet.
Hope this helps.
2003 Majestic 23P... Northwest travel machine
2013 Arctic Fox 25W... Wife "doll house" for longer snowbird trips
2001 "The Mighty Dodge"... tow vehicle for "doll house"
