What Travel Traler to buy?

[BeauHymel]

Hope to be new to camping. Me and the wife are looking for our first travel trailer. I would have never thought it would be so tough.

We are looking for a bunkhouse less than 9000#GVWR
We have it narrowed down to about 3 makes, and five models:

Keystone Bullet/Hideout, Heartland Mallard/North Trail, Grand Design imagine 2800bh (all bunk house)

All but one fiberglass, which would you pick and why? The more we look the more we like.
THANSK

[Lynnmor]

KillerIsMe wrote:


Curious to know my Friend - what don't you like about the outdoor kitchen? I am asking because we are considering a Jayco SLX 242BHSW with that little kitchen under the awning.

Just so you know, those wonderful electric awnings are so flimsy that they need rolled up at any signs of bad weather. Then you need to transfer everything inside anyway. I am in the minority here, but I would pay extra for a manual awning like was available years ago.

[KillerIsMe]

Jpbeck1 wrote:


The only thing I don't like is the outdoor kitchen, if we buy it I'll probably gut it and use it for storage.
.

Curious to know my Friend - what don't you like about the outdoor kitchen? I am asking because we are considering a Jayco SLX 242BHSW with that little kitchen under the awning. Wife loved that feature, but never having owned a TT before we don't want to make a big rookie mistake right off, so your opinion will be valued. Thank you.

[maknmem4life]

We just purchased a M32. The Northtrail 32BUDS didn't have the exterior door for the bathroom. Grand Design did not have the layout we wanted. Considered Keystone and Jayco but they did have the options we wanted when it came down to it. Heartland customer service was superior to the others. From research, Heartland also stands behind their product and is good with covering warranty work.

If you are able to, go to dealers that have the TT you are considering. Get in them and thoroughly check them out. Think beyond the options. How easy is it to access the water heater? How easy is it to open, keep open and close the outside kitchen door and storage doors? etc. We spent a good three months visiting the various TT, working with salesmen, company reps, customer service, researching, and of course negotiating.

[BeauHymel]

The question was about which trailer you would recommend over the others. I am aware of the limits of my current TV and will upgrade if needed.

[Terryallan]

Honestly. Get the one that fits your family the best. The one that has the bed layout for your kids.

I do like the Fiberglass. It is easier to keep clean, and waxed. But that is pretty much the only advantage.

[Jpbeck1]

I'm going to suggest something despite knowing many things such as: what type of hitch you want, what color your truck is, and how much your dog weighs... 😄

We are on our 3rd Jayco, so I'm biased. However, we are shopping for a new rv as well, this one is 10 years old and we've gotten our monies worth out of it. We have 2 kids and a dog, and my truck can only tow about 9800lbs comfortable. I my rv pad at home for storage is only about 27 feet. The trailer we are considering is the Jayco Whitehawk 24MBH https://www.jayco.com/products/travel-trailers/2017-white-hawk/24mbh/

It has full sized bunks in the back, a queen size Murphy bed in the front, with a couch when the Murphy is folded up into the wall. The dining area has a slide full sized slide. The bathroom has its own door on the left side of the trailer (great for cross venetalation).

The only thing I don't like is the outdoor kitchen, if we buy it I'll probably gut it and use it for storage.

Anyways, thought I'd through that out there in case you needed more confusion. Take your time buying your rv, see what's out there.

[rbpru]

It all starts with how much cargo capacity your TV has.

Subtract the weight family and gear and you know the tongue weight you can haul.

That is just a start to tell you the TT size to start with.

[downtheroad]

Meaningless discussion and meaningless suggestions and opinions UNTIL the tow vehicle is known...

[SoundGuy]

prichardson wrote:
The biggest factor is which floor plan and amenities work best for you.

Disagree. The MOST important factor in selecting any trailer was summarized perfectly by mbopp ...

"I'm always leery of people saying "I can tow XXXXX# and want a bunkhouse." The more important number is payload. Family and gear add up fast."

Sure, the OP seems to believe he has plenty of truck ... but so have many others before him. :R Any trailer with a GVWR of 9000 lbs is getting pretty big, certainly requires something more than a 1/2 ton ... we don't know what the OP has because he hasn't mentioned it but regardless whether you can safely tow it is the MOST important factor. Hopefully the OP has already figured this out. 😉

[ppine]

There is no perfect RV. Buy used so you can change your mind without losing so much money. Nine thousand pounds is a lot to haul around. Consider going lighter and smaller.

[prichardson]

The biggest factor is which floor plan and amenities work best for you. Spend a little time in each play camping. Being new to RVing you may even want to think about buying used; as ideas as to what is important will probably change after you use it for a while. Just about anything you buy may have a few issues that need to be addressed.

[mbopp]

I'm always leery of people saying "I can tow XXXXX# and want a bunkhouse." The more important number is payload. Family and gear add up fast.

We had a North Trail and currently have a Grand Design. I didn't like the wide track axles on the NT, too much tire side scuffing on tight turns. Had NO major issues with it and had an exemplary dealer to back it up. But it wasn't as nicely finished as the current GD and we love GD's floor plan.
But the GD has had (and still has) a few problems. Total of 33 days in the shop and it's still not fixed. The problems aren't that major, I lay the blame squarely on the dealer and their service dept. I'd still buy another GD, but not from that dealer.