frenchmr
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Re: 1st time buyer - 31 vs 35 ft trailer?
I went to the local Hideout dealer this afternoon. They have the trailer listed for $33k, retail of $45k. That price is consistent with other dealers in the general region. I tried negotiating down to $30k, but the most they would come down to is $32k. I countered with $31.5k and they wouldn't budge. What kind of discount is reasonable to negotiate? It's my first time buying a new trailer.553Views0likes0CommentsRe: 1st time buyer - 31 vs 35 ft trailer?
laknox wrote: Someone recently posted a link to a 60(?) gal bladder on Amazon along with a 12v transfer pump. Put that in the bed of your soon-to-be 1t, and you're good to go. :B I'm sure you could even find bigger ones, if you look, but then you're getting into weights. Frankly, with the lighter weight rigs you're looking at now, a SRW 1t would be fine as far as payload goes. Also, if you're going to have a "chase car" one, or more, of your kids might want to ride with Auntie instead of the truck. :B She could also carry some of the "stuff" that might be in the truck. As for power, at minimum, get a couple 6v golf cart batteries and a good 100-200w solar panel and charge controller. If you've got some bucks to burn, look at building a Li battery pack from Nissan Leaf battery modules. NOT cheap, but you can get double the amp hours in half the weight and space of 2 6v batteries. Life expectancy is longer, too, and no maintenance. That's great to see! I'm sure even getting a 30 gal bladder would probably do the trick, thanks. We definitely will want to get us much batter power as we can fit, and solar for dry camping.350Views0likes0CommentsRe: 1st time buyer - 31 vs 35 ft trailer?
Veebyes wrote: With dry camping in mind one of the most important things to have is water capacity. So many only have 60gal freshwater which is next to useless. Figure on 8-10 gal per person per day without being crazy frugal with it. Next is battery bank capacity. 2 group 27 12V batterys just don't cut it. Cram as many amp hrs as can be fitted in the battery area. I think we'll have to be more restrictive than 8-10 gallons per person per day, with 7 people we wouldn't even last 1 day. Most of the new trailers with a bunkhouse that sleep 7+ in the 35 ft length seem to be 45-60 gals of fresh water, but do have a lot more capacity for grey water and black water. For example, the Hideout 308BHS has 43 gals of fresh water, 78 gals of grey water, and 39 gals of black water. I don't understand how you could fill up that much grey and black water if you only have 43 gals of fresh water. Either way, should we just look for used 5th trailers that might have more fresh water capacity? Or should we try to find a water storage option that we could fit in the bed of the truck to add to the fresh water capacity?352Views0likes0CommentsRe: 1st time buyer - 31 vs 35 ft trailer?
guidry wrote: If you stop for a potty break can you get to the bathroom and refrigerator without putting a slide out? That’s important too. That's a great point! The 35' Hideout model has a bathroom accessible directly from the outside and it has an outdoor kitchen with a fridge, we should be able do the potty breaks and grab food ok, at least from what I can tell. SNOMORE wrote: With 6 people in the truck where are your dogs? Hopefully not in the 5th wheel or in the bed of the truck! We have a 40 lb golden doodle that lays in the front passenger foot space (my wife is short) or on a kids lap and then our golden retriever lays in the foot area of the back seat. We have a Honda Pilot and they fit like that today fine. We definitely wouldn't put them in the bed of the truck!350Views0likes0CommentsRe: 1st time buyer - 31 vs 35 ft trailer?
Mickeyfan0805 wrote: To your new/used question, people have very different takes on that. If 'used' means 2-3 years old, your not likely to get a huge break on the cost (especially if buying from a dealer). If used is 5-8 years old, you can save a chunk, but you are living in a until used by another family for 5-8 years. One of the arguments for buying a 'gently used' trailer is that the previous owner may have already dealt with all of the defects from the manufacturer. This may or may not be the case for a particular rig, but for some it can make a difference. For us, I don't mind doing most of the repairs myself (we've had our trailer for 6.5 years and I have had it in the shop twice - once for new tires and the other to replace and axle), and we planned to keep it for a long time, so we bought new. If you want someone else to have worked out the kinks, or think you only may have it for 3-5 years, a used unit is probably your better bet. If you don't mind doing the basic stuff yourself and saving the warranty repairs for the off-season, and plan to keep it for a longer period, I'd suggest that new is a better option. Good point about someone else sorting out all of the warranty repairs with the dealer, I'd rather not deal with the hassle. Plus, I don't really have any trailer or auto repair experience so this might be a little frustrating. I know I'll need to build some of that expertise, but would rather do that slowly over time. camp-n-family wrote: You need the payload to carry that pin weight AND all the passengers. Go with the 350 (1 ton), especially if it’s a diesel. Most 3/4 ton trucks with diesels are close to max payload with pin weight alone. Makes perfect sense about the 1 ton, I'll make sure to limit my search to the F-350. I'm getting it as a 3rd vehicle so the rough ride of the 350 around town won't be as much of an issue. Thanks everyone for the input, this has been super helpful! Anything else I should be thinking about with buying a trailer?350Views0likes0CommentsRe: 1st time buyer - 31 vs 35 ft trailer?
TXiceman wrote: 5 kids means a family of 7. How are you hauling the kids in a crewcab truck which only had seating for 5 or 6? Ken Laps? :-) Actually, my oldest is just about done with her junior year in high school so we only have 1 summer of camping with her. My sister is single and likes to come camping with us so she can drive one of the kids. The following summer it will just be 6 of us so we'll be good in the crew cab. Lyle wrote: Since you want to boondock, don't even consider the Jayco Eagle HTs. Their tanks are too small. I was looking, heavily, at the 277RLTS and, because we like to boondock too, the 32.5gal black tank was a real knock against it, in my book. I was giving up 13gal of black capacity over my old, smaller FW. I would not have bought one without seeing one "naked" underneath so I could see if a larger tank(s) could be installed. If not, then I wouldn't have bought one. I was looking at a very similar KZ Durango 1500 model and, while I didn't buy that exact model, I did buy a KZ. 61gal fresh and 53gal black and grey tanks. The Hideout only carries 43gal of fresh, has 39 grey and 78gal "waste" capacity. Don't know if that's black for both bathrooms. So far, I'm enjoying the KZ and we've had minimal issues with it. One model, the D286BHD, in their Durango "Half-ton" series, looks like a good option for you. It falls between the 2 you're looking at, coming in at 33' and change. Also, the KZ was made since at least 2016, so there might be used ones on the market or old-stock sitting at a dealer somewhere. Don't let the "Half-ton" name fool you on the KZ. It's NOT half-ton towable. Minimum would be a late-model 3/4t; a 1t SRW would be better. On edit: RVTrader has over 20 KZ D286BHDs listed, including one from a private seller that looks awesome and price is even better. Just depends on how far you want to travel. Lyle Great point about the tanks, I hadn't fully considered that. I'll also take a look at the KZ. Thanks!177Views0likes0CommentsRe: 1st time buyer - 31 vs 35 ft trailer?
I think I'm convinced of the 35 ft trailer then, appreciate all of the input! The question now for us is whether to get new or used. We've wanted to get used, but the local dealer has the Hideout 308HDS (the 35 ft one) listed for $13k off the $45k retail price and I'm sure I could negotiate a bit more off that. What's the general consensus around here of used vs new? Also, is Keystone Hideout a reputable brand option? As far as the truck, I'm looking to get a 2011-2013 Ford F-250 or 350 Diesel Lariat model. Those years seem to be good years and I'm hoping to get it for around $30k. Any thoughts on this truck? Thanks for all of the help, it's a big investment for us so we want to make a sound decision.177Views0likes0CommentsRe: 1st time buyer - 31 vs 35 ft trailer?
Thanks for the reply and feedback! The 31 ft trailer can work for us, but we definitely would be a lot more comfortable with the 35 ft one (I forgot to mention we also have 2 dogs!). On the entertainment center, I agree that it is not at an ideal viewing angle, it seems to be a common place for the newer trailers in this size range floorplan. My hope is we can get a TV mount bracket that can swivel out enough to make it ok for viewing.177Views0likes0Comments1st time buyer - 31 vs 35 ft trailer?
We are planning to get a 5th wheel trailer soon and are debating between a trailer that is 31 ft and one that is 35 ft length. It's our first time pulling a 5th wheel trailer so we are leaning towards the 31 ft trailer so it's easier to pull and find camping spots, but we have 5 kids and the 35 ft one has a dedicated bunk room, plus an extra bathroom and an outdoor kitchen. The 31 ft trailer does have double bunks. What advice would you have? Should we go with shorter to keep it simpler or is the extra 4 ft not as big of an impact and we should go with one that fits our family better? Our plan is do a fairly even mix of dry camping and campground camping, I'm in Utah. Here are the models we are considering. Would love any feedback on these two as well. 2018 JAYCO EAGLE HT 26.5BHS https://www.jayco.com/tools/archive/2018-eagle-ht-fifth-wheel/265bhs/ HIDEOUT 308BHDS https://www.keystonerv.com/fifth-wheels/hideout/floorplans/308bhds-fifth-wheel/ Thanks for the help!5.2KViews0likes43Comments
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