New to Travel Trailers. What to look for?

[optimusprime]

Hey all. I am new here and am wanting to get a TT for my family sometime next year. I would like to hear opinions on what brands to look for regarding reliability, comfort and durability and which ones to stay away from if ya'll wouldn't mind. What do ya'll use and why? I am looking in the 26-30' range with at least 1 slide out. I will be wanting a quad bunk option if I can find it. What say you? Thanks in advance for any tidbits ya'll throw me.

[zcookiemonstar]

stevemorris wrote:
biggest tip I can add is remember that trailers are not designed and sold by people who actually go camping!
they are designed to look great on the sales lot and as somebody else already said, with all slideouts open
prime example, our bathroom is inaccessible with the slideout in, totally dumb!!
loose furniture is another one, dining chairs and recliners look great in the show room, but where will they be after 100 miles on the road? sure they have straps to hold them sort of in place but they are still going to bounce around
bathrooms are pretty tiny, I don't understand why they think we need a bathroom sink, a bigger shower would be much better and ditch the silly tiny sink and cabinet that's full of plumbing stuff, looks pretty I guess!
also there is a trend towards electric fridges that wont run on propane, not good unless you want to be tied to a power supply every night

We like to wash our hands after using the bathroom so I like having a sink in the bathroom.

[smarty]

A) make sure your truck will tow it
B) make sure the layout and type suits your desires

We purchased a toy hauler based on what we desired to use if for and it was the best decision we ever made.

[tekman741]

rockhillmanor wrote:

optimusprime wrote:
Hey all. I am new here and am wanting to get a TT for my family sometime next year. I would like to hear opinions on what brands to look for regarding reliability, comfort and durability and which ones to stay away from if ya'll wouldn't mind. …..

Plenty of the Others will give you specs to compare.
My advice is all about the bathroom!

For 'me' the first biggest mistake I made buying my first TT?

Was not trying out the bathroom! Yup I bought my first TT and on my first trip with friends and went to use the bathroom and when you sat down you could "not" close the bathroom door. man spot on. if the bathroom is comfy more than likely so will the RV as the designers paid attention to detail. I do the same thing, if you cannot access the bathroom when pulled over in a rest area it was not well thought out. make sure you can fit in the bed, sit at the dinnette etc. Storage is another deal breaker.

If you were over 5 ft tall your knees hit the door so you couldn't close it. I sold my brand new TT after only 2 trips. When I went to look at MH's while the salesman was yammering about the cabinets etc I'd push him aside and head for the bathroom to sit down and see if the door closed. You'll be surprised how many rv bathrooms have problems.

AND...if you are buying any RV with slides? Make the salesman pull ALL of the slides in 'before' you sign on the dotted line.

Many slides when pulled in, you will 'not' be able to use the bathroom or sink or fridge or access the bedroom etc etc. All things you want to be able to get to while on the road, that's why we buy RV's!

And BTW the most used excuse the salesmen will us as to why they can't bring the slides in is that there is no battery in the RV.

They know these slides block stuff that is why they are all deployed on the showroom floor and many on the lots, MAKE them get a battery and pull the slides in or go somewhere else to buy your RV! :C

Sorry for being long winded, I just hope some of the bathroom info helps you! :B

spot on

[stevemorris]

biggest tip I can add is remember that trailers are not designed and sold by people who actually go camping!
they are designed to look great on the sales lot and as somebody else already said, with all slideouts open
prime example, our bathroom is inaccessible with the slideout in, totally dumb!!
loose furniture is another one, dining chairs and recliners look great in the show room, but where will they be after 100 miles on the road? sure they have straps to hold them sort of in place but they are still going to bounce around
bathrooms are pretty tiny, I don't understand why they think we need a bathroom sink, a bigger shower would be much better and ditch the silly tiny sink and cabinet that's full of plumbing stuff, looks pretty I guess!
also there is a trend towards electric fridges that wont run on propane, not good unless you want to be tied to a power supply every night

[the_e-man]

optimusprime wrote:
Thanks so much everyone! That’s very helpful. My tow vehicle is a 2014 Ford F-350 LB CC 6.7. I was wanting the quad bunks because I have 3 youngsters 5,4 and 2 along with my wife and I. Are there brands I should stay away from?

Makes sense. Kids at that age will probably love having bunks and a separate bunkhouse play area.

There have been many discussions on which brands to buy or avoid on this forum. There are a few people who are passionate about their brand. In the end, the advice usually is that many manufacturers produce similar products. Find a floor plan that you like. Check that floor plan out from several companies. That’s easiest to do at an rv show. Find one at your price point and from a dealer you like. You’ll probably have to go back to the dealer for service at least once, so having them somewhat close is good.

[the_e-man]

optimusprime wrote:
Thanks so much everyone! That’s very helpful. My tow vehicle is a 2014 Ford F-350 LB CC 6.7. I was wanting the quad bunks because I have 3 youngsters 5,4 and 2 along with my wife and I. Are there brands I should stay away from?

Makes sense. Kids at that age will probably love having bunks and a separate bunkhouse play area.

There have been many discussions on which brands to buy or avoid on this forum. There are a few people who are passionate about their brand. In the end, the advice usually is that many manufacturers produce similar products. Find a floor plan that you like. Check that floor plan out from several companies. That’s easiest to do at an rv show. Find one at your price point and from a dealer you like. You’ll probably have to go back to the dealer for service at least once, so having them somewhat close is good.

[patperry2766]

Toy hauler

This was posted in another forum about FT camping in a modified toy hauler.

The problem I see is that most of the bunks in the bunkhouse design are 24-30ish inches wide. That's not a lot of room to roll over without rolling out of the bed. While the kids are small like yours, it might not be that big of a problem now...but they grow fast.

The benefit of the toy hauler is that the garage area can be dedicated to the kids and all the stuff they bring and since they're all relatively small, you possibly might be able to get all three to sleep on the happijac bed at least for a couple of years if they're not restless sleepers.

[optimusprime]

Thanks though. I’m sure there are plenty of people wanting to tow a 45 foot gooseneck with their 1995 GMC Jimmy:)

[wowens79]

optimusprime wrote:
Thanks so much everyone! That’s very helpful. My tow vehicle is a 2014 Ford F-350 LB CC 6.7. I was wanting the quad bunks because I have 3 youngsters 5,4 and 2 along with my wife and I. Are there brands I should stay away from?

You can ignore my previous comment on tow vehicles, with that rig you shouldn't have any worries. ??

[optimusprime]

Thanks so much everyone! That’s very helpful. My tow vehicle is a 2014 Ford F-350 LB CC 6.7. I was wanting the quad bunks because I have 3 youngsters 5,4 and 2 along with my wife and I. Are there brands I should stay away from?

[eend]

I would buy a used trailer, those trailers depreciate a lot as soon as it leaves the sales lot, quite often the former owner added a lot of add ons, that already installed and payed for..scoure Craigslist and find your first rev.

[the_e-man]

Welcome to the world of camping trailers. I'm sure you'll have fun. It can take some time to find the right unit, so its good you are giving yourself plenty of time.

We started with a Jaco 26BH. I wanted something simple and this fit the bill. No slides. Great space for a family of four. As the kids got older and we added a dog, it became a bit too small. Now we have a Grand Design Transcend 28MKS which has a large slide. Everyone is enjoying the extra space.

You mention wanting a quad bunk camper. Is there a reason you need four bunks? Most units like this have single bunks. Some might find them comfortable. My kids outgrew them around age 12 or 13. I was reluctant to move away from having bunk beds but in our new camper, we have a fold out couch and a dinette that makes into a bed. It is working better than I expected.

Shopping for campers at RV shows and dealers can be a lot of fun. There are a few things I found during last round of camper shopping. I put a few notes of things to look out for on my blog at: https://traveltrailsail.com/seven-rv-shopping-warning-signs/

Good luck and enjoy.

[krobbe]

Some features that became important(that were lacking) while enjoying my first rig:
Walk around bed, room/space for the kids, larger bathroom with a shower and no useless tub(still don't have this), 120v/12v outlets conveniently located throughout(I had to add most of these), good amount of storage that allows for balanced loading(many TT's have most of the storage and water tanks in front of the axles which makes for a really heavy tongue weight), and finally, a tow vehicle that doesn't limit(within reason) what can be packed or carried because of tongue weight limitations.
After my current family TT towing with a 3/4ton Suburban, my next rig will likely be a Northwood ArcticFox towing with a 1Ton dually. Someday...

[theoldwizard1]

I tell all first timers: Buy a 2-3 year old used trailer. I will have devalued a lot and you will find out if you like/dislike camping and have a better feeling for what floor plan works for you.