Travel Trailer Purchase

[pjpoppins]

We purchased a 2015 wildwood x-lite 262bhxl and so far have loved it. Small issue we had was one of the bathroom sink pex connectors was cross threaded so we spent 1/2 day on our maiden trip running around to hardware store to figure out how to fix it (my buddy ended up fixing it with a SS to pex sharkbite fitting). Are there things I don't like and don't like? Yes. But overall we are very happy. I wouldn't want to live in it all year but for the 20 nights or so a year we are in it it's fine. Couldn't beat the price. We were looking at keystones before that seemed perfect to us but it was also like 2.5x the money.

 

[rajak73]

See avatar, we have a 2014 Cougar made by Keystone. Love it, we shopped and looked a long time until we found something that fit what we wanted, more back living area, refridg accessable when slides are in. I will agree with others, your dealer will make a big difference, the dealer we bought from, we have did business there for 20 years, they are really good about fixing anything that's wrong even when you buy a used camper. I would have no problem buying a Forest River if they had the floor plan we wanted.

 

[chartle]

This is not a reply in regard to the rv you go with but rather the tow vehicle you have (or will have in the future). If you have a tv currently make sure it will handle the rv you are looking into. We had budgeted for a popup that would have been great behind my wife's yukon, but my wife's grandparents were getting out of the camping life and we bought their bunkhouse bumper pull for pretty much what we had set aside for the popup. The yukon was rated for the weight of the rv but we had not driven a mile down the road before we both started talking about what truck we would be purchasing in the near future. Long story short, our popup quickly turned into a bumper pull and 3/4 ton diesel.

Ever seen the movie the Long Long Trailer? Its an old Lucille Ball Desi Arnez movie about them getting married and deciding to buy a travel trailer to see the country as they travel to his new job. They buy the trailer first and then the dealer starts to talk about trailer brakes and that they need a a heavier car and it just keeps adding up for them "saving money" pulling their new home. (He had I think a civil engineering job that would take him from job to job).

We bought our last new vehicle knowing we would want to pull a trailer so bought the only Jeep Cherokee with V6 and factory towing on the lot. We picked this over a ford escape or chevy venture because Jeep is the only car in its class that takes towing seriously. Ford and Chevy's package was a 1 1/4" hitch and a wiring package. The jeep is rated for 4,500 lbs, not 3,000, and the towing package includes 4 and 7 pin wiring, extra engine cooling, larger alternator and full size spare tire. This package was about the same as the Ford and Chevy. All I need to add is the draw bar, ball and maybe a trailer brake controller.

We aren't looking to buy a large trailer. In fact a stipped down pop up is all we need. We will be transitioning from tent camping so assume we will still do all our cooking outside working out of a cooler and I don't want to deal with any color of water tanks. But we did see some around 3,000 lb travel trailers at the RV show last year.

I still want to make my own Tear Drop.

 

[SouthAlabama5er]

TRAILER BRAKES, TRAILER BRAKES!!!!

My wife and I love that movie!

 

[chartle]

TRAILER BRAKES, TRAILER BRAKES!!!!

My wife and I love that movie!

I know

I have the movie in my Netflix que. Wish it was streaming.

 

[PaHunter]

Tow vehicles are important to the decision. Our 26 foot travel trailer took our Chevy 1500 fuel mileage down to 7mpg while towing. It was also a long climb up some of the hills in NEPA and in Virginia. This resulted in us purchasing a bigger tow vehicle, now own a 3500 Diesel. The 1500 could do it, it just did not do it very well.

 

[Yellowstonetim]

A few pieces of advice: I love the RV's we have in the US, but to be frank, on all but the most expensive fit and finish can be lacking direct from the factory. Go over your RV at pickup with a fine toothed comb. Take HOURS if necessary. Check every nook and cranny. Check that every single function works.

The web is your friend. RV dealers sell 14' travel trailers, million dollar motorhomes and everything in between. Pricing in the stores and shops can tend to be high because, well, million dollar motorhome owners can afford to pay. Check around if it is non-warranty work. Having said that, I thought the Camping World store in Harrisburg (Where we shop) has decent prices for products that are reasonably competitive for an RV store.

There are a few other large RV dealers not too far away: We bought at Keystone RV down 81 at the Maryland border. Got a great price on a leftover TT. Beckley's in Maryland, too, and Tom Shaffer (or Schaffer?) RV up by Cabella's on 81.

 

[North of Mouse]

Got a great price on a leftover TT. Beckley's in Maryland, too, and Tom Shaffer (or Schaffer?) RV up by Cabella's on 81.

Bought an Award trailer from Beckley's in MD when we lived up there many years ago - Never Again doing business with them!!

Barely got home, realized a piece of furniture was different than we thought it was, called them to see if we could switch it (would have been a perfect switch size wise - no issues) and they said, "Nope, it's a used unit now, can't do that"!! They knew we had just left there, so we never returned, and let them know the review we would give to others - really could not believe it - they were soooo nice until we signed and drove away!

But, we definitely learned something - go over it with a fine tooth comb, and 'do not' sign until you are 100% satisfied - will never settle for any IOU's either. Is very easy to get caught up in the emotional moment!

 

[lee m]

Ever seen the movie the Long Long Trailer?

I have never seen the movie but it sounds like I should try to find it.

 

[chartle]

I have never seen the movie but it sounds like I should try to find it.

It available to rent from Netflix and here

http://www.amazon.com/The-Long-Trailer-Lucille-Ball/dp/B000EHQU08

 

[KristinU]

Bought an Award trailer from Beckley's in MD when we lived up there many years ago - Never Again doing business with them!!

Barely got home, realized a piece of furniture was different than we thought it was, called them to see if we could switch it (would have been a perfect switch size wise - no issues) and they said, "Nope, it's a used unit now, can't do that"!! They knew we had just left there, so we never returned, and let them know the review we would give to others - really could not believe it - they were soooo nice until we signed and drove away!

But, we definitely learned something - go over it with a fine tooth comb, and 'do not' sign until you are 100% satisfied - will never settle for any IOU's either. Is very easy to get caught up in the emotional moment!

And we bought our previous TT (Gulfstream Visa...now they're called Vistas) from Beckley's and had a great experience and would do business with them again...so I guess it goes to show you that the industry is inconsistent and even at the same dealership you can get varying interactions and service levels.

 

[rrehman]

I just wanted to give an update. After looking at all of the Travel Trailers at the Hershey RV show, we changed our mind on which model we are going to buy. We decided on the Prime Manufacturing Tracer Air 305. It has the features we like more, than the Wildwood model. It is more expensive than we were originally planning on paying, but the difference is worth the cost. We placed a deposit to lock in the price, and are planning on taking delivery in February or early spring. Due to the price difference we need a few more months to save up our down payment.

 

[Teamubr]

Thanks for the update. Congrats! It looks like a really nice trailer.

And letting someone else store the trailer over the winter isn't a bad thing. Have fun with it.

j

 

[jbrostek]

I can say I been very happy with Primetime and their quality on my Sanibel. Also never had an issue with support from them. Just gave them a call recently over the memory foam bed and they where great to work with.

 

[PaHunter]

Very nice choice. the second door to access the bathroom while traveling is great. best of luck with it.

 

[rrehman]

Very nice choice. the second door to access the bathroom while traveling is great. best of luck with it.

We can't wait to get it. We like the rear bunkhouse slide out the best part. The bottom bunk on one side is a futon that folds to a full size bed. That will be nice if the kids want to watch tv or play a game and leave the adults alone.