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  1. Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2018
    Location
    Chardon, Ohio
    Posts
    598
    #21
    As already mentioned STAY CLEAR OF CAMPING WORLD ! Go to any RV web site ( IRV2 ) is great, and look up reviews of CW. Fine to shop it but don’t buy there, you’ll be glad you didn’t.
    2018 AlumaCraft Competitor 185cs, 2018 Yamaha F150XB w/2019 Yamaha T9.9 kicker w/Trollsmarter
    Heritage Custom Trailer w/Torsion axle / Vault Hubs
    Terrova 80# 24v I-Pilot, GARMIN 126sv
    Towed by: 2018 Chevy Colorado V6 Crew Cab 4x4 Long bed or 2016 Winnebago 38Q

  2. Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2018
    Location
    Kelseyville Ca
    Posts
    5,465
    #22
    Just remember when looking used.Check date code on tires.Date code on LP detector and LP tanks and Batteries.Test everything.

  3. Member
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    lawrenceville
    Posts
    559
    #23
    Hard to beat a Grand Design Product. I have been a GM at a big dealership and you will love the Grand Design quality and floor plan. Great unit !

  4. Member
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    lawrenceville
    Posts
    559
    #24
    I am a retired RV dealer. You are right, Camping World is out to hose first time buyers.

  5. Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    Moyock, NC (USA)
    Posts
    2,161
    #25
    Bottom line, campers are very cheaply made. They are designed to be light weight but also to not last forever without consistent maintenance. What I mean is the exterior. I will never buy a fiberglass exterior camper. Delamination is a malignant tumor for a camper. Once you have water penetration, it's next to impossible to repair. At least the aluminum sided campers can be disassembled and repaired.

    Roof should be checked every other month or anytime after a storm that may have hit it with decent size branches. Most roofs are covered with EPDM rubber which is basically the same material as a bicycle innertube. Anywhere you have hull penetrations, i.e. vents, antenna, etc, these should be caulked with dicor self leveling caulk. The seams at the front and back should have caulk or eternabond tape covering them. The front and back seams of the roof are the number one places for leaks. Ensure you inspect your slideout seals as well.
    Buddy Webster USN(retired)

    2007 Triton TR-196 w/200 Optimax
    2018 Chevrolet Silverado LTZ 6.2 4x4
    2003 Jeep Rubicon
    http://www.bbcboards.net/swap-sell/

  6. Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    Hinesville, GA
    Posts
    1,274
    #26
    Fast forward --> Still tire kicking and not ready to pull the trigger as we're looking at maybe this Nov to coming Feb. We've went and looked at four different dealerships within the local area. The first time was late last year and that got the juices flowing and then we just went today. Being on site helps give a good perspective of what we're after.

    What we're juggling is the Pro's & Con's of an RV vs. Travel Trailer ?

    RV - Con - you're house is your wheels unless you tow a vehicle. Grocery getting, exploring etc.
    RV - Con - if it breaks down, your house is in the shop
    RV - Pro - towing toys vice a car (boat, motorcycle trailer etc.)

    TT - Con - they seem much cheaper
    TT - Pro - if it breaks down, you can have it flat bed loaded and hauled aways worst case
    TT - Pro - Tow vehicle is also your grocery getter, round about site seeing etc.
    TT - Con - got to buy a tow vehicle (we'd sell off one vehicle to offset cost)
    TT - Pro - can load a kayak or motorcycle in the bed

    For some reason though, we seem to like the RV over the TT. Thoughts?
    Appreciate your feedback as always and I've read your posts several times to digest over.

  7. Electrical/Wiring/Trolling Motors Moderator CatFan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    SW Indiana
    Posts
    26,089
    #27
    Quote Originally Posted by rdoubledog View Post
    Fast forward --> Still tire kicking and not ready to pull the trigger as we're looking at maybe this Nov to coming Feb. We've went and looked at four different dealerships within the local area. The first time was late last year and that got the juices flowing and then we just went today. Being on site helps give a good perspective of what we're after.

    What we're juggling is the Pro's & Con's of an RV vs. Travel Trailer ?

    RV - Con - you're house is your wheels unless you tow a vehicle. Grocery getting, exploring etc.
    RV - Con - if it breaks down, your house is in the shop
    RV - Pro - towing toys vice a car (boat, motorcycle trailer etc.)

    TT - Con - they seem much cheaper
    TT - Pro - if it breaks down, you can have it flat bed loaded and hauled aways worst case
    TT - Pro - Tow vehicle is also your grocery getter, round about site seeing etc.
    TT - Con - got to buy a tow vehicle (we'd sell off one vehicle to offset cost)
    TT - Pro - can load a kayak or motorcycle in the bed

    For some reason though, we seem to like the RV over the TT. Thoughts?
    Appreciate your feedback as always and I've read your posts several times to digest over.
    All about trade-offs.

    Some depends on what you like to do.

    Your terminology is a little non-standard. Travel trailers, 5th wheels and motor homes are all RVs. Motor homes are broken down into Class A, Class C, Super C and Class B. Using those terms may improve your search results.

    With a Class A or Class C, everything is together, but if you don’t tow a car you are very limited on where you can go on the road and you have to break camp and take everybody with you every time you need to run to the store for ketchup. Many Class Cs don’t have the towing capacity to handle towing a vehicle.

    With a 5th wheel you have your tow vehicle to run errands, you have a lot of storage and living space and the rig is very stable on the road, but you have the separate trailer that isn’t fully accessible on the road, you need a heavier truck and your truck bed availability is limited while towing.

    With a TT, you again have the separate tow vehicle, though it’s easier to find a lighter truck to handle one. Road stability can take some work as the bumper hitch is more sensitive to tongue weight and cross winds.

    I chose a 5th wheel because of the living and storage space, towing stability and flexibility of having the vehicle for errands and sight-seeing.

    There is no good answer to taking a boat with you. Having to launch with a beast of a vehicle is no fun, and waking everybody up to drive their bedroom to the ramp at dawn is not going to be popular either.

    Planning on much of a motorcycle in the bed with a TT is usually a problem. You’ll drive yourself to needing a ton truck to handle the payload which takes away the advantage of the lighter tow vehicle. TT or 5th wheel, an over cab rack is the best option for carrying standard kayaks. There are people using or making racks that carry them vertically on the back of a trailer, but I’m not convinced they will hold up. Another option is folding or inflatable kayaks.
    If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don't have integrity,
    nothing else matters.​

  8. Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    Hinesville, GA
    Posts
    1,274
    #28
    Good feedback CatFan and thanks for the explanation and food for thought.

    RV for me = Motorhome.
    I believe yesterday solidified our length requirement at 27 - 30'. Small will just not cut it as I'll have to use one section as my office 8 hours a day while away. Yesterday we primarily focused on the Class A and C models on the lot to help us get an idea of what to look for on the used market. Its easy to admit that they started to give us tunnel vision as almost instantly we had no interest in trailers. Thats why I came here to have you guys put me back on track.

    We did stick our head in our first 5th wheel and was blown away by the space and setup. Our next venture may be to focus on trailers only and see what happens.

    This one purchase has me putting more thought into it than any other toy.... dang!

  9. Electrical/Wiring/Trolling Motors Moderator CatFan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    SW Indiana
    Posts
    26,089
    #29
    Quote Originally Posted by rdoubledog View Post
    Good feedback CatFan and thanks for the explanation and food for thought.

    RV for me = Motorhome.
    I believe yesterday solidified our length requirement at 27 - 30'. Small will just not cut it as I'll have to use one section as my office 8 hours a day while away. Yesterday we primarily focused on the Class A and C models on the lot to help us get an idea of what to look for on the used market. Its easy to admit that they started to give us tunnel vision as almost instantly we had no interest in trailers. Thats why I came here to have you guys put me back on track.

    We did stick our head in our first 5th wheel and was blown away by the space and setup. Our next venture may be to focus on trailers only and see what happens.

    This one purchase has me putting more thought into it than any other toy.... dang!
    Instead of talking about equipment, talk about yourselves. What are you going to do? Travel every few days for significant periods? Weekend trips? Destination trips where you may travel a few days then park for a while at the same place? One or both working? Just two people or more? Travel in cold weather? Spend days inside the rig working, riding out rainy weather etc. or only use it as a mobile bedroom?

    There are many fairly subtle differences that aren’t obvious until you’ve used one.

    You mention office space, kayaks and motorcycles. A toy hauler could solve those issues. Some toy haulers have a garage that serves as living space when parked. HVAC, outlets and lights. Usually a bedroom, but many people convert them to offices, craft rooms or other things. Separate space with some privacy. With the right rig, you could carry a kayak and motorcycle inside, unload them at your destination with the ramp and have a good work area. I’d recommend leaning away from a TT toy hauler as it complicates balancing tongue weight.

    When we were shopping, we went to a few RV shows and just looked. We came up with several things we didn’t like and several that we did, and used that list to narrow down what we looked at.

    Our list was:

    Comfortable place to sit and watch TV or read. A surprising number of rigs have the TV off to the side of the seating. We wanted recliners facing the TV. We don’t spend a ton of time watching TV, but when we do, we want to be comfortable.

    Access to the refrigerator, bathroom and bed with the slides in. Anyplace we can park, we can take a bathroom break, eat a meal or sleep.

    King or queen bed.

    Kitchen layout so we can both work on meal prep. We went with an island kitchen.

    50A. There is a world of difference between 30 and 50A.

    Bedroom isolated from living area.

    Opposing slides. Gives much more floor space.

    Once we applied those wants, it narrowed the number of rigs down by a lot and made shopping practical. Yours will obviously be different.

    One thing I forgot to mention about a 5th wheel is that they are 4-6’ shorter in use than a TT the same length. That sounds weird, but what I mean is your overall rig length when towing is shorter, and for sites with a slope, the distance between jacks is shorter.
    If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don't have integrity,
    nothing else matters.​

  10. Member
    Join Date
    May 2022
    Location
    Wheaton, Illinois
    Posts
    772
    #30
    I would recommend against buying used. Things wear out no matter how well you take care of them. Our trailer is a 12 year old Coachmen and we take two month long trips each year. After EVERY trip now we need to take it in for some kind of repair. I am not critical of Coachmen trailers but the trailer is old and that is just the way it is. Good luck.

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