Anyone have/had a Salem TT?

[Fireman Dave]

We're looking at a new 27' Salem travel trailer. I'm interested in comments from anyone who's had one in the past or who currently has one. Thanks.

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2001 2500; SLT; 4x4; QC; LWB; Auto; 3. 54 LS; 265s; Camper; Tow; Sliding Rear Window; Travel Convenience Group; Cab Clearance Lamps; Forest Green

 

[C Schomer]

I had a Wildwood, also made by Forest River. It turned into a never ending project. Worst quality POS I ever saw!! I heard Salem was even lower end than Wildwood! I finally had to dump it when the outer siding and inner paneling were coming off. I was never so happy to take such a $ beating in my life! I have a Sunnybrook now. A lot more $$$, but the quality justifies it! I haven't done it, but it's probably worth $35 to join 'rv.org' and get their rv rating book. Craig

[This message has been edited by C Schomer (edited 02-10-2001). ]

 

[WCrovo]

Dave don't get a Weekend Warrior either. They are the biggest POS ever made and dangerous as well.

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2001 2500 tow, camper, SWB, ETH/DEE, 3. 54 Bright white,4 wheel discs.

 

[HerbW]

I have a 1995 19. 5'Layton Without any troubles!I had before this a compact 17' 1988 Layton without any troubles except for the brakes once. They aren't make by them so it was no big deal. Good Luck, Herb

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'96 4x4 Dodge Cummins Truck,Smitty built running boards,AT,CD plr,Gemtop steel canopy basically stock and Polar white in color. Only 50 k miles and I'm spaying my cat soon and adding gauges, plates and other money grabbers!!

 

[Steve M]

We just traded our 18. 5 Aljo for a 25ft Jayco 5th wheel. I beleave the Aljo and Layton are the same cats with different names. If they are, we had six years of trouble free enjoyment out of our Aljo. For the money, we need to stay in the lower priced units. I hope our Jayco will be as enjoyable as the Aljo was. All of these lower priced units are designed for weekend and short vacation use. They're not intended for full time or heavy duty use. We take this into consideration with the price.

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98 2500 CC SB 4X2 12v 5spd 4. 10, -silencer, AFC+20, Edelbrock IAS, VDO gauges, Reese 15k Classic
97 Dodge Stratus 150HP
92 Harley Fatboy, Dynojet fuel management, Supertrapp 2-1
00 Jayco 25' 5th wheel, single slide

 

[wrward]

Dave
I have a 2000 21' Salem.
The walls are buckling, or to use their terms "flexing". The plumbing leaked. The electrical system sucks, and don't get it in the rain. I am getting a Santek, you can reach them at 714-449-1395. They are a little more money but worth the investment, as they will hold their value. I'm going to take a beating on the Salem.
Bill

 

[pwr2tow]

I must of had the only good salem made, mine was a 24RLS 5th wheel, The RL stands for rear living room and S stands for slide out. Never had any problem with it but you could tell there wasn't much quality (nice looking interior but not much quality material). My advise is if you can afford a little more your better off in the long run buying something more reputable. Buy what you want now even if you have to pinch pennys because you will only be tradeing or selling it for something you wanted in the first place and take a beating on paid out interest. Speaking from experience, been there done that. What ever you decide good luck and glad to see some one else enjoying life, you only have one enjoy. #ad
Regards, Ron

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1999, 3500, 6x6, slt, auto, 3. 54, Qd cab, ISB cummins, towing 2001 26RKSS Tahoe 5th wheel, 1999 120hp 1800 bayliner.

 

[Fireman Dave]

Thanks for the replies. After a lot of looking, comparing, and lost sleep, we ended up making a deal on a new 2000 Wildwood 27BH. It's identical to the Salem. I know there were a couple of negative experiences with Salem and Wildwood listed here, but that was the only thing holding us back. We looked at all kinds of different makes in this price range, but we kept coming back to the Wildwood as the one we liked the best. Ironically, it seems like the quality of the Wildwood is as good or better than all of the others we looked at. We're also very impressed with the dealer. We're confident he'll take good care of us. I'm as picky about who I buy from as I am about what I buy.

I know we could go into a higher price range, but we really needed to stay on the lower end right now. This will be a big step up from our pop-up. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Craig and Bill had isolated incidents of poor quality with Forest River.

Ron, thanks for your info. It makes me feel better to see someone say something good about a Forest River. We read good things about them on some of the RV sites, too.

We're going in with our eyes open - none of these trailers are built all that solid. In the end we had to make a decision based on all the info we had accumulated, so we feel good about the one we bought. Hopefully it will hold up ok. Now I have to decide on what tow mirrors and brake controller to get.