Looking for travel trailer advice

[JasonBrown]

I am looking at buying a used travel trailer. I am wanting a 30' or larger with a slide, a queen bedroom and a bunk room (I have 4 sons). I am looking for advice on these as I have never owned one. What brands hold up best? Is fiberglass or aluminum better? What kind of things should I be looking for in buying a used one?



The reason I am going with a travel trailer is that I won't be pulling it long distances, it will spend the summer in a campground about 60 miles from my home and then put up for the winter. I don't really want to deal with the fifth wheel hitch since I will just be pulling it a few times a year and I use my truck for other things.



Welcoming all advice, opinions, good news, bad news or whatever you all want to throw at me.

 

[JFaughn]

I think that holding up and slides are a contradiction , but if you realy want , then I also think that the Airstreams are far better & they came out with a slide a few yrs. ago .
The problum for me is that the newer Airstreams are very expensive , about $1,500 per. ft.
I lucked out , I found a 85 excella 32' and paid $4,500 , when anything els at the time 3-4 yrs. ago was about $12,000 - 16,000 .
You'll get a lot talking about other brands , but the % of old Airstreams on the road still , perty much makes the case .
I think when getting suggestions from others , take with a grain of salt , you only need to make your self happy .

 

[FKowzic]

Hi Jason If your absolutely positive that this is going to be a one campground trailer, sort of like a summer home. Look into a "park Model" They are designed to sit in an R. V. park for the season. Instead of power slideouts they have manual "tip outs , they usually only have a 110volt electric system, a houshold type refrig. But the best part is they are only 1/3 to 1/2 the cost of a comparable travel trailer. Dealers usually dont have a lot of them on the lot because the profit margin is not as high. Frank

 

[Gaylord]

Frank is spot on "IF" you plan on staying in one place. Most "Park" models are overwidth (need a permit to move) and use a pintle hitch. Not a big deal if you are only going 60 miles.

As to the others, stay with the high end manufacturers, Airstream, Boles Arrow, Holiday Rambler and Silver Stream. You will be money ahead but will only cry once (when you buy it). HTH

 

[DJamrose]

also keep in mind with park models they are 110 only the campground may not be designed for that meaning in a travel trailer alot of appliances are propane or dc the campground i'm in had to update bigtime to accomodate the needs of the campground in turn it costs the people of the campground.

 

[Grizzly]

Look at Arctic Fox. Dollar for dollar you can't get better. They are 4 star rated. All others mentioned are 2, 2 1/2 and 3 star rated on RV Consumer Guide on a scale of 0 to 5 stars.

 

[JasonBrown]

Very interesting. I haven't thought about a park model. This thing will be sitting right beside the Ohio River and I might have to move it quick when the water comes up. Does anyone know who makes a park model that is a legal width to pull without permitting? Do the park models have the same water and sewer hookups as travel trailers? What is a pintle hitch?



Anyone want to weigh in on fiberglass vs. aluminum? JFaughn indicated the slide-outs are troublesome. What kind of problems can I expect from a slide out-unit? I plan on keeping this thing for a long time so quality is important.



Keep the good information coming. I am intrigued!

 

[JFielding]

I have had 6 different brands of trailers over the years. My current one is an Arctic Fox. This one is the best designed and highest quality I have encountered. Every part of it appears to have been well thought out including maintenance procedures. The price was reasonable. They are designed by RVers.

Take your time looking at only the better quality rigs like Arctic Fox or Airstream especially if you are going to spend a lot of time in the rig.

Even the little things can drive you nuts with traikers. The cheap rigs will be annoying to own in short order. I don't own a 5th wheel but my son does. They are really nice and very comfortable. The newer in bed hitches are more easily removed than ever before. Make a list of what you would like in a trailer and ask the dealers a lot of questions even if you are looking at used trailers.



Good Luck

 

[LEPage]

Aluminum is fine & a whole lot lighter than fiberglass, but a pain to wax, unless it's a Holiday Rambler, which uses smooth aluminum. It looks as good as the fiberglass, also. Not all fiberglass is the same. There are basically 2 types of fiberglass, Filon & Gelcoat. The filon is not as smooth as gelcoat, & you can see the fibers in it. Gelcoat is more like a boat or Corvette type of finish and is easy to wash & wax. I would stay away from anything built by Fleetwood, they build more than anyone & it shows in the lack of quality(Boy am I going to hear about that statement). You would have a really hard time getting more bang for the buck than with a Holiday. They even have travel trailers that have enclosed & heated tanks like a fifth wheel, if you were to use it in cold weather. One thing about slides, they are cold, I don't care what anyone tries to tell you, you've got 3 walls, a roof, & the floor stuck out in the air. Even in the high end rigs, the floor is only so thick. I've lived in these things for nealy 10 years now & have been there, done that. If weight is a concern, I'd go with aluminum sides & use the wieght saved to offset the weight of tinted dual pain windows, they are warmer in the winter & cooler in the summer. As for park models, I won't even go there, They are only built to stand 1 trip down the road with you're fingers crossed!

 

[Hitec.Redneck]

If you are looking for a used trailer here are some of the things I checked for when I bought.



My first place to look was the roof, the roof should be solid. Check all the seams to be sure they are properly sealed. There should not be any soft spots, esp near the seams. Check those spots very carefully.



Look for spots that have large amounts of caulking, this may indicate that there may have been a leak in that spot and investigate it very good.



Have them connect the trailer to electricity and run the AC and the heater. Check the inside for signs of water, dark spots, soft spots and check the floor near all the wall for soft spots. Usually a trailer that has a leak will have a wet, musty smell.



Check the tires for cracking and be sure the air pressure is correct before you tow it. A blow out usually messes the trailers up pretty bad.



I have had both aluminum and fiberglass 5th wheels, my current camper is fiberglass. They both have their advantages, depends on what you want. I prefer the fiberglass. My trailer is kept under cover at home, here in Texas, the summers are hot and the sun really ages stuff fast.



Good luck in your search, ask lots of questions and I wish you luck in finding a trailer. We really enjoy ours.

 

[DBCooper]

Jason, Northwood Mfg. makes both Nash and Arctic Fox travel trailers. They are very well built and rated for four seasons. There (to my knowledge) is no standard for this, but it does point out that at least someone took the extra time to make them more comfortable than most in cooler weather (yes,... even in the slide area). They have the same (for the most part) floor plans in both the Nash and Arctic Fox lines. The Arctic Fox's come with most of the options standard while the Nash's let you add them to suit you. The Arctic Fox's have Filon (smooth fiberglass) siding standard while it is optional with the Nash's. They are both built to the same standards of quality and ride on very heavy chassis for their size.

For your needs, they have a model they call a 32D. Depending on the year they have one or two slides, (one very large one in the dining/living area) and one in the main bedroom that is a ward. The earlier ones don't have the wardrobe slide. They also come with 4 bunks in the back with optional stor-mor-doors. These are very handy.

I was able to find several used ones when I was looking for a 31W model. Pricing is surprisingly good for these trailers and now is a good time to buy. I would have picked up a 32D, but we only needed two bunks, so ended up with a new 31W. Hope this gives you something you can use.

Dan

 

[K5IP]

Seems like there are many Northwood fans out here. I certainly am.

Rog

 

[chazj]

Seems like there are many Northwood fans out here. I certainly am.

Rog

Add me to the list. Been "Full Timing" in mine for well over a year.

 

[Grizzly]

Add me to the list. Been "Full Timing" in mine for well over a year.

I have a question for anyone who has purchased an Arctic Fox 5th wheel lately. How much discount are you getting from the dealers. I've been beating the bushes and talking to a lot of dealers and I can't get anything worth while. I'm very careful not to mentions other dealers names or locations when talking to these sharks because I believe they talk to each other just like car and truck dealers do.

 

[LEPage]

Like I said, someone was going to claim to have a warm slide! But in all fairness, I was talking about in cold weather(20*f & under), not cooler.

 

[DBCooper]

25% off of MSRP is a good starting point. If you go to AFNash.com you can get a ton more informtion on these units. Even the ones with warm slides. :-laf

 

[SSage]

I full-timed in an Arctic Fox 31W with the rear bath, good trailer. I out grew it and moved up to a KZ (much larger) 5th wheel. The AF did hold up well and I traded it in with everything working, the wood inside held up better than any TT I've seen. It still looked new, it was an 04. I wish AF would make high end toy haulers like they made that 31W.

 

[DBCooper]

SSage, have you looked at the Desert Fox toy haulers? They are made by Northwood. I didn't look at them at all when we bought, but I hear they are of the same quality as the Arctic Fox's.

 

[jwduke]

Holiday Rambler is awfully nice for the money, plus fairly light.

 

[abdiver]

I also recommend Arctic Fox and Nash products by Northwood