RV Question NuWa 2003 31.5 LKTG

[gathomas]

I'm interested in a 2003 NuWa 31. 5 LKTG, the dealer states its 33' Length



they're asking $11,900 BTW the pin box is painted white, which IIRC,



Harvey Barlow stated in a prev post (2011) that white paint indicated



a "Young's Welding" manufactured frame, which I believe he spoke highly of.



Harvey, if you read this post I would appreciate your opinion of this unit.



Thanks, Glen

 

[HBarlow]

Glen,

Yes, the HitchHiker 31. 5 LKTG was built on a Young's Frame and should be a very good used trailer. You should be able to find a Young's Frame tag or stamp on the kingpin box identifying the frame as built by Young's Frame but whether you find it or not, it was built on a substantial Young's Frame. All DA 31. 5/32/327 trailers were built on a Young's Frame. I

That one is basically the same trailer I own and an extremely popular old floorplan built for many years including now as a 327 LKTG.

LKTG means "L" shaped kitchen and TG means triple glide.

Here's the floorplan and specs from NuWa's Website Archives:

http://www.nuwa.com/archives/

Here is the standard and optional equipment, etc.

http://www.nuwa.com/archives/

Interior Photos of various models

http://www.nuwa.com/archives/

Exterior Photos but not the 31. 5

http://www.nuwa.com/archives/

You can check the price on NADA under used RV/Fifthwheel Trailers/NuWa/Discover America/31. 5

Run the glide rooms out and climb up on the roof and check all seams where the fiberglass end caps join the roof, around openings for vent stacks, vent fans, antenna, etc. Also check for seam caulking on glide rooms. Since just before my trailer was built in May '07 they have been using a new seam tape that supposedly adheres and seals for the life of the trailer but when that one was built they were sealing seams with some other product. I've seen trailers that had been in full time use with the glide rooms out with severe wood rot in the walls and floors of the large curbside living/dining area glide room. The only cure is complete rebuild of the glide room which is expensive.

That is fundamentally a very well built and excellent value used trailer. They aren't top of the line luxury units but a very solid, well insulated, four season trailer. But don't assume it was automatically well cared for. Do your due diligence in inspecting it.

I'll be happy to answer any additional questions you may have.

I'm still well pleased with mine and recommend the trailers.

 

[mainer29]

Thank You for the tips on how to inspect these trailers. Very much appreciated.

 

[HBarlow]

Hey, glad to help.

I should have also added - although CEO Mike Mitchell recently announced that he is going to shut down production by the end of the year he said the factory service center will remain open.

I consider the NuWa service department the best RV service center I have ever visited. A Lubbock RV dealer has an excellent service department managed by an old friend but I have pulled my HitchHiker back to Chanute, about 550 miles, six or eight times to have the NuWa service department install a new accessory or make a minor repair. I like and trust the folks in the NuWa service department and always leave feeling like I got everything I paid for and more. There is no service department anywhere that knows the product as well as those folks do.

The NuWa service department adds value to every HitchHiker trailer in service.

 

[gathomas]

Harvey,

Thank you for all of the information you provided, also the wealth of advice. The info and advice is much appreciated, because there is just so much
a person needs to be aware of concerning these trailers, because repairs can cleanout your retirement account. I know about that first hand as the
proud owner of a 1997 33' Sierra fifth wh. It would be difficult to describe the misery that Sierra caused... Junkyard on wheels comes pretty close.

I did manage to unload it cheap to a guy who wanted it for a hunting camp here in PA. I found this NuWa doing an internet search. I would like to head
south this winter without sharing a bed with bed bugs, if you catch my drift. I'm really in no hurry, so if this unit does not check out to be decent, I'll pass
on it. Like you said, "Do your due diligence".

Thanks again Harvey for your help,

Glen

 

[HBarlow]

Glen,

I was assuming you had your eye on a local trailer you could put your hands and eyes on easily when I posted earlier so I didn't mention another source.

Anyone looking for a good used fifthwheel should consider the used inventory listed on the NuWa website. About two years ago NuWa began selling new units from the factory if requested and accepting trades. The trades all go through their service department for inspection and repair as needed and are priced fairly and well below what most RV dealers would do. If they take in any junk to make a sale they probably get rid of it through the back door to a wholesaler. I'm sure they don't sell anything with serious problems.

If I were looking for a used unit NuWa's website would be the first place I would look. I have total confidence in the friendly nature, honesty, and integrity of everyone at NuWa in Chanute. Ron VanGotten "RV" the service manager, Daryl Dennis the shop foreman, and all the guys who do the work are all good men who I know and trust. Likewise the sales staff. I have talked with each of them in the past.

I have Daryl's cell phone number in my cell phone. I've been there so many times and know the service guys so well they know "Gertrude", my female German Shepherd by name. Gertrude and I have spent time in the shop waiting for my trailer, visiting with the people, and talking with them about a job they were doing for me. There is no better RV company on the planet.

If you buy a trailer from them it will be as they tell you it is. Buying one from them will set you up for a long and pleasant ownership experience.

The day my trailer was built Ed Cox, senior NuWa territory sales rep who does the product videos on the website, hooked it to a company truck and personally delivered it to the dealer in Olathe, KS where I had ordered it. What other RV company does things like that?

 

[Bill Stockard]

Glen,

I was assuming you had your eye on a local trailer you could put your hands and eyes on easily when I posted earlier so I didn't mention another source.

Anyone looking for a good used fifthwheel should consider the used inventory listed on the NuWa website. About two years ago NuWa began selling new units from the factory if requested and accepting trades. The trades all go through their service department for inspection and repair as needed and are priced fairly and well below what most RV dealers would do. If they take in any junk to make a sale they probably get rid of it through the back door to a wholesaler. I'm sure they don't sell anything with serious problems.

If I were looking for a used unit NuWa's website would be the first place I would look. I have total confidence in the friendly nature, honesty, and integrity of everyone at NuWa in Chanute. Ron VanGotten "RV" the service manager, Daryl Dennis the shop foreman, and all the guys who do the work are all good men who I know and trust. Likewise the sales staff. I have talked with each of them in the past.

I have Daryl's cell phone number in my cell phone. I've been there so many times and know the service guys so well they know "Gertrude", my female German Shepherd by name. Gertrude and I have spent time in the shop waiting for my trailer, visiting with the people, and talking with them about a job they were doing for me. There is no better RV company on the planet.

If you buy a trailer from them it will be as they tell you it is. Buying one from them will set you up for a long and pleasant ownership experience.

The day my trailer was built Ed Cox, senior NuWa territory sales rep who does the product videos on the website, hooked it to a company truck and personally delivered it to the dealer in Olathe, KS where I had ordered it. What other RV company does things like that?

We have owned two NuWa products in the past and traveled thousands of miles in them without any big problems. If I were going to buy a used 5th wheel, I would buy another NuWa product and would look at the used NuWa factory listings and buy with the confidence that they were in top condition after having been through the factory service center.

Bill

 

[HBarlow]

It was Bill's experience and advice that led me to NuWa. I consulted Bill first back in '06 when I started considering a new fifthwheel. It was Bill who made me aware of the importance of the Youngs Frame. I would not have known that.

At the time NuWa, in an attempt to lower costs and be more competitive against the cheaper Elkhart trailers, was building their lower priced HitchHiker II or HitchHiker LS models and the "three digit" Discover America models on Lippert frames. The first HitchHiker models I saw and liked were '07 Discover America 329 and 339 trailers. Thanks to Bill's advice I quickly learned they were among the models being built on Lippert frames using Lippert running gear. Instead, I chose a 32 LKTG built on a Youngs frame. I've never regretted the choice.

NuWa used Lippert frames on select models in '07 and '08. I will just say that NuWa apparently decided they had made a mistake and returned to Youngs Welding frames after that adventure.