What are the Luxury TT’s

[WyoFree]

I’ve never been an Airstream fan. I know people who own them and could never quite figure it all out. Just a personal thing with no wish to offend.

[tuffr2]

I have been looking at Airstream Trailers since 2007. But after much research and going to the factory I decided an Airstream Trailer is nice to look at but a pain to own. Kinda like a sailboat.

That, and they are small with not enough room stay comfortable. They have no storage. Plus they do leak as the soft metal aluminum flexes. Oh sure, I did buy an aluminum alloy F-250, go figure.

Cumminsfan is a bit hard on travel trailers. The Flagstaff/Rockwoods do use better materials and are solid with everything fitting with good tolerances. No bad gaps in any workmanship that I can see.

Again, I am seeing overall better build quality in 2019/20 than I did in 2012/13.

[WyoFree]

What kind of q quality reputation does Keystone have? They have a Sprinter Limited 330 KBS that’s quite different from most plans?

[tuffr2]

I have a 2013 Keystone Vantage 25RBS. I think the quality in that trailer is ok. Not great, not real bad either. It comes with 2 4,400lb axles and 16" 'E' rated tires which are over kill, it's why I like this trailer.

I watched a YouTube Video with Ian Baker doing a walk thru of the Keystone Sprinter 330KBS. Agree, the floorplan is a bit different. It has a great bathroom and bedroom with a nice living room. The kitchen does not have much counter space and the double refrigerator, while nice, takes up too much space IMHO.

Keystone is not known for high quality but like I said, they have ok quality.

If you are close to Jacksonville NC there are RV dealers in that area. You will need to go look at a few different brands just to see for yourself if they quality is 'Good Enough' or not.

Like I know Rockwood trailers come with Castle Rock tires rated to 75mph and the Jayco trailers come with the better Goodyear Endurace tires rated to 87mph. I do not know what the axle capacity is on either trailer yet.

I will be comparing the Flagstaff 29RSWS vs the Jayco White Hawk 32RL. I know the quality is in the Flagstaff but like the Jayco interior better.

[Cumminsfan]

Originally Posted by WyoFree

Hi Cumminsfan, It’s funny you mentioned my Prevost. The guy Who originally built it had a 68 foot cabin cruiser and wanted his bus to look like it. The woodwork is incredible throughout and is the only bus, as far as I know, with a wood teak ceiling. It’s quite stunning!

I was just wondering if the interior work in a TT may be the same as a gasser class A and lower level DP?

Not DP level. More like lower end class A gasers. Not to be too disparaging but I think you're going to be let down a bit when you walk in some TT's. There' a reason why they cost a lot less. And it's not just that they aren't built on a truck chassis or bus chassis.
Lots of fakery in TT's. If you want luxury on closer to the level of a DP or even a gas high end MH like a Tiffin gas then you need to look at 5th wheels.
I know you're not wanting a 5th wheel which is understandable, but thats the only way you'll be able to get close to the DP level of luxury. And even then it's not going to match the best of the best in DP's.
Why MFG don't make a high end TT is perplexing since Airstream has no trouble selling their $$$$ units.
There's no reason a company like Forest River couldn't make a River Stone version in a TT.

[WyoFree]

Yes you would think there would be a few TT builders who would make a serious top of the line unit. At the beginning of this thread I thought that would at least be Grand Choice Reflection. They charge more!

I like the idea of a TT because I can park it and leave it without worrying about all the things associated with a DP. And my kids have trucks that can pull it on a trips.

I simply want to buy the best I can that’s least likely to fall apart on the maiden trip?

[tuffr2]

Agree, you can leave a trailer sit without too much worry other than the minor battery issue.

Keystone tried to sell the 2012/2013 Keystone Vantage trailers at a premium price but could not. My 2013 Vantage 25RBS was heavily discounted. Lol - it was sold from E-Bay as I clicked 'Buy it now'.

There were other attempts to sell up scale trailers that failed also. I think the Forest River Aviator trailer was another attempt in 2012/2013.

Now, in 2010 there were very few trailers with 2 slides. Now there are probably 100 trailers with 2 slides made by all manufacturers. And dozens of trailers with 3 slides.

But again, 5th wheels pick up quality / features where travel trailers leave off. The very best example is Jayco. They build travel trailers up to Eagle level. In 5th wheels they build Eagle, then above Eagle they build North Point and Pinnacle 5th wheels.

I do not know if Jayco built a Pinnacle level travel trailer if it would sell. Say they could asked 80g's after discount. How many would they sell? Also what kind of truck to control a big heavy travel trailer?

I know I would buy a Flagstaff for 32k because the Flagstaff is nice enough.

[WyoFree]

I see what you mean, they get to a certain price point and the customer will buy something else. But it looks like there’s a few that give a decent value for the money. And the FR Signature series looks like one of them. They even put a full size refrig on a slide? That’s requires some pretty stout stuff!

[Highway 4x4]

This is only my opinion,,,If I were to be looking to buy new again in the $40K-$50K range I would first look at OutdoorsRV, then Arctic Fox. If they were not around it would be Grand Design. After that it's anybody. Not a fan of the Airstream Ikea look for $60K+. Lance has good QC but not a fan of their floorplans. If you really want a luxury unit, buy a Outdoors or Arctic Fox unit and have money left to customize it. Their frames and general build is better than most.

[tuffr2]

There is an Arctic Fox dealer that just started stocking their trailers just north east of Atlanta. I just checked their inventory and they have 2 new Arctic Fox trailers. They also have 2 Bigfoot trailers.
I want to stop there just to see the variety of RV's they have. But I don't want to deal with Atlanta traffic...ugh. Coming from North Carolina you would not hit Atlanta.

The Bigfoot are pricy trailers and cost more than Arctic Fox.

The dealer is Southland RV.

If you go to their web site the Arctic Fox trailers are under 'Northwood'.

FYI - I looked at Arctic Fox trailers in Hammersville Ohio (Mike Jones RV) east of Cincinnati last September. I did not like the way the power stabilizers were installed as the wiring was exposed. The trailers did not let in much natural light either. But maybe you would like them.

Oh, Southland RV also sells Lance trailers. The newest biggest Lance trailer might work for you. The model number is 2465. It has 2 slides. The only 2 slide trailer Lance builds. The advantage to a Lance trailer is a 150/1500 series truck can tow them. The disadvantage to Lance is they have a low ceiling.

When RV people talk about the best trailers most will mention: Outdoor RV, Arctic Fox and Lance. We do not have Outdoor RV trailers east of the Mississippi. I used to think Outdoor RV, Arctic Fox and Lance were insulated way way better than other trailers but in my research I am not so sure. YouTube is great that way. After all, the walls are thin on all trailers.

[WyoFree]

Frankly I’m not a fan of any of the three partly for the reasons you mentioned. But they all seem to have the same interior decorator and that decorator wanted to stay in the woods. I’m sure they’re built great just not the style I’m looking for.

I also like the option of a King bed on a slide, and a wash basin that’s bigger then a postage stamp and not sitting right next to a wall or shower stall. Maybe no one shaves anymore but I like to be able to raise my arm up to attempt it anyway. Call me crazy!

Don’t misunderstand me, I know you have to give here and there because none are most likely not just as you’d want. You just need to keep your priorities up. If not you’ll be bothered by it every time in the trailer. And that’s a shame. Set Some reasonable standards and stay with them. I’ve even heard people say they want to be able to sit down on the toilet. Imagine that?

[4ina4x4]

The RV manufacturing industry has seen to it that there is an RV for almost any need or use out there and, as WyoFree said, it's important to keep your priorities in mind - both when researching and shopping.

Outdoors RV and Northwood are both small manufacturers that cater to a particular group - outdoors enthusiasts mainly in the Pacific Northwest who enjoy spending time off the beaten path. They're designed "in the woods" because that's where many of their owners spend their time. We bought our rig because of the thermal pane windows, large capacity tanks, higher ground clearance, extra insulation and the cold weather package on the fridge. Not everyone who camps wants or needs these features but we were thrilled to find them.

What one person considers luxury may be a waste of money to another, as we all have our individual wants and needs - as well as different definitions of the word luxury. But I do believe that we can all find a rig that works for us (build quality, floor plan and interior design) if we walk through enough of them - either online or in person at an RV show.

Note to tuffr2 . . . Our personal experience has been that our current Outdoors RV TT is, indeed, better insulated than our former Jayco Jay Flight TT based on how often the furnace kicks on and our propane usage when camped in the same places at the same time of year in the same temps. The two rigs are roughly the same size with the ORV being just a couple of feet longer than the Jayco.

The variety of opinions in this thread is extremely interesting.

Mary

[WyoFree]

Well said Mary and thanks for posting. I know about Class A’s but nothing about TT’s. The subject of this thread is Luxury TT’s and is a misnomer. What I’m really after and as the thread has become, is about “well made TT’s”!

What has really impressed me is the amount of diversity out there. You only have so many feet in each direction to work with and the manufacturers have done a good job to change up the floor plans.

Slowly but surely I’m learning and understanding the travel trailer side of RVing. And unlike some other things, the more I learn the more I like! The trailer has a simplicity about it that I have become to like very much!

You guys are great

[tuffr2]

Agree, here in the east we do not get off the beaten path very easy. We do not have much public land that we can camp on as most land is owned privately. So boondocking is out so that is why we do not need as large of holding tanks. Also much of the middle and east of the U.S. has seasons with cold winters. So we camp 7 months a year maybe 8 if we push it.

I may research ORV more because I do want a good trailer.

OP - with the myriad of travel trailers it will not be easy to pick one. They do make every size and shape imaginable from a Pop-up to a SpaceCraft 56' 5th wheel. Hey, Space Craft can custom build a travel trailer also along with New Horizons...just an FYI.

Oh - Luxury is nice stuff, not luxury is ok stuff. Toyota - not luxury. Lexus - luxury.
Prevost - luxury, Thor Ace - not luxury.