What's a good travel trailer to buy?

[Normal_Dave]

Welcome,

Let's "back the truck up" a bit...
-How many living out of it?
-Staying in one place
-Florida heat and humidity
-$6-12K budget (maybe)
-Warranty concerns?

I would want the best built trailer, without the fancy stuff, with decent space if possible. Sunnybrook mentioned, excellent choice and possibly in your budget range.

If this one checks out, with an independent certified RV tech inspection on your dime, you'd have a hard time finding a better built trailer than this one. Better than today's Winnebago Minnie's and Minnie Plus. High end appliances, fixtures, plumbing, electronics, ~2" thick insulated walls, should be an easy pull for your truck. Better than most trailers at twice the asking price.
https://tampa.craigslist.org/psc/rvs...702384777.html

Look at the specs on this thing in 2011:
https://www.jerrystrailers.com/fckim...11-Harmony.pdf

Warranty? not likely for you in your price range, used is likely and recommended, so plan on fixing stuff yourself, or finding a reliable RV tech or independent dealer in your area.

-Unusual option for your price range, and needs, if you are handy at basic carpentry, consider building a cargo conversion. Low cost, customize-able, steel tubing walls and ceiling framework. Example: (mine) basic, ~ $6K including custom ordered new trailer, but sky is the limit with modifications to suit you.
Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers • View topic - 4 kids+ 6 bikes+ 4 kayaks+ 1 canoe+ camp stuff=7x16 CTC

Good Luck!

[Normal_Dave]

So somebody posted a sales manual for the Sunnybrook Harmony a while back, very informative, heavy duty frame, 2" thick walls, aluminum frame/ceiling construction. I couldn't find it anywhere...except here: (Doh! it was me)
Harmony Sales Manual:
http://www.irv2.com/forums/attachmen...2&d=1502508979

[DanielT9822]

Damn ok thats good to know for suee

[dmatt13]

Originally Posted by tuffr2

There are two Artic Fox dealers that I know of east of the Mississippi. There is Kelly RV in Pa. and another one in Ohio between Columbus and Cincinnati, I did not look that name up.

I have been to Kelly RV and looked at Artic Fox trailers last July. It was a hot day for Pa. with sun shining at about 1:00pm. All the Artic Fox trailers I looked at still felt cool(ish) inside. Not stinken hot like other trailers.

Oh, there is a Lance trailer dealer in St. Augistine Florida. It is easy to drive across Flrorida and make a day of it. Ocean Grove RV is that dealer. Lance is considered one of the very best light weight built trailer. The are a bunch of La Mesa dealers. Two that know of, one in Stafford Fl. and one in Daytona Fl. They have the Winnebago trailers and maybe Grand Design.

A road trip across Rt. 4

Good advice if you want a quality trailer that will last with very little problems. We are lucky in that we live near the Lance factory and one local dealer carries Lance and Outdoors RV. Had the exact same experience that you did. Very hot sunny day and all the TTs were closed up tight. The Lance is well insulated industry standard wise, but was very hot inside when first opened. However, the ODRV units were quite a bit cooler, I'd say 10-15 degrees cooler. This will be a big help in the Florida heat/humidity!!

As for service after the sale, since you would have to buy some distance from home, ODRV has great customer service and will help get you back on the road wherever you are. Just go to the Outdoors RV section in the owners forum. Heck, I sent an email yesterday with a product question and got a response the same day. Good small company.

[bneukam]

Originally Posted by dmatt13

Good advice if you want a quality trailer that will last with very little problems. We are lucky in that we live near the Lance factory and one local dealer carries Lance and Outdoors RV. Had the exact same experience that you did. Very hot sunny day and all the TTs were closed up tight. The Lance is well insulated industry standard wise, but was very hot inside when first opened. However, the ODRV units were quite a bit cooler, I'd say 10-15 degrees cooler. This will be a big help in the Florida heat/humidity!!

As for service after the sale, since you would have to buy some distance from home, ODRV has great customer service and will help get you back on the road wherever you are. Just go to the Outdoors RV section in the owners forum. Heck, I sent an email yesterday with a product question and got a response the same day. Good small company.

Windows on any trailer is the weakest link. Both brands have double pane windows that only give an R-2. I know that large, curved window on the front of the Lance will let in a ton of heat when it’s facing the sun. They make exterior covers that help greatly.

Own a Lance 1995, and have camped several times in a ODRV 21FQS, and yes the ODRV is slightly better. But Lance uses 100% rigid foam board in their trailers, while ODRV uses 50% rigid foam board, and 50% fiberglass batt insulation.

Foam board is part of the structure and does not shift, or sag after years of travel like batt insulation. Plus it’s not affected by moisture, and will never mold.

[SeektheSon1]

My husband and I have been back and forth about getting an RV. I feel like we really want a C Class motorhome, but we are not sure we want to spend that much of our retirement savings on one just yet. So, we are now looking at Travel Trailers once again. We want one with decent sized holding tanks, and all the appliances...not a tiny tiny frig either. Probably going to try to keep the dry weight under 5000 lbs as well as we will be towing it with a 1995 Suburban. Any recommendations for a quality travel trailer that is around these specs? Any help would be appreciated. Many thanks!!!

[tuffr2]

I found myself in Ohio visiting friends. While in Ohio I did stop in at the Artic Fox dealer Mike Jones Auto and RV in Hamersville Ohio 35 miles east of Cincinnati. Nice little mom and pop operation. They had both Lance trailers and Artic Fox so I got to walk into both units side by side. Right away the difference is size. Lance has a much smaller profile while Artic Fox is mainly higher than Lance.

Also - Lance is 1/2 ton towable Artic Fox is 3/4 ton towable.

[Windtalker]

Outdoor RV Manufacturing. The best!!!

[nicfroo]

Originally Posted by Onetigger725

Yes, agree with tuffr2. We are out west and have an Outdoors RV trailer. Love it!

As soon as we sell our 2014 freedom express 246rks,we will be buying the Outdoor creeksde TT

[Ret.LEO]

Grand Design is good. I think a Arctic Fox is hard to beat. Four Season, great frame and suspension. Aluminum frame with wood blocks behind that the screws bite into instead of just the aluminum. Check out Arctic Fox on Facebook and here. VERY loyal repeat buyers.

[GhostRunner]

I certainly agree with the advice to consider an Arctic Fox (Northwood Mfg) or the sister company, an ORV. Both companies owned by the same person, last time I checked.

We have and are selling our 2014 Nash, 24M that came out of the Northwood factory and has many of the features mentioned in previous posts. With 4-season insulation, certified chassis along with excellent workmanship. We bought it new and have been extremely happy with it, and would definitely buy again.

Just my $.02.

Mick

[RADracing]

Another thumbs up for Outdoors RV!!

[09 harley]

Stay away from Keystone in particular and just about any generic brand from Thor. Their service is poor.
I would second the vote for Arctic Fox. I have one that hasn’t been perfect but it is so much better than most brands that I would travel across country to get one, or I would have it shipped to me. Several friends have Airstream’s and several have the metallosis problem that attack’s the aluminum skin. It really looks bad and there is apparently to permanent cure. Not sure why it is a relatively recent problem. I would buy one if the factory would give me an unlimited time warranty for this problem.
For 5th wheels then the best choice is New Horizons. They are expensive but worth it. If you would like to talk to my brother who HAD a Forest River Champagne Edition 5th I could probably arrange it. He had so many problems it was ridiculous. He spent 2 1/2 times as much but now he has a unit not built to the lowest cost possible. You need to pay for quality. The bling you see just masks the poor construction we normally see.
For a Class A I would recommend a Newell. They are exceptional but again you get what you pay for.
Final comment. A friend asked for recommendations and I have him my usual spiel. He purchased a Keystone something and had problems every time he took it out. He was leaving for a 2 week trip about 3 weeks ago and was in the trailer packing it. He slid the shower curtain over and not only did the bar fall off onto the floor but the entire ceiling in the bath fell to the floor also. He went to the dealer to see about more warranty work and the said, “ look put the window , all those trailers you see lined up are ahead of you”. He left with an appointment fo 6 weeks later. With about a 1/2 roll of Gorilla brand duct tape he was able to get stuff back into position so he didn’t have to cancel his trip. Luckily he had been to the campground before and they had nice showers.
That’s my story and recommendations. Others may have different opinions and that’s fine.

[SeektheSon1]

I have seen those Outdoors RV's online...very nice looking! They are across the country from us, so I'm not sure if we'll end up with one. But we'll see. It makes me frustrated that the East Coast is missing some of the better RV's. humph! ; )