How to Maneuver the RV Show?

[Wundertaker]

All the Dealers/Sales people WILL LOOK YOU STRAIGHT IN THE EYE AND LIE TO YOU!!! They have One Goal.....to sell you more than you can safely stop for More Money than you could get it somewhere else. DO NOT GET CAUGHT UP IN THE HYPE, YOU'LL REGRET IT!

I would suggest you take experienced friends with you to cut through the crap....and there's lots of it!!!

[bst24351]

Originally Posted by Rob89

I’m going tomorrow. Hopefully there will be less people there.

if you have a set floor plan in might it might not be worth going like for me. if your going to get an idea of all thats out there might be worth it. I was in more campers with 10+ people in them today then I ever want to be in lol. I was at the new jersey show btw

[Beach324]

Originally Posted by bst24351

if you have a set floor plan in might it might not be worth going like for me. if your going to get an idea of all thats out there might be worth it. I was in more campers with 10+ people in them today then I ever want to be in lol. I was at the new jersey show btw

The Charlotte show was not crowded on Friday. We were never in a TT with more than three other people. Of course, we only went it one HUGE fifth wheel trailer and there was probably 10 people in that one. But, the trailer was so large that it did not matter. In a residential home, we used to call this a "split level".

[Rob89]

We just got home from the Charlotte show. it was crowded but not too much to where we couldn't move in and out of the units freely. We liked the Prowler 29LX, Forest River 263BHXL and the Hideout 272LHS.

Correct me if I am wrong because I am new to all of this but it seems to me the difference in price comes from the floor up. It looks as though the frames, axles and tires/brakes are all very similar to each other. Seems to me the real difference comes in fiberglass vs wood/metal, textures, materials and upholstery. They all seem to have the Dometic refrigerator, Coleman AC, etc.

We looked at the 20K class and 30K class. We quickly realized the 40K class was too much trailer for what we are intending to do with it. The biggest differences in the 20K vs 30K class seems to be the 30K class is fiberglass, nicer cabinetry, nicer upholstery, TV pre installed, etc. The 20K class seemed to have everything the 30K class had just with a lesser grade of finishes, no TV, etc.

For what I am looking to get out of my travel trailer, I am leaning towards the 20K class. It's not that I am cheap but this will be my hotel room on wheels for 2, 3 weeks max out of the year. It's not like I will be spending weeks or months of the year in it traveling tens of thousands of miles.

Please correct me if I am misguided here...

[bst24351]

the 263 bhxl has a residential fridge it's one of the main features that draws us to it. were between that one and a grey wolf 27dbh that's a new model. the grey wolf has a closet in the bed room with little nook where you can actually get changed in the bedroom instead of the bathroom or main area. take a look at that one and let me know what you think if you dont mind. I could use other opinions since both have good and bad things about them

quick edit few of the draw backs for me on the 263bhxl for me is I would have to ad the black water flush and enclosed under belly by self, the water heater is gas only instead of gas/electric, there is limited storage only one drawer one cabinet up top and the under sink. also there's no storage under the bunk since the put some utilities there

[Wundertaker]

Originally Posted by Rob89

We just got home from the Charlotte show. it was crowded but not too much to where we couldn't move in and out of the units freely. We liked the Prowler 29LX, Forest River 263BHXL and the Hideout 272LHS.

Correct me if I am wrong because I am new to all of this but it seems to me the difference in price comes from the floor up. It looks as though the frames, axles and tires/brakes are all very similar to each other. Seems to me the real difference comes in fiberglass vs wood/metal, textures, materials and upholstery. They all seem to have the Dometic refrigerator, Coleman AC, etc.

We looked at the 20K class and 30K class. We quickly realized the 40K class was too much trailer for what we are intending to do with it. The biggest differences in the 20K vs 30K class seems to be the 30K class is fiberglass, nicer cabinetry, nicer upholstery, TV pre installed, etc. The 20K class seemed to have everything the 30K class had just with a lesser grade of finishes, no TV, etc.

For what I am looking to get out of my travel trailer, I am leaning towards the 20K class. It's not that I am cheap but this will be my hotel room on wheels for 2, 3 weeks max out of the year. It's not like I will be spending weeks or months of the year in it traveling tens of thousands of miles.

Please correct me if I am misguided here...

If you're spending 20k i wouldn't buy new....I'd buy a proven higher quality rig thats a few years old. You'll get more bells and whistles THAT ACTUALLY WORK!!! Quality starts at the ground level NOT the floor!!!

[Rob89]

Originally Posted by Wundertaker

If you're spending 20k i wouldn't buy new....I'd buy a proven higher quality rig thats a few years old. You'll get more bells and whistles THAT ACTUALLY WORK!!! Quality starts at the ground level NOT the floor!!!

I get where the quality starts. What my point was is that it seemed to me that the quality was more or less the same from the ground to the floor regardless if it was a 20k, 30k or 40k unit. For me, spending 2-5 nights in the camper 3 or 4 times a year I think I’d rather go new without the bells and whistles than go used and have to worry about getting somebody’s sloppy seconds. I have 350 other nights throughout the year to eat on my granite countertops and then to sit on my leather couch and watch my 70” 4K tv. Not trying to brag at all just making a point.

[Wundertaker]

Originally Posted by Rob89

I get where the quality starts. What my point was is that it seemed to me that the quality was more or less the same from the ground to the floor regardless if it was a 20k, 30k or 40k unit. For me, spending 2-5 nights in the camper 3 or 4 times a year I think I’d rather go new without the bells and whistles than go used and have to worry about getting somebody’s sloppy seconds. I have 350 other nights throughout the year to eat on my granite countertops and then to sit on my leather couch and watch my 70” 4K tv. Not trying to brag at all just making a point.

Go for it. You really answered your own question.

[RoadDogYVR]

Originally Posted by Rob89

For me, spending 2-5 nights in the camper 3 or 4 times a year I think I’d rather go new without the bells and whistles than go used and have to worry about getting somebody’s sloppy seconds.

At this level of infrequency, I'd be questioning whether owning is truly the right solution for you versus renting. Of course, if you are looking to get out only on the busiest weekends of the year when rentals aren't generally available, it's a no-brainer.

One thing to keep in mind is that some of us have had less-than-stellar "out of the box" experiences with our units: mine took 3 months to work out the kinks (some of which involved me towing the trailer 100 miles out to the middle of nowhere only to turn right back around because a major system had failed) before we could truly enjoy the trailer. We estimate between 5-8 thousand dollars in warranty work so far 7 months in.

I work 4-on, 4-off and on days off we get out 2-4 days during the nice weather and usually 1-3 days every second rotation even in the cold and wet. Financially it was in our best interest to buy, plus packing once and then just throwing clean clothes and linens in and fresh food before heading out.

[Ret.LEO]

Hope I'm not hijacking this thread.....sorry if I am.

Has anyone attended the St Louis RV Show Jan 31st to Feb. 3rd or the Peoria Show in March?

Want to walk through some Class C's

[Rob89]

Originally Posted by RoadDogYVR

At this level of infrequency, I'd be questioning whether owning is truly the right solution for you versus renting. Of course, if you are looking to get out only on the busiest weekends of the year when rentals aren't generally available, it's a no-brainer.

One thing to keep in mind is that some of us have had less-than-stellar "out of the box" experiences with our units: mine took 3 months to work out the kinks (some of which involved me towing the trailer 100 miles out to the middle of nowhere only to turn right back around because a major system had failed) before we could truly enjoy the trailer. We estimate between 5-8 thousand dollars in warranty work so far 7 months in.

I work 4-on, 4-off and on days off we get out 2-4 days during the nice weather and usually 1-3 days every second rotation even in the cold and wet. Financially it was in our best interest to buy, plus packing once and then just throwing clean clothes and linens in and fresh food before heading out.

For us it’s that hotels kinda gross us out. Can’t help but wonder who was in that shower 24 hours earlier and how well it was cleaned. Same for virtually every other inch of the hotel room! My wife and I also have different philosophies when it comes to hotels. I live out of my suitcase and she likes to “move in” to the room- even if just for 24 hours. I figure with a TT she can move in all she wants and it’s no added stress to me. Plus we have small kids and we have actually been asked to leave a hotel once because the kids were too loud for our neighbors. Another benefit is we can take the dog with us- the sitter alone for 5 days at my moms in florida could make 2 TT payments.

The way I figure, even with TT payments, insurance, registration, additional gas, etc. the TT will still pay for itself. We’re gone 15-20 days per year. That’s 1k just to the dog sitter- which I wouldn’t need with a TT. There’s around 2k worth of hotel rooms that I wouldn’t need. There’s 3k right there! I’ll be right around 3k on the TT between payments, insurance and registration. If I’m going to spend 3k I might we well own something out of it...

[RoadDogYVR]

Rob89: no worries. Wasn't telling you how to spend your money and I agree with your position wholeheartedly. From a Numbers-Only perspective it didn't make a lot of sense but from a lifestyle perspective, I get it.

[Rob89]

Originally Posted by RoadDogYVR

Rob89: no worries. Wasn't telling you how to spend your money and I agree with your position wholeheartedly. From a Numbers-Only perspective it didn't make a lot of sense but from a lifestyle perspective, I get it.

Thanks! I figure it will also give the kids experiences to remember from their childhood. Those kinds of things are the intangibles you can’t put prices on!

[Cumminsfan]

Wife and I used to do BNB's a lot when we did the motorcycling thing for 12 years. More money but much nicer and cleaner.