Looking to buy first TT, seeking advice

[tuffr2]

My friends had this model. They did not have any problems but their 8 year old grandson did not like the bunks and slept on the dinnette. He said it was too small and felt like a coffin.

They now have a bigger truck and a bigger camper.



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[BigBellyDude]

Originally Posted by Normal_Dave

This sounds like a good plan. The Winnebago offers a very good chance at quality for the dollar, even by today's build standards. Consider setting up the van for the initial tow, get everything sorted out over a few local trips before jumping over to the new truck. You might be surprised how much you appreciate the passenger space of the humble old van.

The van has been sold to a lovely family....we are currently in the market for a Micro Minnie 1800BH and a truck. Can't believe TT in California are selling for a rocket high price, dealers don't even want to haggle and all of them are out of stock, the soonest availability is looking at September. We are reaching out to dealers in Texas which have a much reasonable price point, but so far I only found one in stock and available, all others are on order.

One question though, if anyone has experienced, if we buy a TT from Texas and tow it back and register in California, we shouldn't need to pay any tax in TX, correct? Can we legally tow the TT back to California without a license plate? Well, we had already planned a road trip to Texas, so if the dealer can make a deal with us, we will be hitting the road soon and get the TT and camp the way back.

Regarding buying a truck, to be honest, I'm impressed by how good a pickup truck can be nowadays. Currently we are looking at a F150 and Ram 1500, and looking forward to the 2022 Tundra as well. However, the vehicle market is filled with lava now, can't believe a price of 10-15% above MSRP is considered good price these days. So with all that said, we are kind of considering using the Q7 for towing while keeping the TT as light as possible, then wait the time out until the market is back to normal, maybe by that time the 2022 Tundra would be available.

[BigBellyDude]

Originally Posted by tuffr2

My friends had this model. They did not have any problems but their 8 year old grandson did not like the bunks and slept on the dinnette. He said it was too small and felt like a coffin.

They now have a bigger truck and a bigger camper.



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Which camper do they have now? I suspect the bunk bed of MM 1800BH is pretty narrow. My kids are 11, 9 & 7, they may or may not like the bunk bed. I would be the one to sleep in the bunk bed for sure, lol.

[Wellibe]

Originally Posted by BigBellyDude

The van has been sold to a lovely family....we are currently in the market for a Micro Minnie 1800BH and a truck. Can't believe TT in California are selling for a rocket high price, dealers don't even want to haggle and all of them are out of stock, the soonest availability is looking at September. We are reaching out to dealers in Texas which have a much reasonable price point, but so far I only found one in stock and available, all others are on order.

One question though, if anyone has experienced, if we buy a TT from Texas and tow it back and register in California, we shouldn't need to pay any tax in TX, correct? Can we legally tow the TT back to California without a license plate? Well, we had already planned a road trip to Texas, so if the dealer can make a deal with us, we will be hitting the road soon and get the TT and camp the way back.

Regarding buying a truck, to be honest, I'm impressed by how good a pickup truck can be nowadays. Currently we are looking at a F150 and Ram 1500, and looking forward to the 2022 Tundra as well. However, the vehicle market is filled with lava now, can't believe a price of 10-15% above MSRP is considered good price these days. So with all that said, we are kind of considering using the Q7 for towing while keeping the TT as light as possible, then wait the time out until the market is back to normal, maybe by that time the 2022 Tundra would be available.

I have no experience with either California or Texas. But when I bought my TT out of state, the dealer issued me a temporary tag from his state and did not charge tax. Then I registered and paid tax when I got it home.

You might be o.k. with the audi for short distances on flat ground. But I'd be real concerned about exceeding the tongue weight rating. You shouldn't do that even for a short distance. I suspect towing home from Texas to Cali would be excruciating.

[Marine359]

Originally Posted by BigBellyDude

Which camper do they have now? I suspect the bunk bed of MM 1800BH is pretty narrow. My kids are 11, 9 & 7, they may or may not like the bunk bed. I would be the one to sleep in the bunk bed for sure, lol.

Dude,
The Micro Minnie line is exceptionally easy to tow, due to its low weight, 7ft wide profile, low height, and dual axles. I tow short distances under 50mph without my torsion bars on, ant mine is towable that way, but does cause the tow vehicle rear end to bounce noticeably, but not uncontrollably. So, IDK what the effect would be on your Q7 without WDH and anti-sway.

Recommend you take a look at the Winnebago micro Minnie forum to see what 100bh owners have to say.

https://www.winnieowners.com/forums/...290423-25.html

[propchef]

Originally Posted by Wellibe

I have no experience with either California or Texas. But when I bought my TT out of state, the dealer issued me a temporary tag from his state and did not charge tax. Then I registered and paid tax when I got it home.

You might be o.k. with the audi for short distances on flat ground. But I'd be real concerned about exceeding the tongue weight rating. You shouldn't do that even for a short distance. I suspect towing home from Texas to Cali would be excruciating.

Correct.

I bought my car from TX and had it shipped to CA. TX will issue a temp tag then you get to pay the CA sales tax when you register the TT in CA.

Your Q7 will tow that without issue.

[tuffr2]

Yes, if you buy a trailer out of state that state will charge for a 30 day temp tag. When you get it registered in your home state, that will be when you will pay sales tax.

You can have the temp tag for 60 days if you have a good reason.

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[Wellibe]

Something else to keep in mind when buying out of state. If you have a warranty repair, you may get stuck having to tow the camper back to the selling dealer for service (ask me how I know).

The empty hitch weight on that trailer is 382 lbs. IIRC, your audi has a tongue weight rating of 440 lbs. With just a battery, propane cylinder, and hitch, you're likely to be over the limit.

[BigBellyDude]

Didn't expect the Winnebago MM 1800BH is so hard to find. Can only find one in CA that's available and its asking price is $35k and not willing to haggle. All other available units are out of state, mostly are in the mid and east states.

Is there somewhere that can check what's a reasonable price for a particular model, like KBB or True Car for cars? And is Camping World really not a good place to buy? They have one available on the lot but their asking price is higher than another dealer's with less equipment installed.

[BigBellyDude]

Regarding buying out of state, I have a little concern about warranty. If there's ever a warranty claim, do I have to go back to the dealer that sold me the TT? I guess no, right? But some people said some dealer wouldn't like to take their TT in for warranty claim if it's not purchased there. Not sure if that's still the case.

What's the odd do I have to use the warranty? For $6,000+ difference, it might worth the risk of buying it out of state?

[Wellibe]

You can check values on NADA. It's definitely a seller's market right now, so a good deal might be hard to come by. Worth trying to see if you can negotiate, but don't get your hopes up. When I was looking back last winter, many new units were being sold over the internet or phone sight unseen.

See if you can find Winnebago's warranty policy on line somewhere, or maybe try calling them. My only experience is with Braxton Creek; they make you work with the selling dealer. I had to take mine back for a warranty repair almost immediately (when I went to sanitize the water system, I discovered that the shower drain had popped loose). Hopefully Winnebago's higher prices = higher quality, but I have no experience with them.

[BigBellyDude]

After lots of searching and haggling, we have made a deal with a dealer in Taxes for a 2021 Micro Minnie 1800BH for $28,000. Not a great deal compares to the MSRP, but this is the cheapest I can find that's available, and it's still $8,500 cheaper than the one in a dealer in California that's 100 miles from me. So we are heading to Texas in couple days. Thanks everyone that chime in and provided tons of great advices and information.

We will be towing the trailer back with the Q7 while keeping the trailer as empty as possible. Then we'll look into getting a truck choosing from F150, 2022 Trundra and Ram 1500.

[Wellibe]

Congrats on the purchase! Let us know how the trip home goes.

[Marine359]

Congrats Big Dude,
Hope all works well for you.