Travel trailers

[chris r]

I prefer Hotels when traveling! lol Here's  my last story. my son has two 5th wheels,a 40fter here in my back yard that he used while at CMU, and a 37fter he used for grad work in Florida. In April we went from Titisville campground where he lived at the time to Disney World Wildernest Park,about 40 miles one way,now let me start with saying he put 4 brand new tires on the unit before he started his grad work,trailer went from St Augustine to Melborne Florida, then to Fort Laudadale and back to Melborne then to Titisville. After trip to Walt Disney he pulled out of the campground in August to take it 7-miles to have new awning put on at shop, he made it 4 miles and blew both back tires out,tire company came out and said the tires were dry-rotted from sitting! I don't think those tires had over 1000 miles on them. Now the unit is waiting to have damage repaired from tires blowing out! And Chris, I do have a '89 40fter sitting in my backyard,has one huge slide out with optional roof leak! Dan   

A few years ago we were thinking about a trailer and I had mentioned to her that for the expense, the upkeep, the added responsibilities, and the effort required to have and set up a trailer that it might no be worth it considering a couple nice runs to a top notch hotel for a few days at a time. The part that sounds appealing to us is to be able to go somewhere mid-week for a couple days at a time, and just be able to set in a chair, poke at the fire, and take a breath without having to be part of the rat-race. We could park it here at the house and it would be like a vacation without even needing to hook up. 

The tires you mention to me speak volumes.  The last thing I want to do is set on the side of a highway wondering why I bought a trailer in the first place. 

[Vintagesleds.com]

[GHenry]

Again Chris .... you get what you pay for.

Most manufacturers put the cheapest / lightest / "just get by" tires they can on them.  If you put something on that is "rated" for what you are doing ....... you won't have any problems.

The nice part about a motel, is you can just close the door when you're ready to leave and let someone else clean it up. 

[chris r]

Again Chris .... you get what you pay for.

Most manufacturers put the cheapest / lightest / "just get by" tires they can on them.  If you put something on that is "rated" for what you are doing ....... you won't have any problems.

The nice part about a motel, is you can just close the door when you're ready to leave and let someone else clean it up. 

Yep. I would expect the lightweight load range tires to be standard. The trailer that we liked is a lighter and tandem axle for good weight distribution.

I think what Dan was talking on tires was the dry rot from setting in the Florida sunshine.

[kawidave]

We bought a Jayco SL234 brand new in May of 1996. Still own it. Rear bunk beds, front gaucho couch into queen size bed. Towed it to Breckenridge Colorado a 1/2 dozen times. The Dells, Indiana beach. Indiana Dunes. Lots of use at our local private beach club/campgrounds. 1/2 dozen times at Chicagoland race track. It has served us well. Since it's first October in 1996 it has been stored inside Oct 1st to May 1st. Still in nice shape. A few chips in the cheap porcelain kitchen sink. Original tires that I would replace if we were to go on a real trip. Our club is 25 miles away and storage is 35 away, so I don't worry a lot about them. Original spare never on the ground or sun. Replaced the ac/dc convertor once. The awning no longer rolls up on it's own but still works by hand. Furnace, ac, frig still work. No use at all this summer. It has served us well, and we definitely got our moneys worth. Our daughter and her family and our son and girlfriend occasionally use it. It is time for her to go though next spring, as I just don't want it in the driveway any more in the summer.. The pic is not of ours, but the same model.

[chris r]

We bought a Jayco SL234 brand new in May of 1996. Still own it. Rear bunk beds, front gaucho couch into queen size bed. Towed it to Breckenridge Colorado a 1/2 dozen times. The Dells, Indiana beach. Indiana Dunes. Lots of use at our local private beach club/campgrounds. 1/2 dozen times at Chicagoland race track. It has served us well. Since it's first October in 1996 it has been stored inside Oct 1st to May 1st. Still in nice shape. A few chips in the cheap porcelain kitchen sink. Original tires that I would replace if we were to go on a real trip. Our club is 25 miles away and storage is 35 away, so I don't worry a lot about them. Original spare never on the ground or sun. Replaced the ac/dc convertor once. The awning no longer rolls up on it's own but still works by hand. Furnace, ac, frig still work. No use at all this summer. It has served us well, and we definitely got our moneys worth. Our daughter and her family and our son and girlfriend occasionally use it. It is time for her to go though next spring, as I just don't want it in the driveway any more in the summer.. The pic is not of ours, but the same model.

Hey kawidave sorry I didn't see your reply on the trailers. Appreciate the info on the Jayco. I've always heard good things about them.

Well I bit the bullet yesterday and bought a 2019 Cherokee 274RK. We looked at one last year at a camper show and found it was the most suited to what we would like. Went to two shows after that and everything we saw we were comparing to the 274RK. We went to this season's first show on Thursday afternoon as soon as it opened and once again we found ourselves comparing everything the same as last year. When we were heading down the last isle we came upon the Cherokee trailers and sure enough they had one. Basically the same but with new outside and inside colors (which we didn't care for as much as last years). Spoke with the nice man for a bit and he said he had two of the 19 models with last years colors so, but not at the show so we went to Bay City yesterday and looked at those. Signed a couple of papers and will have to finalize everything on Monday. Not sure what I'll pull it home with though................  One step at a time I guess.

Side note: These photos are off the internet and not of the actual trailer we purchased. My optical mouse here won't allow me to right click for some reason so I can't resize any photos for posting. 

[oldracer]

Need lots of storage areas. A closet is wonderful if it comes with it. Not having anyplace to put coats, blankets and pillows is a pain. Some just don't have room for that stuff. Good luck!

[duallydave]

Chris, Skip the RV and buy a boat.
Then you can experience a whole different set of problems!

[minnskidoo]

Make sure it's self leveling .....

Just remember, they're all cheaply built and require constant maintenance. especially rubber roofs!

Absolute truth. Not trying to scare, but the builders use the cheapest materials and build them to last up to the warranty. Search through forums like RVnet.com. Tons if info on issues people find on their campers. Also, once you get a couple of trips under your belt you will want to do upgrades. Mostly to correct what the manufacture should have done in the first place; i.e. more batt capacity, better charging, gen set, LED lighting. Airstreams and the like are more expensive but they also have their issues. Bottom line, you will be correcting issues and upgrading but in the end, you will have a camper that is more reliable than when it rolled off the lot. Alternative is to follow the depreciation path. Use the snot out of the camper and sell it after about 5 years and then upgrade.

[slowestsled]

Most toys are like a hot tub,only interesting and fun when looking for one and at first when new and exciting,then truth hurts. Hot tubs,pools and campers are terrible for up keep and problems.I camped in a tent,can carry it throw it,kick it and costs only little more than one night in a motel,hotel,so no big lose when tired of it. Camping in a crowded noisy lot with kids screaming,dogs running and people drinking sounds appealing how? Each to thier own,but I enjoyed(when youthful) primitive camping as high and isolated as we could get.

[indybosch]

Most toys are like a hot tub,only interesting and fun when looking for one and at first when new and exciting,then truth hurts. Hot tubs,pools and campers are terrible for up keep and problems.I camped in a tent,can carry it throw it,kick it and costs only little more than one night in a motel,hotel,so no big lose when tired of it. Camping in a crowded noisy lot with kids screaming,dogs running and people drinking sounds appealing how? Each to thier own,but I enjoyed(when youthful) primitive camping as high and isolated as we could get.

😂😂 a lot of money spent to live like trailer park Folks!!!

[chris r]

Thanks or the replies. I appreciate any input.

Storage in this unit is average/slightly above most of the others we looked at. There are sliding drawers under the booth seating that are 4 foot long with easy sliding. Under the couch is a completely open area for pillow and blankets, maybe a couple of heavier coats. The ones with mega storage lacked in other areas so we have a balance at this point. With just her and I we won't need everything that family camping entails.

As far as going to campgrounds, we're going to be mid-week campers and staying away from crowded areas. We live in a area that's very peaceful and the last thing we want is to deal with weekend warriors with dogs and whisky.  We'll be using the trailer here at home as much or more than campgrounds for sure. Hopefully pick up a bit of ground somewhere, build a pole barn and set myself up as a get-away in the next couple of years.

[hotdoo]

Looks pretty nice Chris. Metal on side is a good thing according to my RV guy,having the appliances on main floor and not in slide is the best. Now you can visist us at Old Orchard during the summer! hotdoo

[Bob Vehring]

Like most other things, I like the old stuff, I have 3. A 13 ft 60 something Serro Scotty "caned ham" trailer, now lives in the yard as a changing place for the hot tub. A '78 Shasta class C which for 30 some years pulled at 30 ft race trailer all over the country 370.000 miles. Rebuilt the engine 3 times, trans 1, and now doing the rear end all done here in the drive myself. Have updated the elec converter, refer, furnace, water pumps to newer style, again all here. Point being on things like that, you can do everything yourself, things are easy to get at and simple to replace. No 3 is special, 1964 Bluebird Wanderlodge. the very first year they built a coach. Only year powered by a Chevy 409. Runs good, interior is almost perfect. Bad part, really sun faded, and I have no place to paint something 32x 8, x 12 high. Now the bad part. 3 years ago my kid bought a used, 36 ft rear engine, turbo diesel Airstream, fiberglass body not alum. It is beautiful inside and very fancy, and thats the problem, its had a fair amount of elec issue's, there must be 10 miles of wiring in that thing, 3 separate fuse boxes in different areas, and everything is behind fancy walls with cabinets and furniture attached, its at best hard, sometimes impossible to work on much of it and you need an electrical engineer.
My advice to anyone still shopping, look for how easy it will be to fix problems as they show up over the years, look for the industry standard size furnace, water heater and so on. The really fancy stuff looks great until you have to fix it

[chris r]

Thanks again Dan for the advice and the offer to see you folks this summer. Once I get a truck to two this hog with we're hoping to put on a few miles this summer.

Bob it sounds like you've got quite a thing going with the trailer and motorhomes. Everything you're saying makes sense to me for sure. I'm hoping that this rig will be what we were hoping for but only time will tell I guess. We were at the dealer again yesterday and I was looking at everything again. Sometimes the 2nd 3rd, and 4th pass is an eye opener but so far I think it's a good start for us.

[GHenry]

Make sure you understand your warranty too Chris.

Every new RV out there will need something repaired, I can guarantee it.  My guess is yours will go back at least twice.

No matter how small a problem may seem, TAKE IT BACK AND GET IT CORRECTED UNDER SAID WARRANTY.

Hopefully they have a good service department, and things go well.

Good luck, happy camping.