Buying "trainer" trailer - RV-Dreams Community Forum

Lets get moving · RV-Dreams Family Member

Buying "trainer" trailer

musicman60 · RV-Dreams Community Member

wow sounds like you did your homework welcome to the wonders of rving rember one thing if she likes it buy it . now if you think its all roses after the few times without some misteaks then your fooling your self there is a lotof good info on here dont befrad to ask or read

Sushidog · RV-Dreams Family Member

You might want to consider this one with a similar floorplan instead: A Coachman 305RKDS
www.coachmenrv.com/products/freedomexpress.aspx

Advantages:
1. It is 154 lbs lighter.
2. It has 1,932 lbs additional CCC.
3. It has an additional bedroom slide.
4. It is a foot or so longer.

And most importantly,
5. When you get tired of it in a few years and are ready to move up, you can sell it to me at a good price. ;)
It is one of the models I'm looking at for a FT TT, not just a practice rig.

Chip

Lets get moving · RV-Dreams Family Member

Sushidog wrote:
You might want to consider this one with a similar floorplan instead: A Coachman 305RKDS
www.coachmenrv.com/products/freedomexpress.aspx

Advantages:
1. It is 154 lbs lighter.
2. It has 1,932 lbs additional CCC.
3. It has an additional bedroom slide.
4. It is a foot or so longer.

And most importantly,
5. When you get tired of it in a few years and are ready to move up, you can sell it to me at a good price. ;)
It is one of the models I'm looking at for a FT TT, not just a practice rig.

Chip

Beautiful! if I find one of those at 17k it's a go! I can only find MSRP at 43k

We looked at the Catalina model same as the Salem and the sales guy said he didn't recommend it. we were assuming he was being honest since his commission would be more on a pricier unit. Then we walked in a few more Catalina's and there were pieces falling off and laying on counters and such. It was much prettier and a little more but we had our price limit so as not to Mess up our full time timeline and budget.

Camper Chronicles · RV-Dreams Family Member

We did the TT first for a year and then upgraded. There's lots of good used inventory out there so if your planning on trading it in I'd go used. Along with camping locally I would also take at least one week long trip. We learned a lot about what we liked and didn't like from our long trip and it gives you more of a feel as to what FT'ing might be like than just weekends.

Bob and Lindy · RV-Dreams Family Member

I would suggest to you that with a travel trailer, you WILL need load leveling and anti-sway hitch. The load leveling for the ride and handling and the anti-sway for when a bus, class A motorhome or semi- tractor-trailer passes you. The anti-sway will help keep you in your lane but not guarantee it. Also a stiff cross wind can be an eye opener also.

I may have scared you or maybe you knew this, but a travel trailer is a good start. We went around Lake Superior in June from Minnesota to Ontario, NY, PA, OH, IN, IL, IA & back to MN. I was very surprised how many travel trailers I did see along the way, especially in Canada. The handling of a fifth wheel with a sturdy truck,in the above mentioned situations, is much better than the same weight travel trailer. Only because of the hitch position of the vehicles.

Its getting towards the end of the season and you may find some year end deals out there. Good luck in your search and hope you can get a lot of time in a unit.

WestWardHo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Others have covered it well. Consider used - you'll take a hit when you sell or trade if you bought new. A really good antis way hitch if so important.

Sherry

Sushidog · RV-Dreams Family Member

If you are concerned about trailer sway they do make zero sway hitches, guaranteed to completely eliminate trailer sway. Yes they are expensive, but flipping a trailer is much more expensive, and dangerous. Besides a good used Hensley Arrow or equiv will be about the same price as a high quality 5th wheel hitch ( usually about $1,200-$1,500, but I have seen them as low as $750.) You can always sell it when you are done with it and recoup most of what you paid. Spending a couple hundred bucks in the name of safety is cheap insurance (to guarantee no sway) in my book.

Chip

-- Edited by Sushidog on Monday 11th of August 2014 08:17:10 PM

Lets get moving · RV-Dreams Family Member

All such helpful input! Thank you everyone!
Yes we will have all the anti sway and weight distribution equipment installed for sure. We are thinking a bit more on the purchase since we want to visit the Hershey show before buying.
Also we are realizing that the recreational season here has a short time left this year. Then we will pay for storage for several months before going again. So not sure on the timing but all things have to be considered.

kb0zke · RV-Dreams Family Member

You are thinking as we did a few years ago. We bought a Heartland mpg trailer as our "learner" since we thought we'd be buying a Heartland product for our full-time coach. We had a lot of fun with the mpg in the two years we had it. We spent the time learning and researching, and ended up deciding that a MH was the best route for us. We put the mpg on consignment at the same dealership where we bought it, and they sold it fairly quickly for more than what I was going to ask.

We had a Mountaineer for a tow vehicle which had the factory tow package already on it, so all we had to do was add the brake controller and hitch. We chose an Equal-i-zer with anti-sway and it worked well for us.

The advantage of buying in the off-season is that you generally pay less for the coach. The disadvantage is, as you mention, that you spend much of the savings in storage fees. The other side of that, though, is that every coach, even a brand-new one, needs at least a little attention to make it yours. We bought our mpg in early December, so it was already winterized. We got a free night at the campground next door to the dealership. We spent the first night there, then took it home. No problems. Over the winter we did a few little things as we got it ready for the summer's trip. Fortunately, we are able to keep things here at home (we're in the country), so running from house to coach is no big deal.

SnowGypsy · RV-Dreams Family Member

Salem is entry-level and we owned a 24' TT for 5 years. Paid $10,000 new and got $4,000 after the 5 years on a consignment lot - not bad really since we full-timed 2 of the 5 years. Ours was a "lite" model weighing about 3800 lbs dry wt and we towed with a Ford Club Wagon rated for 5,700 lbs. We used an Equalizer hitch and had no sway. Right now, while waiting to sell the house, we still have our 2011 Coachmen pop-up and we have not been very impressed with it at all having owned Midas, Coleman and Jayco pop-ups in the past. We did find both Forest River and Coachmen easy to work with on warranty items. Fit and finish can be less than perfect on a Salem (hardware might be crooked, stuff like that) but for what we paid and what we got out of it, we had no regrets. We are frugal and minimalist in our lifestyle.

galtgirl · RV-Dreams Family Member

Our first RV was a 24" Sunnybrook TT which we purchased in 1997 and we had wonderful times in it. It was small enough to tow with our SUV, and we could get into any campground which we can't do with our 37" 5th wheel. We paid $18K new and sold it in 2003 for $9K. It's a great way to start out and learn what your wants and needs are, because everyone is different; hence all the different floor plans.

If you aren't planning to keep it for quite a while, I'd really consider used. Let someone else take the depreciation, and you can get a higher end trailer for what you would pay for a brand new lower end one. Shiny and new is nice but it loses value rapidly those first few years.