Who's got experience with Travel Trailers?

[87MJTIM]

Poorly worded.

 

The TT battery is charged through the 7 pin connector.  The frig runs off the TT battery.

[Pete M]

yeah, that.  

[m2bandit]

Refrigerators take a ton of juice. I have 600W of solar and it barely keeps up while we're driving. I imagine it would kill a TT battery pretty quick especially if you just have the cheapo stock battery.

 

As far as Jayco, here's my experience.  (It sucked)

https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f7/2020-245rls-built-so-poorly-it-was-dangerous-76820.html

It's really luck of the draw though.

 

If you get a coroplast undercarriage cover go through the hassle of removing it to fix issues! People lose full tanks on the freeway probably due to the first issue in my post.

 

Weight distribution hitches are critical.

I've towed my trailer which is 5300lbs unloaded 7k gross to almost every state in the western half of the US with my 2019 Ram1500 It does just fine.

 

Find the model you like then call every dealer within 500 miles and see what they'll beat. I ended up paying 22k for a 32k msrp.

[m2bandit]

I forgot not on that link, our heater duct was collapsed right at the inlet, the high temps setoff the failsafe.

So no heater while we were at Bryce canyon in the snow, and I was removing the couch/heater unit.

 

Bryce canyon was awesome though.

 

 

 

 

[AeroNautical]

22 hours ago, m2bandit said:

Refrigerators take a ton of juice. I have 600W of solar and it barely keeps up while we're driving. I imagine it would kill a TT battery pretty quick especially if you just have the cheapo stock battery.

 

As far as Jayco, here's my experience.  (It sucked)

https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f7/2020-245rls-built-so-poorly-it-was-dangerous-76820.html

It's really luck of the draw though.

 

If you get a coroplast undercarriage cover go through the hassle of removing it to fix issues! People lose full tanks on the freeway probably due to the first issue in my post.

 

Weight distribution hitches are critical.

I've towed my trailer which is 5300lbs unloaded 7k gross to almost every state in the western half of the US with my 2019 Ram1500 It does just fine.

 

Find the model you like then call every dealer within 500 miles and see what they'll beat. I ended up paying 22k for a 32k msrp.

Wow, that's insane, especially for a 2020. Thanks for the heads up. It's starting to seem like the only TT company worth a damn charges almost 100k for it, with no slide out. I'm not ready to take that plunge into Airstream just yet. 

[Pete M]

check out the airstream forums.  they are a travel trailer, just like the rest, and built to "travel trailer standards", just like the rest.   

[AeroNautical]

2 hours ago, Pete M said:

check out the airstream forums.  they are a travel trailer, just like the rest, and built to "travel trailer standards", just like the rest.   

This is all very discouraging information, especially since I’d be buying this as a somewhat full-time living option at a year or so. 

[Pete M]

learn to fix the basics yourself and you'll be fine.  

[m2bandit]

On 3/19/2022 at 5:06 PM, PFCLeist said:

This is all very discouraging information, especially since I’d be buying this as a somewhat full-time living option at a year or so. 

Sadly I agree with Pete, at least you can get a Jayco cheap, since either way you're going to be fixing it yourself. Just go through it very thoroughly if for nothing other than safety's sake.

The month after mine was built Jayco shut it's factory down for a "quality control" stand down where apparently they all went through training. I don't know if that made a difference at all.

I imagine their employees from then probably went on to better paying jobs flipping burgers.

 

Sadly until competition starts building better trailers it will always be like this, the current brands all seem to have an agreement and half of the brands are owned or made by the same company.

[AeroNautical]

Still researching more brands, anyone have a Grand Design TT? As has been said before, all suffer from quality issues, but when looking at "best and worst brands" on multiple websites, GD trailers seem to manage their way onto the better half of that list. 

[Pete M]

I would focus on the features you want.  we chose the 1575 because of the plethora of push out windows (literally every wall has at least one window and they all push out so we can have them open during a downpour) and the slideout (big for a little trailer).  it feels like a much larger space.    stuff like that might help narrow down you search.  what is it you really need?  what would be nice to have?  have you toured a trailer place yet?  get yourself into every possible trailer you can, not just the ones you think might work.  jot down every thing that catches your eye and seems nice or cool. 

 

[AeroNautical]

On 3/24/2022 at 9:57 PM, Pete M said:

I would focus on the features you want.  we chose the 1575 because of the plethora of push out windows (literally every wall has at least one window and they all push out so we can have them open during a downpour) and the slideout (big for a little trailer).  it feels like a much larger space.    stuff like that might help narrow down you search.  what is it you really need?  what would be nice to have?  have you toured a trailer place yet?  get yourself into every possible trailer you can, not just the ones you think might work.  jot down every thing that catches your eye and seems nice or cool. 

 

I checked out a bunch yesterday, primarily Jayco and Grand Design. I think I've ruled out Jayco, the layouts and head room were nice, but clear defects in alot of the interior. I toured a Grand Designs and the head room was tight, but I was wearing almost inch soles on my boots, I think they'd be fine. The quality seemed very good, minus a door that was popped off a track. Easy fix. Tell me what you think about this model: Imagine XLS 23LDE  Seem like it would fit the bill and budget perfectly. Just a bit longer than I was looking at initially.

 

[Pete M]

just 2 of you in it?  what are the specs for your tow rig, specifically the max tongue weight?

[AeroNautical]

14 minutes ago, Pete M said:

just 2 of you in it?  what are the specs for your tow rig, specifically the max tongue weight?

Just one for full time living a year or so. The tow rig will vary, but the smallest is rated for 7422lbs tow, and 760lbs tongue. Weight of the hitch stabilizer is about 70lbs, and the rated tongue of the trailer on the website apparently includes batteries and 2 LP tanks, according to the dealer. Again, the smallest rig would just be for short movements, not long trips. This trailer would be stationary for most of the time. The place I'm taking it has laundry and trash facilities as well, which is a big plus. 

[Pete M]

it'll come down to your particular tastes then.  for a single person just about any trailer will work great.   gotta get inside one and go through the motions of your day.

 

I do hesitate calling that "theater seating" when the TV they include is only 32".   but I do love a couch if I'm in the trailer every day.

[m2bandit]

The concern I have about that layout is the slide position. Often times on the road we stop for lunch in places we may not be able to extend the slide.  We've boondocked in places we can't have it out either.

I think having all critical needs accessible with the slide in is important. That layout you won't have access to your oven or microwave.

[Pete M]

As with cars, you can buy a slightly used model which should be cheaper plus the previous owner would have taken care of any initial issues.

Oh and take note of any lead times for new ones. The last couple years have been weird and some brands can be months out after your order yours 

[AeroNautical]

22 hours ago, m2bandit said:

The concern I have about that layout is the slide position. Often times on the road we stop for lunch in places we may not be able to extend the slide.  We've boondocked in places we can't have it out either.

I think having all critical needs accessible with the slide in is important. That layout you won't have access to your oven or microwave.

That’s a very valid point, but it would seem those are the only inaccessible utilities. I know this post is getting pretty long now, but I said previously it would be mostly for full-time living. Not a big deal with the slide as it would rarely be in

[Pete M]

Just to reiterate the point of being self-sufficient, today I discovered that I drove to Florida on half my trailer brakes. Seems the dealership that installed my 45* axle (to replace my sagged out suspension) used household twist connects to reattach the wires they had to cut... and shockingly enough one failed. And they didn't even bother to waterproof anything. They had to do the work so I could get the free replacement axle from Dexter, but I hate letting people touch my stuff. Thankfully I brought my electrical bag (I always do) and have made temporary repairs. When I get home I'll be redoing it again proper-like (plus replacing all the sensor wires for the tanks which are factory but look sketchy as heck).

 

[AeroNautical]

1 hour ago, Pete M said:

Just to reiterate the point of being self-sufficient, today I discovered that I drove to Florida on half my trailer brakes. Seems the dealership that installed my 45* axle (to replace my sagged out suspension) used household twist connects to reattach the wires they had to cut... and shockingly enough one failed. And they didn't even bother to waterproof anything. They had to do the work so I could get the free replacement axle from Dexter, but I hate letting people touch my stuff. Thankfully I brought my electrical bag (I always do) and have made temporary repairs. When I get home I'll be redoing it again proper-like (plus replacing all the sensor wires for the tanks which are factory but look sketchy as heck).

 

Wow, did you notice you had to use a higher brake gain on the trip? If so, that could be a good sign of a brake failure to notice in the future. How can twist connects be DOT approved for road safety items? That's insane, haha. 

[Pete M]

It's a brand new tow rig with a built-in controller. Manually activating the brakes felt like I should have more braking, but was prepared to chalk it up to not being used to this particular combo yet. Shoulda gone with my gut and did a more thorough inspection right then and there. Fortunately the camper is only 3500# and the Durango is more than capable of stopping that much weight on its own.

 

[gogmorgo]

Even from the factory trailer wiring is sketchy AF. It's almost like it's an industry requirement. I've seen scotch locks and marrettes in wiring on boat trailers even, uninsulated splices that you know will be dunked in water, potentially even salt water. I was working on one of our trailers the other day that I initially thought was done well, with neatly done loom and heat shrink on every connection, but then I had to get into one of those splices to investigate and discovered the wires were just twisted together under the heat shrink. You see the same with aftermarket equipment installs, quick and easy so any monkey can do it with low turnaround time, and it only needs to last long enough you can charge the customer again to redo it.

[m2bandit]

On 3/30/2022 at 4:32 PM, PFCLeist said:

That’s a very valid point, but it would seem those are the only inaccessible utilities. I know this post is getting pretty long now, but I said previously it would be mostly for full-time living. Not a big deal with the slide as it would rarely be in

Yeah I understand, just something to be aware of. You staying on a military base?

Otherwise I like the layout but that would just be a nogo for me.

I'd second Pete's "buy used" comment. As long as you can get the layout/features you need.

For me I had to custom order to get extra insulation and springover conversion which was a must for national forest roads.

Insulation is important get their upgraded insulation version if you can, trailers get hot/cold quick.

Also RV's didn't start modernizing until like 2018. A lot of RV's still had ugly browns and shag carpets until then.

Every used one I stepped into was like hopping into the 70's

 

As far as Grand designs, I know a few people with them and they're happy with theirs. I toured a bunch and they looked well built.

 

Never buy a forest river, by far the worst built TT's I've walked into.

 

Edit: Another thing, get a slide support jack if you're full timing with it out. People that don't support them find out they won't go back in after they've been out for a long time. Also keep your slide seals lubed!

 

[Pete M]

A year ago I snagged a couple jacks from the junkyard to take the bounce out of the middle of the trailer. Works fantastic!  Plus peace of mind if you ever get a slow leak in a tire.   also be sure to get a pair of those X braces that lock the tires together on a dual axle trailer.  

 

 

[Pete M]

This is the window design we have. Can leave them open in the rain and still have good ventilation.  they even lock from the inside when just barely cracked open.  On the inside is a roll-up shade and a roll down screen that snap together so you can choose airflow and sunshade rates.