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Pilothawk

Active member
Joined
Apr 21, 2018
Posts
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First, I want to thank this forum for sharing its experience.  I began this search thinking my diesel F250 could pull anything.  Now I understand that if I decide fifth wheel, I should go small to medium, and the lighter the better.

I have decided that my choice should be based on solo travel, with the two labs of course.  Dragging around a 37 footcamper on the off chance my great nieces wish to go along just isn’t smart. 

My question for today is which brands would your experience lead you to recommend to be pulled down the road.  I know they are all designed with mobility in mind, but surely some hold up better.  I’m thinking the Winnebago Minnie series might be a good choice....but that is based on having seen winnebagos on the roads for so long.  I’d love an airstream, but finances direct me to look elsewhere.

Also, I wonder if you will validate my thoughts on older Class As.  There are quite a few mid mileage coaches available around for 18-25K.  My thoughts are that if I bought a 25K coach that is 15 years old...if I kept it for four years...put 40K on it...then I would have a higher mileage coach...with higher mileage that is pushing twenty years of age.  Comb the classified for those.  Owners can’t give them away....

Please don’t run down anyone’s products.  I just want to know your thought on good choices for mid twenty foot sized trailer that will, with reasonable maintenance, stand up to a fair amount of road time. 
 
I'm a motorhome guy so can't comment on the trailers, but in your case, since you already own the F250, and since it sounds like a trailer that can legitimately be pulled by your truck would suit your needs, I think I'd definitely go trailer rather than buy another driveline to maintain - I think you'll be money ahead. Any motorhome you buy, keep for 4 years and put 40,000 miles on it, whether newer or older vintage, will take a beating depreciation-wise. Actually, the older ones may lose a lesser percentage, but they'll all lose.
 
I've had three trailers and highly recommend anything built by Northwood.

http://northwoodmfg.com/ 

If my Class A got stolen I'd go out and buy another 2004 Monaco La Palma.  It's been pretty good for me. 
 
Also, I wonder if you will validate my thoughts on older Class As.  There are quite a few mid mileage coaches available around for 18-25K.  My thoughts are that if I bought a 25K coach that is 15 years old...if I kept it for four years...put 40K on it...then I would have a higher mileage coach...with higher mileage that is pushing twenty years of age.  Comb the classified for those.  Owners can?t give them away....
I cannot agree with that at all.  An older Class A has pretty much bottomed out on depreciation at 15 years (maybe even at 10) and I feel the private sale market is strong for rigs in the $10k-$20k range.  Many newcomers looking to get into RVing or someone wanting to try a motorhome instead of a small trailer or pop-up.  We get visitors here almost daily who are either looking for an older A or have already bought one (sometimes ill-advisedly).  Condition is everything, though.  A clean rig will usually sell readily, but a fixer-upper will generally attract only bargain hunters and DIY project lovers.

That said, I see no particular reason for you to choose a motorhome. You already have a solid truck that is capable of towing a medium-size 5W or a fairly large travel trailer, so why not go that way?
Winnebago is a late-comer to towable RVs, but they used the well-made Sunnybrooke line as their start-up and seem to be producing decent quality trailers. Forest River and Thor/Keystone/Jayco also have multiple models in the mid price range that are pretty good. I would avoid all the lower-priced brands, simply because the only way to a low price is to cut corners.

 
I think going for the older MH is the way to go, but that's because that's what I have. TO ME a MH is much less trouble to travel in and setup than a trailer. I had a couple trailers 40 years ago but have had either a class C or a Class A for the last 35 years. There are a LOT of older coachs out there that are low mileage, and still in very good condition.  You can buy a lot of coach for 25 grand if you stay gas. My old Dolphin had right at 30,000 on the clock when I bought it last year, and it runs great.
 

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