New and confused

[Gary RV_Wizard]

You probably aren't going to find a really well made 25 travel trailer, even from the custom builders like Spacecraft Mfg. That size is pretty much exclusively the "entry level" market, so the few manufacturers who can build better (as opposed to ritzier) RVs don't do that size.

Weight is often an indicator of better quality - the so-called "Lite" trailers squeeze out quality along with weight, starting with a light duty frame and cutting corners everywhere to save a lb or tow. Bigger tires and wheels is another clue as to better design & construction. Note I said "better", not perfect.

Some other companies said to have a better than average rep include Oliver, Lance, and Bigfoot, but I don't have personal experience with any of those.

 

[Adventurous Traveler]

Thank you! Yes I have lined up an inspector with those qualifications. Does about $1,000 sound right for what he wants to charg

I've never hired an inspector for my three motorhomes, but $1000 to inspect a 25ft. TT to me is outrageous! That's probably double what a home inspection would cost when buying a $500K house. This is just another "hey, you're buying an RV, you must be rich" type rhetoric that the RV industry is rife with. If the RVIA was worth their useless sticker that gets stuck on the outside of RVs and adding $$$ to the sticker price, perhaps there would be better-built RVs today.

 

[steveblonde]

you have not said where you plan to live - climates vary and so will your requirements

 

[AsenathBarzani]

I agree, Northwood is a better brand (so I hear). Not many available in my part of the country. After you find the trailer, we'd be happy to give you some tips on a tow vehicle, often car/truck dealerships have poorly trained salespeople that can get you into something you wish you had not. Good luck.

Hey I'd love to hear more about this. I actually found the RV I want - the outdoors RV 280 kvs. I'm all ears about towing. I have found three different dealers in three different places with three different prices, with a $4,000 difference. Trying to figure it all out now.

 

[AsenathBarzani]

you have not said where you plan to live - climates vary and so will your requirements

Pacific Northwest - gets up to about 90° in the summer and down to upper 20s in the winter, those are the extremes and don't last long.

 

[AsenathBarzani]

Is the inspector you contacted a NRVIA RV inspector? If not suggest you investigate/contact nrvia as they are highly thought of by RVForum members.

https://nrvia.org/

Yes he is

 

[AsenathBarzani]

You probably aren't going to find a really well made 25 travel trailer, even from the custom builders like Spacecraft Mfg. That size is pretty much exclusively the "entry level" market, so the few manufacturers who can build better (as opposed to ritzier) RVs don't do that size.

Weight is often an indicator of better quality - the so-called "Lite" trailers squeeze out quality along with weight, starting with a light duty frame and cutting corners everywhere to save a lb or tow. Bigger tires and wheels is another clue as to better design & construction. Note I said "better", not perfect.

Some other companies said to have a better than average rep include Oliver, Lance, and Bigfoot, but I don't have personal experience with any of those.

Thank you!

 

[AsenathBarzani]

Hello a month ago a toxic mold situation forced me to flee from my home. I decided to see it as an adventure and took off on the road in my suv, not knowing my next step. I ended up deciding to get an RV and turn it into a live/work situation. I found a floor plan that suited my needs perfectly, the keystone cougar 25 rds. However I looked up reviews and they were not pretty. I have since found the same floor plan in Grand design, jayco, and Forest River products, all for more or less the same price. However, as I dig deeper into research, it seems like all of these RVs get bad reviews and have tons of things breaking all the time. It's very disillusioning and confusing. Meanwhile, I am going from Airbnb to airbnb, and I'm pretty desperate to get my own place, namely, an rv. I'm wondering if I should just say f*** it and get the cougar 25 RDS or if I should consider investing more money, but if so, I'm not sure which company to invest in. There are a few outback RV models that look terrific, but I'm not sure if that's a more reliable company or not. I feel like I don't know enough about RVs yet to know what is actually worth the money. So I would love some advice!

What I love about the cougar 25 RDS is that it has a stationary bed, it has ample counter space - I prepare all my own meals, and it has a u-shaped dinette, which is perpendicular to a couch, both of which are opposite a television with one of those long arms, which I can turn into a monitor. My plan is to rip out the u-shaped dinette and replace it with an L-shaped desk. I can put my computer and music recording gear on that desk, then have my musical instruments off to the side of that. I can do my recording, live streaming, and zoom events in that corner. I can also use the couch for live streaming and doing zoom events about my articles and books. And for both of these scenarios, I can monitor everything on the replacement monitor that I'll put where the television currently is.

So the setup is perfect. But I'm getting so nervous just reading all of these reviews about RVs that fall apart at the seams. I would appreciate any guidance!

I'm really grateful for everybody's feedback. I cannot overstate how helpful it was in getting clarity, focus, and direction. I ended up going to an outback RV dealer and checking out a bunch of different options. I fell in love with the 280 KVS. The reason is that the whole front can be my mobile audio/video recording studio, and the back is like a real bedroom instead of just a bed stuck in a closet. The opposing slides give it a sense of spaciousness, as does the slide in the bedroom. It's just under 35 ft, so I'll be able to get into most parks, and that extra few feet makes a huge difference in the sense of it being a home as opposed to the sense of it being a weekend trailer.

My one question now is laundry. Given that I am healing from multiple chronic health conditions, I lead a very clean green life, using all natural products. I'm concerned about being exposed to the chemicals in people's cleaning products in collective laundromats. So the only thing missing in this outdoors RV 280 KVS is washer dryer hookups, and I'm not sure how easier or difficult it would be to have them installed.

So I'm wondering if there is a model similar to the 280 kvs, with comparable solid construction and reputable company behind it, which has washer dryer already installed or already has the hookups.

I'm inclined to get an outdoors RV trailer instead of something like Forest River or grand design or whatever, just because it seems like the construction is better, even though the more mainstream brands have washer dryer hookups already.

Love any feedback.

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

Given the aversion to residuals in public machines I don't see any solution that wouldn't be having your own machine. I've thought about that because even not being full time, having to manage laundry on a long trip is a factor and being full time makes it even more of an issue. Based on my own life experience I lived quite a while, about a decade without a dryer. I would either hang things outside or inside on racks for a day or so, put the stuff away and check the box. I'm thinking in a camper context the little 'manual' wash machines I've seen people use in campgrounds are probably more trouble than anything but I would ponder the notion of a small-ish washer, do small loads frequently or whenever on hookups, and have a process for hanging and putting away as you go. Another thought is the combo washers/dryers in one unit but reports are they don't work all that well, but I have no direct experience with one. I will say that modern washers I've used can spin dry stuff amazingly well and it's not like you need a permanent press dry cycle for most stuff you're wearing on the road, so I just might skip the dryer. Finding a place to fit just the washer itself would be a trick, you're giving up living or storage space somewhere. There's a weight factor too, a direct subtraction from your possessions payload. But there's a definite argument to be made for having one when you consider logistics of travel, time spent and quantities of clothes to keep on hand between washing events.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[AsenathBarzani]

Given the aversion to residuals in public machines I don't see any solution that wouldn't be having your own machine. I've thought about that because even not being full time, having to manage laundry on a long trip is a factor and being full time makes it even more of an issue. Based on my own life experience I lived quite a while, about a decade without a dryer. I would either hang things outside or inside on racks for a day or so, put the stuff away and check the box. I'm thinking in a camper context the little 'manual' wash machines I've seen people use in campgrounds are probably more trouble than anything but I would ponder the notion of a small-ish washer, do small loads frequently or whenever on hookups, and have a process for hanging and putting away as you go. Another thought is the combo washers/dryers in one unit but reports are they don't work all that well, but I have no direct experience with one. I will say that modern washers I've used can spin dry stuff amazingly well and it's not like you need a permanent press dry cycle for most stuff you're wearing on the road, so I just might skip the dryer. Finding a place to fit just the washer itself would be a trick, you're giving up living or storage space somewhere. There's a weight factor too, a direct subtraction from your possessions payload. But there's a definite argument to be made for having one when you consider logistics of travel, time spent and quantities of clothes to keep on hand between washing events.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

Thank you. I'm looking into the arctic fox - same manufacturer but apparently they have washer dryer. However I love the outdoors RV floor layout more. So I'm trying to figure it all out.

 

[SpencerPJ]

Hey I'd love to hear more about this. I actually found the RV I want - the outdoors RV 280 kvs. I'm all ears about towing. I have found three different dealers in three different places with three different prices, with a $4,000 difference. Trying to figure it all out now.

I encourage you to create a new post for towing vehicle discussion. I believe you are looking at this Black Stone 280KVS - ORV, and it is 8400# dry, 11000 max loaded, you are certainly beyond a 1/2 ton truck, likely 3/4 ton or even 1 ton based on your towing.

 

[rvlifer]

the rv laundries work but they are small and slow. Both the washer and dryer take longer than our residential units, especially the dryer. Friends of ours who own the combo unit told us those are even slower. We liked having one onboard when we were fulltiming. It was a must have for us.

 

[Adventurous Traveler]

The OP could always go to a public laundry mat and do a "machine cleaning" wash, washing out the machine with the detergent of choice and no clothing on a fast short cycle to rig the machine of any possible residue from previous use. Yep, more money, time, detergent, but maybe the results looked for.