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2wheel

New member
Joined
Mar 6, 2006
Posts
3
Hello!

In researching for a trailer purchase I came across this site, seems like alot of great info! As a long time motorcycle rider, there have been many great forums pertaining to bikes that have been extremely helpful, and met some really great folks as well!! Im sure this will be no different....

Some history... my family (wife and 3 kids) have tent camped since the kids where in diapers stuffing dirt and sand in their mouths. We go to the coast (left one) diving, to the lakes fishing and boating, to the mountains riding dirt bikes etc etc... then we got a tent trailer about 5 years ago and really enjoyed that as well, (wow we gots hot water now!) We sold that last summer and a friend insisted we borrow his 30+ year old 17ft trailer (hey now we have a toilet!!!) while we saved up some more dough.

So now we are looking again... we were originally going to get a toy box, but after looking at all my friends and talking with their wife's,  decided to get a regular trailer and put the bikes in the bed of the truck. More for the money I guess...

Last weekend we went to our local RV/boat show and must have looked inside 30 trailers. The smart thing I did was grabbed a brocure for each one then wrote the price down, the not so smart thing was looking at new ones, when we would really rather buy used!! But we did get a better feel for what we want.

So far...the 24-26ft seemed to be the best fit for us (only one 13yo girl at home still, who loves to camp) walk around Q bed, couch and dinette opposite, lots of outside storage etc etc. The aluminum/fiberglass are really nice! We have a late model diesel 3/4 ton truck and could pull more, but we tend to camp in primitive places.

yikes long intro!!!

Ken





 
Hi Ken and welcome to our forum. Sounds like you were bit by the RV show/new RV bug. Take your time with the selection and purchase, although I understand how easy it is to fall in love with the ones at the RV shows.
 
Welcome to the RV Forum.  Glad you found us.  Please ask any questions you might have during you search for the perfect RV.

 
Welcome aboard, Ken, and good luck in your shopping. 

Ask here before you buy! And definitely shop for used rigs - ther are many nice ones available and the savings are excellent. It's always wise to buy used until you learn xactly what will suit you th best. Chances are good you will misjudge your wants and needs and make a less-than-optimum first choice. The depreciation penalty on a new one can easily make it impossible to swap for another rig for many years. With a used one you can usually upgrade when you are ready.
 
Hi Ken,

Welcome to the forum. I'm sure you'll get lots of info here. Don't rush into a purchase. Take your time and do look at the used trailers. Sometimes you can find a really great deal with a floorplan that would work for you. It just takes a little longer than buying new.
 
Thanks for your input! Is there really such thing as a perfect RV??? So many good things about different TT, but after looking around since we sold our tent trailer last summer, I have been getting a feel for what we want. But there is no doubt, hindsight will always be correct.

Looked at 04 Nash 25' TT today....price was high NADA, but it did have some extras that helped.(inverter, power crank, load leveling hitch etc) for $17k. But also have our eyes on a Wilderness by Komfort same size, both with a slide, better floor plan, 2 yr warranty for about $2000 more. Also found a 01 Wanderer that is a 22' no slide, very little use, under cover that we could probably get for around $9k.... which is over high NADA....hhhmmmm....Suppose to look at a 27' Holiday Rambler tommorrow.

Any thoughts about the Nash, Komfort or Wanderer brands? Is the NADA book fairly accurate? Talked to a friend who owns a car lot and he said on the West coast they use Kelly Blue Book, but I couldn't find a list for RV's with them.

thanks again for your help!

Ken
 
Ken,

I don't think anyone makes the "perfect" RV. :) Most are a compromise but you can sometimes make changes later to make it more "perfect".

Be careful with extended warranties. Most dealers charge double what they are worth. Also the warranty quite often starts from the date of purchase. That makes it overlap with the manufacturers warranty which is usually one but sometimes three years depending upon the type of RV.

 
Nash has a good reputation for quality workmanship and is probably a good choice, but I wouldn't pay high book for any used rig. Don't be afraid to make an offer substantially below the asking price - you should be able to get 10% off quite easily and 20% if you bargain hard.

I don't know much about Komfort, but getting the floor plan you like is a major factor.  On the other hand, you will probably change your mind about what is a better floor plan after you use it for a year or so.  Most of us have gone through that expereince.  :D

Is the 2 year warranty the balance of a factory "bumper-to-bumper" warranty or some sort of extended warranty package?  If an extended warranty, check carefully on what is actually covered, deductibles, etc. It may be worth less than you might think.  The main value of warranty coverage on a trailer is for appliances,primarily the refrigerator (VERY expensive) and a/c. Items such as furnace and water heater are very reliable so warranty coverage of less than several years is not of great value on them. Coverage for structural problems could be valuable, but usually any such problem has already shown up on a used rig. It's one of the advantages of buying used - fewer suprises!
 
Jim Dick said:
Be careful with extended warranties. Most dealers charge double what they are worth. Also the warranty quite often starts from the date of purchase. That makes it overlap with the manufacturers warranty which is usually one but sometimes three years depending upon the type of RV.

Jim and Gary,

Thanks for your input. I did not state the 2 year warranty comment correctly. The Wilderness by Komfort is a new rig, and it comes with a 2 year bumper to bumper warranty, has a better floor plan etc, but it is $19.5k, the 04 Nash about 2k less. Both have some negotiating room I'm sure.

And Gary, I agree with you 100% on the floorplan dilemma. I'm already thinking maybe we should go back to looking at Toy Boxes... I tend to analyze things to the point of "analyses paralysis"... its driving my wife nuts!!!

Just this morning I talked to the person with the 22ft Wilderness. It is an 01, used maybe a dozen times, very clean, covered etc. We can get that for $8k...not exactly what we are looking for, but at least the price is significantly less, and maybe in the next year or so upgrade....

Any thoughts about the Wilderness brand? Its a Thor company...

Ken
 
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