Rookie here

[359 Pete]

Hi all
Interested in purchasing anew 2025 Salem cruise lite 28vbxl. Aside from knowing I’ll be always fixing minor things are there any issues that should make me choose something else.?
Thank you in advance for any advice

 

[Kirk]

Forest River builds a midrange quality RV. All lite weight travel trailers are of less durable materials because higher quality trailers nearly always weigh more. Things like solid wood cabinets are more expensive and much heavier than those you will have. It probably has less insulation as well, for the same reasons. At nearly 34' long it will need to be towed by a serious tow vehicle, especially if dealing with gusty crosswinds or bad weather. They do not list the gross weight rating, which is the most important weight but loaded it is probably going to weigh more than 8,000#. To give an opinion on whether it is right for you, I would need to know how many people will be traveling in it, how long they will stay, where and when that will take place and the weather you will expect. We also need to know what you plan to tow it with.

 

[CharlesinGA]

Forest River lists an UVW of 6390 and a CCC of 2152 which adds up to 8542 lbs
RVUSA.com lists the dry weight as 6208 and the payload of 1582 which equals 7790 which is what they list for the GVWR.

Neither of these agree on tank sizes or length or anything else.

So its a toss up

Its tongue weight will be a 1000 lbs or more and given its length, as Kirk noted, it needs a fairly long wheelbase tow vehicle for stability. If the OP does not have a 3/4 ton truck, they need to budget that into the equation.

Charles

 

[359 Pete]

Forest River builds a midrange quality RV. All lite weight travel trailers are of less durable materials because higher quality trailers nearly always weigh more. Things like solid wood cabinets are more expensive and much heavier than those you will have. It probably has less insulation as well, for the same reasons. At nearly 34' long it will need to be towed by a serious tow vehicle, especially if dealing with gusty crosswinds or bad weather. They do not list the gross weight rating, which is the most important weight but loaded it is probably going to weigh more than 8,000#. To give an opinion on whether it is right for you, I would need to know how many people will be traveling in it, how long they will stay, where and when that will take place and the weather you will expect. We also need to know what you plan to tow it with.

Thank you for your reply and thank you for your service to our country. it’ll be mostly my wife and myself traveling. Nothing too long. Possibly a month or 2 in a warmer climate during the winter, but mostly week long local trips. I’d say no more than a few thousand miles per year. Occasionally the kids and grandkids will travel to meet us to stay, but not travel with us. I’ve driven tractor trailers for the last 40 some odd years so the driving part shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll be pulling it with a 2025 Chevy Silverado 2500 diesel well within gvwr.
I’m pretty handy at repairing things and expect to doing minor things.
After reading reviews some good some not so good,I’m trying to figure out if I’m setting myself up for a major headache.
Thank you again.

 

[Kirk]

It really doesn't have to be a headache if you go in realizing that you will have maintenance that must be done on a regular basis. If you plan to buy a used RV it would be wise to have it inspected by a professional but if new, not so much. There is a lot to learn if you are not familiar with RVs but the model you are looking at should be OK. Towing will work and if your truck is a crew-cab and long box, the wheelbase length with help a lot in less-than-ideal driving situations. I doubt that you will have any problems with that. I do believe that you should use a quality weight distributing hitch to tow with but see no problems beyond that. The only thought about the truck is that if you are just buying it, you might want to consider getting a 3500, just in case you want to move up in trailer at some point in the future, but if you have already purchased it, then deal with that when/if it happens.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

I wouldn't say "headache" but it does require attention to its care and occasional maintenance. It's an extra home and an extra vehicle, so you can't just park it and forget it when not in use. Batteries & tires, plumbing & electric, roof, and so on.

I doubt if your 2500 will need help with a 900-1000 lb tongue weight on the back - it probably has a payload rating north of 3000 lbs (you should check that). But a WD hitch is a plus. Also, the 2500 will weigh about as much as the trailer, so it won't be a case of the tail wagging the dog either. Good match-up.

 

[Adventurous Traveler]

Pete, to get an idea about things to look out for on a Salem TT I would suggest to check out the Forest River Forum, and the sub-forum for Salem TTs. You will probably find folks who have the exact model you are looking at and can really help out with model specific information.

I've been a member of that Forum since 2012 and I can't count the amount of help I've received regarding my two different Forest River products.