Trailer manufacturer question

[coolbreeze]

Hi,
I'm as new as they come to RV life and am happy to have a place to ask a question.
The idea of buying a pre-owned toy hauler, and using the rear toy hauler space for extra storage for regular household items seems like a good one to me. I wouldn't have thought of it if I hadn't come across a good looking, pre-owned (2020) toy hauler (at a local dealer) and realized that all that extra space it's just what I need, but which manufacturers should I be considering? As I said earlier, pre-owned is what I'm looking for, say around 2019 or 2020.
The make/model of the one I saw is . . . 2020 Gulf Stream GSX G28. It looks nice but it was a little flimsy in the drawers and in the hinges and trim work etc . . . This is just a little background on what I've encountered so far, but I'd love to walk away from this thread with people just basically putting in their opinions on the top 3 or maybe top 5 manufacturers. There are lots of top 10 lists on the internet however, who knows which ones are sponsored and which ones are not.
I'd be using my Toy Hauler Trailer to live in for a few years or so, provided I can find a suitable location to do so at.
Thanks in advance for your experience and opinions.
coolbreeze

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Flimsy is pretty much the name of the game in RVs. Cost reduction and minimizing weight are two major reasons. A fairly well-built tow hauler RV probably costs double what that GSX G28 sells for.

 

[IBTripping]

Welcome to the Forum. Gary gave you the best answer you'll get. In RVs, the more it costs the better the build.

 

[steveblonde]

A good toy hauler will cost 3 times what that gsx is worth - sorry single slide, tin wall, no bedroom i wouldnt give it a second look, sorry im on my 3rd toyhauler and you really need to look at how you will be comfortable in it

 

[DutchmenSport]

A wise old preacher gave me some really good advise when he thought I was courting the wrong girl. He said, "Put your heart in the deep-freeze and your head in the oven." He was right. I found the right girl about 6 years later!

with that said, your heart is set on one specific camper right now. You see the glitz and the glamour of it. But you really need to stop thinking with your emotional heart and use your level head on this. The statements folks made above is 100% correct. RV's cost a lot of money, and selecting the wrong one just because it looks pretty, is exactly like selecting that girl that looks ... oh so pretty and glamour, but in the end, she'll cost you a hell of a lot more than you ever dreamed when you end up paying her for the rest of your life after the divorce. RV's are identical! Use your head on this one.

 

[coolbreeze]

Thanks guys,
I definitely understand what you all are saying . . . I'm willing to spend more, for a better preowned toy hauler. With as many manufacturers as there are, which ones are the ones to look toward. it makes sense to me to work from a list of the best 3,4 or 5 manufacturers. I believe I would be able to increase my chances of success that way.
Thank you for your input.
coolbreeze

 

[steveblonde]

problem is there really is only 3 manufacturers

Home | Forest River Inc., A Berkshire Hathaway Company

THOR Industries - Owner of Leading RV Manufacturers

Discover the world of motorhomes and campers and let us help you find the perfect RV from our extensive list of brands including Airstream, Heartland RV, Jayco, and others.

www.thorindustries.com

Grand Design RV | Luxury, Value & Towability

At Grand Design RV, we remain dedicated to offering you RV’s built with the highest quality, most features, finest designs and unparalleled customer support for your investment.

www.granddesignrv.com

between them they make 99% of all the trailers you see on the road - the higher the price generally the better the quality

 

[Kirk]

Thor Industries owns a wide range of brands and quality levels. They build some of the lowest priced and poor quality and also some of the highest price/quality trailers. That includes more than a dozen different brands.

Forest River builds a wide variety of trailers and among them are 7 different brands of travel trailer of differing price/quality ranges.

Winnebago is an independent company that builds primarily motorized RVs but also several different named travel trailer.

TrailManor builds a line of travel trailers that are lowered to tow with less wind drag but no toyhaulers.

The RV Factory builds high end, toy haulers.

Attitude Inc. builds several toy haulers exclusively.

Stealth builds the Nomad line of toyhualers.

There are other RV builders but I think that covers nearly all of the toyhualer builders.

 

[Rob&Deryl]

Alliance makes a nice toy hauler but pricey.

Look a the floor plans. Find the floor plan you can really live in.

Within a price range, the brands are pretty much same quality.

 

[coolbreeze]

Thanks to you all for your inputs . . .
I've got a overview, as well as some insight.
I appreciate your feedback!
David Main

 

[Mooree]

Forest River is so famous that you can find Forest River products in almost every campground. In my opinion, Forest River has some outstanding features that distinguish them from other brands. They require strict standards for their products. By continuous examination, Forest River RV guarantees that every item in every line meets and exceeds requirements. It is what sets them apart from other RV manufacturers.

 

[tlmgcamp]

Forest River is so famous that you can find Forest River products in almost every campground. In my opinion, Forest River has some outstanding features that distinguish them from other brands. They require strict standards for their products. By continuous examination, Forest River RV guarantees that every item in every line meets and exceeds requirements. It is what sets them apart from other RV manufacturers.

I am sorry, but I am going to need to disagree with you on this glowing review of FR products. My first was a new 2006 Rockwood pop-up. Not much to go wrong on these but the paint started flaking off the frame within 3 yrs, power center replaced after 4 yrs as well as the CO2 detector. It wasn't too bad so I upgraded to an Apex Nano by Coachman. It was delivered with bunk windows that would not open and storage compartment locks that were so stiff that I bent a key trying to open them. In addressing this the repair tech found that one of the locks was installed minus a couple pieces. New lock and key have been on order for more than 2 months. In addition, a hinge disconnected from the cabinet because some overzealous assembler over tightened a mounting screw, same with a cabinet latch. Then the face plates from 2 of the 110 outlets (never used) fell off because the cheapo plastic retainer clips must have been damaged upon installation. Next the anchors for the window blinds started pulling out of the wall and a large piece of paneling came loose as it tacked on with a few tiny staples. Lastly, the radio reception is practically non existent.

I have driven the unit less than 200 miles and spent 3 nights in it so far.

 

[steveblonde]

I worked for a Forest River dealer and bought a Thor product. The Ceder Creek line is decent Rockwood is okay Grey Wolf and Wolfpup Cherokee lines are pure crap, having said that Thor also produces some crap lines. In the RV world price point is everything.

 

[Lou Schneider]

Forest River was started by the principals of Cobra Industries after Cobra went bankrupt back in the 1990s. I had a Sierra 5th wheel (one of the Cobra brands) and ran into one of the former Cobra executives at an RV show shortly afterward. I asked him why they changed companies. He grinned and said, "sometimes it's advantageous to let bankruptcy clear out your debt so you can start over."

 

[Domo]

Flimsy is pretty much the name of the game in RVs. Cost reduction and minimizing weight are two major reasons. A fairly well-built tow hauler RV probably costs double what that GSX G28 sells for.

@Gary RV_Wizard you are correct with your answer, but you left out one additional item; Training

As we all know, TRAINING is one of the expenses that RV manufacturers quickly eliminate when populating the assembly line at the plant. LOL

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Limiting employee training is certainly one way to cut corners without eliminating features and glamor. I think it likely the initial staff gets adequate training, but then there are replacements (permanent or fill-ins), model changes, component substitutions, etc. that soon dilute the average level of training on the assembly line.

I was acquainted with the VP of Production at the old (pre 2009) Fleetwood for a while and he tracked the various reasons that build quality suffered. #1 was product design changes and #2 was employee turnover & absenteeism. Both of those things resulted in workers doing tasks they weren't well-trained for.

 

[rbrdriver]

Also make sure you have the right truck for your toy hauler. They are going to be heavier (usually) than the other trailers for sure.............