about to buy a travel trailer

[chovyfu]

Will buy new, and hopefully dealer has options for internet and solar. Does anyone know?

There's an RV Dealer in vacaville that I will probably buy from.

 

[RvDreams]

Welcome chovyfu to the CRVL forums! To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips, Tricks and Rules" post lists some helpful information to get you started.

Most of our rules boil down to two simple over-riding principles: 1) What you post should provide good information (like your introductory post), and 2) Any response to someone else's post should make them feel glad they are part of this forum community.

We look forward to hearing more from you.

 

[bullfrog]

They will have expensive ones that work poorly. Most RVs for boondocking are built not bought. Do lots of researching before you buy and make sure your vehicle is capable of towing it. Do not believe the sales person but have them show you the tag on the trailer and the specs on your vehicle to make the determination. Full timing requires more weight capacity than vacationing so the more weight capacity the better.

 

[Cammalu]

If you see something you are considering I suggest you join an owners group of Facebook. For example Winnebago owners group.

Then I would back read everything for a year to see the owner satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Might be some real messy stuff. Very few are made decently at all.

 

[MrsBackRoads]

I have purchased travel trailers in the past. If this is your first time I suggest a check list before you drive off the lot. You can find them on line. The most solar I have seen is a 100 watt panel that is attached to a TT house battery. But the biggest problem in my opinion is the plumbing in all new trailers. The plumbing is plastic tubing and plastic connectors. EVERY TT we have purchased has had leaks. Make sure they hook it up to water IN FRONT of you. Don’t trust them if they say they already tested it. And then be sure to buy a pressure regulator for when you hook up at parks. And add bug screens on the different air intake for fridge and stuff. Wasps are famous for building nests in those areas. All TT sales sites sell these.

Just a little advice from my own experience. Good Luck and show us pictures of what you choose!!

 

[RoamerRV428]

I bought many TTs without incident

Just take your time and buy what you really think is the best floorplan and size for you.

Many models offer solar setup addition now but you have to ask if it is solar prepped to be added so it might change the model you are wanting.

Google 'rv manufacturers' and up comes Heartland, Jayco, Coachmen, Fleetwood and a ton more all reputable manufacturers and you got a on of options in their models offered....Palamino and Grand Design and so many more.

No clue about vacaville But research is your best friend or what the heck, go to a lot, see what ya love and buy the darn thing!! Wishing you the best on your new purchase!

 

[tx2sturgis]

My crystal ball tells me that right now seems to be the peak pricing and demand of RVs....if  you can wait a few months maybe the prices will slowly drift back down to more or less 'normal' pricing.

That said, out here in the boonies, prices seem to be a bit more 'flexible' than the heavily populated areas. If you need one soon, it might be wise to at least look at other dealers in neighboring states.

 

[maki2]

I do not think the prices on new or used small travel trailers will drop right away. From what I have seen in conversations by buyers and industry reporsl the better brands of trailers have a backlog of year or more worth of orders to fill. The supply chain of materials is still not back to the previous normal delivery situation which is further extending production time and increasing cost.

Hard to know what solar options you will find. There is not a lot of roof space on a small travel trailer and many of them do not have flat roofs. The roofs are often curved for better aerodynamic air flow while towing. Portable panels are quite often the best choice for small travel trailer owners.  First step before you buy anything in the way of solar panels and batteries is to figure out what you need for electrical power. The solar panel companies have online calculators to help you with that. Just answer a bunch of questions and numbers get input and results spit back out. The process is educational but not overly painful.