Travel Trailer Quality Differences

[BadSaver]

Are there major quality differences in travel trailer brands? For example, is an upscale trailer like a Lance or Artic Fox worth the additional cost over a Forest River or Keystone? If taken care of, and only migrating with the weather, how long can one expect a trailer to last full-timing?

Having owned two small travel trailers, I've noticed that the hardware and appliances are about the same across all brands and sizes. Quality is hard to quantify.

Full timing is out there a few years. I'm pretty happy with my R-Pod 179 for now. But, buying a new trailer and running the bugs out of it before we take off has some appeal. I have time... I don't know what I should be looking for other than 25' trailer (< 30' overall) with larger tanks? 

Thanks.

 

[jimindenver]

When I looked I looked past the things you could easily see but did not affect me day to day and instead looked at the construction. Foam core floors? RUN A low cargo carrying capacity? RUN Especially if they are covered up by pretty distractions like really nice counter tops, fancy wood work and others that only appeal to the visual but make no difference day to day.

Also do not take a brand on its reputation alone. Review it for complaints. Find the users forums and see what the people that buy them say. What is wonderful one year can be bought up buy a scummy company and built like the rest of their stuff the next year. Some older rigs are built like tanks compared to today's offerings.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Well that's the problem...none of these travel trailers and RV's are made for full time use.

They ARE made to look pretty and make a nice profit for the dealer and the manufacturer. 

In the last few years, I see some trend toward better quality 'tiny home', 'park model' and 'destination' trailers, but they get really expensive in a hurry.

 

[rm.w/aview]

Building on what Jim said, the way the RV is put together & the materials used will distinguish a more resilient & longer lasting unit. As noted, they all have what it takes to sit, eat, & sleep, and they all have a place to put stuff. As Jim said there's some quick look items that'll raise red flags, and also find out how the walls are fastened to the floor & ceiling to the walls. Is the frame stout and assembled to withstand, noting that the heavier ones seem to last longer & lighter ones fail. There's much discussion on Lippert frames as this company makes more than 75% of the frames for RVs, but know that they build them to manufacturer specs. Sure, weld quality is what it is, but what is the base metal thickness in the specs. Seems that to full-time in something labelled ultra-light has one using disposable RVs. Manufactures outsource to many of the same companies for heaters, water pumps, refrigerators, microwaves, etc. It's the platform to which these items are added that sets RVs apart.  That's a long version to answer your first three questions. The short version is: 1. Yes, as indicated by cost, weight, and structural differences, 2. Probably, but some brands may have a bright star as well, 3. Depends on how and where it's used, and the level at which repairs are made.

 

[John61CT]

I'll be looking for ultralight but as robust, well-built as possible within that context.

Beyond the quality of the metal material used,

thorough quality welding and

corrosion protection

seem to be the most critical areas often skimped on.

Likely need to get a custom job done, but even if not, just want them to do the suspension and chassis work,

wouldn't want anything delivered closed up with insulation and inside skin.

Definitely would want to do my own wiring.

In investigating boat trailers that regularly need to get the lower chassis submersed in saltwater, it seems best to use all the same metal, and then get the whole frame galvanized at a specialist business.

Aluminum looks great, but need to be very careful not to let that and the steel parts touch directly.

 

[Travelmonkey]

* Are there major quality differences in travel trailer brands?

* Having owned two small travel trailers, I've noticed that the hardware and appliances are about the same across all brands and sizes. Quality is hard to quantify.

* I'm pretty happy with my R-Pod 179 for now.

If you are happy with your RPod I would try full timing in it.  If anything, you'll learn how to make due and conserve with smaller tanks (I assume a small trailer has small tanks).  I think the smaller size will be you a little more flexibility of where you can stay and will force you outside more.

re:  appliances, I would agree with you.  I think in travel trailers the appliances are pretty similar (I don't know if there is a big difference between an Atwood stove/oven and a Suburban).  The higher end travel trailers tend to have Norcold fridges, but I don't know why they are superior to Dometic.  I think the cabinets, cushions, and beds are better in the high end TTs.  I looked at a lot of the higher end trailers and the fit and finish seems much better vs the others.  

I would not equate any of the above to quality, though.  Any of the brands can make a lemon.  I had a Lance trailer that leaked after sixteen months of owning it.  Insurance totaled it.  The RV industry has been booming the last several years and I think all of these trailers are being built as fast as possible...

 

[M2Travels]

I currently full time in a Lance and have been very pleased with the trailer quality. I had a couple issues that were easily taken care of by the factory but nothing major at all. I had previously owned a 40ft Phaeton and find the build on the Lance to be as good if not better. Of course all the appliances, etc are the same of most RV's which is not great. I would buy a Lance again if that helps you. That being said, I do find that the trailer is not designed for the way I live as a single person such as the big U shaped dinette. Two sides are never used and sit empty while I struggle with food storage space. Think hard about how you live and be sure the space layout meets your living style.

 

[Technomad]

One thing I’ve done is gone and searched older RVs. I set my search parameters to ten years old and twenty years old.... and then look at brands I’m interested in.

Even the well built ones are in bad shape after ten years and terrible shape after twenty.

These things aren’t like boats. A fiberglass hull isn’t going to degrade, and while the interior may look dated older boats are seaworthy.

Older land yachts quickly stop being seaworthy.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[WalkaboutTed]

Just like my choice of my van, once I decided that I must buy a trailer, I looked long and hard at the brands available.  There are no guarantees of quality, but some manufacturers do seem to put things together better than others. Also, I needed a 4 season rig which preemptively knocked many contenders out of the ring.

My decision in boiled down to two brands, either an Arctic Fox or a Lance.  I wanted the shortest trailer that fit my parameters so that I would fit into smaller sites while boondocking. Lance had the floor plan that would work for me several feet shorter than Arctic Fox, so I ended up with a Lance. I also liked the comparatively larger fresh/grey/blackwater tanks (45/45/45 gallons).  Adequate space on the roof for a good amount of solar was also part of my decision making.  I've put in 660 watts of solar and increased the battery bank so that hopefully I will not ever need to plug in unless I want to run the air conditioner.  

After 6 weeks full time, so far,  so good, knock on wood. As M2 mentioned above, the huge dinette is mostly wasted space as I will be alone much of the time. I have plenty of room, including a fridge, in my tow vehicle for food and other storage, so I will be tearing out half of the dinette and put in an office recliner.  With that small modification, my trailer will be my perfect home.

Best wishes with your choice,
Ted

 

[Tom.Martin]

The fancy stuff that they put into those ultra high end travel trailers simply are not worth it and way over priced. Recommend that you go for a used Jayco or similar then just fix it up the way you want it over time. If you want to add a sound system or small flatscreen, or even an A/C just get one from a discount store and add it yourself. If your not capable then others could help you along the way. Theres a lot of shake rattle and roll occurring on a travel trailer across this land. So you will always be patching leaks with eternabond tape and dicor, or tightening things back up that come loose regardless of what brand you buy. Also recognize that the trailer is not going to last forever, your mileage may vary but a trailer will come to an end probably sooner than you think so my advise is be a minimalist, after all this website is called "Cheap" RVLiving.

 

[RoadtripsAndCampfires]

I looked 4 years at trailers. I wanted short length + dual axles. Hard to find under 24 foot. Winnebago has one that's close on that length.

Any we liked were too low on the CCC due to all the wood they piled in building the trailer to look really nice. After watching video after video of crappy RV construction we decided to get a cargo trailer and build our own to control the build. We got an Interstate Cargo trailer, Loadrunner version. It is narrow as we wanted to see better around it. It is smaller than most people who want an RV would get - but not most people on this (Bob's) list, us included. One can get an 8' wide cargo trailer plus taller which allows for more room and storage than our 7' x 16'. We are building ours to be as light as possible.

We had to fix some holes that were hidden from view - large enough for a rat to crawl in and a couple of smaller ones. We had removed all of the boards so these areas were easy to find and fix.

We painted mold and mildew resistant primer on ALL wood surfaces with 2 coats on the floor. We added 2 coats of Latex to the floor due to using vinyl flooring squares (mistake) after plank cutting (mistake) almost made my wrists want to leave my body. We sprayed primer on the galvanized steel inside after finding small rust areas and removing those (and it was a 2018! - these were small due tp moister creeping up from an uninsulated bottom and winter Colorado weather. A stiff wire brush did the removal easily as it was fresh and not deep rust. We also sprayed WD-40 where appropriate.

I am going to guess that by the time we finish everything our total costs for the build including the trailer itself will total close to $15 thousand. Try and find a new trailer with that price that includes things like 4 AGMs, a killer propane setup, etc.

If you want to go light and small it is hard unless you build your own so you can make things fit. If you have a large RV with lots of bins and storage it's easier. Yiou might end up overweight there is so much room to store and bring along things.

We would be going SO MUCH FASTER had people made better videos when building. I try and come on here now and then and note what I'm learning as I go because I have no time to both build and edit videos at the same time. There is So Much research to do and then one just hopes they got it figured out right.

We are still happy with our decision. It is a lot of work but if you have the time you can build it to your personal liking. Just know it doesn't build itself LOL.

 

[bullfrog]

I first went to tnttt.com but felt their light weight builds to light and not easy enough to modify. So I have experimented for the last four years trying different building methods. It wasn't easy and it wasn't cheap but it ended up being durable and the size and weight I needed that no manufactured trailer could match. Only a very few RV builders make quality products as they cost so much more than the many competitors building cheap RVs most can not stay in business. The smaller you built the less it costs to a point, so smaller cargo trailers and vans begin to make more sense. You would have to be a really bad builder to build something worse than most of todays manufactured RVs but it is usually cheaper to buy a five or ten year old manufactured RV and make it last a few years then just get another and live with the problems till it falls apart.

 

[DannyB1954]

For full time I would look for one that is rated for 4 seasons.

 

[DanoT]

For full time I would look for one that is rated for 4 seasons.

I also recommend looking at a 4 season rated RV. Not all will keep pipes from freezing when the temps get really really low but there should be at least a more durable build to a 4 season RV.

 

[bullfrog]

Look at the specs. and construction not the hype when buying a 4 season trailer especially the holding tanks and bathroom plumbing. My toliet lines froze so often and were so hard to get to I shut off the line and use a cup filled from the sink for flushing.

 

[bigskybob]

The best built camper I ever had was a 1980s Terry.The worst built camper that I have ever had was a 2008 Keystone Springdale.I have a 1995 Chateau now that i rebuilt and the quality seems pretty good.Good Luck.

 

[tbair]

I would say there is a big difference between the cheap trailers and the better built ones. You can go to www.rv.org, pay $80 and get a consumer reports style guide to most of the trailers out there. I did so and found that the ratings agreed with most of the trailers that I have looked at (a small subset of what they have). You also get some towing guides which were interesting and informative. You will easily save that amount of money in time by knowing if a trailer is worth looking at but if money is tight, and it does not grow on trees, look at the drawers in the kitchen. If they seem flimsy the whole trailer is probably suspect.

Couple advantages of a better built trailer:
cabinets wont fall off wall going down washboard road
better resale value both because of reputation and it wont be as beat up when you sell it
less chance of rot which is nearly impossible to fix
less chance they cut corners on the suspension or played games with axles ie gave you 500# of cargo weight on a 3k axle which means you wont have capacity to haul your stuff no matter how many cabinets

Thats my 2 cents

 

[Dingfelder]

Couple advantages of a better built trailer:

less chance they cut corners on the suspension or played games with axles ie gave you 500# of cargo weight on a 3k axle which means you wont have capacity to haul your stuff no matter how many cabinets

Thats my 2 cents

Errr ... stuck there.

Is there any way to fix that?  Right now I'm overweight almost as soon as me and my dog step inside.

 

[tbair]

Errr ... stuck there.

Is there any way to fix that?  Right now I'm overweight almost as soon as me and my dog step inside.

Probably, but not really. You could replace the axles with heavier rating and upgrade leaf springs (assuming not torsion axle). Along with this you should upgrade links and shackles and perhaps beef up frame in that area.You also should look at tires and coupler ratings along with some stuff I am not even thinking of. Expensive and not really an engineered solution more of a guess. Additionally you would still be legally over weight since you don't get to change the weight rating of the trailer even with upgrades. Not a big concern but I suspect you would be better off trading off to a different trailer.

 

[Bobflhtc]

I have a 2013 Layton Skyline 23 foot travel trailer that I bought used about two and a half years ago. I'm full time and I've driven thousands of miles with it. I haven't seen any deterioration yet. I usually camp Off the Grid so I'm not always on paved roads. At least once a year I go up and clean the roof and reseal any seams. I grease the bearings every time I get a oil change in my truck and check the house batteries. The main change I've made is to add 300 watts solar

Some of the things I wanted in a trailer was
double axle for stability and safety,
decent-sized propane refrigerator with freezer,
decent size bed,
ample storage,
shower,
Ample fresh, grey and black tanks

I'm retired so I don't do stealth camping and I avoid crowds so it's a good fit for me. I would buy something used that's been lightly used. Just my opinion though