Love this informative site. I have learned so much from all of you. Thank you. We are totally new to RVing and not sure what trailer to buy. We plan to purchase a Toyota Tundra 5.7 with towing ability of 10,500. Currently looking at Springdale Keystone 266 ( GVWR) 7670 or 25 RKS Jayco JayFlight G2.GVWR of 8180. So confused. Took 26'Summit Thor off our list because of some comments on this site. Which would you recommend Jayco or Springdale I would truly appreciate your comments. NS
just look for the layout you like and then check the fit and finish---look for storage and try to imagine where you would put everything from clothes and toiletries to the toaster---your truck will pull most any bumper pull trailer--so the one thing I have seen is ultra light means cheap--it is just the nature of the beast as manufactors try to save weight means it will be built more cheaply--people are brand loyal and will tell you this one is better than that one but as a whole most are built alike and even floor plans are basicly the same---you can only do so much with a 8ft by 30ft shoe box
05 Trail Bay 27DS
07 Tundra SR5 4.7
00 Harley Electra Glide (My Baby)
07 Civic for cheap gas
Margarita machine---nothing better then sittin in the shade on a hot day sippin a Margie!
Our Thor (Dutchmen) Tundra is built "Lite", but it isn't built "cheap". If you are going to build a "Lite" trailer that ACTUALLY IS LIGHTER than the ordinary "run-of-the-mill" travel trailer, you have to cut weight somewhere, and you will have to put up with some "quirks" due to the lighter construction. On our Dutchmen Aerolites and present Tundra, Dutchmen saved weight by building them with thinner floor decking and a European-style lightweight chassis frame (they've had to build "Lite" over there for decades), which has few crossmembers and "outriggers". As a result, you can feel the footfalls when someone walks heavily across the floor. The floor is not going to collapse, but it does flex. Rigidity was regained by framing the entire trailer body, roof, walls, and floor, with welded square aluminum tubing, which is lighter than wood framing, and also doesn't flex as much as wood when traveling down the road, which helps to keep everything "tight". Our doors, cabinets, drawers, and shelves are solid. Even though they may be built "lite", they don't look or feel like it. The bed frame, storage compartments, and dinette are framed by welded square aluminum tubing. I can readily accept the vibration felt when someone walks heavily across our trailer's floor in return for the 1/2 to 3/4 of a ton less that our trailer weighs when compared to the weight of most 33' travel trailers, especially when I'm pulling it up some of our steep Central Texas Hill Country's "young mountains".
As for the Springdale, it is an entry level trailer, framed of wood, and it is NOT a "lite' trailer. Being entry level, a Springdale may not have common amenities such as an outside shower or outside cable TV hookup, unless an option package was ordered when the trailer was built. Like most entry-level trailers, the Jayco included, the Springdale is wood-framed, heavy for it's length (lightness costs money), has metal siding, has few windows, a short awning, etc. My son bought a new Springdale a couple of years before buying his present 35' Cougar travel trailer. The Springdale was solid, but without a sofa/dinette slide, it was cramped with their 2 boys and a chocolate lab. His present Cougar has a double slide AND a bunk slide in the kid's bunkroom.
The Jayco you are looking at is much the same. Some people on this forum don't like Thor products. If you take their advice, you'll buy the Jayco. But we have Thor (Keystone) Cougars, Montanas, a Mountaineer, and Thor (Dutchmen) Aerolites, Tundra, Adirondacks, and a Dutchmen in our family, and none of these trailers have caused us any grief. Others may have bought one of these brands which began to fall apart when it was pulled off the dealer's lot. But in our 32 years of RVing, I have seen these "lemons" in Forest River, R-vison, Fleetwood, and Jayco trailers, too. Any RV manufacturer can build a lemon.
Whether you buy the Springdale or the Jayco, hope and pray that you don't get one. You might even request that your trailer be built on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, instead of a Monday or Friday! Expect and look for "glitches" and things that the factory didn't take the time to do right or finish. We have done this so many times that we now leave the trailer and our list of "glitches" we want fixed at the dealership after purchasing it and don't take delivery of it until all of them are satisfactorily taken care of. We wish you all the best on your purchase of a TT.
2003 GMC Sierra Crew HD; 6.0L; Prodigy
2006 Thor Tundra 30RL-DSL; Reese Strait-Line & Dual-cam HP
2001 Honda Elite Scooter
Jim & Gayle Bryant
Murphy's Law: "Anything that CAN happen, WILL."
Bryant's Law: "31 years of RVing? Probably already HAS."
Both Keystone and Jayco have good reputations and both of those TT's would work nicely with your chosen TV. Look long and hard at both of them side by side and chose which one you really think would be best for you.
2006 Hornet 28BHDS-Bunk House, Dual Slides
2006 Dodge Ram 2500 HD
5.7L Hemi, Factory Towing Package
Reese Brake Controller, WD Hitch and Sway Bar
Campercajun has a lot of good information. We also have an "ultralite", a 34' (hitch ball receptor to spare tire - we measured it) TT with a GVWR of about 7600#. It's a lot lighter than a similarly-sized Cherokee (with similar floorplan) because it's aluminum-framed instead of wood. Just finished a 26-day, 4350-mile trip with it and it has held up very well. Not only that, our truck pulled it well, even over mountains. No sway, but gusty crosswinds have caused some wiggle which I found a bit disconcerting - make sure to have a good sway control system with a long trailer!! (With any trailer, actually. )The Tundra has been comfortable to travel in and to drive - DEFINITELY get the towing mirrors, which may or may not be included as part of the towing package. They're super!
Good luck with your search!
2007 Toyota Tundra CrewMax 5.7L V8 w/ tow pkg, Equal-i-zer
2008 Flagstaff 831RLSS
previous HTT: 2005 Starcraft Travelstar 21SSO
I would pick based off of a side by side comparison, I did a shake down tow with my choices to make sure I could handle it, make sure it fits your needs, look at quality first then floor plan, how it's built makes all the difference.
good luck
Vader1 aka Jay
Wif aka Kim
Bear aka #1 pug
Chewy aka #2 pug
05 Ram 1500 Quad Cab 4x4 - Yeah it's got a HEMI
08 Crossroads Zinger 30BH
Take a look at the Rockwood trailers by Forest River. They go neck & neck with the Jaycos.
Light weight is good, and doesn't necessarily mean cheap. They are light by careful design and use of lighter materials, such as aluminum and styrofoam board. In this era of expensive fuel, I wouldn't consider anyting but an ultralight, or maybe an Airstream shaped trailer, for towing from place to place. It is much easier to tow a 5000# trailer through the mountains than it is to tow an 8000# trailer. Also, a lighter trailer can be towed with a 1/2 ton truck, and that will give you better fuel economy when you aren't towing, and that is a very big factor for me.
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)The Tundra has been comfortable to travel in and to drive - DEFINITELY get the towing mirrors, which may or may not be included as part of the towing package. They're super! 
