Hello everyone-
I'm in the market for a travel trailer. In my 30's, no kids yet and ready to buy my first RV. I grew up in Minnesota and was camping all the time with my family.....now I'm ready to get out there again.
I have been to a couple dealerships here in the northeast and have looked at several different types and models. After seeing how much more room that the hybrid trailers provide, I believe they are the right ones for two of us. Now, I just have to find the right one....that's where this forum comes in. I'm hoping I can get some suggestions of models, dealers, etc that people have had success with.
Currently we are looking at something in the 21-25 ft range. I saw a 2006 KZ-Coyote 22CT yesterday and it looks very good. The dealer I was at also had a 2008 Aerolite Cub 21 that was very nice but quite a bit more expensive.
I hope I haven't written too much but any help would be greatly appreciated.
I have this one, $16500 at Holman. The new 2012 models have all stained wood and a brown front cap. These are insulated very well and loaded, the bunks can be used for guests or additional storage. Charles
OP - You never mentioned your tow vehicle. That has a huge bearing on the trailer you should get for the combined rig to be safe and comfortable towing.
ReverendCharles wrote: I have this one, $16500 at Holman. The new 2012 models have all stained wood and a brown front cap. These are insulated very well and loaded, the bunks can be used for guests or additional storage. Charles
again, NOT a hybrid. the OP is asking about a hybrid.
no canvas, no hybrid.
OP, agree that you need to give info on tow vehicle.
vehicle, engine size, rear end ratio, factory tow package or not and
so on.
and, every brand has its fans and haters. no brand is immune to lemons. all brands have had issues at some point.
the most popular hybrids are the Roo and the Jayco.
but if you buying used, all bets are off, since there'll be no warranty.
find the floorplan you like and that can be towed safely.
and, don't buy a hybrid just on the amount of room they have. big mistake by many new hybrid owners that don't factor in dealing with the canvas.
as i told an earlier poster, if you don't love sleeping under canvas, don't buy a hybrid. the other benefits of hybrids won't matter after awhile when you get sick of dealing with it.
most of us hybrid lovers are former popup owners and prefer the canvas experience to the "shoe box" feeling of a regular travel trailer.
we're willing to deal with condensation, wet canvas, setup/teardown, dealing with heat/cold, noisy neighbors and other things, just to have the canvas experience.
* This post was
edited 01/25/12 10:13pm by bikendan *
Dan- Firefighter, Shawn- Musician/Entrepreneur, Zoe- Faithful Golden Retriever, 2007 Chevrolet Avalanche LS, 2007 Rockwood Roo 23SS w/Equalizer and Prodigy, and 5 Mtn. bikes and 2 Road bikes
ReverendCharles wrote: I have this one, $16500 at Holman. The new 2012 models have all stained wood and a brown front cap. These are insulated very well and loaded, the bunks can be used for guests or additional storage. Charles
again, NOT a hybrid. the OP is asking about a hybrid.
no canvas, no hybrid.
OP, agree that you need to give info on tow vehicle.
vehicle, engine size, rear end ratio, factory tow package or not and
so on.
and, every brand has its fans and haters. no brand is immune to lemons. all brands have had issues at some point.
the most popular hybrids are the Roo and the Jayco.
but if you buying used, all bets are off, since there'll be no warranty.
find the floorplan you like and that can be towed safely.
and, don't buy a hybrid just on the amount of room they have. big mistake by many new hybrid owners that don't factor in dealing with the canvas.
as i told an earlier poster, if you don't love sleeping under canvas, don't buy a hybrid. the other benefits of hybrids won't matter after awhile when you get sick of dealing with it.
most of us hybrid lovers are former popup owners and prefer the canvas experience to the "shoe box" feeling of a regular travel trailer.
we're willing to deal with condensation, wet canvas, setup/teardown, dealing with heat/cold, noisy neighbors and other things, just to have the canvas experience.
The way I read the OP is quote “I believe they are the right ones for two of us” this tells me they are not sure. Again, thanks for trying to correct me! You need to read into the post and not worry about the OP’S tow vehicle that was never referred to in the post. Charles
Beware of the dealer pricing. On new or and especially used trailers. MSRP is very much higher than the "street prices" these trailers sell for at the bigger discount dealers like RVWholesalers in NW Ohio. A days drive can save thousands of dollars many times and the big discount dealers always have fresh trailers. I only had to drive across the state to save $4,000 over the best price the "local dealers" offered. And the trailer was a model year newer and less than a week off the assembly line. The 2013 Roos will be at RVWholesalers as early as May.
Buy your second camper first. Start with a priority list. As a newbie you won't have much experience in the pros and cons of campers but many of us have strong recommendations (and we certainly have opinions!). Top of the priority list is "must have." Those at the bottom are "like to have." Start with a clean sheet of paper. Query your family. Not even a $200,000 motorhome will have it all. You can leave things like a galley and bathroom off the list as they all have them.
Top of the list, though, should be the weight of the trailer based on the maximum towing capacity of your truck. To accommodate passengers, cargo, grades, high summer temperatures, etc. I want 2000 pounds more towing capacity than the trailer will weigh loaded. A ton more capacity than the trailers gross vehicle weight rating. I want a ton, I'll settle for 1000 pounds if necessary. You can ignore all the "percent-rules" with these two simple numbers. There's towing and there's Happy Towing. You don't need a F550 diesel, but it will work nicely! Please note the use of the word "truck" in the first sentence. Once you get beyond the 17 and 19 footers you get into weights best handled with tow vehicles with real frames which means a pickup or something like a Ford Expedition. Minivans and pseudo-SUVs are seldom satisfactory for the larger hybrids.
Items on our family's priority list included: a slide out in the main cabin; no climbing over a bench or dinette to get into bed; no sofas or dinettes bumped up against a bed to disturb early or late sleepers; galley and dinette across from/next to each other; double door refrigerator; lots of counterspace and cabinets; ducted air conditioning (not Blast-from-the-Center(tm); heated mattresses; good ground clearance; good outside storage. You get the idea. Your list will probably vary.
Don't underestimate the hassle of a bench in front of a bed, I know folks who, despite my nagging, have thought this to be not a problem but tired of it rapidly.
Since it's doubtful you'll find a trailer that meets every criteria you need to periodically revise your priority list. The priority list will weed out campers you thought looked good at first. When we bought our "second" camper it was a popup and Top Down Refrigerator Access headed the priority list -- we weren't gonna fool with coolers or pop up and down just to load the refrigerator. This item alone eliminated complete brand-lines from consideration. Hybrids are a bit more flexible, but the list is vital.
But the list starts with weight -- what you can tow.
I bought a 5500 pound max rated Explorer specifically to pull my 3500 pound popup. It got my 5000 pound Roo 23SS home and thru a season, but I was flogging the poor beast too hard. The Expedition is here now. HD Tow option was $350 and I have 9000 pounds capacity. No worries.
-- Chuck
'06 Roo 23SS behind '07 Expedition out of Cleveland Our Photo pages
bikendan wrote: knowing what tow vehicle the OP has, will help advise what would be a good floorplan.
and by the way, the OP is asking about a hybrid, on the Hybrid forum.
they didn't ask about other types of trailers.
if this had been posted on the General RVing Issues forum or the Beginning RVing forum, then you'd have a point.
Agree with Bikendan on this.
I am dumbfounded to read that Charles would think that the TV is not to be bothered with. Acording to that logic, the OP could have an unmentioned Prius as the tow vehicle, and further, if it were not only HTTs being enquired about (as Charles seems to suggest), he could be getting advice that a nice 25 ft travel trailer (or worse) would do him perfectly. All ridiculous.
If you want dealer recommendations we also need to know where in the north east you are. New HTT's usually go for about 30% below MSRP, and as far as I can tell should be pretty much completely depreciated after 12 years. I'd look at a 2006 as only being worth 1/2 of what it sold for if in good shape, dealers probably want more. All HTT's are pretty much the same so the brand name doesn't mean much, a few are a bit cheaper made a few a little better, but not by much. KZ's are well thought of. Cubs are rare to hear about, when I looked at them in 06 they were a bit lower fit and finish then most, I don't recall specifics. Looking at used you need to look at how well it was maintained and find a suitable floor plan in the weight and length you want. Folks can tell you what to look for as far as trouble spots, or you could do a search on the topic.
Maybe the most important question would be.. why do you want a Hybrid over a Travel Trailer or a Class C? Do you know the pros and cons of each?
There is an RV show at the Big E in West Springfield Ma. Feb 17-20.
* This post was
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edited 01/26/12 06:53am by Padlin *
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We have a 2011 CTS and think its fantastic. Love the three queen beds. The slide in the CTS gives a little more room at the table,couch end. Rockwood,Jayco and others also have a very similar floor plan but the Coyote by KZ is the lightest for towing.
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, Shawn- Musician/Entrepreneur
, Zoe- Faithful Golden Retriever
, 2007 Chevrolet Avalanche LS, 2007 Rockwood Roo 23SS w/Equalizer and Prodigy, and 5 Mtn. bikes and 2 Road bikes
