One thing to check out on the Jayco's is ,,, look how many issues they have had in the last year, not small fit and finish isssues but big quality control issues,,, frames, wrong axels, floors cracking.
I was in the same boat as for looking at a new Trailer...we had a Jayco, loved it...only had it 1 year, just wasn't big enough for us, and to get into the next level, I didn't like their floorplans, so we looked at Keystone Cougar X-Lite, Forest River Rockwood, and we ended up with a K-Z Spree. We found that the craftsmanship in the K-Z seemed better than the others in our opinions, and it had everything we wanted, plus weighed a little less.
Side by side an ultra lite is built cheaper---just look at the materials used to build them and they also forgo some of the amenities that you can get on a heavier trailer to save weight--they have to to get them lite it is a fact of life--and if you have a smaller TV then you have to look for an Ultra if you want a larger TT----everyone is saying oh yeah my floor flexes and has less frame members and shorter awnings, no ducted AC, no stabilizers, etc = cheaper in my book---espcially when the OP does not have to worry about the weight when towing with a Tundra---going from a 3000 lb trailer to a 7000 lb trailer is not going to save a substanial amount of gas at least not enuf to even worry bout it---towing my bike trailer at 3000 lbs to towing my TT at 6000 lbs I may lose 1-2 mpg---I average 12 mpg with the bike trailer and 10 with the TT--the air you are pushing makes a big difference in mpg---and handling is not an issue either--my Tundra is only the 4.7 and tows my 6000lb 29ft trailer like a dream--it has the HP and torque and also the weight and length to handle most TT's--I was a little concerned because of the opinions of some about the Tundra's towing ability even though it doesnt even know the bike trailer is back there--but 5 miles down the hwy I had a big smile on my face--It tows better then any 1/2 ton I have ever had from Dodges to an Avalanche----I can only imagine what the 5.7 would be like (someday)---no can say a well built heavier trailer with an enclosed belly and heavier running gear and frame will not out last an Ultra lite--and just like anything they will show the wear and tear sooner---yes if I had a lesser truck I would have been looking at the ultra lites too---by the way, a 30 ft TT that weigh 5971 lbs dry is NOT an Ultra lite--loaded you probably weigh in at around 6800 lbs, definitly not Lite--if you look, all of Flagstaff's trailers ther are named micro or super lites--they just jumped on the lite band wagon to get people to think oh! it's a super lite it will be really cheap to tow---alot of manufactors are doing this---and then some poor smuck with a Dakota or Tacoma rated at 5000 lbs buys one thinking ultra lite good and then finds out too late he has to buy a new TV--if you had anything less then a Tundra to tow it with you would see it is not an Ultra lite----an Ultra lite should range in the 3000 lbs give or take a few hundred lbs --mine is mid range on the weight at 5000 lbs dry and probaly 6000 loaded at 30 ft--some, like the Keystones and regular Jayco's, weigh a ton but many of the other TT's are around 5000-7000lbs and today not too many of us will be trading RV's on a regular basis so I want a solid TT---and yes any brand new TT can have it's share of problems, that's why I said it dont really matter what manufactor you go with, the ones that are left all make decent TT's--the suggestion to do a side by side comparison it great--most large RV dealers have tons of TT's to look at now--get rid of the sales person and just sit inside the TT's you are interested, just sit there and look around--sit on the couch on the dinette etc--spend time inside the one you are interested in--go over every nook and cranny--check things like can I get to the frig or bathroom or bed when the slide is in--dont let a sales rep rush you from TT to TT and take you back to his ofc and ask which one you want--dang I should be an RV sales man but no wait I have a conscience forget that!! good luck in your search that is half the fun--and no I did not mean to offend all the Ultra Lite owners, just call em as I see em
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!
Like Kknowlton and HighCover, we love our "cheap", "lite" trailers (I didn't claim ours to be an UltraLite). Just because my truck can pull a 10,000 lb. trailer doesn't mean that I care to. After pulling trailers at work and at play for 40 years, I'm well aware that the lighter the trailer, the better the handling and ride in the tow vehicle, and the more relaxed the driver is when he or she arrives at their destination.
Like 5th wheels and travel trailers, there are distinct advantages and disadvantages to both; likewise, heavy trailers and lighter ones. Our first Aerolite, which now is owned by my next-door neighbor, is now 6 years old, has been pulled from one end of the U.S to the other by both of us, and it is still a very tight trailer. Nothing has come loose, collapsed, rotted, broken, or fallen off. It's parked outside and has never leaked nor been recaulked. The Dexter torsion axles our last 5 trailers have had, used on many lighter trailers in lieu of leaf springs, give the trailer a smoother ride, which contributes to longevity.
Each person must decide which features are important to them and which are not, and you must do the same. If you have friends who have trailers similar to the ones you are considering, ask them if you can tow them one weekend with your tow vehicle to get an idea of how it will handle, accelerate, stop, and climb hills with the load.
As far as tow vehicles go, that is also a personal preference. Toyotas are good trucks, but I don't worship them, nor do I see the introduction of the latest Tundra as being the equivalent of the second coming of Jesus Christ. For my needs, my GMC suits me fine right now, as long as I can afford the fuel to tow with it. Toyota got it wrong in their first smaller, lighter attempts to make a full-sized truck. Both Toyota and Nissan were so determined not to make that same mistake again that they have gone so far in the other direction as to make the so-called 1/2-ton truck a joke. But Toyota and everyone else's trucks are going to have to reverse course and get smaller and more fuel-efficient.
Do some research and take a look at the vehicle standards for the future that have already been passed by our Democratically-controlled Congress. These laws will make the personal trucks that we are driving today practically extinct 10 years from now, as well as the heavy trailers that only they can pull, which up to now have been flying off the lots. If the environmentalist-controlled Democratic party wins the Presidency and keeps control of the Congress for the next 8 years, we have only to look to Europe if we want to see what's in store for us in our vehicular future. The average European travel trailer is a whole lot smaller and a whole lot lighter than the average American towable RV, because fuel is so expensive, and they are pulled by very small cars. Personal trucks like the ones we've grown up with either don't exist over there, or the taxes and other costs make them so expensive as to be un-affordable to buy and drive except for millionaires and businesses.
Just as truck production has already been drastically cut, as the supply of large and powerful trucks dwindle, so will the demand for the RVs that only they can handle. When you make an RV purchase, look to the future. It is coming, and coming faster than any of us could have imagined, pushed to warp speed by environmenalist legislators and our present skyrocketing fuel costs. My youngest son and his new wife, who are considering entering RVing with a Subaru Tribeca tow vehicle and either an ultralite Dutchmen T@-DA! or Casita trailer, are showing us the future of RVing, if it to have a future in this country.
Whether "heavy" or "lite", our present towable RVs will be dinosaurs with practically no means of propulsion a decade from now. The "ultralite" is going to be the only economically feasible RV in our future for just about anyone below millionaire status. I'm thinking of investing in Casita, Scamp, T@-DA!, and T@B, with maybe a pinch of Trailmanor and a few dollars of pop-up stock thrown in to boot, because that's the direction the political and economic forces are going to steer us in.
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."
Like Kknowlton and HighCover, we love our "cheap", "lite" trailers (I didn't claim ours to be an UltraLite). Just because my truck can pull a 10,000 lb. trailer doesn't mean that I care to. After pulling trailers at work and at play for 40 years, I'm well aware that the lighter the trailer, the better the handling and ride in the tow vehicle, and the more relaxed the driver is when he or she arrives at their destination.
Like 5th wheels and travel trailers, there are distinct advantages and disadvantages to both; likewise, heavy trailers and lighter ones. Our first Aerolite, which now is owned by my next-door neighbor, is now 6 years old, has been pulled from one end of the U.S to the other by both of us, and it is still a very tight trailer. Nothing has come loose, collapsed, rotted, broken, or fallen off. It's parked outside and has never leaked nor been recaulked. The Dexter torsion axles our last 5 trailers have had, used on many lighter trailers in lieu of leaf springs, give the trailer a smoother ride, which contributes to longevity.
Each person must decide which features are important to them and which are not, and you must do the same. If you have friends who have trailers similar to the ones you are considering, ask them if you can tow them one weekend with your tow vehicle to get an idea of how it will handle, accelerate, stop, and climb hills with the load.
As far as tow vehicles go, that is also a personal preference. Toyotas are good trucks, but I don't worship them, nor do I see the introduction of the latest Tundra as being the equivalent of the second coming of Jesus Christ. For my needs, my GMC suits me fine right now, as long as I can afford the fuel to tow with it. Toyota got it wrong in their first smaller, lighter attempts to make a full-sized truck. Both Toyota and Nissan were so determined not to make that same mistake again that they have gone so far in the other direction as to make the so-called 1/2-ton truck a joke. But Toyota and everyone else's trucks are going to have to reverse course and get smaller and more fuel-efficient.
Do some research and take a look at the vehicle standards for the future that have already been passed by our Democratically-controlled Congress. These laws will make the personal trucks that we are driving today practically extinct 10 years from now, as well as the heavy trailers that only they can pull, which up to now have been flying off the lots. If the environmentalist-controlled Democratic party wins the Presidency and keeps control of the Congress for the next 8 years, we have only to look to Europe if we want to see what's in store for us in our vehicular future. The average European travel trailer is a whole lot smaller and a whole lot lighter than the average American towable RV, because fuel is so expensive, and they are pulled by very small cars. Personal trucks like the ones we've grown up with either don't exist over there, or the taxes and other costs make them so expensive as to be un-affordable to buy and drive except for millionaires and businesses.
Just as truck production has already been drastically cut, as the supply of large and powerful trucks dwindle, so will the demand for the RVs that only they can handle. When you make an RV purchase, look to the future. It is coming, and coming faster than any of us could have imagined, pushed to warp speed by environmenalist legislators and our present skyrocketing fuel costs. My youngest son and his new wife, who are considering entering RVing with a Subaru Tribeca tow vehicle and either an ultralite Dutchmen T@-DA! or Casita trailer, are showing us the future of RVing, if it to have a future in this country.
Whether "heavy" or "lite", our present towable RVs will be dinosaurs with practically no means of propulsion a decade from now. The "ultralite" is going to be the only economically feasible RV in our future for just about anyone below millionaire status. I'm thinking of investing in Casita, Scamp, T@-DA!, and T@B, with maybe a pinch of Trailmanor and a few dollars of pop-up stock thrown in to boot, because that's the direction the political and economic forces are going to steer us in.
Do some research and take a look at the vehicle standards for the future that have already been passed by our Democratically-controlled Congress. These laws will make the personal trucks that we are driving today practically extinct 10 years from now, as well as the heavy trailers that only they can pull, which up to now have been flying off the lots. If the environmentalist-controlled Democratic party wins the Presidency and keeps control of the Congress for the next 8 years, we have only to look to Europe if we want to see what's in store for us in our vehicular future. The average European travel trailer is a whole lot smaller and a whole lot lighter than the average American towable RV, because fuel is so expensive, and they are pulled by very small cars. Personal trucks like the ones we've grown up with either don't exist over there, or the taxes and other costs make them so expensive as to be un-affordable to buy and drive except for millionaires and businesses.
Just as truck production has already been drastically cut, as the supply of large and powerful trucks dwindle, so will the demand for the RVs that only they can handle. When you make an RV purchase, look to the future. It is coming, and coming faster than any of us could have imagined, pushed to warp speed by environmenalist legislators and our present skyrocketing fuel costs. My youngest son and his new wife, who are considering entering RVing with a Subaru Tribeca tow vehicle and either an ultralite Dutchmen T@-DA! or Casita trailer, are showing us the future of RVing, if it to have a future in this country.
Whether "heavy" or "lite", our present towable RVs will be dinosaurs with practically no means of propulsion a decade from now. The "ultralite" is going to be the only economically feasible RV in our future for just about anyone below millionaire status. I'm thinking of investing in Casita, Scamp, T@-DA!, and T@B, with maybe a pinch of Trailmanor and a few dollars of pop-up stock thrown in to boot, because that's the direction the political and economic forces are going to steer us in.
We just purchased our second Starcraft Homestead. Our old one (2004) was absolutely flawless. The manufacturer is always ready to answer any questions you may have and have been very nice and helpful to us when we first purchased one.
JJ & Sandie
Li'l Jack and Pickles, chihuahuas...Chewy, poodle 6/15/95-7/4/08 We will always love you Chooch.
2003 Chevy 2500HD,LT,CC,SB,4x4,Duramax/Allison
2007 Starcraft Homestead 262RKS
A buddy of ours has a JayFlight and absolutely loves it... I think he's had it a little over a year with no problems that I know of. Whatever model you choose, you'll love pulling it with the Tundra. Ours pulls our Airstream like it's not even there. Good luck!
NS
welcome to the forum.
Asking a which is best trailer question is like asking which is the best truck. You will get folks that bash the product and probably have never owned one. Your getting mostly good info and as others say do a search for more input. Bottom line is, after lots of searching, is just pick the floorplan you like along with the truck of your choice that will do the job and go RVing. Don't worry about which is best as all brands are the best.
Jim
'03 2500 Dodge/Cummins HO 3.73 6 speed manual Jacobs
'97 Park Avanue 28' with two slides
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