First time buyer picking up new TT this weekend
Sorry I'm too new to advise on brand preference. Here is somthing of interest I think. The 830y model is sold under Terry, Prowler, and Wilderness. As a matter of fact the fleetwood brochure is identical for the Prowler and the Wilderness. It is interesting to note that in a comparision of resale values, there was a difference of about a thousand dollars, with terry being at the top and wilderness being at the bottom. I called Fleetwood and asked what the differences were in the 830y under each name. The reply was there were no differences except in color schemes and the logos. Here is a perfect example of the name making the product value different.
As far as qualities to look for, I looked for workmanship, water heater bypass factory installed, large fridge, good layout and I like exterior storage acess. I looked in the back of cabnets for hidden flaws and checked the caulking for completeness and neatness to help decide if they put the extra effort into getting it right.
But you can still miss things, The dealer had the mechanic do a run through of the RV and we signed off on it. That evening I set it up at a campground on the way home to give it a trial. It was late and we were exhausted when we got to the park. We tried the hotwater and got a brief bit of warm water and then cold. I waited an hour and tried again,same thing. We went gave up and went to bed. The next morning I tried again and it was the same. So I went out and opened the pressure relief valve and it was hot enough to almost burn. After some thought and reading the owners manual we decided to check the bypass. Both of the valves were open which allowed the cold water to bypass partially the hot water tank. The hot water tank was full but under use the cold would flow faster. We closed the correct valve and it worked great!!
So no matter how hard you check it out you can miss something. The dealer had told us to bring a notebook along and list any problems we had in the next couple of weeks and then to bring it in and they would correct them. That also was a selling point, he was concerned that we get the full enjoyment from our purchase.
Thats about all I can think of at the moment. I made it home without chewing all my fingernails to the quick, I just took it slow and easy and rested a lot.
Anyway good luck and just keep reading through the posting and asking questions.
