Newbie Questions


RVingBC

New Member
Hello Everyone,

We are looking at buying a trailer. Our first trailer, a 74 Travelaire (16 ft?) was a little small, and my husband really wants all the pleasures of dealing with an RV bathroom, which it didn't have.

Because we will be pulling with a Dakota, we can't go too big, so are looking at about 18 or 19ft, and really like the set up of the ones with the bed in the back for us, and the table and bunk in the front for our two boys.

One we are looking at is an 18' 92 Chateau. Has anyone had experience with this make?

We are also considering buying new - looking at a 2005 Travelaire Rustler and a 2006 Sportsmaster 194TS

A few concerns with the used Chateau - maybe someone can tell us if these are things to be concerned about...

When we put the bunk down, it didn't sit on the support on one side - appears to be a little warped (it will go down with weight on it). Also, the ledge at the very front of the trailer above the table is level on one side, and not the other.

Also, the wallpaper is a little rippled and pulling away at the top of the windows. Is this just normal aging?

This unit has 13" tires, when other units its size seem to all have 14".

They (private sellers) say it has never leaked.

It has a/c, though the owners say they didn't use it, it still works. How long do these things usually last? What should we expect to have to deal with in a trailer this age? The tires are new on this one, and they say they've had the fridge repaired.

And do those fold-down bunks really hold 150 lb teens?

Thanks for any answers or advice you have to offer!
Barb
 

Kirk

Senior Member
Newbie Questions

First, the wall paper is probably not a problem. It isn't uncommon for some of that to exist when the unit is new. The same is true for the warped bunk. I would make sure that it has solid support and it might also be well to test it for weight support.

Another place that has excellent help for quality ratings of RV is to join the RV Consumer Group. (www.rv.org)
 

turnipbwc

New Member
Newbie Questions

Barb,
If you are considering buying new then forget about buying that used chateau if you have concerns. I for one don't like the idea of 13" tires. I also have a sneaky feeling there are more things going on there with that used chateau than you are hearing about.
End result, go new and take good care of it and it will last a long time and if something should go wrong you have a dealer to go back to.
This is only my opinion. Whatever you do, good luck and Happy Forth of July to you and your Family.
turnip42
 

SnowbirdInFlight

Senior Member
Newbie Questions

Here's how I feel about it:

Usually
Someone
Elses
Discards

Go new and take care of it like turnip42 said. You will be better satisfied in the long run. Go used and run into a problem and you will be wishing you had went new. Good luck! :)
 

C Nash

Senior Member
Newbie Questions

Guess I'm along on this one. Buying used can save a lot of money but, you really need to do your homework and check everything. New takes a big hit for the first few years. Can get upside down with value pretty quick unless paying cash or a hunk down. Like Turnip, I smell something not right on the Chateau. I have looked at several in the past and was not impressed. There are some great used buys out there if you are willing to take your time. Search for one a couple years old that the owner has got all the bugs out and just trading up.
 

hertig

Senior Member
Newbie Questions

Great compromise if you can swing it is to get a new unit which is last years model. After it sits on their lot for a year, the dealer is eager to get rid of it. I got mine new (full warrenty) for NADA used book price.
 

RVingBC

New Member
Newbie Questions

Thanks, everyone,

We let the Chateau go - just weren't sure about the age and that the bunk over the dinette will last us with a 14 and a 12 yo.

And instead of the other new ones mentioned, now we are considering a Lite model with a Queen U-dinette and bunks.

Anyone familiar with 2003 Okanagan UltraLite 21? They are extrememely light (2811 lbs dry). Okanagan gives a three year structural warranty - do they start to fall apart after that? :eek: (I haven't checked to see what other companies' warranties are like)

A few others listed in the paper (haven't seen any of these yet) are a 2001 Dutchmen Lite 22 ft bunk model and a 2002 21' Tahoe Lite - not sure if it has bunks though. Of course we'd have to check the weight on these too.

What we really liked is the Outback 21RS (rear slide with Q bed), but it's too heavy. We found that Rockwood Roo and Forest River Shamrock have similar ones, a little smaller/lighter, but there aren't any except the Outback to be had (or looked at) around here.

We briefly considered a hybrid for their room/weight, but didn't see many positive comments about them here, and prefer the security of hard sides.

More opinions welcome! :)
(Yes, we are in BC, Canada)
Barb
 

Edwin Smith

New Member
Newbie Questions

I just learned something new on our last trip. We have a 24' TT we bought used a couple of years ago. Found floor rot the full length in the back where the bathroom is recently. My wife saw mildew on the linoleum floor in the bathroom when we were looking at it but thought we could just clean it up. She tried lots of things and it wouldnt clean. Then I felt the floor give underneith on this last trip. If you see mildew on the floor that doesnt clean up, it probably has floor rot underneith.
Thats my story and I'm sticken to it.<g>
Edwin
 

starfish

New Member
Newbie Questions

Based on what you have said , you may like the 21-22 foot models that have a u-shaped dinette at the front (we just love the u-dinette's comfort and flexibility on our 25 ft Aero) and double bed in back corner with bunk over it. Bathroom is in other rear corner . they usually weigh around 3000 lbs. A current example is TrailCruiser TC21RBH which is 8ft wide so has a wide enough double bed at back.
 

RVingBC

New Member
Newbie Questions

Thanks, Edwin and Starfish. That U-shaped dinette is exactly what we decided to look for. The units mentioned in my last post, as it ended out, were already sold. We took a road trip to look at a 2002 Apache, but after sleeping on it to make up our mind to buy it and do the necessary repairs, it was sold too. What a blessing - we found a much nicer unit, albeit a few years older, no repairs needed, on our way home, and knew right away this time it was for us. Unfortunately we can't pick it up until later this week since it hadn't been gas certified or anything yet. It's a '98 Flagstaff 21RB by Forest River. Only 2700 lbs dry (about 3000 with its options), and appears to be in mint condition.

Thanks again, everyone,
Barb
 
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