Not long ago I asked myself, “should I buy a travel trailer?” There’s many pros and cons that my husband and I did quite a bit of research to find out whether we should buy one, and if so, which travel trailer brands to avoid. If it’s the right time in your life to buy an RV you may be wondering what are the best travel trailers to buy. Today’s post is going to answer those types of questions.
SHOULD I BUY A TRAVEL TRAILER?
The first question you need to answer is whether you should buy one at all. This is obviously not a one-size-fits-all kind of question and for some of you the answer will be yes, and others it will be no. When thinking about whether you should buy one, you should ask yourself a few additional questions like:
Will I actually use the trailer?
I don’t know how many people I know who have a trailer that spends the majority of it’s time sitting in the driveway. If you think you will only be able to take it out once a year it may be better to either rent one or find different accommodations.
Can I afford a trailer?
Now, this one I feel is a little more doable if you are flexible. I firmly believe a trailer you aren’t paying off for the next 10 years is the way to go, but I know people who’ve done that and are just fine. You know your own financial situation and what you can handle but I think it’s always wise to look at your finances and picture how you would pay for the trailer if there was a financial crisis (say, if you went down from two incomes to one.) I encourage you to have money saved up for the trailer, even if you don’t pay for it all outright (though completely outright is always a bonus.)
SHOULD I BUY A NEW OR USED RV?
Consider buying used. Personally I think buying used is a better deal because they depreciate so quickly. Older models are often made better too. You don’t have to get something made from the 80s, but if you look for something that is 2010 instead of a 2021 model, you’ll save a ton of money. The biggest thing to look out for when buying a used trailer is making sure there isn’t water damage as trailers are notorious for leaking.
WHAT KIND OF TRAVEL TRAILER DO I NEED?
This will depend on your family size, and what you are using it for. If you are going to be living in it full time you will want to probably have something a little bigger. We have a really big rig, ’28 foot, but that’s because we have 3 kids so we needed the sleeping space for them. Otherwise we’d probably go smaller.
We looked at fifth wheels but those generally don’t have extra bunks so that was out. You also can’t use your truck bed as much for storage because of the way the fifth wheel attaches to the top of the truck.
Aside form trailers there are also full out motorhomes, and some people love those but we didn’t like the idea because if something goes wrong engine-wise your whole motorhome is in the shop,not just your truck.
You also need to make sure your vehicle can handle the weight of a trailer. Just because you have a truck doesn’t mean it can handle the weight if you have a large trailer. Make sure you look into this.
IS IT WORTH IT TO BUY AN ULTRA-LIGHT TRAILER?
Again, it depends what your purpose is for using the trailer. An ultra-light may be a good option if you plan to only use it in the summer for camping, but as a full-time Rver you will probably want to go with something else. Ultra-light trailers are known for not being able to stay warm, so if you are travelling at other times of the year, even in the early spring or late fall, you may find yourself quite cold in one.
They also have less storage, as well as more issues with the wind swaying the trailer as you drive.
However, there are pros to owning an ultra-light trailer. They use less fuel. They also don’t require a heavy duty vehicle to pull it, so you may get away with pulling one with a smaller truck or SUV, depending on the rig.
TRAVEL TRAILER BRANDS TO AVOID
Let’s talk about RV brands to avoid. Now, this is a bit subjective, because no matter what list of trailers to avoid you find, you will always hear from someone who loved one of the brands on the list and has always had great luck with it. So, like all things, do your research and use your discretion.
Sometimes if you see a good deal on a brand that people say to avoid you can just familiarize yourself with the usual problems that brand has and you can decide if that’s something you want to fix or be prepared for or not.
So, without further ado, the brands you may want to avoid are:
Forest River
Keystone
Jayco
Winnebago
Coachmen
Fleetwood
Hurricane
Now, I’m sure you recognize some of these names as many are popular rigs you see around. And so, when you measure the complaints against each brand you do want to take in consideration that there are more of them out there. There are people with these rigs that are very happy. But if you decide to go with any of these brands I encourage you to do your research thoroughly to find out what the problems are for each one, and how the company responds to the customer’s complaints, whether they work to resolve them or they ignore it. That’s a big deal in my opinion.
I will say though, that the Hurricane brand seems to top the list of trailers to avoid.
BEST TRAVEL TRAILER BRANDS TO BUY
So, if you shouldn’t necessarily buy those brands, which ones should you buy?
Airstream
Citation
Shasta
Scamp
Oliver
If I had enough money, my first choice of a trailer would be an airstream. Those babies are made to last! They are pretty sleek looking too. However, they are quite costly and so it was out of the quWhat estion for us. We personally own a Citation and are very happy so far. And yes, we definitely bought it second hand. As far as I know they no longer make the Citation trailers so you would need to buy a citation secondhand if you want one.
SO, WHAT ARE THE BEST TRAVEL TRAILERS TO BUY?
The short answer? The one that works for you and your family. If you ask yourself, “what kind of travel trailer should I buy?” the answer will be different for every person. Hopefully the information in today’s post gives you a starting point of what to look for that will make you happy and fit in your budget.
