Peds109

Thanks for all the input thus far (keep it coming!). We’ve talked through some things and made some progress. We’re going to rule out the A-Frame... we just feel we’ll outgrow it way too quickly. Our goal is to end up in a 2020 TrailManor 2518. It’s our desired floor plan, it’s the perfect weight for our TV (more on that below), and we like the idea of hard side folding versus canvas... But we’re not going to buy it new. It’s out of budget and we feel like we should start off with something cheaper to make sure we’ll enjoy it as much as we think... meanwhile we’ll let someone else eat the depreciation on the TrailManor and hopefully smooth out any of its kinks. In the meantime, we need a reasonably priced canvas pup. We’ve narrowed it down to a Coleman/Fleetwood Niagara or a Rockwood HW296... nearly identical floorplans and specs. There’s several of each nearby priced between $3-8k. Which leads to my questions: 1 - anyone able to comment on these 2? The Coleman is older and a little cheaper... and I found a traveling service person near me that has great reviews and an ability to source parts and perform any work that I can’t. The Rockwood is newer and thus more expensive, but still manageable. But aside from newer, I’ve read a lot of people think Coleman was higher quality. Can anyone offer an opinion on this? 2 - both are around 3100lbs dry. If I don’t fill water until I’m at the site, I would have a battery or 2 and propane. Is it reasonable to think that me, my wife, 2 small kids, 2 kayaks, and all of our gear can come in at 1000lbs or less? My goal is to keep total weight under 4200lbs. 3 - any tips on how to inspect a used pup? Canvas (naturally) and rear floor suggestions are great. Anything else you’d encourage a first timer to inspect/do/look through? thanks again!

Apologies in advance for long post, but good-in yields good-out so better to be detailed than not. With our newborn daughter, my wife and I are realizing quickly that cashing in my airline miles and hotel points acquired from work travel is going to be much tougher. We both love camping and believe a pup will be a good purchase. We’ve never owned any type of camper nor have either of us towed anything... though we have some friends and family that have. I’m an admitted over-researcher so I’ve don’t a lot of reading but I need input from folks who know things firsthand. I’ve tried to provide all the info I can here. Thank for your help! Tow Vehicle & Weight: i have a Honda Ridgeline truck with a max tow rating of 5000lbs. I use the truck as a daily driver so I don’t want to stress it out. I don’t want a TT... I don’t want to store it and I don’t want the extra resistance/potential sway while towing. I want a pup with a GVWR of 3500-4200lbs. We’ll be doing one longer week (4-5+ nights) per year plus 3-4 long weekends of 1-3 nights... all within 100+ miles. We will take a second car (my wife’s SUV) which can take kids/dogs/people/cargo... so the TV would really just be me and the pup. I’m thinking a GVWR of 3500-4200 would then be very very comfortable for the TV... correct? Must Haves: need at least 3 distinct sleeping areas. Need fully enclosed bathroom. One of our destinations each year will be a remote location so we need the bath for the dry camping. Need towing numbers to work. Can’t be a travel trailer. Must have air conditioning. Budget is flexible. Would love to find a used option for under $5k but willing to go to $10-20k for a near new gently used option or even brand new if there are worthwhile incentives to buy new. 4 options: ive narrowed our options to 4 and I’ve provided my perceived pros and cons below. What I need to know is: do you agree with these pros and cons? Are there other options I may have missed? With the info provided, which of these would you suggest? option #1: 10+ year old Coleman Niagara high wall. Pros: Love the floor plan. Lowest price point. Well made. Cons: tough for service and parts. Will likely need more maintenance bc it’s 10 years old... and again, parts and service may be scarce. option #2: new(er) Rockwood high wall. Pros: less likely wear and tear. More service options. Okay floor plan. Cons: higher price point. Average quality. option #3: a frame hard side high wall (a liner or Rockwood). Pros: simple set up and very weight-efficient. Less maintenance due to hard side. Cons: smaller space that we may outgrow quickly. Higher price point. Small local inventory. option 4: trailmanor. Pros: good floor plans. Less canvas wear and tear. Cons: heaviest option. Longer set up process. High price point and low inventory. bonus question: anyone ever bought used from a dealer out of state... site unseen. If I found a perfect deal but didn’t want to travel 10+ hours to get it, is there any way to comfortably get one that way?