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cruisenchuck
12-04-2016, 04:06 PM
My wife and I bought our first Travel Trailer ( a used one), a little over 4 years ago. A tree limb hit it and damaged the roof, so the ins. totaled it and now we are looking for new camper.
My wife and I looked at the Grand Design Imagine 2950RL this weekend and really liked it until we seen the Keystone Laredo 330RL. They are both the same price, ( but the Laredo dealer is also throwing in a $500 RV cover and wheel chocks that mount between the wheels). The imagine does not have and outside kitchen but the Laredo has an nice outside kitchen with 32 inch tv, microwave, refrigerator, and cooktop but it is on the heavy side at uvw 8355lbs and long at 37", and the Imagine is 6862lbs and 33' 8". My truck is a 2011 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and has a towing capacity of 9,600lbs. I have googled Keystone and seen a lot of negative comments about their warranty service. I also googled Grand Design and did not read a lot of negative reviews.

My questions are:
How do you like the Laredo?
How well are they built?
If you had any work done on it did Keystone warranty the repairs?

Thank You

Festus2
12-04-2016, 04:42 PM
I do like the Laredo 5th wheels as they are a step up from the Cougar IMO. Their build quality is as good as others of the same class in this industry. You will find flaws of varying degree in almost every unit regardless of manufacturer. People have had varying degrees of success with Keystone regarding warranty repairs/replacements. The dealer is the most important link in the chain - not Keystone. Find yourself a good dealer and that will go a long, long way in helping you solve any future problems you might have.

I would suggest that you carefully consider your present tow vehicle if you are looking at buying a TT (both the Grand Design and the Laredo) of that size and weight. At first glance, it would appear that you will be over the safe towing limits for your Silverado. Might want to re-work your numbers. Don't just go by the advertised dry weight of the TT and the advertised capacity of the truck. Those two figures by themselves will tell you very little about what you can safely tow. Also, beware of the RV salesman who might tell you that, "You'll be just fine towing this unit with your Silverado. Not to worry. It will tow it - no problem."

Tbos
12-04-2016, 06:51 PM
When you look at the numbers make sure you use the combined gross weight rating too. Good luck in your search. Let us know what you finally decide on.

JRTJH
12-04-2016, 07:14 PM
The Laredo 330RL is a 37' long travel trailer with an empty tongue weight of about 1100 pounds. You'll need to add the weight of any battery/batteries you install plus the weight of the propane (60 pounds) to that. The GVW is rated at 9875. You definitely need to look closely at the maximum rating of your hitch receiver mounted on the truck. Chances are it's rated at 500/5000 pounds without a weight distribution hitch and 1000/10000 pounds with a WD hitch. That would mean your empty trailer tongue weight is greater than your hitch rating.

Most half ton and many 3/4 ton trucks run out of payload (the maximum weight listed on your yellow sticker on the door pillar, driver's side) before they run out of "maximum trailer rating". Keep in mind the GCWR (gross combined weight rating) is the maximum weight the truck AND trailer can weigh. Most "maximum trailer ratings" are calculated with the truck at "minimum weight" not at "maximum weight" so add the weight of your truck to the weight of the trailer and see if your GCWR is that high. I'm almost sure that you'll find the Laredo 330RL is far too much trailer for your 1500. By the time you add your truck cargo, passengers, hitch weight and the trailer, you'll be significantly over your maximum payload, truck GVW and GCWR. You'll probably find the trailer, when loaded for travel will be at the maximum trailer weight rating, even if you're towing with no passengers in your truck and no cargo in the truck or trailer.

cruisenchuck
12-04-2016, 08:03 PM
Thank you for the replies. That is what I was thinking that the Laredo might be too much camper for me. I bought this truck in May so I could tow a bigger camper with it later on and I don't want to buy a 3/4 ton truck anytime soon. They are expensive here in Tennessee. I am going to look at all the weight ratings of my truck so I will know the weight I can safely pull.

CWSWine
12-05-2016, 06:45 AM
Thank you for the replies. That is what I was thinking that the Laredo might be too much camper for me. I bought this truck in May so I could tow a bigger camper with it later on and I don't want to buy a 3/4 ton truck anytime soon. They are expensive here in Tennessee. I am going to look at all the weight ratings of my truck so I will know the weight I can safely pull.

Here is a video that shows how to match your truck to your RV and explains how those ratings relate to each other.

http://rvsafety.com/rv-education/matching-trucks-to-trailers

Mike484
12-05-2016, 07:33 AM
We have a Passport 2890rl and a GMC 1/2 ton pickup. The Passports dry weight is 5,500. Once loaded and ready to go camping, I can tell you from actual experience, we are at its limits. In my opinion, you will not want to exceed 6,000 pounds dry weight with a 1/2 ton truck.

cruisenchuck
12-06-2016, 09:01 PM
Here is a video that shows how to match your truck to your RV and explains how those ratings relate to each other.

http://rvsafety.com/rv-education/matching-trucks-to-trailers

Thank You. (tx)

cruisenchuck
12-06-2016, 09:06 PM
Thank You for taking time out of your day to give me advice on the decision I was having to make. The wife and I have decided on the Imagine 2950RL, and I am going to put a deposit down on it tomorrow and work out the details when I can get the paperwork done on it and pick it up. The dealer I am buying it from do not do Saturday pick ups. :(

itat
12-07-2016, 09:58 AM
cruisenchick, please take the comments on the weight seriously. We've all made that mistake and posters are hoping others can learn from their experiences. I'll echo Mike484's comment on the dry weight limit of 6000# for most half tons. My 2009 F-150 needed serious upgrades to handle my current TT at 7300# loaded and ready to camp, and even with the upgrades I was 600# overweight (note that upgrades won't change your truck's GVWR) with my family of 5 in the cab, so I upgraded this year to a F-250. You can get an F-150 outfitted with a heavy duty payload package that pushes into 3/4 ton territory but they are almost impossible to find used. Finding a good used F-250 that is only 2-3 years old was near impossible around here, too. If you go ahead and order the Grand Design Imagine 2950RL model, please keep in mind that you may eventually decide your 1500 is too small for it and need to upgrade.

Good luck with your decision!

jmak
12-07-2016, 10:16 AM
I pull a Cougar 26RBI with my F150 which is 6100lbs dry weight. With the ecoboost getting 90% torque at under 2000rpm it makes a huge difference power wise. I would not want to try to tow this much weight with a typical V8 with the constant downshift need to get the additional power needed. Also at 30 foot long the length is actually my biggest issue/concern. That is a big sail behind me with only a 1/2 ton truck. I feel like we already pushed it getting the must haves for the wife at 30ft. I would not want to be even an inch longer.

cruisenchuck
12-10-2016, 02:22 AM
Thank you for all the great advice on towing, hitches, and size of the travel trailer that I need. I don't want to be that guy that ask for advice and does right the opposite of what everybody suggest, but I am afraid I am going to be that guy, not because I do not believe you, but I want to give you my reasons why I am keeping my truck and getting the 2950.

I bought a 2011 Silverado in May of this year and I do love it, it is a certified pre owned truck and came with a 100K or 5 year powertrain warranty, it has the towing package on it, the towing mirrors, integrated brake box in the dash. I can not afford a 3/4 ton truck now, so a new truck is out of the question right now. I will look into the hitches that were suggested here and I am going to need new tires within 1-2 years so I will upgrade to the LT tires.

Now the reason why I choose the 2950RL is because my wife and I love that floor plan ever since we seen one like it 2 years ago. The camper we had was a Skyline nomad 264RK and on the days that it rain and we had our daughter and her friend with us it was very crowded in the camper, there was only 1 couch and a small dinette so we wanted something with more room. My wife wanted more counter space in the kitchen than what our old camper had in it. We looked at the rear kitchen ones with the living room in the middle but they weigh and are just as long as the 2950RL. The Dealer we went to only had 3 models of the imagine 2950RL, 2800BH, and a 2650RK. We did not want a bunkhouse, and we did not like the 2650RK, it only had one seat in it. I think we got a great deal on the 2950RL.

We stay close to home when we go camping, the farthest distance we drive once a year is about 110 miles which is mostly state highways and the rest of the time its not much over 50 miles. We go camping about once a month sometimes twice in a month, I always take my time and give plenty of distance between myself and the other cars. So I am going to try and see how my truck pulls this camper with the suggestions you all gave me and see how it works out. If it don't work out then it is easier finically to go down in camper than go up in camper. :)

Thank You for all the advice that was given to me it did not fall on deaf ears and I hope you understand I am going the route I am going.

itat
12-10-2016, 05:02 PM
No problem, cruisenchuck. It's your truck and your money to do with as you see fit. Although I remain concerned you'll find the 1500 is undersized for the 2950RL, I'm not concerned that you will be hazard on the roads as long as you keep it under 65 mph, respect your truck's limitations and get a good WDH. On the WDH, I would highly recommend the Equal-i-zer 4 point 12,000# hitch for your combo. If money were no object you could go with the Propride or Hensley hitches.

I readily admit that I did the same thing with my last 2 trailers - a bit too big for my TV at the time (I knew it before buying, too) but my DW wanted those trailers (couldn't convince her to go a bit smaller) so we understood that an upgrade to the truck may be needed. Both times it became evident that indeed the upgrade was needed so I found a way to make it happen.

I subscribe to the view that you have to pick your camper first and then get the TV to suit the camper.

Best of luck and enjoy your new 2950RL. Don't forget to post pics when you bring it home!

Tbos
12-10-2016, 06:26 PM
Enjoy your new 2950. Post pictures.


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ctbruce
12-11-2016, 03:50 AM
Enjoy the adventure. Make lots of memories on the way!

Chip Bruce, RPh
Kansas City, MO
2016 Fuzion Impact 312
2015 Chevrolet Silverado LTZ
WELL....THAT WAS FUN!