Looking at new trailers.

[Willie & Bev]

Bev and I started shopping for a TT to replace our little Hideout 177LHS. We went to our local dealer and he showed us a Coachman Catalina. We really liked it but we want to look at a few more before we decide what we want.
What Does Keystone have that would be comparable?
Thanks,
Willie

[sourdough]

Having owned a Coachmen I would encourage you to explore options. Keystone vs Coachmen...I've never found that Keystone was on the losing end.

As you compare models between the two it is up to you to know, and compare, the things that are important to you. Having walked that gauntlet many times, Coachmen generally fails, every time, when trying to compare to a Keystone product at the same price point.

[xrated]

There are many factors that make your new TT the "perfect" trailer for you. Quality, size, towability (the right truck for the camper size/weight that you buy), looks, cost, etc. There is also the "floor plan". Never underestimate the importance of choosing the best floor plan for your needs. It's kind of like the old saying when you are looking for houses....location, location, location. Even if you find the trailer that will tow easy for you and be a quality built trailer that is just perfect for your budget....if you end up being so-so about the layout or floor plan, you probably won't like it after a while.

[FlyingAroundRV]

Floor plan, floorplan, floorplan!
Look for how the floorplan will work for you. Then when you find something you like, look for "gotchas" in the floorplan.
Can you use the kitchen/toilet with the slides in?
Are there any pitfalls in the floorplan like doors that can catch on slideouts coming in, if the door isn't closed?
Are there aspects to the floorplan thet "we can live with that" that will become bugbears after a while?

Then get on the internet and look, look look. Take your time and really consider whether you've picked the right one. If you can, go back to the dealer or another dealer and go and walk through/sit in it for a while.
We spent nine months going through this. We didn't have the option of re-visiting the dealers and viewing the trailer, so I had to do it all, over the internet. The Keystone website has 3D interactive viewers which are VERY useful for viewing floorplans.

Next, work out your towing weights and lengths. Be realistic about this. A 43' fifth wheeler gives you a LOT of room inside, but where ya gonna park it? A lot of the state parks we go to, we see some really big rigs in there, but I wouldn't want to be finding a site for a 43 footer, nor backing it in. As you to up in size, the purchase and maintenance costs go up, also the fuel consumption to move it from A to B. If you want to store it in the off season, where can you accomodate it? A lot of 5ers are very tall and you might have difficulty finding covered storage for it. I would reccommend that when you put it in storage, you have it under cover. The sun is a hard task master on roofs and that is a place of significant vulnerability for RVs and where you can incur big repair bills.

Finally, if this is to be your first rig, I would suggest doing what we did. We rented an RV (Class C in our case) and did some travel in it. When we stopped at parks, I talked to people who had TTs of a similar size to what I was thinking of. Without exception, they invited me to have alook inside their trailers. I forund most people very friendly and proud of their rigs and eager to show them off, and talk about their strengths and weaknesses.