Almost........

[wegone]

Wife and I went to the county fair yesterday.
Not my idea of fun, but being such a swell guy and always putting others first in my life......
We rode the ferry across to the mainland and went.

They had trailers.

I can't believe they now have patios.... OMG!

We saw a Radiance 21RB by Cruiser (Thor) that really caught our eye.
That would be going down from our 2019 Bullet 265RIBWE.

It's a nice trailer for 2, with a king bed, and full-size awning that runs just about all the way across one side.

I talked to the sales guy and told him what I had to trade in, etc.

They upped their offer almost 30% by the time we left the fair, even tracking us down a few times to tell us they could do better.

They were doing this with only pictures I had on my phone of my trailer, which I thought kind of sketchy.....????

If you recall how my new trailer had to have the axles and suspension completely changed out under the extended warranty due to improper install of the rear axle, and even today I still have a shadow of doubt about if it's really fixed right, etc, will it happen again.

I upgraded the tires to more ply and have about 4k miles on them since the repairs and see no tread wear like I did on the other tires before.... so I am hopeful.

We got back home, and our trailer was looking at us when we pulled it to the driveway, knowing it is supposed to take us on our next trip this coming Tuesday, but it looked sad and worried...

We went inside her....

Wife and I looked at each other and instantly came to the same conclusion....
We liked too much of this trailer to "chance" buying a new one that had some features we liked, but others, not so much.... one being our gray water hold reduced by 50%.

At times our trailer is too wide, with adjacent slides and an awning, we can't extend, mostly only at older State Parks, which we like to camp at....

I worry over the slides some, I don't like to buy extras that will eventually break and cost more to fix, I tried to buy my TV with roll up windows, my wife would have nothing to do with that!

Anyway..... not sure what is up in the trailer sales world, but for sure from what I saw yesterday it seems some of the power of purchase is returning back to the buyer, was the feeling I got.

I also did my due diligence when I got home, looking on the computer for the same trailer elsewhere, for sale, new and used to see how they hold up in value.
Not a lot of the used ones to compare with, but I did find a year old one that was 10k less than what they were asking at the "fair special pricing" at 35k.
However, I did find new ones as low as 28k, 1200 miles away at trailer dealerships, and LOTS of them priced at 30k, 5k cheaper than the fair special price.....????

Which leads me to think I just might have been a sitting duck waiting to be pounced on, with a nice chance at a hefty profit to be plucked....at the county fair, quack quack

Moral of the story, good for me, bad for you all....

We resisted a temptation and a spur of the moment giddiness that comes with a new toy....

Bad for you, I'll still be hanging out here.....

[chuckster57]

Jokes on you!!! You could have stayed here even with another brand. I almost traded my trailer in for a Grand Design Reflection when I was working at a dealer that sold them, and I would have kept my position as a non payed moderator here.

With the threads of buying slowing down, everywhere, I’m thinking the covid boom is about done. My current job is secure because people still crash and I’m in a collision repair facility.

[Outbackman57]

No one leave please. I have learned a lot and have saved money from using the information from this group. Much appreciated! While my Outback is older it is still very comfortable, easy to tow and I like the way it’s built. Avoiding stories of the newer ones not being made as well. I’ll cross that bridge if I ever come to it.

[bsmith0404]

Be glad you didn’t buy. We sold them at the dealership I was at. We dumped the line after my first year there. I think the dealership sold them for 3-4 years. Way too many warranty issues and way to much fighting to get them approved. The dealership pretty much sticks with Grand Design, Keystone and Little Guy. They’ll bring in some lower priced options from time to time to be more competitive with some of the cheap lines that Camping World sells, but they tend to drop them when problems start showing up.

[sourdough]

I still look at RVs all the time. I've just made my mind up that I like what I have and I'm not going to be getting something else. I do however like to look at options they are putting in, what tires are coming standard, suspensions, inventive ways to utilize space etc. Other than that, like you, when we come back then walk into ours it's like coming home - and we've not seen anything of any substance on those we looked at that would sway us to change. I used to go through "things"; cars, trucks, bikes, guns, hunting gear, fishing gear, etc. etc. etc. like crazy (not the wife, 55 years in 2 days). That's kind of slowed down now. My vehicles feel like old friends so don't want to get rid of them "too" soon and my RVs are becoming that way. Nah, look at the new, flashy stuff but always come home to family and "friends"....

[wegone]

Well it appears I spoke too soon....

They called my wife this morning and put together a deal that was just too hard to turn down.

Do I know what the future holds, nope, but what we do know is that this new trailer checks a lot more boxes now that we have over 3 years of trailering.

It has many new features like a barrel walkable roof, and composite panels, no delamination issues, a wider door, much better stairs, and a bathroom that is accessible just inside the door when traveling.
The kitchen countertop is plentiful and real, not just Formica on wood, bathroom is larger and has a window that I always wanted, and a king-size bed that slides over so you can make the bed.....
Self-leveling electric jacks, no more cranking those puppies
And a ceiling that tops out at 6 feet 11 inches feels so much larger than our low ceiling in the Bullet.
At 5 feet smaller and only one slide, it still weighs about the same as the trailer I traded in, yet can carry over 500 pounds more....

Had our trailer for 3 years 3 months and got a tad more than what we paid for it....

Funny thing is when we first went out to buy our first trailer, I was only going to purchase a 21-22-footer, but the counters were not really big enough to really cook without cramping, and when he showed us this trailer, I dropped one of my boxes and went with it, even tho I didn't want an outside kitchen, or two slides, etc....

And no more spread axles that I am just not too fond of, and that nagging uneasy feeling thinking my suspension will fail once again only this time I get stuck holding the bill for repairs.

Also, before I caved in, I crawled up under the trailer to look at the tire wear since the repair were made.....
Before the tire wear was abnormal and eating the inside edge of the right-side and rear axle tires, after 3-4 k miles on the new tires since repair, they appear to be wearing normally, however I noticed they were hitting the underside of the slides, and the plastic trim piece of the wheel well, as the space was only about two inches of clearance, and looked to be hitting when I hit bumps, etc....
That clinched it for me, as well as I like the slide mechanism better, seem way stouter, as does the general trailer itself, fit and finish wise....????

It will take them 10-15 days to get the trailer ready, but they are allowing us to take it out on a last trip ( already booked and paid for) next week in our trailer, and then when our new one is ready we will pull over the Bullet to them, we'll make our switch, they will remove my hitch brackets off of the old trailer, and install them on my new trailer, and adjust it to be certain all is well with the new rig, which is higher off the ground....

We feel pretty good about this event, this trailer is more us, a two person only rig, with the features we will use.

I will keep you all abreast to any new developments, and of course share how the first trip goes and we really get to test out our reasoning.

And if I can still stay around, I will, as I have learned MUCH from you all over the last few years.

[Outbackman57]

Yes sir. My Road King is 22 years old and I look at bikes and think that would be nice but I couldn’t get rid of her. We’ve been thru a lot, most of which I can remember! Same with the camper. I love RVs and everything about them, go to the shows at Daytona Speedway and others. Had a neighbor now gone, took him to shows with me and at 78yo he was climbing in and out of every one on display just to see what they had in them. God allowed me to have love of bikes, RVs, guns, gave me beautiful children and a grand, now a greatgrand on the way. Even working 46 years wasn’t so bad in hindsight. That song “Life’s Been Good To Me So Far”! Happy Anniversary to you both.

[bsmith0404]

Originally Posted by Island Eddie

Well it appears I spoke too soon....

They called my wife this morning and put together a deal that was just too hard to turn down.

Do I know what the future holds, nope, but what we do know is that this new trailer checks a lot more boxes now that we have over 3 years of trailering.

It has many new features like a barrel walkable roof, and composite panels, no delamination issues, a wider door, much better stairs, and a bathroom that is accessible just inside the door when traveling.
The kitchen countertop is plentiful and real, not just Formica on wood, bathroom is larger and has a window that I always wanted, and a king-size bed that slides over so you can make the bed.....
Self-leveling electric jacks, no more cranking those puppies
And a ceiling that tops out at 6 feet 11 inches feels so much larger than our low ceiling in the Bullet.
At 5 feet smaller and only one slide, it still weighs about the same as the trailer I traded in, yet can carry over 500 pounds more....

Had our trailer for 3 years 3 months and got a tad more than what we paid for it....

Funny thing is when we first went out to buy our first trailer, I was only going to purchase a 21-22-footer, but the counters were not really big enough to really cook without cramping, and when he showed us this trailer, I dropped one of my boxes and went with it, even tho I didn't want an outside kitchen, or two slides, etc....

And no more spread axles that I am just not too fond of, and that nagging uneasy feeling thinking my suspension will fail once again only this time I get stuck holding the bill for repairs.

Also, before I caved in, I crawled up under the trailer to look at the tire wear since the repair were made.....
Before the tire wear was abnormal and eating the inside edge of the right-side and rear axle tires, after 3-4 k miles on the new tires since repair, they appear to be wearing normally, however I noticed they were hitting the underside of the slides, and the plastic trim piece of the wheel well, as the space was only about two inches of clearance, and looked to be hitting when I hit bumps, etc....
That clinched it for me, as well as I like the slide mechanism better, seem way stouter, as does the general trailer itself, fit and finish wise....????

It will take them 10-15 days to get the trailer ready, but they are allowing us to take it out on a last trip ( already booked and paid for) next week in our trailer, and then when our new one is ready we will pull over the Bullet to them, we'll make our switch, they will remove my hitch brackets off of the old trailer, and install them on my new trailer, and adjust it to be certain all is well with the new rig, which is higher off the ground....

We feel pretty good about this event, this trailer is more us, a two person only rig, with the features we will use.

I will keep you all abreast to any new developments, and of course share how the first trip goes and we really get to test out our reasoning.

And if I can still stay around, I will, as I have learned MUCH from you all over the last few years.

Hope it works out well for you. Check over everything very closely during delivery. My biggest complaint about the brand was the number of issues they arrived with from the factory. Initial quality was questionable. Performance was probably about the same as most RVs once you got through the initial problems.

[wegone]

Thanks bsmith....

Because of what you all have shared, and just because of the fact I have now done trailering, about 20 trips total in the Bullet in 3 years, I am much wiser, no, make that less green than when we bought the Bullet and had our walk through.

I know what to look for, and the whys and hows......

You all were a big part of my learning curve, and hopefully I can share with others what you all shared with me.

This line, which still seems to be under the Thor conglomerate, is only 9 years old, started by a guy who built his own trailer, and folks liked it and had him make theirs, etc....
Not being a businessman, but a car buff, restored for hobbies, his early years had its issues, as finding and holding onto folks who share your same commitment can be daunting.

Wife is VERY happy....which makes me happy.

I could still pitch a tent and call it good

[travelin texans]

The 1st thing I'd look at would be the brand of tires on the new unit, if HiSpec, Trailer Kings or one of the often mentioned China Bombs, have them replaced with Carlisle, Sailiun, GY Endurance or Hercules before ever moving it off the lot, one less thing to worry about on a new rig.

[wegone]

Originally Posted by travelin texans

The 1st thing I'd look at would be the brand of tires on the new unit, if HiSpec, Trailer Kings or one of the often mentioned China Bombs, have them replaced with Carlisle, Sailiun, GY Endurance or Hercules before ever moving it off the lot, one less thing to worry about on a new rig.

Yep.... I just put 900 bucks into upgraded tires on the Bullet, will do the same with this trailer too, might even think about wet bolts, etc, on the suspension after we really get some time in her and make certain this is the gal we will travel out our lives in....

I PAY ATTENTION to what you all share

[German Shepherd Guy]

Congratulations on the new rig. Went online and looked at the floor-plan. Looks very interesting and with a King Bed someone actually thought about how to make it up after sleeping in it.


Will be interesting to hear about your walk through, please post back when it is done.
Oak

[dutchmensport]

I know in the past, you've posted concerns about your current camper, so I am not surprised you became star-struck at a new one. It takes a lot of mental preparedness to purchase a first RV. It's scarry and daunting for a first timer. But, I think after the first one, the next one is almost always a result of dissatisfaction because of issues with the camper.

So, CONGRATS! Now the most agonizing part of the new purchase is ahead of you .... waiting those 15 days!

Considering this is your first camper switch, here's my bit of advise for you... (you know we are always giving advise to first time buyers ... well, here's my tip for a first timer trading!) .....

First, enjoy that last campout. It's the last and you'll remember it the most years from now.

Second, take lots and lots and lots of photos of the old camper while you can. If this is your first trade, in a few years, you'll really appreciate the photos. I wish I would have taken a LOT more of my previous campers... both inside and out. So, while you have this window of opportunity, get photos of absolutely everything, all the little details, and then, just simply keep those photos tucked away. You will value them in the future ... more than you'll ever imagine!

Again, congrats on your new purchase!

[wegone]

Originally Posted by German Shepherd Guy

Congratulations on the new rig. Went online and looked at the floor-plan. Looks very interesting and with a King Bed someone actually thought about how to make it up after sleeping in it.


Will be interesting to hear about your walk through, please post back when it is done.
Oak

The floor plan is what drew mw in when I walked into it.....
It's open, wide, and tall, no cramping at all.
And of course, easy access to bathroom, we have crawled over the couch and booth too many times

HOWEVER, a great majority of people just looked in and said....
What, no dinette, or table, too small, and turned around.
No bunks, not enough cabinets.

This unit has a very small market to appeal to....
And I called that out to the sales guy right away, and he knew it too.
Maybe 1 out of 20, 30, more, might consider it, as it is a 2 person rig, period.

That is so "us"

We dress in front of each other, so other than the head, "one big room" is all we really need and wanted anyway.

The king bed with easy access to storage under it, SWEET, no lifting up a bed.
Real 5/8th plywood floors, and Azdel panels with a barrel roof that is walkable and quick draining removes much worrying over water issues, and Dexter axles/suspension that seem better than the Lipperts, but I'm no expert on that, only know that Lipperts led me to worry after mine failed.

AND that skylight on the front cap where our heads will rest, well.... that moonlit sky just might spark some fireworks

The sleeping area in our Bullet felt so isolated, dark, and stuffy.
Never liked that very much, and the port side of the trailer with the kitchen slide and outside kitchen, the side with the door entry and awning, had only two small windows, and that side of the interior was always dark, you could not see anything or anybody outside under the awning, or "camping space" from inside..... which is where we keep mom's weenies in a fenced kennel.

What seems like its going to work for us in the new trailer of course will make it a harder resell too, but me being approaching 70 next January, and her following a few years behind, if we got this right, it's our last trailer anyway

We already booked a trip for 5 days about 3-4 hours away at a lake, can't wait

I will share for sure the walk through and compare it with the previous one.
In a sense it will be comparing apples to oranges as we now know a lot more than before, we were so green and smitten with excitement as newbies.
I feel like I have a much better trained eye, and I won't just gloss over minor issues or concerns, it must be 100%, or it ain't leaving the lot, first trip be moot.

[wegone]

Originally Posted by dutchmensport

I know in the past, you've posted concerns about your current camper, so I am not surprised you became star-struck at a new one. It takes a lot of mental preparedness to purchase a first RV. It's scarry and daunting for a first timer. But, I think after the first one, the next one is almost always a result of dissatisfaction because of issues with the camper.

So, CONGRATS! Now the most agonizing part of the new purchase is ahead of you .... waiting those 15 days!

Considering this is your first camper switch, here's my bit of advise for you... (you know we are always giving advise to first time buyers ... well, here's my tip for a first timer trading!) .....

First, enjoy that last campout. It's the last and you'll remember it the most years from now.

Second, take lots and lots and lots of photos of the old camper while you can. If this is your first trade, in a few years, you'll really appreciate the photos. I wish I would have taken a LOT more of my previous campers... both inside and out. So, while you have this window of opportunity, get photos of absolutely everything, all the little details, and then, just simply keep those photos tucked away. You will value them in the future ... more than you'll ever imagine!

Again, congrats on your new purchase!

Great advice, THANK YOU SIR

Funny thing, yesterday the sales guy called and asked us if we could send him some pictures of the trailer.

They cut this deal WITHOUT seeing our trailer.

I mean it's already inked and our check cashed

So, I went into my photos on my phone and sent him dozens of pictures from camping just a few days ago, to last years....

They loved them, prolly use them in their ad to sell it

But I am thinking they need to document it someway NOW, what it looks like as opposed to when we bring it in to swap out after the last trip using it....????

[wegone]

In case anyone is interested, here is the trailer we purchased....

My wife has listed the pros and cons since we bought about, well, a couple of dozen times.

Good NEWS, the new trailer is still winning, by a lot.

I hope the trend continues, I'm not about to put all her CRAP back into that trailer....AGAIN!


https://cruiserrv.com/rv-model/radia...a-lite-r-21rb/

Note: Yeah it's small, but I'm hoping it will be fertile learning grounds for her to learn we DON'T need MORE stuff in our lives

One thing I learned decades ago to get over a bad habit in my life was to "keep it simple stupid"

It has never failed me when I adhere to the wisdom its rooted in.

[Roper46]

[QUOTE=One thing I learned decades ago to get over a bad habit in my life was to "keep it simple stupid"[/QUOTE]

I also learned this years ago when I was in the Air Force. It has paid off over the years, more than once.

Congrats on your new purchase. Also, I am curious, what type of tow vehicle do you have?

[wegone]

Originally Posted by Roper46

I also learned this years ago when I was in the Air Force. It has paid off over the years, more than once.

Congrats on your new purchase. Also, I am curious, what type of tow vehicle do you have?

I have a 2011 Ford F-250 FX 6.2 3.73 SRW Super Cab 6 speed auto.

Put it in Tow/Haul and forget about it

Our sit on top Vibe kayaks go up on the rack.

[Roper46]

Nice. I would like to try kayaking one day.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by Roper46

Nice. I would like to try kayaking one day.

Dan if you do you might look into Hobie as well. I never really wanted to mess with kayaking and flipping that paddle (canoeing was enough). DD and her husband bought Hobie kayaks and I went with him to pick them out...they've got a lot of stuff out there! They bought 2 Hobie Mirage Outback kayaks and I thought he was nuts for paying that kind of money. Took them out to the river and they jumped in them and FLEW off with that drive system - I was in disbelief. Buzzing, flipping around like they had a little outboard on them. Here's a link to it; I didn't even know this kind of thing existed;

https://www.hobie.com/kayaks/mirage-outback/