Travel trailer buying advice???

   / Travel trailer buying advice??? #41  
I've got a 2012 North Trail FX17. I wanted something with two axles and larger water capacity than my previous Lighthouse camper made by an Amish company. One thing that sold me was ducted heat AND A/C which really cuts down on noise while sleeping. Also the A/C cycles on and off like a residential unit VS running all the time and just cycling the compressor like many manufacturers do.
 
   / Travel trailer buying advice??? #42  
I've got a 2012 North Trail FX17. . One thing that sold me was ducted heat AND A/C which really cuts down on noise while sleeping. Also the A/C cycles on and off like a residential unit VS running all the time and just cycling the compressor like many manufacturers do.

Yes now that You mention that I have noticed on some of their units like some high dollar units some AC/Heater vents come out on sides (bottom) of cabinets/panels etc. This they also claim they do so no-one steps on vents and also suppose to leave floor of rv stronger(less cuts).

Boone
 
   / Travel trailer buying advice???
  • Thread Starter
#43  
What we found is almost every trailer we looked at was the same. There were very minor differences between the brands of similar models. When you look at the fiberglass units they almost all have the same build materials and features, it made it a lot easier when comparing. The keystone I originally liked was almost identical to the one we ended up with. The salesman for the keystone played the payment game and didn't want to reveal the best price unless we played the game. He ultimately quit talking to Michele because she was insistent on knowing the price up front. In the end we paid around $7k less than what their posted price was. The only difference was they had an outdoor kitchen.

Michele's field is finance so she already knew the interest rates and where she wanted to be at price. We really were impressed with the dealer we bought from and didn't even try to get a lower price because he was so straight forward with us. He gave us two great prices on two campers and we thought a lot about both but ultimately choose the one we did because of the larger bathroom with outside access.

The camper is ideal for what we are looking for and expect to have a lot of great experiences.
 
   / Travel trailer buying advice??? #44  
Been enjoying thread not trying to get off Roberts (OP) original question but just asking.
I 'am familiar with putting batts in parallel but are you using reg car/truck batts or marine deep cycle batterys ?

Boone

We bought two (group 27) deep cycle batteries and run them in parallel. These are the exact same size and age. This is important because of the internal resistance.
 
   / Travel trailer buying advice???
  • Thread Starter
#45  
We bought two (group 27) deep cycle batteries and run them in parallel. These are the exact same size and age. This is important because of the internal resistance.

What are the advantages of the two batteries? Just added capacity for camping without power hookups? I'm thinking of getting a solar maintainer for ours, do you see any reason not to or to do different?
 
   / Travel trailer buying advice??? #46  
What are the advantages of the two batteries? Just added capacity for camping without power hookups? I'm thinking of getting a solar maintainer for ours, do you see any reason not to or to do different?

Yes. you effectively double the available amp/hrs stored. In order to not run your batteries down, you need to do several things... lights are the WORST! The typical bulb is 18watt, this means it uses 1.5 amps per hour, and there are two in each fixture. We replaced most of ours with LED's which use 1/10 of the current, and only use one per fixture. We are usually good for 4-5 days without running a generator and battery charger. If you decide to get a solar set-up, you'll have to figure your 24 hr amp usage and do some calcs...
 
   / Travel trailer buying advice???
  • Thread Starter
#50  
Took a few hours away from haying to pick it up today. Pics are from after I was done for the night. All I did was unhooked and left it. Will try to get it set up Thursday. Towed great at 60 mph. Just need to get acquainted with the length of it.
 

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