Let's Talk About The Longest Lasting Travel Trailers

In some cases they can take decades of neglect. There really is no comparison in the quality.

You are right. An average RV stored inside and maintained can provide decades of use. There is a reason less than 1 in 10 make it to 2 decades though.

 

My parents in law really wanted a Lance but the price on them was stupid 5+ years ago. They're very happy with their Forest River.

 

Hotels get expensive and a travel trailer is a good financial decision if you travel quite a bit in my opinion, this thread is awesome. One thing I've learned is that they're all hand built, so does a higher price mean better quality? Im still researching but good to see someone made a thread about it.

 

Hand made just means the slope at the beginning of your bathtub curve is longer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5KmSRWp-8I

How and with what it is constructed is the most important thing.

 

The fiberglass shell is easy to maintain.. i just polish it once/yr... the components on the inside are the ones that have to be serviced.. they are the same as in every trailer ie-dometic A/C -fridge etc....FGTT’s hold there value for sure.. I picked up this one a couple of yrs ago used for a decent deal... have had offers of 10K over what i paid for it.. really glad it had the solar on it!.. can just park it anywhere and I’m all set..a necessity these days with parks all filled up.. It’s a bit small for some.. but I just wanted a sleep and cook in it kinda camper.. I go camping to be outside... It’s an OLIVER.. new ones are pretty pricey... But nice hahaha

 

First thing I did when I bought my 2012 Jayco 5'er was to remove all the windows and replace the skimpy foam seals they come with with butyl caulking strips. Butyl never hardens like putty seals. Next I cleaned up all the roof caulking with alcohol and applied 6" Eternabond over all the seams. Sounds like a lot of work but not that bad. Pretty sure that'll double the life expectancy of the trailer. I was also lucky enough to find cheap covered storage.

 

Gorgeous little camper. I have never seen the single axle Oliver in person. What size tanks does this one have?

 

There is a new AS film that looks kind of interesting.
https://vimeo.com/494710523

 

I just wish airstreams weren’t so expensive, I really want a flying cloud but the price is ridiculous I could get another car for that price

 

Used is a great way to go my friend. I would take a 10 year old well cared for Airstream over a new box trailer any day. The decade old Airstream will still last longer than a conventional travel trailer. Like our trucks, it's not how many miles are on them, it's how many miles can still be put on them.

 

Can someone do a web search and tell me what the average lifespan of a travel trailer is? I am afraid I may be getting customized results.

 

This forum helped, I’ve been reading and watching videos, fiberglass does last long but the ones you’ve listed OP are all tiny which I’m sure if they were any bigger then the price would go up too. A lot of airstreams seem to last a long time.

 

Me and my wife were pretty set on buying a used TT but gonna hold off for now. I really want an airstream and I’m sure I’ll get one but our goal is to pay off my wife’s RX first then buy a brand new probably a flying cloud cuz I know I’ll keep it forever like my paid off tundra. We don’t own a house yet so we save a lot, when we do want a house we’ll have our airstream to hold us over until our dream house is found or built

 

I suspect next year will be the time to buy when everyone who bought a camper because they were bored during the lockdowns sells them after using them once because they realized they hate camping.

 

I really hope this happens. Went from saying, "hey let's go camping tonight", and having our pick of the place, to having to plan a month or two ahead of time for a random campsite. Ridiculous! How dare these people think they are "campers" all of a sudden because of some pandemic.

 

They'll all flock back to the resorts in Mexico or wherever eventually.

 

Yeah can't wait until the cruise industry picks up again and gets these wannabes out of our playgrounds

 

What are your thoughts on the aluminum side paneled aka "cheaper than fiberglass trailers"? I did pick up a 2020 one but havent been able to find much on the longevity of those except the ones I see rotting away. I will say some of the used ones I looked at that were over 10 years did not appear to have any leaks as long as the roof was cared for.

 

I'll take my 2003 Airstream over anything else and I'll probably say the same thing 10 years from now.

 

I have a friend in Atlanta area. He found a 1999 31' Aitstream for $14k. It needed new mattresses and he built a new couch in the front. It was amazing for the money. He found it on the AirForums I think. Deals do come along. Where I live in London Ontario, Airstreams are only dreams. Nothing ever comes up for less than $65,000. I had even thought about importing them.

 

I am scheduled to be a smaller but yearly Egg Rally next Week where we should have 20 or more Fiberglass Eggs in the group and they range from new to the 1960's in age and it can be tough to tell the difference sometimes too!

The only other rigs that commonly have that kind of life span are the Airstream in my experience.

 

We got a fleet wood prowler recently. Of course we wanted to change the floor and Bam! Unseen water damage on the floor.

So I made the mistake of opening my mouth and told my fiancé if we’re going to fix the floor might as well paint and now it’s been fully remodeled. We are in the finally stages.

I guess it’s all relative with campers to what you are good with doing on your own and how much you keep up on maintenance. The maintenance is critical. We have resealed the roof and I put new taillights on it.(I think it was the taillights that caused the leak)

It is really nice now and we paid up for it but it really didn’t cost that much to fix. Just time. If you buy use go over with a fine tooth comb and seal EVERYTHING once you get it new or used

I love the layout. If we had got it from new we would have never had a leak I’m by opinion because I am religious about maintenance

Edit: I agree build quality is trash especially the floor. They are like sponges with 4 drops it might as well be Niagara Falls

 

Fresh out of hibernation and no where to go. All of Ontario is still shutdown to anything fun.

 

We are lucky I guess down here?
Indiana seems oblivious to restrictions from what I can tell!

let the Fish Fry!

 

Even camping?!

 

How do they justify shutting campgrounds down for self contained units? They shut bathrooms down at some places around here last year. Tent campers got the short end of that stick. Can you go west?

 

If you are talking about the aluminum cargo type trailers, I think those are built in a way that they are not "one leak away from disaster".

 

Here is one. It's huge though.
https://www.airstreamclassifieds.com/1973-airstream-sovereign-31-alberta-361817

and I see what you mean.

I would look into importing.

 

Great thread, I'm learning alot! If I didn't want to tow a boat, we'd have a travel trailer. 99% of our camping means fishing, so the boat is a must. The Escape trailers look very nice and along the lines of what I'd want.