Let's Talk About The Longest Lasting Travel Trailers

Well, my wife hates the look of the Airstreams and she wants a slide so that lets out the fiberglass ones. I guess we buy something and rebuild it ourselves.

 

Oh no! Airstream owned by Thor. I wondered about the self parking Airstream.

 

We previously owned a LivinLite Camplite Travel Trailer. Thor purchased LivinLite a couple years after our trailer was built. It had aluminum plank floors, aluminum walls and aluminum roof, very rugged. Don't know what changes Thor has made to LivinLite trailers since buying them.

 

I had read this a few months ago and thought it was very interesting. And, these are dealers talking about the product they sell. Shameful.

Bottom line: Think twice about buying a brand new RV, or one built during Covid.

https://www.rvtravel.com/pathetic-quality-rv-dealers-fed-manufacturers-producing-1017b/

 

Sure thing. I think going with the HQ15 or HQ19 will depend on where you plan on camping. Last fall we spent 2.5 months living out of it and put 9,000 miles on the truck. So far the build quality has been excellent and I love the high ground clearance and suspension. I punished the hell out of it on some trails I probably shouldn’t have been on with a trailer. Hit a few big boulders and crunched the steps . I should have been smart about it a taken the steps off first (only four bolts). Did a cosmetic upgrade with some nice pin-striping. Good times.

As for using a Tundra as the tow vehicle. . . . I really, really wanted the HQ19. But, after talking things over with the dealer and explaining how we anticipated using the trailer and the type of camping we wanted to do, they recommended the HQ15 to use with the Tundra. I think the HQ15 was the wise choice after putting so many miles on it. We all know the Tundra doesn’t have the greatest towing capacity. The Tundra did fine with the HQ15 going over the high mountain passes in the west. If we had the HQ19 I think the truck would have struggled and the size/weight would have limited our trail options. The HQ15 was able to negotiate tight turns through trees where the HQ19 never would have made it.

I agree with you that the larger fridge in the HQ19 is great. It was one of the things I wanted especially for a 2.5 month long trip. We ended up getting an ARB zero fridge/freezer that we kept in the back of the truck.

Let me know if you have specific questions - happy to share our experiences and the upgrades we’ve made to the trailer.


Cliffs above Lake Powell:
Valley of the gods:

 

Thanks for getting back to me. Sorry to hear about the damage, but at least you're out there enjoying the trailer. How's the tongue weight on your HQ15? Tank sizes adequate?

 

This Thursday we're touring General Coach Canada's factory in Hensall, Ontario Canada to check out the 2022 Citation Rewards being built.

 

My condolences if that's the reason for the inheritance. Nice to see it stay in the family. I'm sure you'll take great care if it and make lots of memories. Cheers!

 

Those gear up landings really suck. There was an older TT here at the park that from 50 feet looked like it was only a couple of years old. The owner took it to a RV dealer for detailing but didn't elaborate on what they used to restore it. Maybe a little research and elbow grease your faded paint could be saved. Finding new clearance light lenses shouldn't be a problem either.
I think you found yourself a diamond in the rough.

 

Check the frame for cracks and welds gone bad. Disconnect the propane.

 

They do tend to not leak as much when water is not falling on them!

 

While those wheels are off take a gander at the brakes.

 

Love companies that give tours. Makes me believe they are proud of the quality products they produce. Keep us updated please.

 

Will do. Thanks for the interest!

 

My Airstream is a 2003 and it's stored outside next to the house. It's been through severe flooding in 2013, years of major winter storms, and a 2019 hail storm that destroyed the house siding and all the roofs on our property. The Airstream got hail damaged some, but survived that storm better than my house.

Sure, you can pin stripe it, but that means it's getting used. I can't speak for the new Airstreams, but the old ones are solid. My kid gets mine when I'm too old to tow.

 

The owner/president of General Coach Canada took us on an extensive tour of their entire facility and spent as much time as we needed in order to answer all of our questions. It was very impressive!

 

Were they building a Reward while you were there? Looks impressive on their website.

 

Yes. They’re building the 25’, 28’ and 31’ production models in time for the Toronto RV Show next month. They’d previously built a few prototype models. Here’s some pics.

 

The brochure and 2 of the prototype models.

 

Doesn't look like they have a layout that will work for us.

 

Some of the production line. This red one is the 25’ model that we prefer, but we’d like it in blue. They come in red, blue or beige and 25', 28' and 31'.

 

The top of the 25' production model.



A prototype.

 

They’re more of a couples trailer I guess, eh? Nearly perfect for my wife and I, which is fortunate for us.

 

Are you considering one? I'll admit I didn't search the entire web but I haven't found any weights listed.

 

We are. We’re hoping to attend one day of the Toronto RV Show next month where the dealer will have each production model on display, with the final specs and pricing.
The weights we had received from the manufacturer and dealership for the 25’ are 5997 base weight, 659 hitch weight and 7308 GVWR. It’s a 25’9” by 9’9” by 7’9” trailer.

 

That ends up being about the same living space as my 23RSS Vintage Cruiser but oodles more quality and better aerodynamics. Although we have a small slideout it's taken up by the dogs area. Plus I get to have the extra maintenance headaches and reduced structural integrity from a slideout. One very important feature that comes with the 23RSS is a happy wife. That is priceless.

 

With large ticket items be it a truck or car or camper, resale value always based on history longevity, is the true measure of quality.
If long ownership is the goal and you are an active camper / travel trailer user, then to me, it's Air Stream IF, the finances allow.
You will not loose money with that brand.

 

Happy wife, happy life. After nearly 28 years of marriage I have honestly realized that I care about very little. If she's expressed a concern it's worth discussing. We argue a lot less than when we were in our 20's.

Anyway, the box length is 21'1". Interior specs are 6'6" and 7'4", so I imagine it is similar to your Vintage Cruiser. General Coach basically bought the Award trailer's design, combined it with their previous experience building their Citation line and improved the product, hence the name Citation Reward.

Hopefully it comes in price wise somewhere between the Vintage Cruiser and the Lance 2075, but the made in Canada, with many parts sourced locally, and essentially being co-designed with our local RV dealership, is a huge plus in our opinion, so worth paying a premium.

 

Yeah, my wife has decided that a trailer has to have a slide to be suitable for a family.

 

I get that. I guess these days the choice is either a super long bunkhouse without a slide or a much shorter one with a single slide.
I really like some of the Lance trailers that have slides.