Let's Talk About The Longest Lasting Travel Trailers

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:

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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.

 

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

 

I think I only found one Lance that would work for us and it was at least $5k more than the Grand Design I was looking at.

 

I agree. A few in the park with us and get the same story from all the owners. No problems and they love them. They look better the the potato I'm in too.

 

Do the better trailers also have better appliances? Many trailers use the same refrigerators, ovens, AC units, water pumps, water heaters, windows, awnings doors etc. Woke up this morning and we have no hot water. Grrrrr. Works on LP but not electric. Owned the 23RSS for 6 months now and been living in it four of those 6. Baby moon hubcaps rusting even after waxing, print wearing off the stovetop and oven knobs, friction hinge door needing lube and on and on.
Here's how the warranty works. Take your trailer to any authorized dealer. They file a warranty claim. You wait for a reply. If the manufacturer appoves, the parts are ordered. Then you wait.
I'm leaving here April 1st stopping at the dealer 1 hour north on my way home. File a warranty claim on everything I can find wrong and tell them I'll be back on Oct 1st for the repairs.

 

I just had a cup of coffee and my lovely wife announced she had hot water. As far as I'm concerned she fixed it.

 

You may be correct about some appliances being of a higher quality made by the same brand. Buying a trailer and paying 2 or 3X the price of what I paid and having the same issues just doesn't seem like a good business model. Makes one wish Toyota would built travel trailers.

 

advertised tongue weight is 550lbs. I have not taken this trailer to the scales to measure it fully loaded. I installed Firestone air bags to help level out the truck. Works great. I found that I used the air bags a lot when hooking up the trailer also. Many times it was easier/quicker to raise or lower the back of the truck than it was to crank the handle on the trailer tongue jack.

The tank sizes have worked well for us (me, husband, & 3 dogs). The longest we stayed off grid so far is 9 days and had 25% fresh water remaining. The trailer comes stock with four tanks as follows:

60 gal general water tank
16 gal drinking water tank
26 gal gray tank
26 gal black tank.

To explain the general & drinking water, the general water tank feeds the sinks, shower, and toilet. The drinking water tank only feeds an isolated spigot on the kitchen faucet. The kitchen faucet has two handles and two outputs - one connected to the general tank, the other connected to the drinking water tank (Hope this is making sense). The thinking behind the dual fresh water tank design is that water could be siphoned from a lake or stream into the general water tank for use while keeping the drinking water completely isolated and safe to consume.

We did things a little different to give us the ability to stay off grid for longer periods. The stock toilet was swapped out for a Wrappon Green dry toilet (

S.E. Technologies Ltd. USA Wrappon Green Portable Toilet

https://www.amazon.com/S-E-Technologies-Ltd-USA-Portable/dp/B00LMM5SXE?ie=UTF8). Really, really like not having to dump/rinse a black tank. The dealer tied the black and gray tanks together giving us 52 gals total of gray tank capacity. The dry toilet also means we conserve a lot of water.

 

Me too! Like I said earlier, I really, really wanted the HQ19 with the larger fridge, larger dinette, oven, and washing machine. But it’s all about trade offs. As much as it pains me to admit it, the HQ15 is a better fit for the type of places we visit. It can make switchbacks and navigate through trees where the HQ19 would have struggled. We traded the “nice to haves” for capability. The lower cost wasn’t a bad thing either.

 

Check your fuses ; they tend to blow easily on hot water heaters.

 

I see you’re located in the great white north. Another option that might be a better fit for you is the Xplore from Imperial Outdoors. They make an off-road trailer that’s very well built but that quality doesn’t come cheap. The X22 Xplore is a four season trailer advertised to handle -40f. You can even put a roof top tent on top for kids and visitors. I’ve seen these trailers in person. They’re really nice, excellent quality, and very sturdy. I might have gone with one of these but I didn’t know about them at the time we bought the HQ15.

You can check them out here - https://imperial-outdoors.com/

edit - and the advertised tongue weight is 420lbs.

 

Mine has breakers and it was OK. I'm beginning to suspect operator error.
Someone going from a fast recovery 50 gallon water heater to a 6 gallon water heater takes some adjustment.

 

I wasn't. Thanks for sharing!

 

8,000lb gvwr trailer with 420lb tongue weight?

I'm pretty sure tongue weight needs to be at least 10% (more like 10-15%) or there's gonna be sway problems.

SPP

 

My project trailer, 1978 airstream.
bought it with interior stripped , labor of love. We have camped in it from day one. Whatever stage it was in we used it and had a blast. Still not finished. Picture taken before owning my Tundra. I will not be pulling it till my trans cooler is installed.

 

That just oozes of elbow grease.

 

I think Nash was on my list to check out but I haven't gotten there yet. Thanks!

 

I see a few 5th wheels mentioned for Nash. Couldn't quite make out the weights. Hmmm.

 

Isn't that a game of dodge and deflection. I wonder how to tell if a frame was made by Lippert?