Buying a new trailer, any recommendations?

[Madman]

Originally Posted by Boblobla

Few more questions.

Stabilizer bars, are they a good idea all the time? Are they expensive?
Who is good for insurance on RVs? My home/auto is with Meloche Monnex.

Where is a good storage place south of Calgary. I know I have seen a ton around High River but I am a little gun shy getting something in that area...

Put your trailer on your home insurance, cheaper and much better coverage. Plus if it is ever a total loss, you get full replacement value, not a depreciated value.

For storage, check out Rainbow Storage which is just north of Okotoks. Little bit pricier, but is extremely well maintained, very secure and run great.

http://www.rainbowstorage.ca/

[Ace]

Some info from when I shopped around 18 months ago:

I bought at sunridge and most of the frustrations with purchasing from them is that they had such a service capacity issue. To their credit they would always squeeze you in for anything that would prevent you from being able to use the trailer (like a plumbing issue). But now they are opening up a new service center in crossfield, this should be a huge plus for anyone looking to buy with them.

When I looked around my favorite dealer was Bucars, just didn't end up buying there because the product wasn't a match for me. But they sure built an awesome facility there.

My favorite trailer was at Rangeland RV and the Rockwoods, the Rockwoods had such a great reputation around the net, and sounded really well built. I choose not to buy from there 'cause everytime I came by the staff just couldn't be bothered to show any interest (other than the sales manager). It seemed like that they had a commission structure where if you weren't the first point of contact then there just was no reason for you to talk to a prospective customer. I was concerned this attitude would affect me in warranty support.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Madman

Put your trailer on your home insurance, cheaper and much better coverage. Plus if it is ever a total loss, you get full replacement value, not a depreciated value.

For storage, check out Rainbow Storage which is just north of Okotoks. Little bit pricier, but is extremely well maintained, very secure and run great.

http://www.rainbowstorage.ca/

So, approximately how much is the storage there?

[Madman]

I think it's $700-750/year. (my wife writes the cheque to them)

Like I say, on the expensive side, but you definitely get what you pay for.

[pylon]

I store my trailer at Ghost Lake dam. They charge a buck a day. Best deal going. Considering I plan to do all 90% camping in the Kananaskis area / West of Calgary, it works out perfect, as it saves me about 75 kms of towing time and gas. It puts my trailer 1/2 way to most the places I am camping.

[ranchlandsselling]

So... Bought a hitch.

On the hitch bar it says:

Reese 63970
Weight Distribution 14,000 lbs trailer weight
Tongue weight determined by pin hole position, 1,400 lb or 1,000 lb

Then on the side of the hitch bar it says:
As weight distributing, spring bar #550 - 10,000 max gross, 550 max tongue weight
As weight distributing, spring bar #750 - 10,000 max gross, 750 max tongue weight
As weight distributing, spring bar #1,000 10,000 max gross, 1,000 max tongue weight

As weight carrying, ball hitch without spring bar, 5,000 max gross, 500 max tongue weight

And finally I have bars that came with it, they say:
V5 Rating
750 weight distribution spring bar
10,000 max gross trailer weight
750 max hitch weight

So, I have no idea what the max I can tow is with all these crazy numbers.

The actual hitch on my vehicle says:
max weight distribution 8,950

my owners manual says:
0-8,000 lbs under trailer weight range

then in another column it says:
Maximum gross trailer weight with weight distribution 8,950, max tongue weight 895

So, now I need to look at trailers and their dry / wet weights?

[ken0042]

8000 pounds. Don't over think it- keep in mind the WDH makes it easier on your truck to tow; especially when approaching its max. However it does not change how much you can tow.

Yes, look at wet weights. If not available, take dry weight, add the weight of water (US gallon weighs 8.3 pounds), and then add another 1500 pounds. 500 for what the trailer weighs with anything else the manufacturer or dealer installed, and 1000 for your own stuff.

[Ironhorse]

Keep in mind also that your truck's tow rating was likely measured at sea level. So unless you have a boosted engine, you'll have to subtract about 10-15% due to horsepower loss for our elevation, especially if you're going through the mountain passes. That's where Ken's 8,000 pound number comes in as an upper limit.

[Titan]

On a funny (to me anyways) note I ordered the LED lights Ken mentioned and really like them inside. I also ordered a couple of the big ones for the outdoor light and the front light. It is a good idea to be careful when you order these as apparently it is really easy to accidentally order the red one. Now my trailer looks like a street in Amsterdam! If the red light is on come a knockin'...

[ranchlandsselling]

Originally Posted by ken0042

8000 pounds. Don't over think it- keep in mind the WDH makes it easier on your truck to tow; especially when approaching its max. However it does not change how much you can tow.

Yes, look at wet weights. If not available, take dry weight, add the weight of water (US gallon weighs 8.3 pounds), and then add another 1500 pounds. 500 for what the trailer weighs with anything else the manufacturer or dealer installed, and 1000 for your own stuff.

So 8,000 lbs, and then take off water weight and 1,500 lbs. Let's for fun (or easy math) say no water because the site will have water and sewage to dump after, I can tow a 6,500 lbs trailer? Man, that doesn't seem like much.

Now that's towing, it doesn't account for humans and stuff in the vehicle. That falls under CGVW? (combined gross vehicle weight?).

[lifetime_flamesfan]

Seeing as the last post was over a year ago.

The wife and I are looking to buy a new trailer (old one was written off due to hail damage) and we just started looking. We found the prices at Gaurantee RV were awesome and we think it could be pretty hard for another dealership it beat Gaurantee RV's prices, but are there any recommendations for other dealerships? What kind of experiences have people had with them as well?

We are looking for either a travel trailer or a fifth wheel with bunks (growing family).

weight is not an issue for towing either.

[Hevishot]

Originally Posted by lifetime_flamesfan

Seeing as the last post was over a year ago.

The wife and I are looking to buy a new trailer (old one was written off due to hail damage) and we just started looking. We found the prices at Gaurantee RV were awesome and we think it could be pretty hard for another dealership it beat Gaurantee RV's prices, but are there any recommendations for other dealerships? What kind of experiences have people had with them as well?

We are looking for either a travel trailer or a fifth wheel with bunks (growing family).

weight is not an issue for towing either.

We purchased our first trailer from Garuntee RV. They were great to deal with. Unfortunately when we were looking for our 2nd trailer they had no 4 Season trailers on their lot. We poked around and ended up purchasing our second one from Bucars. Fraserway almost got the win but the numbers were better at Bucars. The service has been top notch. Tried to deal with Sunridge rv and the sales person showed us a brand new travel trailer with a bent tounge and tried to play it off like that was not a structural issue. Tried to deal with a certain artic fox dealer and they showed us a brand new trailer with hail damage and hail holes in the vents (salesman had no idea how long the holes were there for). Pound the pavement and enjoy the salesman golf cart rides!