Truck & Travel Trailer Advice

[Ambulance_Man]

Hi there, I am hoping to get some advice. My wife and I are planning to head over to the USA from the UK in early Feb. We plan to spend Feb/March in Baja before travelling back into the USA. We expect to spend upto 6 months each year for maybe the next 3-4 years exploring the USA.
Our plan is to buy a truck/suv and a travel trailer. We’re set on a trailer this time rather than motorhome having had motorhomes in Europe for years.

My initial plan was to go for a Nissan Frontier/Toyota Tacoma but we want a little bit more luxury in the trailer which pushes the weights upto ~5000-6000lbs and around 20-22ft. I think a full size truck might be more appropriate and still get 10mpg, what do you think?

I’m looking for an easy option so considering purchasing a car from either Carmax or Carvana. Any thoughts on this?

I know the turbo engines are good for towing but I think I would prefer the lower hassle option of a normal V8. Either a Tundra, Ram, Chevy/GMC or a Ford. Would you take a Tundra over the domestic brands? For my budget the Tundra would be a 2019 SR with 40k miles whereas a Ram Bighorn would be a 2021 with <10k miles. I wonder if the Chevy with a 5.3 would be a good compromise? I had a Hemi Jeep here in the UK and it had the ‘tick’.

Finally, I’m about to contact a few trailer dealers but can give me an indication what I might expect from a trailer dealer? Are these guys generally easy to deal with? Are there any trailer brands to avoid or to be recommended? This is the layout we are looking for, this trailer is a Forestriver NB19.5.


Thank you.

 

[vintageracer]

Carvana is now a potential Bankruptcy candidate according to Wall Street due to their extreme debt. Carvana and Vroom both have had troubles in many states delivering titles for sold vehicles in a timely manor to their customer's. Troubles as in State Attorney Generals filing lawsuits. I suggest you avoid both Carvana and Vroom for your truck purchase.

There are lot's of great dealers across the USA and a bunch of crappy ones also. Contact your friends in the USA where you intend to start your journey to get help in finding a dealer/broker your friends trust/recommend who will look for the right vehicle for you based upon your wants, needs, budget and desires. There are lot's of vehicles sold this way across the US where buyer's contact a reputable dealer who will look at wholesale auctions and other avenues to find what you EXACTLY what you are looking for at a PRICE that is within your budget rather than YOU trying to find that one specific truck you want sitting on some dealer lot in remote USA all while wasting your time scouring the internet from across the pond.

Concerning trailers:

Current inventory in now HUGE at all RV dealers. Whatever you want it's already built and sitting a RV lot somewhere waiting for you at a HUGE DISCOUNT!

You can negotiate HARD right now and into 2023 when it comes to RV's as all the RV dealers are now overloaded with product the NEED TO SELL! Most any RV dealer is going to push you hard to buy what they already have on the lot whether it fits your needs or not. Don't fall for that game.

I am sure there are RV buyer's agents out their that could help you find exactly what you want at a great price. Personally I do not know of any folks providing this independent service in the RV industry. I am sure somebody does.

In RV sales it's all about the financing so don't fall for that game. NO you don't want to finance your tailer for 20 years to get the payment you want. Lot's of folks do that and have to write a HUGE CHECK with money they do not have to sell their RV down the line for their stupidity when they bought the damn thing.

Don't be that guy!

 

[Todd780]

Carvana is now a potential Bankruptcy candidate according to Wall Street due to their extreme debt. Carvana and Vroom both have had troubles in many states delivering titles for sold vehicles in a timely manor to their customer's. Troubles as in State Attorney Generals filing lawsuits. I suggest you avoid both Carvana and Vroom for your truck purchase.

There are lot's of great dealers across the USA and a bunch of crappy ones also. Contact your friends in the USA where you intend to start your journey to get help in finding a dealer/broker your friends trust/recommend who will look for the right vehicle for you based upon your wants, needs, budget and desires. There are lot's of vehicles sold this way across the US where buyer's contact a reputable dealer who will look at wholesale auctions and other avenues to find what you EXACTLY what you are looking for at a PRICE that is within your budget rather than YOU trying to find that one specific truck you want sitting on some dealer lot in BF Egypt USA all while wasting your time scouring the internet from across the pond.

Concerning trailers:

Current inventory in now HUGE at all RV dealers. Whatever you want it's already built and sitting a RV lot somewhere waiting for you at a HUGE DISCOUNT!

You can negotiate HARD right now and into 2023 when it comes to RV's as all the RV dealers are now overloaded with product the NEED TO SELL! Most any RV dealer is going to push you hard to buy what they already have on the lot whether it fits your needs or not. Don't fall for that game.

I am sure there are RV buyer's agents out their that could help you find exactly what you want at a great price. Personally I do not know of any folks providing this independent service in the RV industry. I am sure somebody does.

In RV sales it's all about the financing so don't fall for that game. NO you don't want to finance your tailer for 20 years to get the payment you want. Lot's of folks do that and have to write a HUGE CHECK with money they do not have to sell their POS RV down the line for their stupidity when they bought the damn thing.

Don't be that guy!

Agreed on the RV stuff mentioned above.

If you want a half ton with a V8, any of them should tow that trailer easily.
As far as which truck, they are all pretty even nowadays. Meaning you can get a good or bad one in a any brand. But, I think overall, most trucks are pretty decent. If possible, drive each and see which one you like best. Then buy the newest lowest mileage one you can afford.

 

[jim65wagon]

Look up the Forest Rivers Rockwood Geo Pro and Flagstaff E-Pro ( same trailers different graphics) series of travel trailers.

We purchased a Flagstaff E Pro 19FD in 2021 and have no major complaints.
4200 lbs loaded. The water tanks (37 gallon fresh, 30 gallons black and grey tanks) are big enough for some decent boondocking and it comes with 190 watt solar panel already on the roof. We've lived in it for almost 10 months straight and are happy with our purchase.

Also we did not finance, settled on a price with the dealer and wrote out a check, paid and done.

Sent from my SM-G960U1 using Tapatalk

 

[TripLeader]

I agree that any newer 1/2 ton V8 truck will be fine. I would look at Ford first, but that is just personal preference.

Any issue about buying a car in America as a foreign citizen? And getting it licensed? And insurance? Just one more thing to think about. But maybe you already covered it.

 

[Ambulance_Man]

Thanks for the advice. I had identified a couple of the Forest River trailers as ones to look for. They seem a decent mix of quality vs. price. We are much more fussy about the trailer than the truck as long as it’s safe and sturdy enough to tow.

I agree that any newer 1/2 ton V8 truck will be fine. I would look at Ford first, but that is just personal preference.

Any issue about buying a car in America as a foreign citizen? And getting it licensed? And insurance? Just one more thing to think about. But maybe you already covered it.

This turns out to be fairly common. There are legitimate ways to register and insure a vehicle in the USA as a non-resident with a foreign licence, it involves setting up an LLC so its not cheap and the insurance quote i’ve had from Progressive is maybe 3 times what I would pay in the UK for europe wide fully comprehensive cover.

 

[SDDiver5]

Funny, I was just looking at the exact travel trailer about an hour ago. Looks like a good trailer and one that would work for what you are wanting to do. I would focus on being able to live off grid for "X" amount of days without needing to be plugged into shore power. I don't know the ins and outs of the travel trailer like some of the guys on here so I would look into the ones stated above.

Regarding the truck. Any of the options you mentioned would likely be fine. I am a Ford fan so naturally I would say go with an F150. Most of the new ones have a 10 speed transmission and they are wonderful IMO. If you do go the F150 route, I would find one with the HDPP package. HDPP is Heavy Duty Payload Package...kinda explains itself.

Safest option would be an F250/2500 truck. Not having to worry about payload and towing capacity would be a good benefit and they are designed to tow.

 

[Buddha.]

If you’re gonna put a lot of towing miles on vs commuting I would go for a 3/4 ton for a 6,000lb trailer plus a family and family stuff.

A regular everyday 3/4 ton will do better than a half ton even if you manage to find the half ton with the somewhat rare max towing packages.

 

[tacomabill]

Suggest you read entire thread linked below:

Great Expośe on the Quality of Camper Trailers and RV’s Today

Is the screw holding it together or a cold weather drain location? It holds the bottom drain portion to the top. It leaks! As it was design to do clearly. Starcraft probably pocketed $2 extra dollars using that crappy part.

expeditionportal.com

 

[Ambulance_Man]

Safest option would be an F250/2500 truck. Not having to worry about payload and towing capacity would be a good benefit and they are designed to tow.

Whilst this would be ideal, for insurance purposes, I need to stick within my UK licence categories. For me thats 3500kgs (~7700lbs) for the car and the same again for the trailer. A 3/4 ton is over that.

 

[SDDiver5]

Whilst this would be ideal, for insurance purposes, I need to stick within my UK licence categories. For me thats 3500kgs (~7700lbs) for the car and the same again for the trailer. A 3/4 ton is over that.

Just to verify, for both truck and trailer you need to be under 3500kgs (~7700lbs) combined or each need to be under that limit?

 

[Ambulance_Man]

Its a total of 7000kgs. With a maximum of 3500kgs for the vehicle and same for the trailer.

 

[Ambulance_Man]

Suggest you read entire thread linked below:

Great Expośe on the Quality of Camper Trailers and RV’s Today

Is the screw holding it together or a cold weather drain location? It holds the bottom drain portion to the top. It leaks! As it was design to do clearly. Starcraft probably pocketed $2 extra dollars using that crappy part.

expeditionportal.com

I admit it’s frightening some of the junk that gets turned out. Its no different in the UK/Europe. Even some of the previously good German brands are shoddy these days. My expectations are low and I expect to do repairs along the way.

 

[Ozarker]

If I were you, I'd wait until I was ready to come over here to the States, check out Craig's List, find a newer rig for sale near your port. Arrange to buy a used unit/trailer/truck then buy it, use it and when you're done with it, sell it, for not much less than you paid for it.

 

[Alloy]

I admit it’s frightening some of the junk that gets turned out. Its no different in the UK/Europe. Even some of the previously good German brands are shoddy these days. My expectations are low and I expect to do repairs along the way.

There's no reason to do repairs. I'll say 80% (20% of the stuff you can't see) of getting a bad trailer is a bad PDI. Too many new time buyers think buying a RV is the same as buying a car/truck.

There are PDI and how to videos online.

My first advice to anyone buying a RV is to never pay for it until the PDI is done and all the issues are dealt with. If the dealer wants payment be fore starting repairs then negotiate a minimum amount. When a dealer wants $$ you'r first in line. Once you've paid you're last in line and the game of timing (dealer takes months do a repair) out the warranty starts.