Question Looking for Feedback on These Travel Trailers

[Altazi]

Hello All,
I am looking at purchasing my first travel trailer, and the candidates include:
- Coachmen Apex Nano 213RDS
- Forest River Flagstaff Micro-Lite 22FBS
- Forest River Ibex 20BHS
- Forest River Rockwood Mini-Lite 2205S (virtually identical to the Flagstaff 22FBS)
- Forest River Surveyor Legend 202RBLE
- Lance Travel Trailer 1995
- Keystone Hideout 202RD
- Keystone Premier 19FBPR

If any of you have one if these units, please let me know what you think about it - pros, cons, any helpful comments would be appreciated.

Also, I would like to know if these units have a native 30A or 50A shore power connection.

Thanks in advance!

Altazi

 

[Old Bubblehead]

That's a pretty big list, have you gone looking at RV's yet or just searching floor plans? I'd recommend you kick a few tires and get a better feeling of what you really like or don't like. Most start with a list of must haves, nice to haves, and can live without. Usually, when you get into the rigs you get a feel for space and utility that helps you adjust your lists. From there really specific questions can be asked of current owners.

Floor plan is key, if you can't live comfortably in it a great price is a waste.
After that quality, condition, amenities etc. all come into play.

Best of luck..

 

[Altazi]

That's a pretty big list, have you gone looking at RV's yet or just searching floor plans? I'd recommend you kick a few tires and get a better feeling of what you really like or don't like. Most start with a list of must haves, nice to haves, and can live without. Usually, when you get into the rigs you get a feel for space and utility that helps you adjust your lists. From there really specific questions can be asked of current owners.

Floor plan is key, if you can't live comfortably in it a great price is a waste.
After that quality, condition, amenities etc. all come into play.

Best of luck..

This is good advice, thank you, Sadly, I haven't been able to locate any of these trailers at any local dealers. Inventory seems to be low at the moment. Online research is about all that is available.

After what I have read about trailer tires, I would be afraid to kick any of them,

 

[Old Bubblehead]

Definitely a sellers market. Your best opportunity could be the big RV shows Like Hershey September 15-19 or Tampa in January. there will be plenty to view and walk through.

 

[91CavGT]

Yes, inventory is still tight.


My wife and I bought a new RV just last month. What we did is went to multiple RV dealers within a 3 hour drive of us to get a good idea of available inventory. We made a list of all the ones that we liked the best and ranked the top 3 that we liked the best. The RV that we bought ended up being one that we thought wouldn’t work when we were researching them online. Most of them are a LOT different in person.

 

[Altazi]

Definitely a sellers market. Your best opportunity could be the big RV shows Like Hershey September 15-19 or Tampa in January. there will be plenty to view and walk through.

No doubt a good idea, except that I am in Oregon. Our local RV show was canceled due to COVID.

 

[FLTim]

Hello All,
I am looking at purchasing my first travel trailer, and the candidates include:
- Coachmen Apex Nano 213RDS
- Forest River Flagstaff Micro-Lite 22FBS
- Forest River Ibex 20BHS
- Forest River Rockwood Mini-Lite 2205S (virtually identical to the Flagstaff 22FBS)
- Forest River Surveyor Legend 202RBLE
- Lance Travel Trailer 1995
- Keystone Hideout 202RD
- Keystone Premier 19FBPR

If any of you have one if these units, please let me know what you think about it - pros, cons, any helpful comments would be appreciated.

Also, I would like to know if these units have a native 30A or 50A shore power connection.

Thanks in advance!

Altazi

Hi,
We owned a 2021 Rockwood Minilite 2205S. We ordered it last April, took Delivery in June. Ordered 190 Watt Solar and Inverter for dry camping. Spent over 50 nights in it. Loved it, just wanted more space., so bought a class A Motorhome. Highly recommend the Rockwood Minilite 2205S.

 

[Voyageurs]

They have nanos at our local dealer. 30 amp. Let me know if you need pictures as I’ll be by that way on Tuesday.

 

[Altazi]

Thank you to all who replied. It appears that this size & type of travel trailer has a 30A service.

I also learned that the overall length or exterior length measurements are from the rear bumper to the hitch, and do NOT include rear bike racks, spare tires, etc. This kicked the Surveyor off of my list, which was unfortunate as i liked that trailer.

 

[Altazi]

As I look at the Rockwood Mini-Lite 2205S, I see that it is available with a number of options. I would guess that these options would apply to just about any trailer we are looking at. Perhaps you all could comment on the choices?

1. Gas-electric or 12V electric-only refrigerator? We won’t be doing any boondocking, so the availability of electricity shouldn’t be an issue. Also, my truck doubles as a 7.2kW generator.

2. Manual or power stabilization jacks?

3. Thermopane windows ($653 option) or regular windows? I don’t expect to be out in freezing cold weather. Under what conditions would the thermopane window justify their cost?

4. The 2205S comes with one 190W rooftop solar panel and a 1kW inverter. Is the second rooftop panel worth the cost ($450)?

5. Small slide topper (&290) - yes or no?

Also, the total price for the 2205S is coming in north of $40k (!) what kind of negotiations are possible on this?

Thanks in advance for your kind assistance!

Altazi

 

[Rmacdo]

Depending on your mobility I would recomend power stabilizing.
Thermo pane windows are worth the cost for cold and hot temps.
Definite yes on slide Topper It protects the roof of the slide and gives some measure of protection from the sun.
As far as the extra solar no if your not going to be boondocks g.
In this market negotiating price is hard but you should always try.
Happy camping.

 

[FLTim]

As I look at the Rockwood Mini-Lite 2205S, I see that it is available with a number of options. I would guess that these options would apply to just about any trailer we are looking at. Perhaps you all could comment on the choices?

1. Gas-electric or 12V electric-only refrigerator? We won’t be doing any boondocking, so the availability of electricity shouldn’t be an issue. Also, my truck doubles as a 7.2kW generator.

2. Manual or power stabilization jacks?

3. Thermopane windows ($653 option) or regular windows? I don’t expect to be out in freezing cold weather. Under what conditions would the thermopane window justify their cost?

4. The 2205S comes with one 190W rooftop solar panel and a 1kW inverter. Is the second rooftop panel worth the cost ($450)?

5. Small slide topper (&290) - yes or no?

Also, the total price for the 2205S is coming in north of $40k (!) what kind of negotiations are possible on this?

Thanks in advance for your kind assistance!

Altazi

Hi, we went with 1 solar panel, 1200 watt inverter, power jacks and slide cover and thermal windows. We bought ours from RV ONE in Tampa , Fl. We were very pleased with the dealer. It listed over $40,000 and they sold it to us for around $26,000.00 Factory order of course.

 

[Noreaster]

Lance stands out on that list, The rest are on par with each other but of course Lance cost more.

 

[Voyageurs]

The 12 volt fridge would be a no brainer for us. But, you should have a second solar panel and battery if you go that route.

Dual pane windows help keep out the cold a bit, but the biggest thing they do is quiet down the interiour....a lot.

 

[Rmacdo]

Congrats on your purchase. Have a wonderful time in your new home.

 

[Bob K4TAX]

Hello All,
I am looking at purchasing my first travel trailer, and the candidates include:
- Coachmen Apex Nano 213RDS
- Forest River Flagstaff Micro-Lite 22FBS
- Forest River Ibex 20BHS
- Forest River Rockwood Mini-Lite 2205S (virtually identical to the Flagstaff 22FBS)
- Forest River Surveyor Legend 202RBLE
- Lance Travel Trailer 1995
- Keystone Hideout 202RD
- Keystone Premier 19FBPR

If any of you have one if these units, please let me know what you think about it - pros, cons, any helpful comments would be appreciated.

Also, I would like to know if these units have a native 30A or 50A shore power connection.

Thanks in advance!

Altazi

We have a Forest River Wildwood XL, 2016 model, being a 253 RLXL. From experience, I'd say most of the XL's or MicroLite units are more suitable for only on-road travel and campground usage. For off-road usage, I don't think they are adequately built structurally. To get the "lite" feature I view some structural materials and methods that must be omitted.

Most trailers have 30A provisions unless one gets to the larger units having dual AC units and other power-demanding options that do require 50A service.

As to the length of the units, different companies have ways of presenting theirs as larger. Ours is a 253, whatever that means, but the physical measurements from bumper to ball hitch is 30' 6". So there is about 3 ft upfront plus 1 ft in the rear, not including the spare tire mounting that is "outside of the box. So is it a 25', or a 27', or a 30'? It's all of those.

Make a list of; (a) must have, (b) would like, (c) don't want/need. Also, consider the tow vehicle in terms of the towing ability in weight. Be conservative on the numbers and don't push to near max. You will struggle going uphill and then wonder how you'll get it stopped going downhill. That's a nail-biter!