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Bunkhouse TT recommendations?

Creep0321

Creep0321

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Very new to the TT/Camper world. Rented an AmeriLite 255bh this past week. Overall it worked out pretty good for my family, wife, 3 young kids and a dog. We rented it near our destination, so we had about 7 hours of driving, with just the bed full of our stuff, and then about 45 minutes, mixed back roads and interstate (mostly flat). No issues towing at all, no WDH, or airbags, or hellwig sway bar. (All three I plan on purchasing with or before we buy a trailer). I’ve been looking at TT and came up with a few that seem to fit what we are looking for:
Bullet ultralight 250BHS
Passport 2401BH
Outback 244UBH
Freedom express ultra lite 257BHS

So if anyone has any recommendations on similar style/floor plans, builders or models to avoid, or specific things to look for I would appreciate it for sure. Same goes for a WDH. Thanks in advance all.
 
I was dead set on the Freedom express 257BHS for a while but we ended up buying a Starcraft 241BH because the main kitchen area just had way more open space. Grand Design also has an Imagine 2400BH that is the same floor plan as the Starcraft (had I known this at the time I probably would've bought that one lol). I will have 3 kids in a few weeks and also have a dog. The Starcraft we have does seem pretty nice and it has pretty much anything I'll ever need in a trailer but I've just heard that the Grand Designs have better quality, can't really speak on it myself.
 
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Couple years back I had a 24' Heartland Northtrail and really liked it, but it was a tad small once my girls became teenagers. We 'upgraded' to a Keystone Passport 2810BH. I quote upgrade because even though the floorplan was great, and the bunks bigger, it wasn't nearly as well made as the Heartland.
 
Stay away from Jayco…. Had nothing but problems with mine. Build quality was terrible and service department where I bought it was always weeks out for an appointment.
 
We have a Jayco 28BHS. It's about 1,000 lbs heavier than the ones you are looking at... I keep thinking about a shorter and lighter trailer, but not don't see the weight savings being enough to justify the switch. We've now done >12K miles on the trailer and haven't had any serious issues (crossing fingers).

I did change hitches though. I started with a Fastway e2 1000 lbs and it was undersized -- poor sway control (from wind push v. loading) and not enough spring to distribute weight effectively. With these long trailers with the wheels set back a bit, there's quite a lot of tongue weight, usually 12%. So your 6K trailer with 1K of loading and full propane etc. is going to be 800-900 lbs on the tongue. My trailer is usually 1000-1100 which is about at spec limit for the 5th gen. I switched to an Equalizer 4 point 14000/1400 lb WDH and it is a far superior towing experience.
 
I would avoid anything that is owned by Thor or Forest River, bad CS. Tough to get 3rd party authorized repairs when under warranty.

I've been very happy with the CS, fit and finish of our 2018 Grand Design. Had a few recalls authorized for local shop instead of dealer and they were easy to work with and responsive. They seem to support using mobile techs too if you pay the call out fees.

Can't help on a TT layout, we're midrange 5th wheel owners.
 
We have a Palomino Solaire 240bhs(new version is 243bhs). We love it has been problem free. We really liked the Grand Design 240bh also. Went with the Solaire because it was available and didn't have to wait for it.
 
Creep0321 said:
Well went to Lazydays rv in Nashville today, they had a 22’ Grand Designs 2400BH on discount with the 23s coming out. Put the down payment on it and pick it up the 26th.
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Nice! We're supposed to pick ours up tomorrow, we'll see if it happens haha.
 
I would really recommend going used. 2020 or even 2019 and older. There are so many quality issues with every brand and every price point for the last two years.
 
Belvedere said:
I would really recommend going used. 2020 or even 2019 and older. There are so many quality issues with every brand and every price point for the last two years.
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The closest used 2400BH I could find was 6+ hours away via a private seller. Thoughts?
 
Creep0321 said:
The closest used 2400BH I could find was 6+ hours away via a private seller. Thoughts?
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That does make things difficult. If you buy new, I highly recommend you take plenty of time during a walk through to check everything and make them show you how and that everything works properly. Problem is though many don't find the issues till they're driving away and the siding bubbles, or the roof leaks, or interior panels pop out or shelves fall, etc, etc...
 
Belvedere said:
That does make things difficult. If you buy new, I highly recommend you take plenty of time during a walk through to check everything and make them show you how and that everything works properly. Problem is though many don't find the issues till they're driving away and the siding bubbles, or the roof leaks, or interior panels pop out or shelves fall, etc, etc...
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I recently had a bad experience buying a new build home. So I’m addition to the dealer walk through/inspection on 26 Aug. I hired a third party RV inspector that is going to the dealership with me on the 22nd to do an inspection. Trying to be cautious.
 
Bigbags85 said:
We went with the GD 2400BH the second time around. Got it in the driveway without anyone rear ending us this time!
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Check the date of manufacture for the slide itself with the slide in peel back the seal on either side and there should be a sticker. Check out this link. Also could you tell me the width of the trailer? I’m building a gate for it before I pick it up ha.

 
Creep0321 said:
Check the date of manufacture for the slide itself with the slide in peel back the seal on either side and there should be a sticker. Check out this link. Also could you tell me the width of the trailer? I’m building a gate for it before I pick it up ha.

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Thanks for the heads up and I'll set a reminder to measure the width tomorrow morning (I work nights).
 
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