Buying online

[Octopus Prime]

We got a quote from a popular RV wholesaler that is quite a distance from us. (We are in SE Texas; dealer has locations in Ohio or Indiana and in Florida.)

We asked for a price for the Flagstaff 25BHS, but got a quote for the Salem Cruise Lite 230 bhxl.

We looked at the Flagstaff earlier this week at a Houston-area dealer. We liked it a lot. We especially like the slide and the murphy bed. It has ample storage.
The Salem Cruise Lite has a similar floor plan, but I'm not liking the pictures I found online. One thing that concerns me is the glass inserts in the cabinets. It seems like these would eventually shatter while driving down the road.

Can someone comment on these two trailers? I know FR makes them both. I'm not sure if the differences I'm seeing are different quality packages or if it just happens to be different models.

[D W]

Originally Posted by Octopus Prime

We got a quote from a popular RV wholesaler that is quite a distance from us. (We are in SE Texas; dealer has locations in Ohio or Indiana and in Florida.)

We asked for a price for the Flagstaff 25BHS, but got a quote for the Salem Cruise Lite 230 bhxl.

We looked at the Flagstaff earlier this week at a Houston-area dealer. We liked it a lot. We especially like the slide and the murphy bed. It has ample storage.
The Salem Cruise Lite has a similar floor plan, but I'm not liking the pictures I found online. One thing that concerns me is the glass inserts in the cabinets. It seems like these would eventually shatter while driving down the road.

Can someone comment on these two trailers? I know FR makes them both. I'm not sure if the differences I'm seeing are different quality packages or if it just happens to be different models.

After a year, the glass inserts in our Salem cabinets are not an issue. Also, while they are roomy, we don't load them up like the cabinets at home.

[kleinz]

Our new 230BHXL should be ready in a couple weeks, although I won't be able to pick it up till early next month. Once I actually get it I can give you some comments.

The glass plates on the unit we saw in person seemed solid and well mounted - didn't strike me as shatter-prone. I suppose if they ever did I'd just find some simple cabinet doors to replace them. Our unit is actually a Wildwood - which we preferred over the Salem variant, mostly for aesthetics. Also has anyone else noticed the X-Lite's stoneguard (the front diamond plate) is substantially bigger than the Cruise Lite? It's actually higher than the top of the propane cover - not a big deal but I like the idea of a bit more shielding on the front.

I don't know where you got your quote, but while looking for our X-Lite I found a really sweet deal on a Cruise Lite (which I turned down for the reasons above - PM me if you want me to send you a link).

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Octopus Prime

Can someone comment on these two trailers? I know FR makes them both. I'm not sure if the differences I'm seeing are different quality packages or if it just happens to be different models.

The Salem is an entry level stick and tin trailer while the Flagstaff is a mid-level filon and aluminum frame trailer.
The Flagstaff will have many standard features that would be optional or not available for the Salem.

[velorandy]

Originally Posted by Octopus Prime

We got a quote from a popular RV wholesaler that is quite a distance from us. (We are in SE Texas; dealer has locations in Ohio or Indiana and in Florida.)

We asked for a price for the Flagstaff 25BHS, but got a quote for the Salem Cruise Lite 230 bhxl.

We looked at the Flagstaff earlier this week at a Houston-area dealer. We liked it a lot. We especially like the slide and the murphy bed. It has ample storage.
The Salem Cruise Lite has a similar floor plan, but I'm not liking the pictures I found online. One thing that concerns me is the glass inserts in the cabinets. It seems like these would eventually shatter while driving down the road.

Can someone comment on these two trailers? I know FR makes them both. I'm not sure if the differences I'm seeing are different quality packages or if it just happens to be different models.

I know nothing good or bad about the Flagstaff line, but we did look at a few Salem Cruise Lites before we decided on a Surveyor. We saw a lot of interior cost saving measures in the Salem Cruise Lite models, but with that said, they did cost considererably less than the Surveyor line.

[Octopus Prime]

Originally Posted by bikendan

The Salem is an entry level stick and tin trailer while the Flagstaff is a mid-level filon and aluminum frame trailer.
The Flagstaff will have many standard features that would be optional or not available for the Salem.

This probably explains it. The price we got from the wholesaler on the Cruise lite was close to 10,000 less than the price for the Flagstaff on my local dealer's lot. I was wondering (since I haven't seen the Cruise Lite in person) if this was an issue of quality and/or upgrades or if there was truly this much mark-up on trailers at this price point.

We are very, very new to this. We don't even plan to purchase for another 6-12 months (maybe longer if we need to wait), so we're learning everything we can now so that we don't get ripped off and/or get a unit that is not good.
(Also reading up so that we know how they work so we don't tear it up ourselves. lol)

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Octopus Prime

This probably explains it. The price we got from the wholesaler on the Cruise lite was close to 10,000 less than the price for the Flagstaff on my local dealer's lot. I was wondering (since I haven't seen the Cruise Lite in person) if this was an issue of quality and/or upgrades or if there was truly this much mark-up on trailers at this price point.

If you get a quote from RVDirect, on the Flagstaff or from RVW for the Rockwood twin, you'll see a much smaller price difference, than your local dealer's price.