Thinking about a new TT, a few questions

[TheDiGs]

So, a friend of a friend has been living in our 2004 WW for about 18 months. Apparently water was left in the lines (not the guy's fault, our son lived in the TT for a couple years and was told not to use water in it, but apparently did) and supposedly something leaked, and the water pump is bad. (Sorry for sounding vague, dude is out of state and I can't get the whole story, sigh.) So I was going to buy a new pump and he was going to install it. Never happened, I don't know if he replaced it on his own or not. He told us the bed was molding (wtf, there's like no humidity here!)...my husband told him to leave it in there and we'd deal with it, but he told me he was going to replace it. Needless to say, there's a bed missing from my TT right now. My tires are all low (they're also the original tires, so they're 11 years old), apparently he towed it like that (through the campground, but still!). There's some black flexible pipe in the storage compartment that I have no idea where it came from.

ANYWAY, between tires and maybe rims, a new bed, maintenance that has never been done and supposedly needs to be done (per CW, I'm trying to find another service place)...wheel bearing grease, brakes, and an inspection to make sure everything is in usable shape (gas, electric, water, etc)....I'm thinking holy crap, this is a small fortune, maybe I should just buy a new TT and trade this one in. (Normally I would not say that, but we accidentally bought this TT back in '09, before that we had a pop-up, and now we know VERY VERY well that we need side slides, not a rear slide. We hardly ever camp because we hate how small it is with so many of us in there.)

So, my ???

TV is 2009 Chevy Silverado 2500HD, Crew Cab, gas, standard bed, and I cannot seem to find the towing capacity anywhere. I found some info on Car and Driver and it looks like maybe 9800lbs max trailer weight with 1470 on the tongue.

1. Any recommendations on a TT? Like which models? I'd like as cheap as possible, but I do have some "needs." MUST have at least one side slide, I'd prefer it have a dozen side slides... Has to be a bunkhouse, but I'm a bit concerned about weights, I have two teens that are 125-150ish, and then I have a 5 yr old who can't stay on a mattress on the floor, there's no way he can go on a top bunk. Worst case, I'll put him on the couch, but I'm thinking I need something other than just a single set of bunks. Prefer to be around 27-31ft, maybe around 8000lbs GVWR? Maybe a little higher? Not sure if I should trust what I found on the TV. Hubby thinks he wants an outside kitchen, I don't know what all the bells and whistles are these days, but I wouldn't mind some electric niceties (jacks, etc) Don't care about TV/radio etc. Basically, I'm looking for recommendations if you've bought a BH recently on what you like, etc.

2. Thoughts on best places to finance? I went ahead and sent an app to Southeast Financial, any other good lenders? I use USAA and Navy Fed for my banks, but they want like a complete deal done before they'll run financing, no pre-approvals. (Actually I'm not sure I've talked to USAA about it, but Navy said no pre-approvals for RV loans, wth) I have no idea where I'm buying at this point. Have only looked at CW and I DO NOT want to buy there......BUT, that said, we're moving to Virginia in 2 months, does CW do service after the sale, or can I go to any authorized FR service dept? (Sorry for dumb ?, we bought our 2004 used)

3. Any recommendations on good dealers within say 500 miles of Denver/Colorado Springs? I think I want to stay with FR, other than OUR mistake with the rear slide, we have been happy with our TT and FR went above and beyond with sending me info about it when I bought it.

4. How do you determine value of your old TT to either trade it in or sell it privately? If we decide to buy new, I think I'll put the '04 up for sale right away and if it doesn't sell in a few weeks, then do it as a trade in?

5. Any advice on what to offer when dickering? Is there a % rule of thumb or anything? My TV is the only vehicle I have purchased new, but there was no dickering. Told the salesman over the phone he had one chance to give me a price I wanted, if I liked it, I would be there to pick up the truck in 20 min, if I didn't, he'd never hear from me again. He called me back with a great price, so I bought it. USAA kinda flipped out when I told them the price for the check, lady said that was the first time she'd seen someone have equity from the get-go.

Sorry so long and for the silly questions!

[sharkbate]

We bought a Rockwood 8327ss. 3 dedicated bunks, 2 up 1down. 250 lb weight limit on them I think. 4 slides. No outside kitchen but outside fridge and gas hookup for grill.

[Sallen80]

We tried to keep it cheap as well. Went with a 30 ft avenger. Love it so far its a quad bunk touring edition. perfect family unit

[KMP44]

There are tons of choices on entry level (i.e. relatively low cost) travel trailers. Maybe find a large dealer lot or rv show to browse some possibilities.


As for the current trailer, I wouldn't put any money into it or try to trade it. No dealer is going to want to give you much on a fixer-upper. This is CL sale - make any fixes you can do yourself then describe it honestly and get a cash deal as-is where is. You an see other listings (that actually sell) to get a feel for how much you can get.


Then go find a more suitable trailer (and don't let anybody live in it)

[Razorbackfan]

I just bought mine on a preapproved loan from USAA. They gave me a total amount I was approved for then I had to send in a deal sheet to have a check cut. So not a typical preapproved like I get with vehicles from Navy Fed. Takes an extra day or so but worth it.
I'm sure there are some good dealers out there. All the ones I dealt with were either idiots, or just wanted to make a sale. This includes some camping worlds.