Surveyor Sport Models - 186, 187, 189

[pjg6161@hotmail.com]

Does anyone have experience, comments, etc. with the new 7 foot wide Sport models of the Surveyor. We are looking at he 189 model. It has the slide out on the side for the couch area.

New to the Surveyor line of trailers - anything to watch out for?

Looking forward to hearing your input - good and bad.

[Cyclicpitcher]

When my wife and I were shopping last year for a trailer we went about 5 weekends in a row driving within 200 miles of our home to see the various brands of travel trailers available. No one dealer has enough inventory of small travel trailers and a wide range of brands. You really have to travel to see enough to make an informed decision.

The build quality was critical to us. My wife couldn't connect to the difference in the metal in the frames and the rims and tires and cabinets and fixtures. Her thing was the thickness of fabrics and the foam cushions and the matress quality. Between the two of us we had a lot to consider.

I searched the web constantly, night after night comparing and printing floor plans and finding dealers and designing routes to go to as many dealers as possible in a single direction. One weekend we would drive south, another North and so on.

We found we liked Jaco, they had a small slide out like the surveyor line has. We found one at a dealer and once we visited the dealer and saw the unit, we were let down, the build quality was better than some trailers we had seen but the unit seemed very small inside and the idea of sliding out the couch was ok but what turned us off was having to set up a small folding table that would sit close to the kitchen service area. With the table setup the line to the bed and bunk would cause a traffic jam. (two kids,two adults)

I was aware of the 189 but there was not one to be seen within a days drive and the Jayco visit kinda killed our interest in that floor plan. I did find a SV210 and we drove to see that trailer and we really liked it. The build quality was better than Jayco and I was sold on the Surveyor line of trailers. The closed box frames, the cabinets were perfect and the fabrics and matresses are excellent on the surveyors. Unless you cannot tow the 210, I would recommend the 210 over the 189. I must say stretch your decision to the very edge of what you can tow and afford. You will not reget getting a bigger trailer. We ended up getting a SV235, we wanted to spend 10 grand, we ending up spending 20 grand, but we bought something that will serve us twice as long. Best of luck in finding your perfect trailer!

[IBXFJ]

We love our little trailer. Bought it 3 weeeks ago and already spent 5 nights out enjoying it. Its alittle tight for a family of four but suits us well. If you have any specific questions feel free to ask and I will try to answer with my limited knowledge.

[acadianbob]

Don't want to rain on anyone's parade. But, my wife and I looked at a 189; hopeful that it would be enough. There is just the 2 of us and we decided that, like cyclicpitcher, the table would be intrusive and a pain; even with a slideout. But it is a nice unit. And only you can decide if it works for you. And it may be a better match for your Tow Vehicle.