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Old 06-21-2014, 05:31 PM   #1
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After 2 months of searching we got a Salem Lite 261BH

Boy searching for a travel trailer was much more difficult then I anticipated. Our first camper was a 2003 Coleman Westlake PUP we bought from a good friend. Looking for a TT and dealing with too many shady dealers to count, was almost more than my husband could bare and many times suggested we just stick with the PUP. We were on a very tight budget (under $18,000) and after a disaster with a used one (they found bad hidden water damage during PDI) and we had searched it very throughly and never saw it. Luckily they did before we bought. This made us leery of buying a used one so we went for new. We know the Salem Lite are more budget units but I feel good about their warranty and the amount we paid and the floor plan is exactly what we set out looking for. We already have 3 trips planned this summer including a 10 day trip to Yellowstone.

Happy Camping!!

And any advice to first time owners of a TT would be greatly appreciated!
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Old 06-21-2014, 05:48 PM   #2
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Welcome from Madison, Alabama. My advice is to go camping and have fun
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Old 06-21-2014, 05:51 PM   #3
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Very nice floorplan! What are you towing with? Make sure you have a good weight distribution hitch.
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Old 06-21-2014, 06:16 PM   #4
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We are towing with a Chevy Silverado.
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Old 06-21-2014, 07:25 PM   #5
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We're also first time TT owners & before our first trip I printed-out several checklists to follow before leaving the house (search for checklists on the forums...). We probably brought too much food along & too many tools, but we had everything we needed for our first 8 nights camping...

Although I am new to camping, I have a CDL & have towed commercial trailers, etc. One of the most important things to remember is hitching/unhitching your TT correctly, especially since you (should) likely have sway control bars, etc. Unlike the level concrete at the dealership, many campsites slope & therefore you want to be especially safe so that your TT or TV does not roll. I kept our TT connected to the TV by the safety chains until I had our wheel chocks in place, everything was level, AND I had the additional X-Chocks in place (these lock between the tires so that they cannot roll...). I also kept the kids far-away & gave my DW clear instructions not to walk between the TT & TV.

Although I was very safe, I still made mistakes - like forgetting to fill-up the freshwater tank before setting-up the TT at our first campground without a water hookup. I also had to take an unplanned detour around a low bridge because I forgot to measure my TT height before leaving...

Just remember to be safe, have fun, and don't sweat the small stuff. You're going to forget something and/or something will eventually go wrong but don't let it ruin your vacation. Just deal with the problem, move on, and enjoy camping. Also, don't forget to let other campers know you are new at this - I have found the camping community to be very pleasant & helpful - just like the camping forums...
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Old 06-22-2014, 12:35 AM   #6
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Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new Salem Lite! You check into the 2nd year warranty from FR for a low price. Let us know and we will share information about it as most dealers don't usually inform customers about it.

My Salem Cruise Lite is an entry level trailer which has fit my needs pretty well. So far it has held up pretty nicely too - I get lots of compliments about it looking newer than an 2011.

There's a lot of advice we can suggest. I do recommend that you also learn to tow the trailer just in case it becomes necessary. Besides emergency reasons it would allow you a little freedom in case you need to move it. Your experience could be as simple as driving it around the block in your neighborhood. I wasn't sure what to expect when I first tow my TT but then I had little choice being a solo RVer.

My next suggestion is for you to learn how to set up and break camp. It doesn't need to all at once but maybe learn one task on a trip and then on the next trip swap the previous task for a new one. Having some knowledge and experience can come in handy in case down the road.

Best advice is not to sweat the small stuff. There's little that you cannot recover from and later in time you will have some great campfire stories to share.

Happy camping!
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