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Old 03-29-2011, 10:49 AM   #1
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Talking New to forum from Florida

Hello everyone.

Since we are considering buying a Surveyor, we thought it would be a great idea to learn from Surveyor owners! Would love feedback on pros/cons with it.

Do they hold their value? We ask because when we purchased a new 2008 Trailmanor we were told they hold their value. Now 2 1/2 years later we were told by the SAME dealer that it was worth nearly 40% less (retail), and less than half for trade-in. Yikes!

We've been looking at light weights since we'll be towing with a Sequoia. Trailmanor is great but we're looking for a little more interior room, and something we don't have to open (we're getting to be older spring chickens).

We thank you in advance and any info available is very, very much appreciated!
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Old 03-29-2011, 11:14 AM   #2
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You believed your dealer? Wow you need this site...You cannot believe a salesman. Just kidding, welcome to the forum. As far as retaining value ($) it starts to loose $ the minute you sign the papers, The value is the time you use it with friends and family and the place you get to go and things you get to do. I cannot help with the Surveyor, we have a Sunseeker. Anyway someone will pop on here and help yoo.
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Old 03-29-2011, 11:21 AM   #3
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Thanks! btw... love the photo... economy RV?
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Old 03-29-2011, 12:08 PM   #4
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Used to have a Grand Surveyor. Nice. No problems with it. Depreciated about as much as anything else.

What Sequoia are you driving?
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Old 03-29-2011, 01:59 PM   #5
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Sell your rv outright

We had a 1999 26' Dutchmen TT that was purchased new. Talked to dealer about trading it in. Dealer said it is not worth anything so we offer you top dollar of $1900.00 on trade in. The TT was in excellent shape, everything worked, new tires, battery, Serta mattress,no TV. Well, you be the salesman and sell your RV yourself on Craigslist. I posted mine on Craigslist, but before I could sell it word of mouth sold it for $6,000.00 Cash. Before I could remove the Craigslisting, my phone was ringing off the hook !

Hope you do not believe the salesman ?
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Old 03-29-2011, 02:54 PM   #6
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Guess it depends on your trade in. We got 6k more on trade-in than we paid for our 2008 Edgewater last year. (of course it's all smoke and mirrors anyway given the markup on new units)
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Old 03-29-2011, 07:09 PM   #7
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to the forum!
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Old 04-02-2011, 02:10 AM   #8
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Thanks for all the replies! We are excited about buying another TT. Love our TrailManor, but want a bit bigger and something we don't have to open & close.
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Old 04-02-2011, 02:12 AM   #9
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Originally Posted by Triguy View Post


Used to have a Grand Surveyor. Nice. No problems with it. Depreciated about as much as anything else.

What Sequoia are you driving?
We have a 2005 SL. Did you pull your GS with a Seq? We are looking at light weight TT's since we don't want to buy another TV.
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Old 04-02-2011, 02:17 AM   #10
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Originally Posted by DAISY BOYKIN View Post
We had a 1999 26' Dutchmen TT that was purchased new. Talked to dealer about trading it in. Dealer said it is not worth anything so we offer you top dollar of $1900.00 on trade in. The TT was in excellent shape, everything worked, new tires, battery, Serta mattress,no TV. Well, you be the salesman and sell your RV yourself on Craigslist. I posted mine on Craigslist, but before I could sell it word of mouth sold it for $6,000.00 Cash. Before I could remove the Craigslisting, my phone was ringing off the hook !

Hope you do not believe the salesman ?
Great idea... we are already working on selling it ourselves.
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Old 04-02-2011, 04:30 PM   #11
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Welcome to the forum from Southern Maryland!
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Old 04-02-2011, 04:42 PM   #12
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Old 04-02-2011, 05:54 PM   #13
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Originally Posted by keri67 View Post
We have a 2005 SL. Did you pull your GS with a Seq? We are looking at light weight TT's since we don't want to buy another TV.
No, the Sequoia wasn't around for most of the time with that TT. The primary TV then was a Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Have you narrowed down the list of Surveyors you are looking at?

Your Sequoia should have the 4.7L V8. If you are interested in some feedback, give us some specs for your truck, such as towing cap, GVWR and GCWR and maybe we can help.
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Old 04-02-2011, 06:16 PM   #14
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knowing you bought a TM, you probably paid close to MSRP, since they aren't cheap.
all RV depreciate once you drive it off the lot.
most of FR's products are well priced in the market, as opposed to other brands, like TM. so FR owners take less of a bath once they drive theirs off the lot.

plus, don't believe what the salesperson said. do your own research by using NADA as a place to start. then use Ebay, Craig's and RVTraderonline for pricing also.
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Old 04-04-2011, 07:32 PM   #15
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Talking 2005 Sequoia

Quote:
Originally Posted by Triguy View Post
No, the Sequoia wasn't around for most of the time with that TT. The primary TV then was a Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Have you narrowed down the list of Surveyors you are looking at?

Your Sequoia should have the 4.7L V8. If you are interested in some feedback, give us some specs for your truck, such as towing cap, GVWR and GCWR and maybe we can help.
Yes, we have the 4.7L V8 with towing capacity of 6500lbs. I read that you should tow a max of 80%, which makes our max 5200lbs.

We are looking at the Surveyor 280. Nice size, and dry wt is 4200.

Prices sure do vary, though! Dothan, AL has a 2011 for 30k MSRP, and Montgomery has same for 25k MSRP. Since we're new to the Forest River series, not sure what gives with that...
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Old 04-04-2011, 07:37 PM   #16
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Talking TrailManor

Quote:
Originally Posted by bikendan View Post
knowing you bought a TM, you probably paid close to MSRP, since they aren't cheap.
all RV depreciate once you drive it off the lot.
most of FR's products are well priced in the market, as opposed to other brands, like TM. so FR owners take less of a bath once they drive theirs off the lot.

plus, don't believe what the salesperson said. do your own research by using NADA as a place to start. then use Ebay, Craig's and RVTraderonline for pricing also.
Yes, you are right on with that! TM's are pricey because of unique design. Every campsite we go to has at least one couple who want to see inside, which we're happy to show. Really great for towing (2900lbs dry wt. - don't even feel it on the road ), but we want a bit more interior room now with kids & grandkids wanting to camp with us.
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Old 04-06-2011, 10:38 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by keri67 View Post
Yes, we have the 4.7L V8 with towing capacity of 6500lbs. I read that you should tow a max of 80%, which makes our max 5200lbs.

We are looking at the Surveyor 280. Nice size, and dry wt is 4200.
Hi Keri,


I think you are going to be over that 80% guide. The good news is you don't need to use it. Its a loose guideline. Really, all you need to do is make sure you are within your TV's GVWR, GCWR and axles ratings. If you are within those, but over the 80% guide, you are still OK.

Anyway.

I don't see the GVWR for the SP-280, but it appears to be around 7,000lbs adding together its dry weight plus CCC.

GVWR is a conservative, but safe, figure to use when calculating what you can tow. You could also work up from the dry weight of 4,172 plus 500lbs for batteries, gas and manufacturer and dealer options plus 1,000lbs estimate of your stuff.

That would give you a TT weighing in at 5,772; within your towing cap of 6500lbs, but not within the 80% guide. It shouldn't be a problem but you might feel it when towing in the mountains. Just go slower.

FYI - The tongue weight on this trailer weighing 5,772 will be somewhere around 750lbs. Add that TW to your family's weight plus any cargo carried in the truck and make sure its within the truck's payload number (Payload is either listed or its GVWR - the weight of the truck).

EDIT: Nice trailer by the way. I like that layout a lot.
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