Thinking about it!

[TheMays]

Good Evening all,

So yesterday on a whim, my wife and I decided to take a trip into Boston to the RV expo. I have been thinking about a toy hauler. My wife walked into a 31se and fell in love with it. (So much for my toy hauler dreams) But she is right in this will fit more of us, and is not as ostentatious as the haulers. A nice simple trailer.


So I wanted to take a minute to see what kind of luck anyone has had with the Freedom Express line.

To put you on the same page. We have had a 1983 Layton 35' camper for the last 5 years. There is nothing wrong with it, we love it with the exception that as the family grows and the kids bring home their SOs we keep gaining members. This allows for a little more interior living space when we all get together. We dry camp 90% of the time and live off of batteries and tanks.



Either way, we may soon be the proud owners of that show special. But we shall see.



Thanks for any information. And if any of you other Mass folks dont mind. Who do you insure your trailers through?

[Timex]

Originally Posted by TheMays

Good Evening all,

So yesterday on a whim, my wife and I decided to take a trip into Boston to the RV expo. I have been thinking about a toy hauler. My wife walked into a 31se and fell in love with it. (So much for my toy hauler dreams) But she is right in this will fit more of us, and is not as ostentatious as the haulers. A nice simple trailer.


So I wanted to take a minute to see what kind of luck anyone has had with the Freedom Express line.

To put you on the same page. We have had a 1983 Layton 35' camper for the last 5 years. There is nothing wrong with it, we love it with the exception that as the family grows and the kids bring home their SOs we keep gaining members. This allows for a little more interior living space when we all get together. We dry camp 90% of the time and live off of batteries and tanks.



Either way, we may soon be the proud owners of that show special. But we shall see.



Thanks for any information. And if any of you other Mass folks dont mind. Who do you insure your trailers through?

Campers don't use words like this!

[Flybob]

We have a 2015 Freedom Express 248rbs and love it. No major issues so far. Much of the layout the same. One suggestion, the stab jacks are mounted to plates welded to frame, but off center. Check yours and ask dealer to remount centered on frame. It improves the stability when set up. If unit does not have outside kitchen, I highly recommend especially with kids. Saves many trips in/out for drinks and snacks. The outside kitchen was a major selling point for us.

[TheMays]

This one does not. It is the show special it has an access door to the rear bunk and under bunk storage area. But the kids are all in there late teens or twenties. So that's not troublesome.

I did notice that the trailer was not as stable as I thought it could be but i sorta expected that to have been because thousands had been through it. I will check that out though thanks.

How does she tow? I am used to older heavier trailers that lay in nicely.

[Taranwanderer]

Originally Posted by Timex

Campers don't use words like this!

Especially not if they want to make friends here and get good advice. I don't consider my TH ostentatious, I just wanted to bring my bike (and my wife's) with us when we camp. And since we decided not to have kids, we have the (extra? Is any income really ever extra?) income to afford a camper that doesn't need a bunk house in the back to house a small army. It's all about choices, my friend--I make mine, you make yours, but don't call toy haulers (or, by extension, the people who own them) ostentatious--you don't get to make that judgement.

[TheMays]

Sorry if my opinion bothers you. You absolutely have the right to have whatever you want and can afford. Personally since I do dry camp most of the time and run off of battery only things like electric fireplaces, 4 or 5 televisions etc are pointless for the camping we do.

If they made one that was a little more function over form I would be all over it. If I were full timing it then it would be a different story as well.

Besides a 90k camper is out of my price range.

[Timex]

I didn't and still don't know what the word means!

If it's a cuss word, tell me more about it.

I don't have such an impressive vocabulary.

[ependydad]

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ostentatious

[TheMays]

Just means overkill essentially. Not a cuss or derogatory. But boy I have never camped with satellite TV and I light my fires outside.

The guy I was talking to was from the manufacturer. He looked at me like I had 4 heads when I told him that I wanted something plain. The only reason i want separate rooms is because my kids keep bringing girlfriends and friends with them when they come and I wanted a little privacy.

If you want to see what I would consider ostentatious take a look at grand design. Don't get me wrong it"s stunning. But damn. Where does the butler go and where the hell is the hot tub.

[Taranwanderer]

There are plenty of THs out there that are simple in form and function. What you're seeing at the shows are the cream of the crop, they're going to have all the bells and whistles that you may or may not need. One advantage of the TH is that, when the kids aren't along, you can bring your toys, and when they are along, the garage is a second bedroom. It's also nice to have that space as a "mud room" when it's raining out. All in all, you can get a nice TH for way less than 90k if you look around. I don't think I'd ever go back to a non-TH after having one.

[TheMays]

Believe me. I completely agree with thr TH thought. It by far is ky preferemce. Right now I have to put th re bike in the bed of thr truck when I take the camper. Taking it on and off is a pain in the ass though. 900lb biike is never much fun on a ramp.

I've been shopping ans am having a very hard time finding one that meets the needs and wants all at the same time.

Needs are.
Seperate master bedroom
Useable for an overnight stay with the slides IN
Bathroom not part of thr master bedroom
9' garage
Useable with the bikes in the garage.
Sleep 8 or more.

finding anything even close to that at a price pointt thay is comfortable is difficult. Then she of course has to like the layout.

When you get all of those together it becones the rolling palace thst we cant really use.

By all means if yiu know of something i would love to see it. I do like the 31se that she loves. But if I could get a sililar layout in a th at a close price point I would have some options


Thanks
G

[Taranwanderer]

8 people?!?! You need a cabin, not a camper! You need to tell some of those folks to get a tent!

That's going to be a tall order for a TH that can sleep that many people, that doesn't weigh 20k and cost 70k...

[TheMays]

I dont care about weight. Thsts not the concern. Truck will tow 26k. The kids do tent it a fsir amount but there are many stops that dont allow it.

Hell the tt that we are considerihg nownhas accomodations for 10. Inam perfectly cool with air matresses and floors when we get inundated like that they can be cozy and yes for the most part they are old enough for by their own rigs.

The work and plays are nice but do not have the separation that we are looking for, whay it boils down to is our camping needs and wants are different thsn most. We both remember the days of camping when you stuck 8 people in a pop up. The camper is where we store gear and sleep. Everything else is outside normally. We dont use televisions when camping. If the weaher goes South on us then we play cards or entertain ourselves. Believe me. I am not judgeing others ideas of camping. But we are a little more simple than that.

[Taranwanderer]

I wasn't a big fan of the W&P either--the slides were very shallow and, while it does have the large garage, to me it feels like a car hauler that they turned into a camper by adding a bed, bathroom, and kitchen--great for going to the races and bringing your stock car, not so great for family camping. We wanted a camper first that could haul the bikes, and that was also more comfortable inside. The W&Ps are super heavy, too. You don't mention what kind of truck you have, but many of the manufacturers' claims have to be taken with a grain of salt--they'll say, "this truck can tow 26k" but then there's that little fine print about "properly equipped." There's tons of threads on these forums about actual towing capacity (and payload, which usually winds up being the limiting factor, not towing capacity.) Also, if you're hauling a 900# bike in your bed, I imagine its a Harley or some other type of big bike--you'll want at least a 10' garage. My SG fits in my 10' garage with a little room to spare and being able to walk in front of it, but it would be a major squeeze to fit it if that were a 9' garage. Plus if it's in the bed of your truck, that 900# of payload that you're losing.

I know, searching for the model that fits all of your needs can be time consuming and tedious. Some people like the "hunt," I personally did not but that's just me. Fortunately the Internet is your friend and gives you the ability to view lots of different floor plans (and in many cases, "virtual tours") all from your iPad. Good luck!

[TheMays]

Truck id an f350 drw crewcab 4x4 v10. 26k is a bed hitch probably a gooseneck. I know a lot of people are confused about thr capacity. I also prefer to err on the sode of caution and normally stay under my weight fairly substantially.

The bike is a honda Valkyrie if I were to grab a th it would need to fit that amd a 76 wing. So we would be about 1500lbs of bike alone

I do wish therewas something in the middle of rolling palace and car trailer with toilet. Apparently a tough call.

[TheMays]

Wow I guess I really should look more closely when I reply from my phone or tablet. Good Grammar. I was starting to look like I wanted to be 14 again using txt spch.

So the SO and I are looking a little more. Although the 31se is a gorgeous trailer. I REALLY want a toy hauler.

Does anyone have one of the Freedom Express 301BLDS units? I found a very nice one in Ohio extremely reasonably priced.

Next question. Has anyone bought their unit from wholesalervclub?



Just a long way to run to Ohio to find out the guy is a jerk.


Thanks
G

[ferguson65]

Have you looked at any of the Puma Unleashed toyhaulers? Lower price point, still look nice, just not all the bells and whistles of a 90K unit. We ordered, and it just came in, a 351THSS. We are out the door, TTL under 33K. And its not stripped. Premier edition and all that fun stuff, just no genny.

I don't know how functional any of them are with the slides in. The 351 appears getting to the bathroom will be the issue. We also looked at the 356QLB, that you could get to the bathroom and fridge with it closed, but you had to go out the front door and in the back door. The 356 has the bathroom in the bedroom though, separated by a curtain-- not really private.

[Platokidd]

Originally Posted by TheMays

. I was starting to look like I wanted to be 14 again using txt spch.

hey , I use text to speech But then again I haven't grown up yet

[TheMays]

Originally Posted by ferguson65

Have you looked at any of the Puma Unleashed toyhaulers? Lower price point, still look nice, just not all the bells and whistles of a 90K unit. We ordered, and it just came in, a 351THSS. We are out the door, TTL under 33K. And its not stripped. Premier edition and all that fun stuff, just no genny.

I don't know how functional any of them are with the slides in. The 351 appears getting to the bathroom will be the issue. We also looked at the 356QLB, that you could get to the bathroom and fridge with it closed, but you had to go out the front door and in the back door. The 356 has the bathroom in the bedroom though, separated by a curtain-- not really private.

I actually have. I like the Puma. The problem I have with them is that I dont think you can use the camper with the slide in. If you stop at WalMart, or even a fair amount of truck stops and rest areas. You just dont have the room to open slides, nor are they appreciative of doing that.

We seem to stop at those places on a relatively regular basis.

I also cant find a dealer in my area. I really dont want to buy something that I cant see until I get there.



Congratulations on the trailer though. I know folks that have non TH Pumas and they love them.


G