Salem Hemisphere HL 26BHHL - Advice?

[Zarazen]

Hi everyone, I'm on such a painful journey trying to decide on what to buy.

Tow vehicle is a 2021 F150 Hybrid with 11k tow capacity. Verified by CAT scales I have 1170lbs payload available just for the trailer (NOT TOTAL OVERALL). This means a 9000lb GVWR trailer is conventionally the max I should go with.

The 26BHHL is 9690lb GVWR and 33ft 5". TOO LONG I hear you say. TOO HEAVY! But wait, the CCC is a whopping 3000lb which is pure madness, if anything an indicator of it being built on a better frame than it needs? Also it's actually only 6700lbs dry (and that's INCLUDING LP gas). If I was buying brand new I might not buy this for fear of it not being nice to tow and then wanting to switch and losing a lot of money.

BUT I found a used one only 10 months old, so nearly new and can get it for $31k. At that price and being used I'm thinking, how can I lose - either it tows great and I got a bargain or it's not so great and I can trade it in without loosing much or even anything on it.

My wife and I really like the trailer overall and layout wise we like it more than the Grand Designs even which surprised us. What are peoples thoughts on Salem trailers, are they terrible? Can't seem to find much on them online but looking at it I felt like the build quality and fit and finish was overall very good.

Thanks in advance!

[glen1971]

FWIW, we've got a 2020 26bhhl and love it! We had a few minor warranty issues that the dealer was on top of getting fixed. None of them were a show stopper either. We love the floor plan and storage in it! The only thing we found, compared to our last trailer, on cooler mornings <40F, the floor is a bit cool, as it is aluminum framed. But nothing that the fireplace didn't fix, lol.. We'd recommend it.

[Zarazen]

I was just on your profile trying to follow your journey! haha

Glad to hear you still love it. Did you ever tow with an F150? I keep hearing people saying that anything over 30ft is horrendous but can't really quantify if that's true or not. My truck is a 4WD weighing in at 6150lbs fully loaded and has 570lb ft of torque, it's no lightweight 2WD from 1999.

We have been comparing it with a 2800BH from Grand Design but thats $39k with less cargo space and heavier dry weight. My theory was at least with the hemisphere (with it being 2nd hand) it's so much lower in cost that if we hate the experience it won't break the bank to switch it out.

Do you mind me asking how much you paid for yours? It seems like in 2020 they were selling for under 30k brand new but that seems to be far lower than what they are selling for in 2021. NADA guide says 35k is a good price.

[glen1971]

Originally Posted by Zarazen

I was just on your profile trying to follow your journey! haha

Glad to hear you still love it. Did you ever tow with an F150? I keep hearing people saying that anything over 30ft is horrendous but can't really quantify if that's true or not. My truck is a 4WD weighing in at 6150lbs fully loaded and has 570lb ft of torque, it's no lightweight 2WD from 1999.

We have been comparing it with a 2800BH from Grand Design but thats $39k with less cargo space and heavier dry weight. My theory was at least with the hemisphere (with it being 2nd hand) it's so much lower in cost that if we hate the experience it won't break the bank to switch it out.

Do you mind me asking how much you paid for yours? It seems like in 2020 they were selling for under 30k brand new but that seems to be far lower than what they are selling for in 2021. NADA guide says 35k is a good price.

No I never tried it with a half ton. We traded our half ton off before we bought this trailer, as we knew we'd be touching on overloaded as it was with adding kayaks, generator, firewood, etc.

We bought ours last July, and I believe it was around $40K CDN. I'd have to look closer when we get home.

[Zarazen]

Yea thats always the concern right. I've been crunching numbers and I think I should be fairly comfortable with it, in fact it's one thing I liked about it versus GD Imagine because it has so much rear storage which makes tongue weight manipulation much more straightforward.

Do you have any idea what yours weighs fully loaded up and/or what your tongue weight is?

[Mad_River]

We have a 2019 Hemisphere GLX 314BUD with 8354lb UVW and 1566lb CCC. I had a 2018 F-150 3.5L Ecoboost which theoretically could tow it. What I found out was the 960lb hitch weight was actually 1200lb when loaded (I weighed the tongue myself on a scale). I have a 1200lb Husky Centerline WDH, but even fully adjusted to the max my rear axle was overloaded by 400lbs with my family and crap in the truck/trailer. My trailer is bigger and slightly heavier at 39ft length, but keep the tongue weight in mind. I white knuckled every trip with bad sway until I swapped to a 3/4 ton Ram. The Ford pulled the weight just fine, but sway was a real issue even after I added airbags and LT tires. You don’t want to save some $$$ on a trailer only to spend tens of thousands on a new truck.

[Mad_River]

WRT the Hemisphere /Forest River brand the only issues we have had with the trailer is the freshwater tank had a crack, it had the defective Dometic 300 toilets (and associated stench), and its brakes had an intermittent continuity issue (both trucks showed the brakes cutting out) that the dealer could never find, but eventually it went away. We love the trailer and features.

[FL camper]

We have the 273 glx which I only made one trip with the f150. On the way to the Keys wee we’re already looking for a bigger truck. Sway and light wind made for a white knuckle trip. Came home and bought f350. Glad I had f350 for the next trip because we blew a tire and only felt a slight wobble. Don’t know if we would still be around if that tire would’ve blown with the f150

[{Tpc}]

Everything you have said about length and weight in your first post is correct. The f150 is going to pull it just fine, but your going to find yourself over payload very quickly IMO, and if you have the 5.5 short bed, the length is going to lend to the tail wagging the dog so to speak.

I have the 25rbhl and it’s 31 ft. I also have a f150 with the 5.5 ft box and the v8 engine. It had no trouble pulling it, but I wouldn’t want a longer, heavier trailer behind it.

If you pack it right you can get the tongue weight down though, but you probably want that weight and it’s more than the f150 will want to take. Do you have max tow or the hdpp?

Mine comes in at 875 measured on the tongue and that’s with 2 30 gal propane bottles (not sure why they didn’t put 20 gal ones on it, dealers choice i guess lol) and 2 12v batteries (second one to compensate for the 12vdc only fridge). But I have taken all the weight I can out of the pass through and we pack light to begin with.

Our heaviest item is the black stone grill which is resides in the pantry closet inside.

I’d like to have a longer wheelbase, more payload and higher weight ratings even though I might not need it.

[GolfingDave]

Originally Posted by Zarazen

Hi everyone, I'm on such a painful journey trying to decide on what to buy.

Tow vehicle is a 2021 F150 Hybrid with 11k tow capacity. Verified by CAT scales I have 1170lbs payload available just for the trailer (NOT TOTAL OVERALL). This means a 9000lb GVWR trailer is conventionally the max I should go with.

The 26BHHL is 9690lb GVWR and 33ft 5". TOO LONG I hear you say. TOO HEAVY! But wait, the CCC is a whopping 3000lb which is pure madness, if anything an indicator of it being built on a better frame than it needs? Also it's actually only 6700lbs dry (and that's INCLUDING LP gas). If I was buying brand new I might not buy this for fear of it not being nice to tow and then wanting to switch and losing a lot of money.

BUT I found a used one only 10 months old, so nearly new and can get it for $31k. At that price and being used I'm thinking, how can I lose - either it tows great and I got a bargain or it's not so great and I can trade it in without loosing much or even anything on it.

My wife and I really like the trailer overall and layout wise we like it more than the Grand Designs even which surprised us. What are peoples thoughts on Salem trailers, are they terrible? Can't seem to find much on them online but looking at it I felt like the build quality and fit and finish was overall very good.

Thanks in advance!

Just curious how this combination worked out for you. Another discussion with the similar set up going on at present.