Buying new 2018 Surveyor

[YvonneH]

Hello!
We are buying a 24 foot, 2018 Surveyor in a couple weeks. It has 2 slide outs, outside kitchen, etc....
My question is, we looked up reviews and a lot of people were disappointed and said not to buy it! I found this site, and am looking for feedback. Does anyone own one that can tell us good things about it? Thank you in advance!

[clarkbre]

Do you have a model number for us?

My gut is telling me it's probably a 247BHDS?

Honestly, I wouldn't trust the online "reviews". They are as good as the paper they're written on...And I mean that 100%

If you want real world experience, this is an ok place to look but also don't read into all the "I have a problem" threads. This is a forum of like minded owners of like products to help eachother. Very seldom is there a thread that says "Hey, everything's working great...just wanted you guys to know." We come here to help others solve issues.

Now...to a review:

My experience with a 24 foot Surveyor with 2 slides and an outdoor kitchen is good.

1. I liked how they are built and the superior features:
Surveyor Construction

Surveyor Exterior
2. The outdoor kitchen is awesome. To date, I don't think you can find another brand with a metal cabinet and actual BBQ. You want 2 more burners...add a Coleman stove.
3. They are well built trailers at a good value (not the cheape$t). My wife and I explored every brand out there and kept coming back to Surveyor. Did we pay more? Yes. Do we have regrets? No

After an 8 month long search for the "perfect" trailer, Surveyors were it. The features, build quality and pricing allowed us to buy an awesome trailer for only a couple thousand more than a much less brand.

In the 1 year and a day we've owned it, our family of 4 has spent 31 nights away from home, covered 3200 miles and are chomping at the bit for the next vacation. At no time have I regretted the purchase or ever felt the need to upgrade. I always tell people, "I paid a little more but bought my 2nd trailer first."

If you have any direct questions feel free to PM me or we can text or call.

[jeshoffstall]

I am going to generalize and say ALL RV manufactures are having issues...too much demand and cost cutting. However, after looking for a year at a variety of models, we felt Surveyor was the best quality in the price level of units we were looking at.

[Chief T]

Keep in mind "online reviewers" do so to complain and not praise. The number of complainers is quite disproportionate to praisers.

I looked at the online reviews for my TT and if I would've listed to them, I probably wouldn't have bought a TT.

My TT has been trouble free so far.

Safe and happy travels.

[RitaB]

My first 2 TT were Wildwood by Forest River. I now have a Surveyor 201rbs and love it. It has 1 slide, no outside kitchen, but I'm fine with that. I travel mostly solo. The one thing I would suggest is make sure you get a really good PDI, make a list of any problems found. If possible, don't close the sale until everything is fixed. I had wonderful dealers for the first 2 and this last I got from his best friend. I only had one problem found on my first trip and the dealer fixed it, even replaced the kitchen faucet with a one from Home Depot, because it would take weeks to get one from FR. So check everything.
Welcome to the family.

[MWR]

We have a 2018 245 BHSS and love it. If I were buying again I would go with the same unit. We have had no issues.

[Stovebolt]

Originally Posted by YvonneH

Hello!
We are buying a 24 foot, 2018 Surveyor in a couple weeks. It has 2 slide outs, outside kitchen, etc....
My question is, we looked up reviews and a lot of people were disappointed and said not to buy it! I found this site, and am looking for feedback. Does anyone own one that can tell us good things about it? Thank you in advance!

I'm on my 3rd Surveyor TT and I think they are as good as any other one out there.

[yakmeat123]

We just took our 2018 Surveyor 265 RLDS out for its second trip to put it through the test and besides a coupe very minor fine tune items , it performed like a charm. Ask me again in a year and I'll know more but I'm very happy with it.

[Ken Y]

Originally Posted by YvonneH

Hello!
We are buying a 24 foot, 2018 Surveyor in a couple weeks. It has 2 slide outs, outside kitchen, etc....
My question is, we looked up reviews and a lot of people were disappointed and said not to buy it! I found this site, and am looking for feedback. Does anyone own one that can tell us good things about it? Thank you in advance!

We have a 2013 Surveyor and are very happy with it. Very few issues, 24 ft. with 1 slide out.

[MWR]

We have had our trailer to Virginia last year and to Mt Airy NC this year all from S FL. We try use ours at least once a month. The only problems we have encountered is the 2016 F150 didn't handle the sway and mountains the way we wanted. We have taken care of with a 2018 F250 super duty 6.7. Can't wait to readjust the Equalizer 4 point.

[coachjeff1]

I have a 2016 265RLDS that we love. It was my parents for a short time and then gifted it to us last year. The only downside was the 2 rocking chairs were uncomfortable but fixed that with new. Great build with no other issues.

[yakmeat123]

I strongly suggest you get a Centerline system. Besides the up and down motion from inconsistencies in the road as well as the extra weight, I barely knew the trailer was back there. Little or no sway and a smooth ride.

[billydan91]

We researched and shopped for a few months then when we were finally ready and my fiancé found out we were having a baby. we decided to wait till after he was born to purchase. So in those extra 9 months I did a lot of research. All TT are having issuers so we went with the best options and best value. Every brand we looked at was compared to our surveyor 287bhss. It wasn’t the cheapest or the most expensive but it had everything we wanted. We are going on about 6 weekend trips. No issues and we are happy with our choice.

[mannagills]

Our 287BHSS is our second travel trailer. Being our second TT we knew exactly what was important to us. Shopped for about two months and probably looked at 50 different TT’s. What made us pick the Surveyor over the others was primarily build quality and fit and finish. After two months and about 14 camping nights we are very pleased. Only problem we have had was an outside water leak from hot water tank that was fixed by dealer.

[mawilson]

All new TTs seem to have issues. Some major, some minor, some trivial. People rarely post anything when things are fine so what you see online tends to skew toward the negative.

Counting the extended stay when we took delivery, we've been out 3 times (9 nights total). Other than a self imposed issue, which I fixed myself, we only have one minor issue that wasn't fixed immediately after PDI.

Therein lies the key. Do a thorough inspection at delivery. Take charge of the process. Let the tech show you how things work but, inspect everything closely and note ANY issues (write it down!). Don't skip a single knob, switch or hinge. If it turns on, turn it on. If it turns off, do that. If it opens, open it. If it closes, close it. PDI isn't over 'til you know how everything works and it works to your satisfaction. Don't let anyone rush you. Expect it to take hours. Don't sign/pay until everything on your list is fixed or, for minor things that can't be fixed right away, on a 'we owe.' If it's a major issue, you might want to let them keep it and you keep your money to get something else.

[YvonneH]

This is great info! thank you so much!

[GL1800Rider]

If anybody is interested, there is a new model out. 240BHLE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kb1IUcYcopY

[YvonneH]

We have decided to purchase the 2018 Surveyor 247 BHDS.
We are now looking at a new truck. Ram or Toyota Tundra. Our dilemma is, what size in tons do we actually need? So many different opinions out there it's confusing. I am test driving the 1500 Tundra today. The camper is 7000 pounds, do I need a 1/2 ton or 3/4 ton? :-)

[Scottyb1707]

That is a nice trailer, we certainly love ours! You will be fine with a 1/2 ton pickup as long as you mind the payload capacity and account for trailer tongue weight and anything you put in the truck (occupants, gear, etc). There are a ton of threads on this site regarding "what size truck so I need." Don't be surprised when someone on here will tell you that you need a 1 ton dually. 🤣

We pull ours with an Expedition (basically a 1/2 ton SUV) and do fine. I have a few posts on here about how it tows and my review of our trailer.

Enjoy

[clarkbre]

I agree with Scottyb1707. A 1/2 ton truck from Ford, Chevy, Dodge, Toyota or Nissan will handle it.

In shopping for your new truck, do be aware of a few things:
- Check the payload of each truck via the yellow sticker on the driver's door jamb. This will tell you what the truck can carry as a whole. The payload includes tongue weight, people and cargo in the bed.
- From experience, the real tongue weight of the 247BHDS fully loaded is closer to 800-900 pounds.
- Get a low gear ratio for better towing.
- Factory tow mirrors are priceless.
- Do the research on the specific truck and ensure it has a good tow rating. Salesmen will tell you the max tow rating of the model but that specific truck could be much less.
- Don't skimp on the motor. Buy it once with lots of power and be happy with it for a long time.