Technical Questions about Sabre Silhouette 250 RLUD

[dogs-life]

I'm new to the forum and have been considering the purchase of the Sabre Silhouette 250 RLUD. I have a few questions before making the final decision.

First, the Sabre 250 RLUD has an identical floor plan as the Palomino PUMA 253-FBS, but its specifications show that it is 2 feet longer. I prefer the Sabre over the Puma, but I am looking for a shorter trailer. I currently have a Sundance which is approximately 32 feet long. I love the trailer, but it is difficult to fit into some National Parks and is also difficult to get around some of the hair pin curves in the mountains. Is the 29' 4'' length correct for the Sabre and if so, why is the Puma only 27' 4''?

Second, I would like to have a Reese Revolution hitch (king pin) installed. Is this an option? If not, can it be done aftermarket without voiding the warranty of the trailer? Is there any reason not to have it installed? I understand that a trailer with the revolution hitch tracks closer to the tracks of the tow vehicle since the pivot point is farther back. It also eliminates the need for a slider hitch in the tow vehicle.

Finally, can a ceiling vent fan be added in the living room area? From the pictures I've seen it appears that there is only a ceiling vent fan in the bedroom and another in the bathroom area.

I was hoping to get this post to SabreSam, but being new to the forum, I wasn't sure just how to do that. Hopefully, this area is okay.

Thanks for any help you can give me.

[TURBS]

I'll send him your way.

TURBS
Sabre owners united!

[SabreSam]

Originally Posted by dogs-life

I'm new to the forum and have been considering the purchase of the Sabre Silhouette 250 RLUD. I have a few questions before making the final decision.

First, the Sabre 250 RLUD has an identical floor plan as the Palomino PUMA 253-FBS, but its specifications show that it is 2 feet longer. I prefer the Sabre over the Puma, but I am looking for a shorter trailer. I currently have a Sundance which is approximately 32 feet long. I love the trailer, but it is difficult to fit into some National Parks and is also difficult to get around some of the hair pin curves in the mountains. Is the 29' 4'' length correct for the Sabre and if so, why is the Puma only 27' 4''?

Second, I would like to have a Reese Revolution hitch (king pin) installed. Is this an option? If not, can it be done aftermarket without voiding the warranty of the trailer? Is there any reason not to have it installed? I understand that a trailer with the revolution hitch tracks closer to the tracks of the tow vehicle since the pivot point is farther back. It also eliminates the need for a slider hitch in the tow vehicle.

Finally, can a ceiling vent fan be added in the living room area? From the pictures I've seen it appears that there is only a ceiling vent fan in the bedroom and another in the bathroom area.

I was hoping to get this post to SabreSam, but being new to the forum, I wasn't sure just how to do that. Hopefully, this area is okay.

Thanks for any help you can give me.

Turbo gave me a heads up and said you need some help.

The following things make the Sabre longer:
1. 60" x 80" bed
2. More galley counter space
3. 8" added to the rear bumper to accommodate the flip down bike rack.

Hitch:
We do accommodate some special build requests. You need to have the selling dealer contact his Sabre Account Manager. He will then run your request up the flag pole and get a cost.

Vent:
Some of this will depend if you order it with the select package which includes a ceiling fan. Again you need to have your selling dealer ask the Sabre Account Manager.

Thanks
Sabresam

[dogs-life]

Thanks for the very fast reply and also thanks to f1100tubro for send you my way.

I'll check with a dealer as you recommended.

Could you tell me where the extra room is on the other side of the trailer across from the added counter space. Is the table bigger, the entertainment center deeper or the bathroom larger? I have seen the Puma at a local dealer, but the nearest dealer that has a Sabre 250 RLUD in stock seems to be over 2 hours away. I would like to find out all I can before driving that far to see the unit.

Also, I plan to purchase a Ford 150 with the 6 cylinder turbo engine. They claim it can tow over 11,000 pounds so I'm assuming that this trailer should be fine. Do you know of any reason why it would not be?

Thanks a again for your help.

[SabreSam]

Originally Posted by dogs-life

Thanks for the very fast reply and also thanks to f1100tubro for send you my way.

I'll check with a dealer as you recommended.

Could you tell me where the extra room is on the other side of the trailer across from the added counter space. Is the table bigger, the entertainment center deeper or the bathroom larger? I have seen the Puma at a local dealer, but the nearest dealer that has a Sabre 250 RLUD in stock seems to be over 2 hours away. I would like to find out all I can before driving that far to see the unit.

Also, I plan to purchase a Ford 150 with the 6 cylinder turbo engine. They claim it can tow over 11,000 pounds so I'm assuming that this trailer should be fine. Do you know of any reason why it would not be?

Thanks a again for your help.

Dear Customer,
These products are built in different plants and sold by two different sales teams. I don't have the opportunity to set both units next to each other to find the exact differences. I'm sorry I can't help more.

On your truck question, we let our dealers be the expert on that. Looking at the numbers you should be fine.

Sabresam

[TURBS]

Originally Posted by dogs-life

Thanks for the very fast reply and also thanks to f1100tubro for send you my way.

I'll check with a dealer as you recommended.

Could you tell me where the extra room is on the other side of the trailer across from the added counter space. Is the table bigger, the entertainment center deeper or the bathroom larger? I have seen the Puma at a local dealer, but the nearest dealer that has a Sabre 250 RLUD in stock seems to be over 2 hours away. I would like to find out all I can before driving that far to see the unit.

Also, I plan to purchase a Ford 150 with the 6 cylinder turbo engine. They claim it can tow over 11,000 pounds so I'm assuming that this trailer should be fine. Do you know of any reason why it would not be?

Thanks a again for your help.

What are your stats on your truck?

You'll go over on your cargo carrying capacity before you go over tow rating.

Look on your door jamb for specs.

Here's where you'll find your ccc.
You'll see mine is over 2400 lbs.

TURBS
Sabre owners united!

[TURBS]

The rlud has a pin weight of just over a thousand lbs empty which means when you load camper that number is going to go up.

Dry weight on rlud is 6500 lbs and that will go up once it hits the dealer by several hundred lbs once they add propane, battery and other items.

Normal user added items Hoover around 1000# or more depending on family size.

I think you'll be very very close on tow capacity and over on cargo capacity for the truck.

Things that you should subtract from your cargo carrying capacity number including atleast the dry pin weight.

Any and all people in truck excluding you.
Pets
Anything in the bed of truck included fifth wheel hitch.

5th wheel hitch can vary from 75# to 150#


IMO your into 3/4 ton territory.

You should be looking at ultra light 5th wheels such as flagstaff for your 1/2 ton

Sabres are not "ultra light"


TURBS
Sabre owners united!

[dogs-life]

Thanks for the info F1100Turbo!

The other trailer that I was considering was the Flagstaff 8524 RLWS, which is similar in length to the Sabre. However, the Flagstaff's hitch weight is a little higher 1181 versus 1036 for the Sabre. The Flagstaff is also slightly heavier at 6589 versus 6521. The main weight advantage on the Flagstaff is that its cargo capacity is 1100 pounds less than the Sabre, but I figure that I would probably carry almost the same weight in each so this is a wash. The floor plan on the Sabre is what really makes the difference for me. However, the Flagstaff is a really close second and it has the Reese Revolution hitch as standard equipment. As you can see, I'm still an undecided buyer.

You do have an excellent point in that the cargo capacity of the truck will probably be the limiting factor. The truck I'm most interested in is the new 2015 Ford 150 which should be out late this year. I do not think Ford has released the cargo capacity on this vehicle yet. I have heard that the savings in truck weight by using the aluminum body will allow for additional cargo weight capacity, but I haven't seen any confirmation on this yet.

My son works for Ford and we will be attending a showing of the new truck tomorrow at one of the Ford facilities. It will be interesting to see when it's released as to whether or not it will handle the trailer. If not, I will have to step up to the F250. After driving the Dodge 2500 since 2006, I would really like to get a more comfortable ride! A 3/4 ton truck rides okay when I'm pulling my Sundance trailer, but it's not comfortable when its empty.

Also, I'll be glad to get rid of the diesel engine. I love the mileage, but every maintenance item seems to cost twice what it would with a gas engine and the price of the diesel fuel is now so much higher than gas.

I guess everything is a trade off.

Anyway, thanks for the pointers on the cargo capacity. I'll keep that in mind when I finally choose a trailer and tow vehicle.

[1Texan]

D-l
We have the 2012 250 RLUD and love it. To answer a couple of questions, Our unit came with all the options that Sabre Sam alluded to, ie we have a third vent in the hall outside the bathroom door. It's at the top of the stairs. I removed the vent and installed a MaxxFan 5100. It can exhaust or reverse for fresh air. If you close the vent, it also acts like a ceiling fan.
I installed the Reese Sidewinder which is the aftermarked Revolution. It does improve the turning. We use the state parks a lot and have been in some tight situations but haven't had any problems. Having the Sidewinder plus our truck is the 4 door with the short bed (5'8"). If I ever had to, I could do a 90 degree turn.
I tow with a 2011 GMC Sierra 1500 with all the HD towing options plus I was able to find one with the 6.2 engine. I did take it to the scales. To be honest, it's close. The truck never did squat but I did add Firestone Ride-rites (see my picture. That's before the Ride-rites). It did improve the loaded ride. I just last week put on e rated Michelin tires. I wanted to add a safety margin on the tires. Again, not required but wanted the safety margin.
I did a lot of research before I pulled the trigger on truck and trailer to make sure I was still within a margin of safety. Do your homework.

[dogs-life]

Thanks for the added information. It's good to hear that someone has added the Reese Revolution hitch to the identical trailer and likes how it handles! I take it that you had the hitch added as an after market add-on. I was hoping that I could get it installed by Palomino before taking delivery. I know some trailer manufacturers say that an after market change to the hitch voids the warranty on the trailer. Do you know if Sabre allows for this change and still maintains the warranty? I've asked this question of the dealer, but haven't received a response yet.

I'll have to wait until Ford finally posts the specifications for their new F150 before I can really check the suitability with the 1/2 ton truck. However, the current F150 with a 4-door crew cab can tow up to 11,200 pounds when properly configured. I haven't seen the cargo capacity yet, but I expect that it will change for the new 2015 truck, so it doesn't really matter now.

Again, thanks for the reply. It helps to hear that others are purchasing similar configurations and enjoying them.