Started shopping for a TT today. Found one perfect for my needs. The 2007 Forest River Salem LA 282 RBSS.

What makes this the right TT for me is that it is a front/side loading toy-hauler. Plus the floor plan is good looking and very open.

I want to be able to take my 650lb motorcycle with me and not have to unhook to precariously unload it from the bed of the truck. I do not like the rear loading toyhaulers. They waste too much space and I think they are not very good looking on the inside.

This one has good interior looks in the Toy/cargo area, maximum comfort space, allows me to keep the hard tonneau on the truck for additional secured cargo, and ease of loading/unloading my bike.

What I don't know yet is the quality of Forest River products.

So far I have located two NEW 2007 models one for $24,995 and the other for $23,995. Have not started to bargain yet. The first dealer that I found it at has told me the front/side loading toyhauler was not a popular model, so I expect to be able to negotiate a much better price.

Your Thoughts Please.

I apologize for such a long post.

 

Forest River does not have the greatest reputation if you search around in the RV websites. I looked them over when I was ready to change, but quickly left them out of the equation. I know some people have had pretty good luck with them, but the overall opinion is not really good.

For about the same money, check out Jayco. I have had several dealers say they are the best buy for a cheaper rig. They also say don't buy a Jayco if it has a motor in it, so I guess that would say their venture into the motorhome realm has not been a roaring success.

Bob

 

I like my FR Salem LE 29SBSRV. It wasn't as fancy as some of the other brands I looked at, but then fancy = more $$$$ in my book. Sometimes I wish I had a slide-out, like the model your looking at, but them that gets back to the $$$ thing. All in all, mine seems to have everything I needed and some things I never knew I needed. So far no issues with anything.

Something to think about with the front/side loading toyhauler is that most "toys" use gas. And a drip of gas, say from a carb overflow tube, can linger in the air for some time. So, if you plan on a long trip and you want to use your trailer either on the road or once you get to your destination, you'll have to unload and air it out a bit, especially if the "toy" is in your bedroom I have yet to go on a trip and not smell some gas in the back.

A couple of helpful hints. My bike has a vacuum petcock, no off position. It tough for me to run the carbs dry, I have to remove the vacuum hose to the petcock. If you can drain the carbs, you might not have to deal with the gas smell. Also, if your toy is a HD, they have hydraulic lifters. The ride in the trailer might drain the oil from the lifters. When you get to your desination you want to pull the plug wires and turn it over for a minute, to refill the lifters with oil. Nothing like starting your vacation by having your bike sound like it's going to self-distruct!

 

I have pulled a lot of Forest River trailers, manufactured in IN, CA and OR. On a scale of 1 to 10 I'd give them a 6 or 7. If you like that floorplan then it sounds like you have a winner. The RV industry is sucking right now and dealers are paying lots of interest on inventory that isn't moving. Start your offer way low, like $16k. It might help to play one dealer against the other. You may get a sweet deal.

 

Side loaders may be the coming rage, as two big quads won't generally fit side by side in many toyhaulers, especially if they have bigger tires.

Turning them sideways to fit two is the biggest drawback of mine.

I don't have any issues with gas odors at all, but then the Patio Hauler uses an exterior door in the garage wall, and has gaps in the floor (you can hose the garage out).

Anyway, I think the Salem would be considered kind of mid-pack, quality wise. Cardinal I think is also built by Forest River, and seems to be higher end and well constructed. I've been eyeballing SLR toyhauler 5th wheels, which seem decent, and some have really nice features.

 

I have a Wildwood FW made by Forrest River and my only complaint so for is that they were stingy with the AC recepticles and so far that is it. The Coachman I traded had more than enough and I never thought to check the number in the Wildwood.

 

Thanks for all the replies so far!

I have a well maintained 1989 Yamaha FJ1200 sport tourer. No hydraulic lifters. No Leaks. Stored in the garage with wife's Durango so far have never noticed any fuel or other petro related fumes. If I go ahead with a purchase of this model toy hauler, I plan to a removable, non-slip, roll-out floor cover which which help in preventing any fumes resultible from drips or spills. Any needed fuels or chemicals will be stored in the truck bed.

Again thanks for comments, keep 'em coming whether good, bad, or indifferent.

 

I've owned a Wildcat 28BH since 2003, bought it new. The only problem we've had is a shorted axle brake wire splice (blue ones), hard-wired carbon-monoxide malfuctioned, and brittle roof vent covers, (sun baked). Everything else has been good. Not bad for a mid-grade unit, I believe. Looking at trading up to a Cardinal unit next week, still a Forest River product. Hope this helps. Jayco does make a nice product though....

 

High-end toy hauler, brand new model with some great features.
http://www.kz-rv.com/inferno/index.html
No professional connection to KZ but I transport quite a bit of them. Very nice in the quality department.

 

I have a 2002 Cardinal (Forest River) bought new and would buy another one as I love the hydraulic slides. That said the next one would not be delivered until it was perfect. Mine had all kinds of problems that the factory was unwilling to even look at. It was supposed to have a black tank flush, it even had the paper work for it but it wasn't there. The toilet was installed in the middle of the room and there was not enough room to even get your feet between the wall and the toilet (no I don't have size 21 feet) and you had to step out of the room to wipe and I'm not a big guy. There was a propane leak on the cross pipe from one tank to the other and both flexible propane hoses were hard, not flexible at all. One brake would lock up at any time and scrub the tire. The under belly was almost hanging off and looked like it had been installed by 12 year olds. When the galley tank became full it wouldn't back up into the sink it would leak out the furnace door as the vent pipe was sheared off. When my kid was 12 the top bunk almost collapsed onto my older kid sleeping below as the mount screws were only into the paneling and not structure. The bunk room windows were installed VERY crooked and when the potable water pump ran out there was still 7 1/2 gallons (Imp) left in the tank. Thats 75 lbs you're hauling around for nothing, and the propane detector quit.

Out of all this the dealer fixed the brake that was locking up but wouldn't replace the tire, they extended the dip tube in the potable water and replaced the propane det. I had to fix the rest including moving the toilet, fixing the busted plumbing vent and installing the black tank flush. So check your rig out VERY carefully before delivery as warranty doesn't exist.

 

I'd say I'm a big fan of going used. Those things drop huge value in the first year or two, even if hardly used.

If you shop carefully, hopefully you can get one with those bugs worked out, and for the bugs that do crop up I often think you might be better off not having a warranty and fixing all that stuff yourself.

It seems there a lot of stories of people dealing with all kinds of frustration and wasting time and fuel trying to get a warranty work at a dealer approved on a unit they bought new... and a lot of the time it seems to me I could have fixed whatever the issue was in an hour or two myself...

 

Sounds like shopping around for a quality dealer is at least as important as shopping around for a quality manufacturer. Pretty disappointing.

 

I have a 2005 Salem LE travel trailer and have no complaints. Everything works like it should. No rattles, creeks or water leaks. I would buy another tomorrow.

 

Here is my take on Forest River (I have hauled many, owned one).

Personal experience. As a company its been my experience that they are poor at best for after sale support and warranty. I also gave up trying to get things fixed, it just became easier to do it myself (which I found myself doing on almost every trip). My trailer has been sold, just to many hassles.

Commercial experience. I have found by far when delivering a FR trailer the dealers find more issues than with most others. They also don't seem to put in as much effort into balancing there units for a more comfortable towing experience. Lastly being I get to talk to MANY dealers I will say FR is one they complain about a bunch.

I now haul mostly Jayco, and they are by far a better towing and higher quality unit when comparing similar trailers. When I deliver them I have also found by far less quality issues and overall much happier dealers.

 

Just bought a Salem la 28RLSS this past Wednesday my first TT and took it to WV this past weekend. I have been looking for years at all of the different brands on the market. Got down in the single digits at night and only had one electric oil heater plugged in and we stayed warm the whole time, without using the camper furnace. Why pay for propae when have electric. Towing with an Equalizer weight distribution hitch I could not tell the TT was back there with the exception of the fuel milage which I still have to calculate but I think it is around 10.5/11 and that is going from Norfolk Virginia to Bruceton Mills WV. I am happy do date.