# Trying to decde



## ccaee5

So we are new to RVing. We have always tent camped. We are looking at a new 2011 coachmen apex 26BHS it is a great deal. The other we are looking at is a gently used 2011 Jayco Swift 264BH. Any advice either way?? We need bunks because we have 4 kids. The jayco is a few hundred $$ more. Please help. I have heard that Forest River is not that great. They own Coachmen. Any help would be great.


----------



## dogbone

Both Jayco and Forest River have a good reputation for making good trailers. Saying that, they make upper and low end products. I have a Forest River Product, Cedar Creek, and have been very happy with the trailer and the company.
I wasn't aware that Coachman was a Forest River product. It was a Fleetwood trailer. That company didn't have a good rep. I think they went out of business. Forest River must have bought Coachman. I had a Coachman pop up for a few years and we liked it.


----------



## artmart

Fleetwood is still in business and I thought they were sticking to making CLASS A units only. They were getting out of all the trailer businesses that they had purchased while trying to expand but don't know how successful they were. These were giving them fits and this is where the reputation went down. I'm not so sure it went down, it's just that this made Fleetwood so big that people went after them and it made the news at a bad economic time. Their trailers are no better than many of the other ones.

For Jayco, they have always seemed pricey at each trailer family from popups to travel trailers to the big fivers. I recall they are heavier, too which implies heavier or fancier materials. I do think the Jayco is better than the Coachmen. I have been in both visiting friends and family and could only judge from looks, but it's a matter if the price difference is important and if you can tow its extra weight for a few hundred. 

Even with this a lot depends on the manufacturing and you can get a bad one or a good one, but I have never seen a perfect trailer from anyone. A warranty is good to have, but not so good if you don't use it from using the trailer OFTEN, even short trips. So many will buy a trailer, use it once or twice then it's only used once or twice a year, then wonder why something broke years later, not realizing that it was only about 5-10 times or even less and now they are past the warranty period. Unfortunately, new owners will abuse their trailers and not know it by doing this - I won't cover the possibilities since this post is already too long.

Keep us posted on your purchase and your experience. Congratulations on arriving at the RV age. The kids will love it until the first time you make them help with the "poop shoot".


----------



## ccaee5

So we have been out looking and we have found a keystone passport that we like. Anybody have a passport? What are your thoughts. The other is still a jayco. Any info is helpful


----------



## artmart

Overall Keystone is a decent brand and are one of the largest RV manufacturers in the country (they wouldn't get there if they were junk). I have a Keystone product (Montana), had a Sprinter before, and my BIL has an Everest (old model that was retired a couple of years ago). Most owners like their units but just like all models, learn all you can about your rig, take great care of it, but some things can still go wrong.

The best thing to do is to learn all you can about trailer ownership BEFORE you pick up the unit so you minimize surprises (oh no, we don't like that, or aw man, I wish we had that). Also learn what else you are gonna need that doesn't come with a trailer (chocks, tools, extra and proper cords, hoses, supports, etc., etc., etc. ).

Try to keep things you use with the trailer in the trailer to minimize packing and unpacking. My trailer is so well stocked that we just pick our clothing, have to buy food and some personal goods and away we go. Everything else is maintained and kept ready to go. We are fortunate to be able to keep it at home for free!


----------

