How I researched to find the best RV for us.

I wanted to find the travel trailer that best fitted our needs and one that was constructed with quality so that it would last.  I found all the data on the manufacturers websites under the particular model that we had chosen as having a floor plan that we wanted.  We decided that the "Couples Trailer" was what would make us feel more at home and looked thru all the manufactures websites to find models that met that qualification.   We then went to a number of different dealers to examine those models to see if they were actually as represented. 

Our particular needs and wants included the following items.

Lots of storage and a full closet.
Enough counter top space in the kitchen
TV had to face the recliners or theater chairs for easy viewing
Weight near or preferably under 8000 pounds
Comfortable seating
Room in bedroom to change and get around the bed
Possible room to later install a washer dryer combo if desired
And that a outdoor kitchen would take room from inside trailer (although it would be nice)

Some of the construction that I want was a TPO roof which is more durable, warrantied 10-12 years instead of 2-4 and less up keep, slide outs must not be Schwintek which in talking to experienced RV repair techs are not as reliable and some repair centers do not even want to service them.

As we went out and began looking at all the different models we found that we became quickly confused as to which model had what items.   We found that looking on You Tube for each model provided a reminder of what that model had, but it was not a lasting memory of facts.  I then made a document with a floor plan of each model we selected that was cut and pasted onto it with such facts as the weight, length, and any features that we wanted that were on it.
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An example of one entry:

Keystone Premier 34 RIPR

weight 7615 length 38 feet           pantry, walk in closet, kitchen island, soft recliners face TV        TPO roof, steel formed rafters, cable slide out

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Every model that we thought might be the type we wanted got an entry like this and we made hand notes also on them, this made it much easier to remember the models as to their attributes.  I just included one example as I had several pages of two to three models on each and was too big to include in our blog.

Next I went to each manufactures website and collected certain construction features that I thought might be important and listed them as follows:

Picking Out Our New Home

Sue and I decided to get away and see the United States and enjoy our retirement.   This is our new mansion that we just purchased  We did months of research on trailer construction and the 

components that were in them.  We studied floor plans that would be best for us to live in and

gave us enough storage, and in a weight class that would be towable for out truck.

After examining so many trailers that we confused ourselves, I came up with a list that included

descriptions, floor plans, weights and features we liked about them.  Armed with our book of 

selected or approved trailers we headed to the Tampa RV Super Show.  

This show had thousands of trailers and covered the entire Florida State Fairgrounds with various rigs  We started down our list and began inspecting each one until we arrived at the Camping World display of the Keystone trailers.  Our search was over when Susan saw this trailer, a 

Premier 34 RIPR, her comment of " I Love this one - this is it "  and our search was over.  

We went to Camping World of Tampa a few days later to take delivery, after it was detailed

inside and out.  We did a complete inspection of the rig and found a few problems that their 

technicians corrected immediately to our complete satisfaction.  They went out of their way to

make us feel like we were their only customers ( mind you they sold 350 trailers at the 

Super Show, and they were overwhelmed with deliveries ).  

Now we've switched back to trip planning with two shake down trips coming up soon to check

out everything before we take off later this coming spring.  Sue has officially given her notice

at work ( they were not happy she was leaving them LOL !!! ) and she seems much happier 

 and obviously excited about the upcoming adventures.