Thinking about getting into the camper game in the next two years. Dream would be an airstream but man those things are expensive. Just three of us now but hopefully a fourth this year. Looking for something with a double axle (single axle trailers have always weirded me out). Want something nice, safe, and well built but doesn't have to be super fancy. Any brand recommendations?

You're essentially looking at 3 main RV enterprises: Thor, forest River, and Winnebago. Thor owns airstream, keystone, and a slew of others.

We went with a 2021 Keystone Cougar for our family of 4. Keystone has maybe 12 different "lines" of campers. Like Ford has XL, XLT, Lariat, etc. the Cougar is up there but it's what satisfied the wife with all the extras and finishings on the inside. Also will say the self leveling system is awesome. Would definitely recommend a Keystone as we haven't had any problems with it so far other than general maintenance with a caveat (I'll explain below). My parents own an older Forest River 5er (2008 I think) and they can't stand it. My dad cusses forest River every time they take it out.

To my caveat: if you're gonna be an RV owner prepared to be handy with some tools and know basic plumbing, carpentry, and electrical. Basically you will become a small time MEP contractor plus roofer when the time comes. RVs are a lot of work to keep up especially the new ones. They are just shoving them out the factory as fast as they can. We love our Cougar but it hasn't been without it's share of minor issues (screen door offset, leak in bathroom, leak in awning lights, bad light switch) that I've fixed on my own. If you're not handy you're waiting 2-4 weeks for each issue to get seen by the local dealer for warranty work.

As for airstream from what I understand the older models, when kept up, will last forever and are made well. The newer "pandemic" models from the last few years I've heard are put together just as bad as about every other fiberglass sided RV.

Keystone, Grand Design, Heartland and Jayco are the ones I'd recommend to look at. All owned by Thor but what I'd consider "best of the rest" for TTs in the 25-35' range.

Edit to say Grand Design is owned by Winnebago.

My only advice is to buy used, not new. They depreciate like crazy and there are plenty of used trailers out there (or at least there were pre-COVID…I don't know if that has changed since). Lots of folks think they want a camper and then a year or two in realize that its not for them - or their circumstances change. Good luck with your search!

reineraggie09 said:

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Thinking about getting into the camper game in the next two years. Dream would be an airstream but man those things are expensive. Just three of us now but hopefully a fourth this year. Looking for something with a double axle (single axle trailers have always weirded me out). Want something nice, safe, and well built but doesn't have to be super fancy. Any brand recommendations?

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If it's just three and one is a kid, hard pressed to go wrong with a fiberglass trailer like a Casita, Escape, or Oliver. Durability is very good and can take them anywhere. They are the most logical option for what you want.

99% of trailers are garbage, including a lot of airstreams. They're also usually manufactured by one of a few parent companies.

If you're not looking for a year or two you're in luck, there is going to be a GLUT of trailers on the market after record sales in 2020/2021.