# Need Advice



## padevilfan (Jan 15, 2008)

Looking at buying my first travel trailer. I do not know anything about them. Just spoke to someone who has a 30' Outback Expando. 2006. First what do they mean by Expando? Second they are asking $26,500. (located in NW PA) Is this reasonable? What type of questions should I be asking and what should I look for? I have 2 kids (2 and 6) I will be staying it the trailer 4 days a week year round. Is this feasable with water lines and such in the north? My wife and kids will be joining me in the summer months. (I just got temporarily transfered by my job and do not want to uproot the family.) Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.


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## H2oSprayer (Aug 5, 2006)

padevilfan said:


> Looking at buying my first travel trailer. I do not know anything about them. Just spoke to someone who has a 30' Outback Expando. 2006. First what do they mean by Expando? Second they are asking $26,500. (located in NW PA) Is this reasonable? What type of questions should I be asking and what should I look for? I have 2 kids (2 and 6) I will be staying it the trailer 4 days a week year round. Is this feasable with water lines and such in the north? My wife and kids will be joining me in the summer months. (I just got temporarily transfered by my job and do not want to uproot the family.) Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.


Welcome to our little slice of the Internet. Unfortunately, "30' Outback Expando" doesn't really give us enough info. Do you know the model number?


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## skippershe (May 22, 2006)

Hi padevilfan
















to Outbackers! 

Hmmm, can't say that I've ever heard of an Expando before...I even tried a search and couldn't find anything.
My opinion? $26,500 sounds really high for an Outback of any kind except maybe a Sydney edition.

Try Holman Rv in Cincinnati, OH for some really great pricing Clicky Here

What kind of tow vehicle do you have? 
A 29 bhs might be a good fit, has a bunkhouse for the kids in the rear and a walkaround queen bed up front. I think it's been discontinued, but you might be able to find an 07.

You can check out floor plans and specs here Keystone's Outback website

Good luck in your search,


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## kyoutback (Jul 12, 2004)

Are there pictures anywhere of this "Expando". I've never heard of it either and also agree that $26,500 seems high for an Outback. Check Holman's as suggested.


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## California Jim (Dec 11, 2003)

Expando is likely an invented term referring to a trailer with slide-outs.

Yeah, that price seems awfully high to me as well. Check with the resources listed by Skippershe for more realistic numbers.

After 4 years of camping in our 28BHS with two small kids we are still comfortable. It's likely that you will too given a similar floorplan. The side slide-out makes a very large difference in available space, and perception of space/comfort. Bunks keep from tearing down the dinette or couch every time the little ones sleep there.

Outback models to consider: 28BHS (discontinued), 29BHS (discontinued), 28RSS (discontinued), 28RSDS. Or any 28' and larger Outback.

Non-Outback models: (OH! Did he just say that!) Any brand that has bunks for the kids, preferably a walk around queen, and a side slide that moves both the dinette and couch out would be preferred. Again, if you're essentially living in the unit, a 28-30' trailer will be more comfortable than smaller models. Even if they have a couch or dinette slide (usually not both).

Good Luck









Jim


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## egregg57 (Feb 13, 2006)

You'll definatly want to get some more info on the model you're talking about. Who ever used the word "Expando" was probably refering to slides. I hope.... heh! well anyway, if you're new to all of this you've come to the right place. You'll find plenty of people willing to help and give sound advice.

The first step is knowing the capabilities of your tow vehicle, such as GCVWR (Gross Combine Vehicle Weight Rating) Tow Capacity, GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating), proper Weight Distribution and Hitch type and proper set up and then staying below those listed capacities.

This first part will ensure you have a safe and comfortable towing experience. Don't let dealers and others that want to sell you their goodies pull the wool over your eyes. We can help you prevent a lot of that. Additionally , if you are close enough to another Outbacker that person may be willing or able to help you if you have trouble.

Up here in NH Wolfwood and myself have help a few people buy and then learn to tow, park, and back thier new rig (God rest the cones) much to our mutual delight!

No question is too simple. Please feel free to ask. You're not going to get hammered or embarrassed for doing just that.

Good luck, hope to hear from you soon. And WELCOME To Outbackers!!

Eric


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## 3MurphsOutbackin' (Sep 26, 2006)

padevilfan,

A couple more things to consider...

We live up in the great northwest and one of the reasons we went with the Outback is the fully covered underside. The tank valves and all are enclosed and as long as you are running the heat, you should not have things freeze up underneath. There are relatively few trailers that have this standard feature. I hunt in the winter in eastern WA and have been thankful for this feature many times.

You need to have a serious truck to haul a 30 foot trialer around. We had a 1/2 ton for our 26RLS and thought we had enough truck until we ran the whole rig across the DOT scales. Found out we had 1400 pounds TOO MUCH on the rear axel. We upgraded to a 3/4 ton and have never looked back. DON'T start out with too little Tow Vehicle.

Best of luck in your search and decision. You've started in the right place...Outbacker's.com


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## padevilfan (Jan 15, 2008)

Thanks a bunch. I will call them back tommorrow and ask some additional questions. I was really interested in this one in that it is at the camp site I want to use and do not plan to take it out of park so towing should not be an issue. I did think the price seemed high compared to what I have seen for used ones. Thanks again.


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## H2oSprayer (Aug 5, 2006)

Could the price include rights to the lot that it is currently sitting on?


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## BoaterDan (Jul 1, 2005)

What others said.

The 31RQS has got to be one of the two most expensive Outbacks there are, and several of us have purchased them for more like $20k.


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## jbmanno (Mar 30, 2007)

Where in NW PA are you? I live in Ridgway, PA and the local Outback/Dutchman dealer is Starrs Trailer Sales in Brockway, PA. Great dealer, even though I bought my camper at General RV in MI (Starrs could not get their hands on a 31RQS fast enough...I was in a hurry to go camping!!) Anyway, if you have any questions about dealers or campgrounds, feel free to PM me.
Joe


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## jedmunson (Apr 14, 2006)

Here is a thought - we bought ours from Lakeshore and they delivered it to Oklahoma - buy it cheap and have it delivered to your camping site - Then you get the best of both worlds - cheap price / fantastic trailer / no need to upgrade TV









Just thinking for you...

WELCOME!


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## skippershe (May 22, 2006)

jedmunson said:


> Here is a thought - we bought ours from Lakeshore and they delivered it to Oklahoma - buy it cheap and have it delivered to your camping site - Then you get the best of both worlds - cheap price / fantastic trailer / no need to upgrade TV
> 
> 
> 
> ...


LOL! Exactly...they can just drop off the new Outback and haul the Expando away...Kinda like an old fridge or mattress









BTW, Holman delivers too


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## Scoutr2 (Aug 21, 2006)

We bought our new (ordered from factory) 2007 29BHS, with super-slide (dinette and sofa on side slide-out) in August, 2006. We paid $17,200, plus taxes. As mentioned earlier, the 29BHS would probably do you well, but it was discontinued at the end of 2007. It has a (short) queen bed up front, with plenty of closet space. The rear has a bunk-bed setup - double bed lower and single upper. The bunks also have their own television cabinet and hookups in there, too.

The 29BHS has plenty of outside and inside storage space, although not much in the way of counter space. (There's trade-offs on every model. You just gotta decide what is most important to you.) But I'm not certain about living in a trailer for year round use in PA. We're from Illinois, and we get about the same weather you do. Tonight is forecast to be 5 degrees - warming up for a 2-3 inch snow, and then back down towards zero for the weekend. I winterize my trailer in November, and I don't de-winterize until late March or early April. I'm not sure a Travel Trailer would fare well in that type of weather, unless you can find a "Park Model" of some sort. That way, you could protect all pipes and lines, have a direct, solid sewer hookup, and be fairly sure you could handle the bad weather.

Too bad you can't get your hands on one of those FEMA trailers. They are built for just that type of permanant setup.

Just my rambling, but hope it helps.

Mike


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