# Considering Buying-questions First



## 7007 (Mar 10, 2008)

Hi, just found your site. We are considering a 2007 Outback 18RS, new at dealer's. We were in love with our 16 footer so this is big for us and perfect for what our lifestyle is. We want it small to be able to go remote places (and for the driveway), but we like the idea of having a full-time queensize bed with the slider. We live in Sacramento CA but dry camp/boondock camp year-round, especially in the Winter in snow and will very likely being moving to a colder climate in 5-7 years. So, we are concerned about:

1.) Issues with the rear slider in snow conditions or even rainy, windy conditions, such as potenitial water leakage, or trouble closing in cold and/or snowy conditions, freezing, being cold while sleeping, wind seaping in etc. Of course, non-Outback dealers are scaring us with all sorts of stories. It seems impossible, yet understandable, to get an unbiased opinion from dealers. I was hoping actual owners could give their opinions.

2. Can you sleep on the rear bed in the retracted state (inside the trailer) without harm to the TT? I noticed on the FAQ on this site it says "Outback says NO", but I just got a an e-mail response from the Outback manufacturer that said no harm would be done.

3.) Price at the Dealer says: "was $26,500, for sale at $21,400". It has the designer option package. Can others tell us how this sounds? Does anyone have an idea of how much they mark up trailer prices, on average? Dealer said he had more flexibility because it's last year's model, and he even suggested $17,000 out the door, but when we countered at $16,500 and he asked his manager, they came back with $20,700 out the door. We walked out.. He keeps calling though. Its a perfect TT for us, assuming there are no issues with the slider with our style of camping.

Thank you so very much for any opinions!


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## ColoradoChip (Jan 21, 2008)

I can't help you with the first few questions because I haven't been out in my Outback yet. I can tell you that I paid about $18,000 FOR MY NEW 2007 26 kbrs out the door including an equilizer hitch. I could have gotten it from Lakeshore RV for about $1000 less for a 2008, but decided to stay local. I think that $16,500 is not the lowest that you could find it for. You might want to call Marci at Lakeshore RV (Michigan?) and at leat get a quote from her. If nopthing else, it will give you some bargaining power! Good luck!


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## Airboss (Jul 14, 2007)

+2 on calling Lakeshore. Holman RV is another good choice for finding out the lowest price. I wish I had known these things before taking the plunge.

Our dealer told us it was okay to use the slide-out bed while it was retracted, but the we read in the manual not to. If you think about it, when it is deployed all the weight is on the rails and when it is retracted it is hanging from the ceiling. I'm not sure I'd want to chance it.

We camped once in chilly weather (about 30F) and didn't mind sleeping in the slide out. There are several threads discussing what we all do to keep warm. Everything from 'snuggling' to electric blankets. We put down some carpet below the mattress, added a memory foam topper, and use a down comforter. It stays nice and cozy that way!


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## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

HI!







and WELCOME to the site!!!

I don't have any 1st hand experience with snow/ice...we live in NH and the camper is put to bed before snow/ice can arrive!

However, I can tell you that we have never had any problem with the camper - particularly the slide - in wind or cold or rain....and we've been camping plenty in all 3. As for the price -







- we paid less than your dealer's "negotiated counter offer" last Spring for our 28krs toy hauler. That being said - we are in NH and you are in CA...and there is a definite price hike between the coasts. Maybe someone in CA will have a different opinion. Also, I believe the 18ft design was short lived - with only 1 yr production and now discontinued. If you've got your heart set on the size, there may be some extra value to that for you.

Overall, we looked at alot of models & brands before we settled on our 1st Outback (never looked at another brand when we bought our 2nd one!). In our determination (and lots of others'), the Outback is the best built out there in its category!

Good luck!!


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## daves700 (Jun 12, 2006)

as far as the cold we have been in pretty cold weather, no issues with the slide .... very well built

I would say not to sleep with bed in, i only takes 3 mins to pull it out so why risk it


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## fl_diesel (Feb 15, 2006)

I read the 18rs has been discontinued. You may have a difficult time shopping around for this unit.

No problems with the queen bed slide on our previous 23rs.


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## LarryTheOutback (Jun 15, 2005)

bikehikekayak said:


> wind seaping in


 This has never been an issue for us, and I don't remember ever seeing it posted as a concern.

Ed


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## Reverie (Aug 9, 2004)

My 28BHS does not have a sleeper slide but I have been around lots of Outbacks for over four years and can say that I don't recall anyone complain about wind seepage. The slide seal is very good. I understand most people do not recommend sleeping with the bed inside but I have read a lot of people say they have done it to no ill effect.

Reverie


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## skylane (Oct 28, 2007)

All good points, now a couple of mine, I think you can sleep in the slide in if you support it, need to make a home made support structure of some sort. In seriously cold wx the slide as well as the entire fleet of tt'ers are underinsulated, used our's in a Colorado Hunting season, burned a lot of propane but very comfy, I have heard of the slide being cold. put carpet or insulating pad below the mattress, foam topper, good bag or comforter, good to go. frozen snow and ice on the slide is bad. And I agree, like you said it is very nice to have a "short" queen available for comfort. If you are over 6' be sure and try it on first, 5'11" here and ok for me. price sounds a couple of rv units (rvu=$1000) high to me.
enjoy!!


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## LarryTheOutback (Jun 15, 2005)

LarryTheOutback said:


> trouble closing in cold and/or snowy conditions


 If you have a heavy snowfall, the bed slider *will not *slide into the trailer. You have to brush the snow off first. You can do it with a squeegee (or similar) on a pole; you could bring a lightweight ladder to help things out (it's a long way up).[/quote] I forgot to mention an idea I had while attempting to remove the snow from my bed slide ... next time I'm going to put a piece of heavy-duty plastic across the roof surface of the slideout, overlaping the left and right edges by about a foot on each side. When I'm ready to go I'm going to try to pull on one side and see if the snow will come off intact.

Ed


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## folsom_five (Jan 10, 2008)

We were in a similar situation a couple of months ago. We live in folsom, so I'm sure you are talking to the same dealer I was.







We were looking at a new 2007 31rqs that had been sitting on their lot of a while. This one was not listed as "on sale" so they were pretty much asking sticker price for it. There was no was we could afford that price and as others have suggested we contacted Holman RV in Ohio. We couldn't belive the price difference. There was no way that our dealer could touch that price. we went ahead and ordered a new 2008 31rqs for MUCH less than the 2007 on the local dealer's lot.

Long story short... once I told the local dealer that I ordered one from Holman RV, they called me back with a dramatically reduced price to win my business. If I added the cost of the TT + the cost to ship it from OH to CA, I would have only paid ~$1500 more if I bought it locally.

If you buy from Holman or Lakeshore, it is going to cost you ~$4200 to have it delivered. So, if you can get the local dealer to give you a price within maybe $6000 of Holman or Lakeshore I would go with the local dealer.

I ended up buying for Holman, and they were great to deal with. But if I had not already given them my downpayment, I probably would have bought locally knowing that they could come down that much in pricing, and the fact that you are going to have to take it back there for any warranty work.

Good Luck in which ever way you decide to go.

--Greg


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## Texas Friends (Feb 12, 2006)

I have a 28KRS and have never had a problem with water leakage or wind seapage while the slide out is out... Just like any RV you have may have to take a bit more insulation during extremely cold weather. We do have a foam topper on the mattress and an extra blanket does Ok for us when the temp drops... 
I would be weary of salesmen bashing a brand they dont carry... I would imagine the insulation in most of the Rv's on the market wont be that different.

In summary.... Never had a problem with the rear slide.

Bryan


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## thevanobackers (Nov 11, 2007)

we have no problems with rain,snow or wind in ours.we were told not to sleep in the slide.we use a warming blanket to warm the sheets.


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## ember (Jan 17, 2008)

Shop the internet, it is a GREAT tool!! Not only for the TT, but for the financing as well!! 
I have to agree with Wolfwood, OB is the best in it's class!! We're on our 2nd one, and just finished a months worth of HARDCORE comparison shopping, and nothing compared $ to $.


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## ColoradoChip (Jan 21, 2008)

If you need financing and are a USAA member or former military or a parent was military, call USAA. Their RV rates are at about 6% on a 10 year loan.


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## folsom_five (Jan 10, 2008)

ColoradoChip said:


> If you need financing and are a USAA member or former military or a parent was military, call USAA. Their RV rates are at about 6% on a 10 year loan.


x2 for USAA. They were the lowest I could find.


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## timewizard (Jun 9, 2007)

A dealer in Fond du Lac, WI Merzrv.com has one that 2007 for $15995. That is where we bought ours from.


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## Lady Di (Oct 28, 2005)

Welcome!









We got our 2003 OB used about 2 1/2 years ago. Never have had any issues with the slide leaking on this 'older' one.

I think the slide will be fine.


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## Collinsfam_WY (Nov 9, 2006)

1) We have no problems with our rear slide in the Rain or Wind. We have slept in the rear slide during rainstorms quite often. Our first 6 or so trips were accompanied by rain. No experience with it in the snow.
2) No. This is called Turtling and the only rear slide RV that you could do this in is the now-discontinued K-Z Frontier. Some folks build a support that lets you do this. It takes all of 2 minutes to deploy the slide. If that long.
3) We paid less than your offer of $16,500 for a new, 2007 model 23RS last summer. Call Lakeshore RV. Ask for Marci.

-CC


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## MJRey (Jan 21, 2005)

Welcome,

- No problems in heavy rain or wind with the rear bed slide. Never been out in snow so I've no idea if it would be a problem but I doubt it unless it was really heavy.

- $26,500 seems very high for the "list price" of an 18RS. In 05 my 26RS listed for $24,500 and we got it for $7K off of that in So. Cal. I would try and figure out what the real list price is and then shoot for about 25% off of that.

Good Luck,


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## 7007 (Mar 10, 2008)

I wanted to thank everyone for all of your responses and opinions. It was very helpful in making our decision. We are now the proud owner of a new 2007 Outback 18RS as of last evening!!! We purchased it from our local dealer here in Sacramento, CA. I scanned the whole internet for similar models as you all recommended and when shipping was involved, the local dealer was able to give us the best price. Since the 18RS is now a discontinued model it made it more challenging and the trailer did, indeed, become more valuable to us. We saved 32% off the dealer's orginal invoice price, so it sounds like we got a pretty fair deal, even for last year's model. THANK YOU ALL ONCE AGAIN. I'm sure we'll be consulting this site often and have many other questions as time goes on.


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