# Looking To Purchase First Outback



## Couvgrizz (May 19, 2010)

We recently sold our 24 foot Thor Wanderer (3500 lbs approx) with the intention to purchase a bigger trailer to accommodate our growing family (3 kids and 1 lab). My wife is sold on a 2005 Outback 28RSS. It is being sold by the original owner who says it was used less than a dozen times. The trailer appears to be in perfect condition and we are located on the West Coast. NADA does not have this specific model but it indeed is a 2005 28RSS (apparently they made this model for part of the year then went to the 28RSDS). Any opinions on what is a fair price for this trailer?

I plan on towing it with our 2004 Ford Expedition EB which is rated to tow close to 9000 lbs. This trailer, I believe, is around 5200 lbs dry. I believe this vehicle will work well with this trailer. Anyone out there towing a trailer like this (length/weight) with an Expedition?

At this point my wife is sold but I need some additional selling on this trailer. I have been looking at this site the last couple of days and thought I would post to get current feedback from current/past Outback owners.

Thank you in advance for you thoughts/opinions!!


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## thefulminator (Aug 8, 2007)

Similar discussion a few days ago. It may not have actual pricing but might point you where to go in NADA. Hope it helps.

Link


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## ORvagabond (Apr 17, 2009)

With a good weight distribution and sway bar hitch you will GET by. You only have 260hp in that model I believe and as long as you dont have too many hills you will get by until you can upgrade.


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## hottubwilly (May 3, 2008)

Good luck with your decision. One thing to consider, the manual rear slide can be a pain in the a**. We had a 2008 Skyline Malibu 2510 which was the same layout as the 250RS (basically a knock off) - it was a good trailer but the manual slide process became frustrating for us (the wife especially) because there were so many extra steps involved before you could even get inside the rear door. And forget it if you wanted to put bikes inside before leaving on a trip - pull the rear slide out at the house, load the bikes, then put it all away, etc... But then again ours wasn't an Outback, so maybe it's a different experience with an actual OB. Just something to think about...


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## Couvgrizz (May 19, 2010)

Thank you for the input so far. At this point, we do not have plans to replace the tow vehicle so hopefully it will continue to run and tow well.

With regards to the manual rear slide, has anyone else had similar experiences with disliking it? This is one of my concerns as well, we use to have a tent trailer and I did not like the beds that had to be slid out. Is this a major inconvenience? How difficult is it to slide the bed out?


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## mmblantz (Jul 1, 2007)

I've got the same camper. Never had a sigle issue with the rear slide. ---Mike


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## mswalt (Sep 14, 2004)

Used to have a 26RS with the pull-out manual slide. No issues except when I tried pulling it out once without having put the rails up first!

Good luck with your purchase.

Mark


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

We had the manual slide. I never had an issue at 6'3", but DW is 4'10" and couldn't get it to move either way as she was pushing from too low. Of course the downside to being 6'3" is that I didn't fit in the bed very well. I'm guessing ideal heights would be 5'6"-6'1" range...









As for setup, it's less than a pop up. Just put up the bars and pull the bed out. Really not that tough. Don't get me wrong, the electric slide would be easier though....


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## rdvholtwood (Sep 18, 2008)

Couvgrizz said:


> Thank you for the input so far. At this point, we do not have plans to replace the tow vehicle so hopefully it will continue to run and tow well.
> 
> With regards to the manual rear slide, has anyone else had similar experiences with disliking it? This is one of my concerns as well, we use to have a tent trailer and I did not like the beds that had to be slid out. Is this a major inconvenience? How difficult is it to slide the bed out?


We have the 250RS with the rear slide - our main reason for going with this model was the king bed rear slide - as we are both tall. We have a system now where DW is in the TT pushing while I am pulling on the outside. This makes the setup easy. The fact that we have 35' foot of trailer opened and only tow 28' is another plus. The 250RS also has a half door located in the front which allows us to load bikes, etc without having to pull any of the slides out. The area accessed is the front bunks of which we keep the bottom one folded up.


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Couvgrizz said:


> Thank you for the input so far. At this point, we do not have plans to replace the tow vehicle so hopefully it will continue to run and tow well.
> 
> With regards to the manual rear slide, has anyone else had similar experiences with disliking it? This is one of my concerns as well, we use to have a tent trailer and I did not like the beds that had to be slid out. Is this a major inconvenience? How difficult is it to slide the bed out?


I had a 2004 28RSS with the manual rear slide. Took me about 1 min to get bars in place and pull the slide out. I painted tip of the right support bar red, so I didn't have to look for the "R" and the "L" stamped on the support bars. Yep..I'm lazy and wanted a quicker way to find left from right.


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## Couvgrizz (May 19, 2010)

We went and took a look at the 28RSS. The wife absolutely fell in love with it (needless to say we bought it). It is the original owner that used it less than a dozen times. In fact it still has the original propane still left in it. It is in immaculate shape!

My concerns over the rear slide bed were put to rest when I opened and closed it myself. It was super easy and very fast to do. We will pick it up this weekend or the first part of next week and hope to be able to make the maiden voyage Memorial Day weekend.

Thank you for the input and I look forward to the whole Outback experience!


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Congrats!!!!


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## Camping Family From MI (Feb 20, 2010)

Congratulation! and Happy Camping!


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## thefulminator (Aug 8, 2007)

Congrats and welcome to the family.


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## Doxie-Doglover-Too (Jan 25, 2007)

Couvgrizz said:


> We went and took a look at the 28RSS. The wife absolutely fell in love with it (needless to say we bought it). It is the original owner that used it less than a dozen times. In fact it still has the original propane still left in it. It is in immaculate shape!
> 
> My concerns over the rear slide bed were put to rest when I opened and closed it myself. It was super easy and very fast to do. We will pick it up this weekend or the first part of next week and hope to be able to make the maiden voyage Memorial Day weekend.
> 
> Thank you for the input and I look forward to the whole Outback experience!


Welcome! Come join us at Cape Kiwanda!


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## Couvgrizz (May 19, 2010)

We pick up the "new to us" trailer today. After reviewing this site for problems to look for I will be going through it very thoroughly (especially the delamination problem).

Thank you again for all your comments and insight!


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