Opinions on Sunset Trail brand and SS291RK

lp722 · 01-29-2017, 05:06 PM

Hello, everyone. My wife and I are new to this luxury camping thing, and are looking at a Sunset Trail Super Light SS291RK. We've been to several different dealers, and looked at tons of floorplans from most of the major brands. We have a half ton with a ~7k tow rating, so we need to stay light, and we both really like the rear kitchen floor plans because of the extra seating and counter space you get.

We're going this weekend to look at a 2017 SS291RK in stock at a dealer a few hours away from us, and I wanted to reach out to you all for an honest opinion of the Sunset Trail brand, and if anyone has the 291RK, what your experiences have been. Thanks, all!

CampBannon · 01-29-2017, 07:30 PM

I have the 2016 ST29SS. No major issues and trailer seems to be built well. I would check the weight as mine is 6200 dry and my ram 1500 with 3:55 gear ratio struggled on any sort of incline. I've recently upgraded tv to f250 with 3:73 gear ratio. If you are rated at 7k I wouldn't attempt to tow anything that wieghs more than 5k dry IMO.

lp722 · 01-29-2017, 08:06 PM

Thanks for the input. The weight on the 291RK is 5600 and change, so I'm pretty confident with the towability. The truck has a modified fuel and shift point map when towing, and we pack light. Plus we'd stay in the southeast most of the time, and it's unfortunately pretty flat down here.

How long have you had yours? Any experience with their warranty claims or customer service?

CampMacKay · 01-29-2017, 08:18 PM

Hello and welcome to the forum.
We have a Cruiser 31RK (basically the same layout), the only thing we found that is a pain, is that you cannot open the fridge without the slide fully extended. Other than this one issue, the layout is great.

hondavalk · 01-30-2017, 06:31 AM

I have a 2013 ST29SS and while the factory listed dry weight is 5689#, the actually weighed dry weight sticker on the trailer is 6480#. With full propane and modestly loaded I set around 7000#. I do like the trailer a lot and have had no real problems with it.

lp722 · 01-30-2017, 06:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CampMacKay

Hello and welcome to the forum.
We have a Cruiser 31RK (basically the same layout), the only thing we found that is a pain, is that you cannot open the fridge without the slide fully extended. Other than this one issue, the layout is great.

That's a good point. What functions can be used, say, if the batteries are dead but it's hooked up to the trucks tow harness? I'd imagine the truck alternator couldn't provide enough amperage to move the slide?

CampMacKay · 01-30-2017, 07:00 AM

When you go to look at the trailer, there should be a label affixed to the inside of a cupboard door, that lists the 'as is weight' when it left the factory. It should also list all the appliances installed with serial numbers noted. Any optional equipment's weight will be included in this number, but will need to be added on to the weight shown on the Crossroads web site.

lp722 · 01-30-2017, 07:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hondavalk

I have a 2013 ST29SS and while the factory listed dry weight is 5689#, the actually weighed dry weight sticker on the trailer is 6480#. With full propane and modestly loaded I set around 7000#. I do like the trailer a lot and have had no real problems with it.

That claimed dry weight is right on the listed weight of the 291RK, and your actual numbers are still in range for us... Thanks for the heads up...I definitely need to keep an eye on that. One of the dealer's I went to actually weighs their trailers and posts actual as-shown weights, but they didn't have the one we're looking for.

Dennisf · 01-31-2017, 02:40 PM

I just started pulling a trailer last year. We watched the weight very carefully, talked to several dealers about pulling capacity and was assured that my Toyota 4Runner would pull my 4000 pound trailer. The 4Runner was rated to pull 5000 lbs.

It did actually pull it, very slowly and then when the wind kicked up a little the SUV just struggled. So much so I cut my first trip short turned around came home.

The point being, you may be disappointed trying to pull a 6000 lb trailer with a truck rated for 7000 pounds. Hope you have better luck than I did.

**Lloyd** · 01-31-2017, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dennisf

The point being, you may be disappointed trying to pull a 6000 lb trailer with a truck rated for 7000 pounds. Hope you have better luck than I did.

My thoughts exactly.

lp722 · 01-31-2017, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dennisf

I just started pulling a trailer last year. We watched the weight very carefully, talked to several dealers about pulling capacity and was assured that my Toyota 4Runner would pull my 4000 pound trailer. The 4Runner was rated to pull 5000 lbs.

It did actually pull it, very slowly and then when the wind kicked up a little the SUV just struggled. So much so I cut my first trip short turned around came home.

The point being, you may be disappointed trying to pull a 6000 lb trailer with a truck rated for 7000 pounds. Hope you have better luck than I did.

Thanks for the input. The truck has a 385hp V8, so I think the transmission is the limiting factor. I'll definitely keep an eye on the weights, but so far I'm thinking we'll be OK there, as long as we can keep dry under 6k.

Tebpac · 01-31-2017, 03:26 PM

helped me to understand what I could safely pull. It's at least a good start on learning a few things about your TV and Trailer. Matching Trucks to Trailers

lp722 · 01-31-2017, 04:11 PM

That's a great link, thanks! I can't believe that he's saying 50% of travel trailers exceed their GVW. The trailer I'm looking at has like 1200#'s plus of cargo capacity. Even with a full white tank, what would people put in there to take up that much weight? We pack light, but I don't think I could pack that much stuff if I wanted to!

harley · 01-31-2017, 04:21 PM

I weighed everthing I took out of my last trailer after I sold it and it totaled 1400 #. That was from the levelling blocks to 4 bikes to forks and spoons. I guessed at food as the fridge was empty. You will see ...

travelin texans · 01-31-2017, 05:00 PM

First rule in buying a rv, NEVER EVER ask a salesperson "can I pull that trailer with my tow vehicle" cause the answer will always be "yes" regardless of your vehicle or the weight of the trailer, that salesperson has absolutely NO idea if it will or not, YOU MUST DO YOUR OWN HOMEWORK!! Just remember if their lips are moving......

Tebpac · 01-31-2017, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by harley

I weighed everthing I took out of my last trailer after I sold it and it totaled 1400 #. That was from the levelling blocks to 4 bikes to forks and spoons. I guessed at food as the fridge was empty. You will see ...

Stuff adds up over time. We're looking at the 254RB model which is 5204lb empty weight with a gvwr of 7580lbs. That would be over the safe weight described in the video. Our trailering capability listed in the book is 7900lbs but I don't want to pull that. Trying to keep the weight to a certain point may cause us to look at different models.....

lp722 · 02-01-2017, 07:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by harley

I weighed everthing I took out of my last trailer after I sold it and it totaled 1400 #. That was from the levelling blocks to 4 bikes to forks and spoons. I guessed at food as the fridge was empty. You will see ...

I can see that. I travel for work all the time, so I've gotten used to packing light, but I'm sure once we get out there I'll find tons of things that are just so useful that I'll have to add them to the kit.

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelin texans

First rule in buying a rv, NEVER EVER ask a salesperson "can I pull that trailer with my tow vehicle" cause the answer will always be "yes" regardless of your vehicle or the weight of the trailer, that salesperson has absolutely NO idea if it will or not, YOU MUST DO YOUR OWN HOMEWORK!! Just remember if their lips are moving......

Yeah, definitely. We've gone to a few different dealers so far, and it's interesting to ask them all the same questions and see how the answers differ.

campingcpl · 02-01-2017, 11:30 AM

99% of the dealers I have ran into try to sell you a trailer based on the dry weight and not the GVWR of the trailer. I'm not going to be pulling this thing empty!! Always look to see what the GVWR of the trailer is before purchasing and use that as a worse case scenario.

For example: When we went to purchase one of our previous trailers we were at a dealership and the sales man of course asked us what we had for a tow vehicle. I already knew what I could and couldn't tow with my vehicle but I told him anyway. He proceeded to show us some trailers that would have almost maxed out our towing capacity before we even added anything to the trailer. He of course was basing his recommendations on the dry weight of the trailer and not the GVWR.

Like others have said, don't trust the salesman! Do your homework and know your numbers before you shop!

Kingfish58 · 02-01-2017, 09:06 PM

"Do your homework and know your numbers before you shop!"

This is what I did. I would walk on a lot and say don't show me anything over the gvwr of what I felt I could tow.

Also, be sure to check the capacity of your truck. The hitch weight, truck occupants, fuel, gear, etc often maxes out before you hit what the vehicle can tow.

lp722 · 02-06-2017, 06:42 AM

Thanks for the help, everyone. We finally went to a dealer that had one in stock to look at it this weekend (drove from an hour south of Orlando up to St. Augustine...figured even if the RV dealer was a bust, we could just go to the historic district). The weight is right, and the asking price is a good starting point, and the dealer seemed much less salesman-like than the other ones we went to.

The one we looked at was sold, but he said he should be getting an identical unit in the next week or so, as it just rolled off the line last week. We're probably going to pull the trigger on it this weekend, if he gets it in time.

One thing he did say that I wanted to run by you guys - since he's 2.5 hrs from us, he said that he could handle warranty repairs, or we could contact Crossroads to have them hook us up with an authorized service center that might be closer that would do the warranty work. From what I've read, it seems like most dealers will refuse to do the work unless you bought the RV from them. Is contacting the manufacturer a way to strong-arm them into doing it, or was the guy not being truthful? Or was what I read not correct?

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