New to us 2014 Sunset Trail owners and happy to be a part of these forums!
Hello folks! Super excited to finally own a travel trailer after studying the purchase for nearly 5 years. We waited for the right time to pull the trigger and the stars finally lined up. Coming from a pop-up this is a HUGE move haha!
We mulled over the new verses used thing for a long time. I actually made an offer on a new Puma but the dealer didn't go for it and it turned out to be a very very good thing. My rationale for going new was 1) the warranty, 2) I found a decent dealer close to me with a seemingly decent service center (in an area with a LOT of bad dealers looking to rip people off in every way possible), 3) I wanted a dealer walkthrough and WDH install so that I could fully understand all the systems and how to adjust the hitch for my truck (something that I thought would be sketchy trying to do while buying from an individual).
I ended up finding a 2014 Sunset Trail 32BH from an individual. The guy had bought a piece of property that had two of these trailers (one rear living model) on it. Previous owner bought the trailers for his family but passed away sadly and the units sat unused for years. This 32BH is pristine on the inside, it's obvious it has never had people in it for any significant time. The only issues I'm dealing with are fairly minor ones having to do with it being exposed to the weather. The front cap is faded from sunlight (not a big deal for me, and I have found wax suggestions on the forum that might help it some). I had to have the furnace serviced from a mobile RV repair guy as it had dirt dobber nests up in it, not a big deal, all good now. I need to replace the tires although the unit has been towed less than 100 miles in its life. No leaks, slides work well, this thing is awesome and I think I got it for a very fair price. There is no way we could have rationalized such a nice unit new.
So I'm loving this forum, there are many great people sharing great advice and ideas. I've already started tackling some mods that I'll share pictures of. I went into this wanting a project. I know there will always be things to fix and tinker with. I'm thankful that the main systems on this trailer seem to be in good working order and that only minor maintenance is needed to get us out and camping initially. My wife and two young boys, 7 and 8, are beyond excited!
One interesting note, I ended up bumper pulling this thing home from about 30 minutes away with no WDH or sway control. Was very nervous about it. There was no good way to figure out a weight distributing hitch and install at the sellers house. I took back roads avoiding the interstate and made it home perfectly fine. First time towing a 36 foot long trailer (big step up from an 8 foot pop-up!). The truck pulled it like a boss and all was good. Now I've got to figure out the WDH but I have time to study and plan for that. U-Haul will install it for 65 bucks an hour and I can watch it up close. May buy the hitch myself and let them do it. I could probably install myself but there are no flat surfaces near me that I'd feel comfortable doing it on.
Anyway, happy to be a Crossroads owner and happy to be a part of this forum!
Cheers!
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2014 Sunset Trail Reserve 32BH
2015 Ram 2500 6.4L Hemi 4x4 CC
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