NT FX21 vs NT FX23?

[czellermayer]

We currently own a Forrest River R-Pod 177 but are looking to move up a little in space/size. We are comparing the FX21 to the FX23 and would really appreciate any comments other owners might have that could help us to decide on a direction.

 

[jimtoo]

Hi czellermayer,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and hopefully to the family. We have a great bunch of folks here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge when needed.

I'm sure some of our other member owners will be in soon to help with information.

Enjoy the forum.

Jim M

 

[priorguy]

As someone who is on trailer 4 in 5 years my advice is to go as big as you can afford or tow. It's awfully expensive to go 2' bigger one or two years later. Make sure you take care of all the issues you have with your current trailer the first time. Just my two cents.

 

[czellermayer]

As someone who is on trailer 4 in 5 years my advice is to go as big as you can afford or tow. It's awfully expensive to go 2' bigger one or two years later. Make sure you take care of all the issues you have with your current trailer the first time. Just my two cents.

Thanks priorguy,

I really would like to go even larger but my storage area limits me to a max of about 25' spare to hitch. That's a big part of what is making this such a hard decision.

 

[dhcolesj]

Part of the "big as you can afford" is not just the size of the RV but the size you can afford to store, pull, insure, and rent for campsites. The bigger the camper, the larger the insurance bill, the larger the campsite bill (full hookups with 30 amp vs 50 amp, etc. verses a site with just electric. which is all optional but nice), the larger the fuel cost to pull/drive as well as larger vehicle. So, make sure you check all that out. If you're storage site will only handle 25' max, and you can't upgrade that, don't buy a 26' camper. That extra foot may wind up costing you another 25' worth of camper.
Fortunately My parents have a large side lot, where I can park ours, and we have a vehicle that's large enough to pull what we're getting. The part I didn't think about, was insurance. It's much higher on the model we bought verses the model we had.

 

[priorguy]

Good points dhcolej. I had the same thought process when we chose North Trail. The lighter weight than a comparable conventional trailer means lower fuel consumption. My TV has plenty of room left for a safety margin. Even though we park seasonally at a site, we want to travel across Canada and into the US. The insurance didn't change much as it is an add on to our house policy when parked and for contents. Towed vehicle is always covered under the towing vehicle policy in Ontario. I remember pricing out storage and for not much more I have it set up on a site for convienient weekend trips, but can pull it out anytime for a trip somewhere.

Czellermayer, have you considered another Heartlad brand like Wilderness, Prowler, or Lynx. There might be another floor plan in the other brands that will fit within your constraints and offer more of what you are looking for. My dealer carries several Heartland brands so we were able to compare in one place.

I'll add that I'm on TV number three in the same timespan. If DW wants a 5er then it'll mean another wholesale lineup change. Hopefully we can keep the salesman from calling for a while.

 

[smp2000]

Dhcolesj... not sure who you insure with but I have the same trailer and with Progressive I only pay $292 for a year including full purchase price replacement for the first 6 years if its a total loss.... cheapest I've found during my search...

 

[dhcolesj]

I'm with Geico, but I don't pay any more than that, however, my last RV was about half as much. I think I'm paying somewhere around 220ish, so not far off, and I have my house, both cars, and motorcycle with them, which helps.
Meant to add that the insurance increase just surprised me, not that it was excessive. I don't like getting caught off guard with stuff like that.

 

[smp2000]

Gotcha... sounds like you got a pretty good deal also... Hope you enjoy your 32BUDS as much as we do!