Toronto RV Show - a few impressions

[glamourpets]

I just spent a few hours at the Toronto RV show. It was mostly a dealer show, with RVs and trailers of all shapes and sizes. I was happy to see that there was a reasonable selection of trailers that can be pulled by a mid-sized sedan. The TAB trailer was my favorite, but there were other lightweight models there too.

There was one fiberglass RV - a Trillium. It is amazing that this trailer is available today, with almost no changes from the Trailers from the early 70s. This trailer even had the louvered 3 pane windows in the front and rear. The trailer was on a dealer space, so it appears that Trillium is being offered through dealers

One thing I did notice was that the frames on many of the 2000lb and under trailers were much more sturdily built than my old boler. My old boler has its original frame. The steel appeared thicker and the tubes appeared larger.

Does anyone else have any RV show experiences to comment on? Any thoughts to share? What are your thoughts on the new vs old Trillium trailers?

Derek

Relevant links:
Toronto RV Show & Extravaganza
- T@B Camper Trailers
http://http://www.trilliumrv.com/

[RRJR]

I visited the London Show last year and YES they had a new Trillium (USA) there . The only big diff I notices was the price tag. $29K. But it was loaded.
Ron

[glamourpets]

Originally Posted by RRJR

I visited the London Show last year and YES they had a new Trillium (USA) there . The only big diff I notices was the price tag. $29K. But it was loaded.
Ron

The new ones certainly are pricy. Anybody know what a 70's Trillium would cost today, after you add in the cost of inflation?

My grandmother talked about going to the candy store with a penny. Today a penny is near worthless. Thoughts?

Derek

[theresa p]

i have attended many Rv shows, all over the continent. honestly, i have rarely found a show that has had more than 2 smallish trailers....and rarely fiberglass.
naturally, they feature the large stickies. and then the huge ones. and of course, the $$$$ ones! as much as i know this, i still find myself drawn to going and checking things out.....and usually come away re-invigorated and ready to head out in our outback.
glutton for punishment!!

[Raz]

Derek, I own a 2010 Trillium. If had to do it again I would buy an old one and fix it up. Perhaps they have improved?? Raz

[glamourpets]

Originally Posted by theresa p

i have attended many Rv shows, all over the continent. honestly, i have rarely found a show that has had more than 2 smallish trailers....and rarely fiberglass.
naturally, they feature the large stickies. and then the huge ones. and of course, the $$$$ ones! as much as i know this, i still find myself drawn to going and checking things out.....and usually come away re-invigorated and ready to head out in our outback.
glutton for punishment!!

At this show there was at least 4 distinct brands of trailer that had rigs under 2000 lbs. This doesn't include the popups. And yes, they have the standard 250K land yachts too.

As for new vs old trilliums, is there really that much difference? This one was a relatively basic model. Not many upgrades to speak of.

Derek

[Thomas G.]

Originally Posted by glamourpets

........ Anybody know what a 70's Trillium would cost today, after you add in the cost of inflation?

My grandmother talked about going to the candy store with a penny. Today a penny is near worthless. Thoughts?

Derek

You can calculate inflation backwards and forwards on a site like this:

The Inflation Calculator

[bec]

Old verses new ....... old ...... in our experience they were put together better . We bought an 04 Trillium Outback in Calgary and were thoroughly disappointed with the sloppy workmanship and having to take it back repeatedly - getting it back in such a dirty state that we started taking every little thing out before taking it in ( including curtain ) . Spent a lot of time and elbow grease cleaning up glue messes -trimmed it out - installed a actual counter brought everything up to where it should have been new . Then sold it for a couple of reasons but one was definitely because of being so cheesed off and disappointed after having spent so much money . We now have an Escape and it is perfect ! ...... so yeah OLD ... there are so many talented people here that do wonderful things with there trailers .... if we weren't such old croaks we'd have liked a 15" Trillium to fix to our taste and specs .

[Raz]

Originally Posted by bec

Old verses new ....... old ...... in our experience they were put together better . We bought an 04 Trillium Outback in Calgary and were thoroughly disappointed with the sloppy workmanship and having to take it back repeatedly - getting it back in such a dirty state that we started taking every little thing out before taking it in ( including curtain ) . Spent a lot of time and elbow grease cleaning up glue messes -trimmed it out - installed a actual counter brought everything up to where it should have been new . Then sold it for a couple of reasons but one was definitely because of being so cheesed off and disappointed after having spent so much money . We now have an Escape and it is perfect ! ...... so yeah OLD ... there are so many talented people here that do wonderful things with there trailers .... if we weren't such old croaks we'd have liked a 15" Trillium to fix to our taste and specs .

Two comments. 1) Trillium Outback (Canada) and Trillium RV (US) are not the same company although it is my understanding that Trillium RV did buy blank 1300's from them at one point.

2)I originally ordered an Escape 15 but unfortunately jalousie windows weren't available. Shame.


FWIW I paid $14k delivered for my 1300. Now that it's fixed I'm happy with it. As far as 29k,

[glamourpets]

Originally Posted by Thomas G.

You can calculate inflation backwards and forwards on a site like this:

The Inflation Calculator

This is a handy link. According to the website:

"What cost $15000 in 2011 would cost $2625.90 in 1970."

We complain about current prices being high, but is that really the case? Perhaps this is more of an illusion then we think.

Derek

[accrete]

My wife and i go to every Portland Oregon RV show we can. We always gravitate toward the cute and cozy designs for get-away rigs. Though when it came time to find a home-on-wheels...

We purchased and live full time in a lightly used 2006 Mobile Suite...38feet of luxury on wheels currently parked at a golf-rv resort on the oregon coast. We got it for pennies on the dollar as the original owners wanted to _trade up_ to a motorhome. Our floorplan/model was at the MS dealer space last show selling for 127K. Yikes! Anywhoooooo....

We will be paying cash for an egg this spring to pull behind our van. Tops on the list is Parkliner, with Trillium-RV a close second. Time will tell. I wish i could see either at a show, but may have to trust the owner reports and buy sight unseen.

[glamourpets]

Originally Posted by accrete

We will be paying cash for an egg this spring to pull behind our van. Tops on the list is Parkliner, with Trillium-RV a close second. Time will tell. I wish i could see either at a show, but may have to trust the owner reports and buy sight unseen.

If you can get to an eggfest type meeting in your area, this might be a good way to see what's out there. You can talk with people about their experiences and see how these rigs work out in the real world.

[Robin G]

Originally Posted by accrete

We will be paying cash for an egg this spring to pull behind our van. Tops on the list is Parkliner, with Trillium-RV a close second. Time will tell. I wish i could see either at a show, but may have to trust the owner reports and buy sight unseen.

Tom, you guys are in the Rally capitol! Oregon has lot's of rally's, You might wanna check them out as Derek pointed out. You will see lot's of brands, makes and models.



Everyone has different opinions on which brands they think are better than another. Going to a rally will let you see for yourself what will be the perfect brand for you. Good Luck!

[Bob Miller]

The original Bil of Sale for my 1973 Hunter Compact-II indicates that it cost $2492 inc tax and registration. That's about $12,440 in todays $$$, about the same as a new 13' FGRV/with the bathroom option, as has mine.

[David Tilston]

I purchased my 1978 Trillium 4500 Deluxe from the daughter of the first owner. She said it was $6000 when new. The inflation calculator puts that at $20400 in 2011. So they are a bit less expensive today.

[accrete]

I had the West Coast Trillium dealer do a quote on a fairly maxed out 2013 Trillium 1500 with front corner bath and all the fixin's... the price came in at $20,517... so it's just some pocket change difference than the calculated then & now price you posted. I don't know if that pricing is good/bad or in between. To me? It actually seems high by at least a couple grand.

Thom

[Sue and Henry]

Originally Posted by glamourpets

The new ones certainly are pricy. Anybody know what a 70's Trillium would cost today, after you add in the cost of inflation?

My grandmother talked about going to the candy store with a penny. Today a penny is near worthless. Thoughts?

Derek

$29,000 today was about $4,900 in 1970 according to bureau of labor statistics inflation calculator.

[David Tilston]

Originally Posted by accrete

I had the West Coast Trillium dealer do a quote on a fairly maxed out 2013 Trillium 1500 with front corner bath and all the fixin's... the price came in at $20,517... so it's just some pocket change difference than the calculated then & now price you posted. I don't know if that pricing is good/bad or in between. To me? It actually seems high by at least a couple grand.

Thom

I assume that the front quarter bath added some cost. Mine doesn't have one. There are likely some other options, like power and music that were not available back in the day. My point is, they actually seem a little less expensive now.
That said, I purchased my first 4500 for... umm... less, lots less, and it was in good shape. The windows need to be re-installed and I still plan to remove the belly band, but I would do that to a new one too.