Tell me about your travel trailer!

[highwayg]

Short story-
We are biting the bullet and buying a travel trailer. Have looked at so many , my head is spinning. We are planning a trip cross country (CT to AZ area), and a trip to Disney (my favorite!!! We will do smaller trips first of course.

What do you like?dislike about yours? Any brands better than others? We have looked at KZ, Gulfstream and forest river.
It is me, DH DD12, DS9 so we need a bunkroom. (the bigger the better LOL!)
We will be hauling it with F250 or bigger (DH looking at buying one this week)

 

[kcp1377]

We went with a Keystone Bullet 294BHS. It's got enough room for 5 of our kids to sleep in the bunkhouse and room for them to play in it while they aren't sleeping. We had a few things on the list that had to be compromised (outdoor kitchen and 2nd bathroom door being the 2 biggest) but now that we've got it I'm not missing them at all. In fact, I'm very thankful that we didn't get the bathroom door to the outside. While it would have been nice for the kids needing to use it, I would have missed out on all the counter/storage space that we now have in the bathroom. All in all we're extrememly happy with it so far. As far as towing goes, our 1 ton van can pull 10,000lbs, but we're very happy we stayed under 6 as far as dry weight goes. It pulls great. We had been looking at heavier ones, but didn't want to put too much strain on our TV either.

One thing that we found out when looking at TT was that all the main brands were pretty much the same as far as quality goes. We had been looking at Coachman, Jayco and Keystone. The interiors were pretty similar as were the layouts. We found a dealer we loved to work with and they had the TT in stock that we wanted and gave us a great deal on it. So that would be my recommendation as far as what brand to buy. Go with the dealer you like the most and trust and find a layout you like. It's so head spinning once you start looking isn't it? We didn't know where to start or what to begin looking at. Then once we started looking it was almost worse because they all looked the same to us! We'd go in one and say "we like it" then go into another and say "this looks almost exactly the same - we like this one too". There wasn't ever one thing that stood out - even in the higher end models of TT.

 

[highwayg]

Thank you for your answer! That layout is just the style we wanted. I love my kids very very much, but it would be great for us to all have our own little space!

 

[2goofycampers]

My best advice,,,, get the TT and truck you want the first time. You lose $$$$ every time you trade.

We are partial to the Jayco brand. Love the 2 year warranty and quality.

 

[kcp1377]

Denise - We were *this* close to going with a Jayco. We really liked their layouts and had heard nothing but good things about them. Unfortunately our local dealer wasn't the best and the day we went to sign the paperwork with them had a falling out so we went elsewhere. I'm sure we would have been very happy with that too. I think it was the 31dslb we were looking at.

 

[kcp1377]

HighwayG - That's our theory too. It's not a camping trailer as much as our vacation home. And as such we needed that extra room. We love that it's got a whole entertainment area for the kids in their room for rainy days too. I didn't realize how much we liked that space in the bunkhouse until we had it. I'm so glad we didn't go for a standard quad bunk like we had been looking at at first.

 

[Mcert01]

First, with an F250 to tow with you will have lots of choices. The tow wait will allow you to pretty much tow any travel trailer out there, and a good number of 5th wheels as well.

My advice on the bunk house ... don't do it. Kids have a way of out growing the bunks (ours did). Now the bunks are just extra storage area. Your 12 year old is probably just a year or two from saying "I'm too big for the bunk".

Best bet is to go to the websites of the manufacturers and check out the layouts, then hit the RV shows and tour the various rigs to get an idea of what works best for you.

Good luck!

 

[jlcw14]

We went for a 2013 Keystone Passport GT 3220. Like you, our heads were spinning from looking at so many. We spent last year and this year looking. We wanted it to fit our needs and have our "wants", yet not break the bank. We finally found the passport, and it fit all of our needs/ wants. We got a great deal - $23,000, with a 19" TV, RVQ, upgraded AC/ furnace, and aluminum rims thrown in - and couldn't pass it up.
My advice is to make a list of your needs/ wants and prioritize it as far as importance. Look around websites (rvwholesalers.com has ALOT of different campers and you can browse around it looking at floorplans to get an idea of what there is available). We wanted to be sure we were getting the most for our money. We're in the process of building a house right now, so even though $23,000 is very reasonable for a nice TT, it's still not chump-change, at least to us! Take your time, and don't settle!

 

[jonimce]

Our 24' Areolite would be too small for your family but picking a camper is like picking a wedding dress. When you go inside and sit down, you will just know. I fell in love with ours instantly and we were only looking for a much smaller folding camper.

 

[amylevan]

We actually have a 5th wheel bunk house that we LOVE (KZ Durango 2500 D355BH) but our close friends just bought a Keystone Outback 312BH. They love it - bunkhouse, outside kitchen, plenty of room.

My advice is to echo someone above. Buy the one you want the first time. We bought a 5th wheel in 2009 - Keystone Copper Canyon - and ended up trading it in last summer. It was our own fault, we didn't really know what we wanted (turns out 2 bathrooms is just a pain in the butt and an enclosed bathroom is where its at for us). But we are out some money in the process. Now we love our 5th wheel and should be in it to stay tho.

 

[kcp1377]

Mike C - Just out of curiousity, what did you do when they outgrew the bunks? Our 7 year old is the size of an 11 year old so I know he won't fit on there forever, but the bunkhouse was really our only option and for the next 5 years it will be just fine. There's the couch in the bunkhouse we can use, if we really needed to, but I'm not sure he'd want to share with one of his brothers. We kinda figured by the time he really truly outgrew it he'd have his own tent next to the RV with his sisters (since they are all about the same age), but not sure at what age we'll feel comfortable doing that.

Sorry for the hijack, just wondering what people do when the bunks don't work for them anymore...

Amy - Interesting to hear you didn't love the 2 bathrooms. It was suggested to us to look into floorplans with 2 bathrooms, but we really wanted to keep the weight down and with 6 kids needed the space for living. We can always send them to the comfort stations if needed. KWIM?

They say to buy your TT for what you'll need in 5 years. Pretty solid advice I think!

 

[amylevan]

We did not find that the 2 bathrooms was worth the hassle...it meant an extra black tank that had to be dealt with, an extra toilet that had to be cleaned and less real estate for living space. We were tent campers first, so we were already accostomed to using comfort stations, and honestly, I grew up in a house with 1 bathroom, why do we need 2 in a camper?

I know that not everyone shares our thoughts, but we are camping after all, it's not going to kill anyone to walk to the comfort stations if needed. And the extra living space is soooo worth it when it's raining and we are stuck inside.

 

[kcp1377]

That's exactly our line of thinking! We were tent campers through the end of 2010 when we got our pop-up. If we can tent camp with 5 kids under 5, we can certainly deal with one bathroom in a vacation RV! :lol: And besides, I go to the showers in the comfort station (even though our pop-up had a shower) simply for some peace and quiet!

 

[JWimberley]

I'll echo what others have said about the bathrooms vs comfort stations. On this trip we are spending a month at the Fort and I've found that going to the CS for my shower and shave is more relaxing than using the bathroom in the 5th wheel. Of course part of that is that I'm not a small person ;o) This trip has actually changed a lot of my thoughts on what my needs in a camper are. I was convinced that I needed a triple slide, toy hauling, dual bath, full kitchen 5th wheel. Now I'm thinking that one of the all-terrain popups with a toy-deck will do just fine...

My suggestion is to rent a couple of different types before you decide. You will find that the rental is not much more than you would have spent in diesel getting there especially for trips of a week or less and it will give you a real sense of what is and isn't important.

Best of Luck!

 

[Disney Bunny]

Short story-
We are biting the bullet and buying a travel trailer. Have looked at so many , my head is spinning. We are planning a trip cross country (CT to AZ area), and a trip to Disney (my favorite!!! We will do smaller trips first of course.

What do you like?dislike about yours? Any brands better than others? We have looked at KZ, Gulfstream and forest river.
It is me, DH DD12, DS9 so we need a bunkroom. (the bigger the better LOL!)
We will be hauling it with F250 or bigger (DH looking at buying one this week)

Not all F250s are created equal. Are you getting gas or diesel? Long bed or short bed? 2 WD or 4 WD? What style cab? All that will make a difference in what you can tow. Before getting your heart set on a particular RV, buy your tow vehicle first and then figure out what you can safely tow with it. Also, it's not just a matter of the amount of weight that the tow vehicle can tow. You also need to look at GCWR which is the total amount that your tow vehicle with everything in it plus the weight of the camper with every thing in it actually weighs combined.

 

[2goofycampers]

It's not only how much weight can you pull. How much weight can you stop, quickly.

 

[Disney Bunny]

It's not only how much weight can you pull. How much weight can you stop, quickly.

Very true Denise. Most any full size truck can tow most reasonable size campers. They just can't handle them in bad weather or stop quickly.

And my point about not all F250s being equal has to do with the first F250 diesel we bought and the 5th wheel we bought. Despite the fact that the truck could tow the weight of the 5th wheel and we were under all the weight numbers with the combination, something in the wheelbase of that truck just didn't work well with the camper. After 3 years of uncomfortable rides when we towed (and some white knuckling on my part), we traded that F250 for a brand new one with the integrated tow package and a different wheelbase and the difference is night and day.

 

[the eman]

The combination we have and love is a Jayco 26BH and a Ram 2500 Diesel. We are a family of four with the kids being 12 & 10. We use our camper in a variety of places from state & national parks, camping resorts, and of course Fort Wilderness. After owning the camper for 2 years and traveling 15,000 plus miles, we went to the RV show this last winter - looked at dozens of campers - and decided that ours was still just right. Here are some thoughts on why that is.

The queen bed up front is just the right size for two adults less that six feet tall. Many campers have a fixed wall at the foot of the bed, usually to hold a tv that swivels. If we had that, there would be no way to walk around the bed and many would find that the space would be too short.

The bunks are a single and a double. They are sized about right for kids. An adult could sleep on the double so that gives a bit of room to grow. We didn't want to make up beds every night so having a bed for each person works great.

The bathroom has the sink outside the shower area. While we weren't sure about this at first, it actually works very well. It makes it easy to wash up for dinner. And at night, one can be showering while the other brushes their teeth.

We don't have a separate bunk area. We find we don't really need it. We have a couch and dinette so there is plenty of seating. You probably won't get that much privacy in a camper even with a bunkhouse. But, you can always go outside under the awning. We also don't have any slides. Honestly, we heard too many stories of problems and just wanted to keep things simple.

Length is a concern depending on where you want to stay. This is the longest camper that would fit comfortably in our side driveway. We have fit in most campgrounds. But, there have been a few like Rocky Mountain National Park where we just barely fit. In researching Acadia National Park, it looks like we wouldn't fit at all and will need to stay at a private campground just outside the park. So, a 30+ foot camper is just not an option for where we like to stay.

Anyway, hope that is helpful. Happy to answer any questions you might have.

the eman

 

[highwayg]

We are going to get the truck first, DH is torn between gas and diesel. I think we went into this thinking bigger is better and more features are better etc, but I am discovering that some of those features take away space and storage.
Keep those suggestions coming! The search continues!

 

[highwayg]

Question: Does anyone find the outside kitchen worthwhile? We will have a grill. I think I would be fine with one of those side grills.