Looking for a new camper?

[homemaker]

We have a 98 coleman niagara popup. We just took it to williamsburg and realized that it is a bit cramped with 2 fluffy adults and 4 growing boys. It is time to upgrade! We haven't used out pop up much since we purchased it new in 98 so the trade value should be pretty good. It is in great shape. Thinking of getting a Jayco EXP 26L. Love the bunks for the kids, they will each have their own space! The dinette is small for 6, but can I live with that? The queen bed (slide) concerns me a little. Like I said DH and I are fluffy, will it support our weight? Are there any other expandables or lightweights that have the four bunks and a larger dinette? Our GVWR is 6980 so what is a safe trailer weight to go with? The 26L is 4660. Is that safe, can we go a little higher? Thanks for the help.

 

[VAN]

You may want to visit the websites for any trailers you are interested in. We own a viking and they have a pdf file of the brochure which has all the specs listed as well as the floor plans.

No prices were given, but I think most manufacturers would have their specs listed on the internet.

Good luck.

 

[Michelle GT]

Homemaker,
We have the Jayco 26L-2006. There is a lot of storage. the bunks are great-we have 3 kids 7,8,10. The queen bunk for us is fine- and we are not petite. It is easy to set up.(no poles) the dinette is really for 4 but you can put a chair on the end. Also, the sofa is right there if you want to put a small snack table. Lots of kitchen storage.
We tow with a yukon xl-we have 8100 wt limit/ this has been no problem.
We have had it for 1 1/2 years. We are thinking about selling it to get a similar jayco trailer but with bedroom for us up front b/c I would like to have a place for my things.(I think it is 30u model)
I hope I answered your questions.
Michelle

 

[AuburnJen92]

We had a Jayco and loved it. We got a good trade in on our Class A. I know you will make a great choice. They are really nice and well built trailers IMO.

 

[homemaker]

Thank all for the help. DH and I are going to look again Thursday. This time without the boys so we can ask questions and really check the campers out without chasing children. We have looked at alot online but it is easier to see the real thing. I am also worried about the weight of the trailers. Finding a trailer is easy, staying within a safe tow range is hard. We pack lots of people and lots of stuff.

Michelle GT I agree a bedroom with room for my things would be great, but the jayco 30R(love it) weight is 5390 without our stuff. You know how much you pack with kids! DH thinks we are pushing it with our GVWR.

 

[mecamper]

We just bought a 2005 Jayco, 27 ft bunkhouse (weighs 4,995 lbs). We are very happy with it, it has a double bunk on the bottum and a single on the top. One good thing about the Jayco that our older camper didn't have is a rounded roof. That way the rain doesn't settle on the top. It also has a metal sheeting across the lower front to protect the outside of the camper. One time when we pulling our citation through DC something fell off a work truck in front of us and bounced up and did some damage to the front of the trailer. That "diamond" plating would have protected the siding.
I am very happy with the Jayco and will be pulling it to FW in August.

 

[rbthntschl]

We have a 98 coleman niagara popup. .

Dear Homemaker,

Do I understand correctly that you are looking to sell this trailer? May I ask what you are asking for it? SO and I are looking to buy a pop up for ourselves and occasionally a fluffy dog (it's a poodle, it's fluffy by nature).

 

[homemaker]

Well we went looking again last night and now I am even more undecided! We thought the GVWR inside drivers door was what we can pull up to, but apparently we were wrong. Our tow vehicle can tow up to 6000 lbs. With that in mind we found the Trail-sport TS29BHSS. It is a 2008 has a queen bedroom and four bunks. It's weight was under 4400lbs. The Jayco is heavier (better quality, I think) with four bunks and a slide queen. With the Trail-sport DH and I get our own space too. What is the quality a trail-sport and will it survive four rough boys?

rbthntschl: Thanks for the interest in our pop up, but we are planning on using it as a trade on whatever we decide to buy. I am jealous that you get to take your fluffy dog camping. My dog (cocker spaniel) is a mess to take. We tried once on a local trip and had to bring him home. He barked all day and night!

 

[hebbynan]

Hi! We just traded our 97 Camplite by Damon in on a 2006 (brand new -model end clearance ) Jay Feather 21' TT. Our pop up slept 6 and it had a shower/toilet combo. We got 3000 for it. It was in really good shape excpet for one tiny whole in the one canvas over the queen bed. The TT has a hard sided slide out queen bed, sofa/sleeper that sleeps 2, the table bed, and 2 slightly larger than twin bunk beds in the back. It's DH, me, DS7 and DS3 and it's more than enough room. I love it! DH loves the fact that it's so light. It's such a great step up from the pop up that I actually feel spoiled! But I found that the more we looked at TT the more confused I got. It actually just came down to price for us as well as weight. We wanted more room than the pop up, but not something that was going to weigh a ton!!

Good luck with your search!!

 

[mamaloya]

Our tow vehicle can tow up to 6000 lbs. With that in mind we found the Trail-sport TS29BHSS. It is a 2008 has a queen bedroom and four bunks. It's weight was under 4400lbs.

I would double check your wt. That 4400lbs is UVWR. That is what the wt is of the trailer with NOTHING in it. No food, luggage, water, camping equipment, etc. The GVWR of that trailer is 6000lb. That is pushing your wt limits. If I were you, I would consider the Trail sport that does not have the walk around queen bed, but the queen bed slide out. It weighs about 1K less. Salesmen will try to convince you that you don't need to worry about GVWR, only UVWR. That is not true. Even if you manage to pull it, it is not safe and can wear out your transmission quickly. Even though the tow capacity of your vehicle is 6000lb, that does not mean you should tow that. You need to subtract from that how much luggage you will have and how much all of the passengers in your vehicle weigh. The tow capacity only takes into consideration the driver (some consider 1 passenger as well). When I questioned a salesman recently about GVWR, he told me "You don't need to worry about that, you won't put that much stuff in it anyway." How does he know how we pack??

Do some more research on wt limits, towing capacity and GVWR vs UVWR. Don't let a salesman talk you into something that will hurt your vehicle or be unsafe towing in the longrun.

Happy camper hunting!!