Travel Trailer Question

[kimluvswdw]

As I posted before, we have sold our 33 foot Class A and now we are considering a travel trailer. I played around with the idea of tent camping, but would rather not do that. We were at our local RV dealer just looking at the floorplans and would like any input on Brands and floorpans that you like. We have not owned a travel trailer for about 5 years and I bet they have changed. Thanks a bunch. Kim

 

[mamaloya]

Kim,

Tell us what you are looking for and we can make a recommendation.

Info needed:

Tow capacity and what you will be towing with.

How many kids and ages.

Amenities that are important to you.

If you let us know, maybe we can narrow it down for you.

Happy Camping!!

 

[kimluvswdw]

It is mainly my husband, myself, our two girls. I really don't need brand new because I dont want to go broke over it. We have a Ford Expedition with the 5.4L.

 

[mom24diskidz]

We towed a 32ft Puma travel trailer DBSS wih our Expedition 5.4 L as we have 4 little ones and it was great, However we have since moved on to a Suburban 1/2 ton and it does much better with the weight 7000lbs. We love this travel trailer , we bought it in April and it has 4 bunks a kitchen and full bath...love it love it love it and so do the kids . Good Luck with your purchase....

 

[AlyLynn]

Hi! We just bought a new (leftover) 2007 Jayco Jayflight 29 BHS. We have never owned a trailer, but I grew up camping in one, and DH has been tent camping with our boys! It has a queen bedroom in the front, and bunks in the back. It has 1 slide out, and with 4 kids, we need the extra room.

 

[Goingtoseethemouse]

We had 2 TT's and one motorhome in the last 4 years. Jayco has the best quality-HANDS DOWN. They also think of everything in terms of storage and durability. We never had one concern with our Jayco. WE traded it in because it was too small. Next we got a Prowler 32DBH. It did not have the quality the Jayco did....but it was very very very roomy. The double bukhouse made it seem like it had 2 bedrooms. One for us and one for the kids. I have never even seen a motorhome with that much practical room (well, now I notice that the Damon Daybreak has a 2 bedroom class A out-but it is $$$$)
Anyway, with kids you HAVE TO GET A DOUBLE BUNK HOUSE!!!! In terms of quality I liked Jayco the best. But I am sure there are other good companies out there too. Regardless, make sure you shop around and negotiate. You can haggle big time on these things!

 

[mamaloya]

If I were you, I would get one with at least one set of bunk beds. There are so many choices out there. I like my kodiak skamper. Mine has the queen bed that slides out the back and 2 sets of bunk beds in the front. If I only had 2 kids though, I would get the one with the queen bedroom so I could walk around the bed to make it. The heaviest kodiak has a GVWR of 6000lbs, well within your limit.

Here is a link to the floor plans. Mine is the 26QS.

http://www.kodiak-rv.com/trailers.php?tab=floorplans

Some of the new floor plans are neat. We bought ours used, only 6 months used though and saved over 6k on it. The people bought it and then changed their mind after only a couple of trips in it. It is a 2006 and we bought it in May or June (my brain is iffy right now LOL).

I have neighbors that love their flagstaff and they pull with the expedition as well. Here is a link to them.


http://www.forestriverinc.com/nd/default22.asp?page=flag&nav=rec&choice=brochure

I would check out www.rvtrader.com as well and just see what is out there. I know the dealers that we visited had much better prices online than in person. I guess they figured they need to get you there with the low price, but if you are already there, they have you and you may not have done your research.

I just searched around on the internet, keeping my price range and double bunks in mind, until I found what I wanted. It makes it so much easier.

Good luck!!

 

[bxtx]

We also have a 2000 Ford Expedition 5.4l Eddie Bauer. We tow a R-vision Trail Cruiser 27' queen bunk house "TC26QBH" (2004 model). Its a full size, no slide, TT which is well within the Expedition's towing capacity (7000lbs) AND length. Don't go too long with the TT as you don't want the "tail wagging the dog". The TC has a dry weight of 3300lbs so even fully loaded it's still good to tow.

We like the interior quality of the TT, but have encountered a couple of problems outside - had to replace the rubber roof last year but we do live in SE Texas and it was stored outside. Plus the roof vent flew off - probably screwed on too tightly at the factory!

It has a queen bed up front, a queen at the back with a bunk over, and the sitting area which converts to a large twin. So if we have grandparents join us, we have space for them too! We've camped 30+ nights each year with our 2 boys (currently 6 & 3) and our dog. We're taking it to Ft W in March 08.

PM if you want to know more.

BX

 

[LarryJ]

As I posted before, we have sold our 33 foot Class A and now we are considering a travel trailer. I played around with the idea of tent camping, but would rather not do that. We were at our local RV dealer just looking at the floorplans and would like any input on Brands and floorpans that you like. We have not owned a travel trailer for about 5 years and I bet they have changed. Thanks a bunch. Kim

First I would join something like rvnet forums and start learning. With kids something based on a bunkhouse is a good idea. If you read enough on something like rvnet you will find that what the manufacturer says you can tow and what you feel comfortable with are two "COMPLETELY" different things. And never ask a trailer salesman if your vehicle can tow this or that or a car salesman if this can tow that. Things like the aerodynamics of the trailer, your hitch setup, and even the weight and wheel base of the tow vehicle plays into what you can safely tow. Check around and there is a basic formula that says what you can say length wise you can tow based on the wheel base of your tow vehicle. My rule of thumb is based on that WB formula give me three scenarios that I would be combortable with.

1. I will only tow something longer and heavier if I have either a Hensley Arrow or Pull-Rite hitch, both $2K to $4k hitch setups.

2. I will only tow something longer and then only by 2 to 3 feet if my tow vehicle is heavier by at least 1,000 lbs and I have a really good sway based conventional hitch like the Reese Dual Cam system, or the Equal-I-Zer.

3. Whatever the vehicle manufacturer rates the weight that I can tow I need to know what that is based on mainly from a GCWR for my particular vehicle. I like to stay at least 2,000 lbs under both my GCWR and hitch rating. In any case you need to weigh your tow vehicle full of fuel and passengers and what you normally carry since the manufacturer's towing rating is base on base curb weight and you will be far and above that when ready to go. In my case I have an E-350 that was listed as a base curb wt. of around 5,300 and w/o the trailer and less around 700 lbs of "stuff" and fuel when I'm actually towing, I tool around at an actual weight of over 7,700 lbs.

Final recommendation is that if you tow anything over about 24 feet get some sort of sway control. I've been using a Reese type single friction type with my 26', 6K TT for over 25 years.

Larry

 

[kimluvswdw]

Thanks for all the info. When I do buy my TT I am hoping to buy from a private person. I think you make a much better deal that way (at least in my case, I practically gave my rv away). The one thing I have decided on getting is a bunk house, I think that is a must with the kids.

 

[Gatordad]

We have a Weekend Warrior, and we love it!!

 

[lawnspecialties]

If you're not in too big of a hurry, find out when and where the next big RV show is near you. They're hard to beat since you have so many brands, floorplans, and dealers to choose from.

 

[kimluvswdw]

If you're not in too big of a hurry, find out when and where the next big RV show is near you. They're hard to beat since you have so many brands, floorplans, and dealers to choose from.

That is a great idea. Thanks.

 

[ILoveDisney&Cruising]

The one thing I have decided on getting is a bunk house, I think that is a must with the kids.

I agree!!

 

[AlyLynn]

I'm in favor of the RV show--that's how we got ours, and we were "just looking".The dealer we bought from even gave us the RV price after the show was over, that's why we chose him. We couldn't purchase it at the show because we didn't have the proper vehicle. He also suggested the 2007 "leftovers" because they were so much cheaper than the 2008, and not too much different!

 

[Us3]

Hi Kim...I thought you may be visiting an RV dealer soon As others said, you can def get some good deals at the RV shows! Check out the open road forums on at rv.net. So much information! We didn't buy our last tt at a show, but we went to the dealer knowing what we wanted and exactly how much we were willing to pay. This was armed with all of the info we had gathered in the forums.

We're happy with our current set up. We have a pretty large tt, but with "way more" truck to pull it with. It's so nice not have to worry about pulling in hills or mountains. We're pretty happy with our Forest River product.....but they all seem to have "issues" to deal with.

Have fun with your search!