we just bought a new camper!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Camping Griswalds]

It's a Wilderness 31g. It's 31 feet long with triple bunks and a Super slide out. Can't believe the difference from our 1980 Jayco!! We've been camping in it twice. I swear it's nicer than home. We 're back to Disney for 10 nights in Aug, and this time we feel like we're going in style and with so much comfort!!!!! I just had to share my joy!!inkbounc

 

[Big V]

Congrats! That sounds really nice! We bought our first new trailer last year. A 29 ft. Salem with bunks and a queen bed, but no slideouts.

 

[loriandmatt]

CONGRATS!!!!

I aspire to be in your shoes someday! we are just starting out....we just had our fist trip in our little Viking Popup this past weekend. We loved it!!! While shopping for it, we vowed to someday have one of those large puppies. Our grand kids will have to e-mail us because our home will be constantly rolling!!!

Congrats again - lori

 

[We4mickey]

Congrats!!
We have been looking at the hybrids. Thinking of working our way up from the pop up. I'm sure you will really enjoy your camper and what a better way to break it in than a trip to FW.

 

[TinkerbellRules]

Congrats! Have fun with your new "baby"

 

[wildernessfamily]

HI Congratulations on your new camper...we were just cleaning our older one up last week...I noticed your name from the cruise boards. Are you one in the same??? We have always camped for vacation, this is the first time we have taken the plunge and splurged for a Disney cruise..I am having Fort Wilderness withdrawls...So when is your first trip to FW in your new camper?????

 

[Camping Griswalds]

Hey everyone! No we're not the ones on the cruise board...must be another person out there with Griswald Vacation moments!!! We're taking the new camper to Ft. Wilderness for 10 nights in August. Really can't wait!! We are a little anxious about backing into the sites though. We were there in Jan and to be honest, we thought the sites were a little tight around those circles!! Just to get into though, because once you're in it, the sites are nice and wide. A side note...we were just looking up a place to camp and the average site was only 15 feet wide. NO THANK YOU!!!!!

 

[Disney Campers]

Congrats on your new trailer, we have the same model 31g only a prowler and we love it, lots of room and we are not in each others face al the time, that slide makes such a major difference

We also will be back at Fort Wilderness in August, I think around the 11th for the week...

 

[Camping Griswalds]

Scott,
I guess we'll just miss each other then. The good thing for me is I know you like 1400 loop too, so maybe we'll get your spot!! I saw that you're in 1200 this time. Was this your choice?? How does it compare??

 

[Disney Campers]

1200 is a full hook up rather then a preferred, we also have a full hook up in August, the site we had 1218 was a great site, nice and big close to comfort station with a nice "Yard" for the kids to play in - also close to a bus stop.

 

[Yvette Q.O.D.]

We were at FW in Dec 2000. It was the first time DH drove with a 30ft camper attached to the suburban. He explained to the CM that he would need a fairly easy site to back into and they gave a a great one in loop 1400, very close to the loop entrance (one of the last # sites in the loop).

We had a ball! Can't wait to do it again!

 

[TwinMommy]

I could use some info from you! What year is your 31G? Did you buy new or used? We are looking at the Wilderness GL line possibly a 26H but may buy a different model if used. Are you happy with the quality? Fleetwood makes me nervous (you hear from some unhappy owners on the different camping boards)but I love their floorplans. We are looking mainly at Jayco and Sunnybrooks with slides but may change to Fleetwoods if we get enough positive feedback.

How are the slides to work with? Are they a lot of extra maintenance?

Appreciate any info!

Kathy
Twinmommy

 

[Disney Campers]

we had a jayco before our current trailer, loved the trailer but it was just to small. so far we have not had any problems with the prowler, the super slide is awesome, we have a large group at times adn we do not seem to get in each others way like in the smaller trailer, It would be very hard for us to have a trailer with no slide at this point, the slide is quite simple and so far maintenance free (Its a 2001) we do lubricate the mechanism periodically.

I to was concerned with fleetwood quality also from hearing horror stories on other forums, My feeling is Fleetwood is the largest manufacturer of RV's, so they will likely have more "Problem Units", all manufacturers have lemons that roll out of the factory, We had to have an entire new floor put in our Jayco (Warranty Work) - would I buy another Jayco?? absolutely, jayco service was very good for us.

For what we use the trailer for it works out great , If I needed a trailer for more extensive use/Living I would consider teton or travel supreme - they have a premium cost but you get what you pay for.

I would not discount fleetwood based entirely on all of the horror stories you may have heard, Look in the campgrounds you will see many fleetwood products both new and older units.

 

[TwinMommy]

We went to look at a 1999 Terry EX 31G last night and it is huge! It is the model with the big bathroom in back. The EX has the fiberglass sides and it is so nice. It looks new inside. But this baby is LONG!!!

How do you guys tow a travel trailer that is almost 32' long? What tow vehicle do you have? We have a 3500 Chev Express with a 8.1 engine and a 4.10 axle that we just bought and it tows up to 10,000 lbs. Our current trailer is about 26' long total and we hardly know it is back there when we are towing it. However, another 6' long and much taller of a trailer makes me wonder about backing and gas stations. ***Don't you hate those gas stations that have the aisle where you are pulling in with your front end facing the office/store? Why can't they make the aisles so your vehicle is running parallel to the store area? Easy in easy out. Even the truck stop gas stations have a majority facing toward the store and it is so difficult to make that turn right in front of the store area. (just a side note!!)

Thanks for any and all comments from those of you who tow the BIG trailers!!

Twinmommy

 

[Disney Campers]

we went from a 25 footer to our current bohemoth, it was a little intimidating at first but its not a problem, we tow with a 2500 Chevy extended cab long bed truck along with the trailer its HUGE when connected, on our last trip I had to visit a gas station and was about to leaved when someone pulled in next to us preventing me from pulling forward, so i had to back it up - boy was that fun, we have the hensley arrow hitch which os the best available it makes such a differencein towing.

Your van probably would not have a problem towing this trailer - Does your van have the long wheelbase??

 

[TinkerbellRules]

Speaking of gas stations... one time at midnight after traveling for days (okay, maybe 8 hrs ) my DH decided to pull into this gas station. I dont' know what he was thinking. My sis and I started yelling "stop, stop, STOP!" We were literally one inch away from the cement barriers! I had to get out and ask this girl on a cell phone who was lost (had a map), to pull away so we could get out. Now I always say, "watch your sides". This is with a 25' TT! I can't imagine driving the bigger ones. We try to plan our stops for the Flyin' J's and Williams stations. They both have websites to find locations. They are normally nice and big.

People in cars can be such butts. This one station was having tremendous problems with their credit cards (45 mins wait with the semi-drivers!). DH had to go inside because the "pay at pump" wasn't working. I couldn't figure out what was taking DH so long, but I decided to pull up a little and away from the pulls so that he could pull out easier since there was so much traffic. The station was jammed with people. DH was walking out and his guy backups between the camper and pump! I honked the horn and got out and asked him what he was doing. He started cussing at me and said something about "waiting for 1/2 hr" which wasn't true. I say "well, the station is having some type of problems with their pumps and if you'll move and go to the back of us, we'll move." He did, but I don't know what he was thinking. He was really close to the pump and our van. I guess he didn't know what "patience" meant.

 

[TwinMommy]

Disney Campers:

Our Chevy Express has the 135" wheelbase. It is about the same length as our old F150 extended cab short bed pickup. It is a MOOSE! The 3500 is very heavy and the 4.10 axle is something else! (gas mileage is pretty stinky) Our driveway goes uphill and is asphalt. You should have seen me backing in our 26' travel trailer (that's total length) a couple of weeks ago! The direction wasn't the problem - I had to pause on the slope so my hubby could run to the other side to direct me and when I started to back again, the wheels in back were spinning on the asphalt!! I had to go forward off the slope and re-back in. The power in that backend is something else. We're going to end up chewing up our driveway with this thing! We love our van even though it is not a fancy conversion van. We have seating for 12 and the kids get to change seats every time we go somewhere. They were ready to kill each other when all 3 were sitting together in the back seat of the truck! Now, at least they aren't right on top of me and each other.

I know what J.D. Gallant says about percentage of wheelbase to length of trailer. I think the formula was a 20' trailer for a 110" wheelbase, then 1 foot longer for every extra 4" of wheelbase. (I haunt the irv2 and rvamerica sites, too!) You'd have to have 158" wheelbase to qualify for a 32' length travel trailer. We would only qualify for a 26-27' trailer. Seems a little too conservative for me. We would like to buy a Hensley ($$$$) but will probably go with a reese dual cam sway or a pull-rite. We have a standard WD hitch and friction sway now and have no problems with our small, light trailer.

I'd love to hear your opinions. Thanks!
Twinmommy

 

[Camping Griswalds]

Sorry so long to reply, we bought the 31g because locally so many people have them and are thrilled with them. Also here it is easier to get fixed if something goes wrong (warranty)

We went from a 1980 (no that's NOT a typo) 20 foot camper to this 2001 31 foot camper. Our truck is a 98 crew cab. it is 22 feet long. When we are pulling that makes a total of 53 feet. People move out of our way!! I like the stories about gas stations. We've been tight with the 20 foot, can't even imagine the horror this extra 11 feet will bring.

Oh also we bought the Wilderness, cause we liked the floor plans. I wanted the kids to have seperate beds, but not a seperate door (Polly Klause scared me to death) Also didn't want a bathroom that you walked through. Just seems to weird to me. So we only have one door and the bathroom is on the end. the triple bunks and slide out are on one side, with the sink on the other. Areal nice feature is two barstools that sit up to the countertop. We realyy love it!!