Weight into travel trailer

[4077]

Of course, this is all "second choice" stuff....what I would really like to do is convince my wife to allow me an extra 6-7k to upgrade to a used Suburban with towing package which would give a few extra wheel base inches and more than adequate towing/combined capability for the Starcraft Launch 26BHS that we really like....my favorite BH layout so far....she just doesn't love it quite enough to let me do that...yet. And that is my conundrum. I want to start doing this with the boys, so do I go with "the best I can swing for now" or keep trying for choice number one so that I don't have regrets later? Hmmm ....still time to work on the top pick before a (hoping and wishing) August trip to the Fort....I guess these are good "problems" to have

 

[Nixie]

If it were me, I would save up (maybe even forgo Disney for a year) and get exactly what I want. I don't want to admit it, but we have been through 4 campers. We started with a pop up, then moved to a hybrid, then to a smaller TT, and now to our current 32ft bunkhouse. Each camper we purchased was what we could afford and tow right at that moment. Each time we "upgraded" vehicles, we wanted to "upgrade" our camper. We purchased our Yukon and 21rs (ours was a 2008 Outback) with the thought that we were done. We really liked the 21rs, but there were a few things that weren't perfect. We had the queen slide which meant one of us had to roll over the other one if you had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. The oven is RIGHT beside the door, so when cooking inside I would freak out if kids were going in and out of the door. I had to put down the couch and dinette each night for someone to sleep on. Still though, it was the best camper we could find for my size of family that was within the towing capacity of our Yukon. The 21rs was just fine for weekend jaunts, but for our two week Disney stay I was really considering renting a bunkhouse because I couldn't see our size of family lasting in the Outback for 2 weeks without someone getting on someone else's nerves. That got me to thinking again. Why do we have a camper that we don't wanna spend more than a weekend in?! Isn't the whole point to NOT rent a camper or get a hotel room. We then got a f250 and traded in the Outback on our 32ft bunkhouse. It has the quad bunkhouse in the back with the super slide that opens up the kitchen/living room area and a walk around queen in the front. It is the exact floorplan that I was looking into renting for Disney. It is the one that from the beginning I said "Oh, if only we had something to tow that!".

Sorry for the long winded post, but get what you really want first off. Don't "settle" for something that will just do. You will always want the other one. Upgrading after the fact, is expensive. Do yourself a favor and get the TV first that will handle the camper you want.

 

[Stinkerbe11]

Sorry for the long winded post, but get what you really want first off. Don't "settle" for something that will just do. You will always want the other one. Upgrading after the fact, is expensive. Do yourself a favor and get the TV first that will handle the camper you want.

I agree If you decide to go with a larger TV and want a TT with a rear slide (not just a bed but an actual master bedroom) I suggest looking at the Keystone Sprinter 320 BHS. We have put thousands of miles on ours and lived in it for almost a month during a cross country military move and never felt like we needed more space. The kids have their own room up front with bunks, a table with booth seating and tons of storage. I also like that the doors are solid and not just curtains. Sorry if I sound like a salesman but I agree with the poster that said get what you want. We did and never regretted it

 

[North of Mouse]

Speaking from the perspective of 46 years of RV'ing and still going strong, I have to be a dissenter from what a lot a people do.

We would 'never' have started camping had we thought we had to purchase what we 'really' wanted each time. We bought what we could afford, then traded up at different times.

For the most part, we have 'not' lost a lot as we were willing to wait for good deals, and sold a lot of our units ourselves.

Our last three units have been coaches, and because of unforeseen problems, we purchased our lastest (hopefully last) MH just three months ago - a 34' Winnebago Sightseer. We love it, and have done lots of camping in the past several years with hopes of a lot more trips to the Fort and elsewhere.

Good luck to you whatever you decide, just don't 'despair' if you can't get that 'one' you 'really' want right now! Just enjoy what you 'are' able for now, and start that RV'ing lifestyle!

 

[4077]

Of course, the completely unexpected layoff kind of puts an end to this for now :/. Still taking our Dec 7-14 OKW vacation....Fortunately got 3 months full pay/benefits while work something out. Ugh....

 

[2goofycampers]

Of course, the completely unexpected layoff kind of puts an end to this for now :/. Still taking our Dec 7-14 OKW vacation....Fortunately got 3 months full pay/benefits while work something out. Ugh....

Ugh, sorry to hear this. Here's hoping an even better job comes along.

 

[MattFromPA]

Keystone does still produce rear slides. Checked them out at the Hershey show in September. We have an '05 21RS and the new model is identical to ours, only with an updated interior and that new RV smell...

I kind of feel funny about used TT's for some reason, but what you said did get me thinking to look and see what other manufacturers are currently making rear slide models... It seems Keystone no longer makes such a model in their Outback line, but didn't 't look through all of their lines...

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

Understanding that your situation has changed and the point may be moot but here is my take.
We had several 1/2 ton 5.3 equiopped GM vehicles that we towed our 6500# 27ft trailer with. First off, the gear ratio of 3.08:1 is not a limiting factor. If you are towing a travel trailer the profile and aerodynamics are what will slow you donw much more than the weight. NONE of my trucks would tow in overdrive no matter how flat or how little wind there was. The gas 5.3 simply does not have the torque to pull in OD without picking back and forth between 3rd and OD, this will kill a trans. I had an 4wd Avalanche with 4.11 gears that ran high RPM in 3rd, I had a 4wd ext cab pickup that had a 3.73 that was a little better and a 3.42 2wd suburban that was the best of the three since it had lower RPM and still was in the torque and power enough to pull the load. The avalanche was supposed to have a "tow pkg" but did not have an external trans cooler, I added an OEM setup that GM should have put on (this was a huge debate over why GM didnt put it on but mostly came down to them cheaping out) An add on extrenal trans cooler is not all that hard to put on a GM truck, E trailer dot com has them, if you are an average home mechanic you can do it yourself, just make sure you use "transmission" rated rubber hose on your connections or any trans shop can do it for you. You would then be able to tow without wiping out your trans and just keep the truck in 3rd gear.
The other issue with the tahoe is the short wheelbase which limits the length of trailer that they can safely pull. Just becasue you can pull 7000# doesnt mean you can pull a 32 ft trailer, personally I think anything over 25 ft is foolish with even the best anti sway hitch setup. think of the "tail wagging the dog" if the trailer sways it exerts force on the tow vehicle, the short wheelbase is less capable of absorbing the side forces since it has less length for leverage against the force.
Hopefully your situation will change and you can get your life back to camping. Good luck

 

[4077]

Understanding that your situation has changed and the point may be moot but here is my take. We had several 1/2 ton 5.3 equiopped GM vehicles that we towed our 6500# 27ft trailer with. First off, the gear ratio of 3.08:1 is not a limiting factor. If you are towing a travel trailer the profile and aerodynamics are what will slow you donw much more than the weight. NONE of my trucks would tow in overdrive no matter how flat or how little wind there was. The gas 5.3 simply does not have the torque to pull in OD without picking back and forth between 3rd and OD, this will kill a trans. I had an 4wd Avalanche with 4.11 gears that ran high RPM in 3rd, I had a 4wd ext cab pickup that had a 3.73 that was a little better and a 3.42 2wd suburban that was the best of the three since it had lower RPM and still was in the torque and power enough to pull the load. The avalanche was supposed to have a "tow pkg" but did not have an external trans cooler, I added an OEM setup that GM should have put on (this was a huge debate over why GM didnt put it on but mostly came down to them cheaping out) An add on extrenal trans cooler is not all that hard to put on a GM truck, E trailer dot com has them, if you are an average home mechanic you can do it yourself, just make sure you use "transmission" rated rubber hose on your connections or any trans shop can do it for you. You would then be able to tow without wiping out your trans and just keep the truck in 3rd gear. The other issue with the tahoe is the short wheelbase which limits the length of trailer that they can safely pull. Just becasue you can pull 7000# doesnt mean you can pull a 32 ft trailer, personally I think anything over 25 ft is foolish with even the best anti sway hitch setup. think of the "tail wagging the dog" if the trailer sways it exerts force on the tow vehicle, the short wheelbase is less capable of absorbing the side forces since it has less length for leverage against the force. Hopefully your situation will change and you can get your life back to camping. Good luck

Yah...I've all ready decided that the TV has to change or the trailer has to get manageable (really like that Jayco X213 if I went that route). Even with a trailer manageable with Tahoe, I would still install the transmission cooler. In any case, gonna keep my chin up, hope to get the career back on track, and then get back on the road to , uh, getting back on road. I am calling this whole episode a temporary setback ....having not been through it before in my 40 years, it is a bit unsettling. I expect , however, that I will land on my feet, and it may be a blessing in disguise in the end (maybe get back to living near the world! Certainly a much warmer prospect than my current locale). Enjoyed all the input here!

 

[4077]

This is a great place on DIS....the camping group has got to be one if the best, for my money...so thanks to everyone for making this a great place to get some enjoyment in both good and more challenging times! Thanks

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

Its always great when you get your moneys worth on a free website.

 

[North of Mouse]

The best to you 4077!!

 

[4077]

Yay! Back to work (at my former job, no less)...friend gave notice on Monday, and all of a sudden I was needed Maybe this will lead back to on course for trailer in the near future and that trip to FW...here's to hoping!

 

[bama_ed]

Yay! Back to work (at my former job, no less)...friend gave notice on Monday, and all of a sudden I was needed Maybe this will lead back to on course for trailer in the near future and that trip to FW...here's to hoping!

Yea!

Happy to hear that for you 4077.

Hard to keep a good man down.

Bama Ed

 

[4077]

Yea! Happy to hear that for you 4077. Hard to keep a good man down. Bama Ed

Thank you sir!