Full time travel trailer

[jarata1]

We are planning to full time it in another year and of course we can't decide class a,class c or travel trailer in 24-28 ft size

My question is does anyone know of a travel trailer that can take the life of a full timer constantly moving across country.A lot of the ones Insee don't look like hey can hold up

Thanks

[fulltimedaniel]

2gypsies wrote:

PawPaw_n_Gram wrote:
I'll talk about one aspect of warranties that have a major impact on full timers.

Mainly that if you expect warranty work, you are going to have to leave the RV / TT with a dealer for a few days to a few weeks. While you have to find alternate living arrangements. Warranties will not pay for you to live in a hotel while repairs are being done.

Very few repair locations will allow people to live on their property while work is being done in a problem. In some cases it is a zoning restriction, others insurance problem, etc.

Sorry, I totally disagree with this. We bought two RVs new during our 16 years of full-timing and never had to stay in a motel for work done. We were always graciously allowed to stay on the service premises most often with even electric hookup.

There is another issue here. A TT you can repair anything on it yourself if you are moderately handy and have a decent set of tools. there is no need to go to a dealer unless you are replacing a non working major part under warranty such as the refrigerator. An unlikely event.

You cannot do that with a Motor Home. If something goes wrong with the engine or running gear you will be in a Motel. And possibly for a very long time. MH's are often put on a back burner repair wise at the large repair facilities that cater mostly to Class 8 Trucks. They are their big customers and their bread and butter. You rig will sit taken apart while they repair the Freightliner that pulls in with an emergency repair.

As for the durability of TT's I have hauled mine for more than two years now putting on more than 40K miles (30K in the last year alone) which includes a trip to Baja with lots of off road use and two trips to Alaska.

I have a Gulfstream Innsbruck and as TT's go it is well built.

[bikendan]

jarata, we moved from our 24' hybrid to a 26' TT in March.
We retired a couple of years ago and wanted something easier to make long trips in.
We are currently on a 7 week trip to try out snowbirding. Our TT is a couples only TT with super comfy theater recliners, a big rear kitchen and a separate but tight bedroom.
It has a big front storage area also.

We're really enjoying it but no way could we fulltime in it. It's great for a wintertime escape but we wouldn't want to live in it much longer than that.
We aren't the fulltiming type but if we were, a 5th wheel would be our choice.

[tatest]

I know some people who have been doing this in Airstreams, some of them for as long as 50 years. I see full timers also in old aluminum Holiday Ramblers, and aluminum framed TTs from Carriage. There are also folks still using 50 year old Shastas. I expect any well-made travel trailer can stand up to years of constant use, with regular preventive maintenance, but it will be easier with something built better (often heavier) to start with. That would likely not be the one with the lowest price.

[kennethwooster]

We started with a 5th wheel. I do like all the storage. However the flat floor would really be jive. Also if you pull with truck the bed is empty for storage. Newer tts have more slides so you have more living space.

[wbwood]

jarata1 wrote:
We are planning to full time it in another year and of course we can't decide class a,class c or travel trailer in 24-28 ft size

My question is does anyone know of a travel trailer that can take the life of a full timer constantly moving across country.A lot of the ones Insee don't look like hey can hold up

Thanks

That's opening a can of worms. Only YOU can decide what is right for you. You are going to get what you pay for. What your needs are will make the determination. It's really 6 in one, half dozen other type of thing.....

[Passin_Thru]

To test an RV, jump up and down on the kitchen floor. If it caves in, the TT is no good! Our 31W Arctic fox is at 12,000 lb and its a bumper pull but it's snug at 4 degrees.

[BrentB]

Also check out Outdoors RV: http://outdoorsrvmfg.com/

and Grand Design: https://www.granddesignrv.com/

[bikendan]

jarata1 wrote:

caseyhoward wrote:
Look into the Northwood products either the Nash or the arctic fox... we have been pulling our Nash for 10 years now all over the country and still going strong.

I really like these trailers are they a lot heavier to pull

Yes

[jarata1]

caseyhoward wrote:
Look into the Northwood products either the Nash or the arctic fox... we have been pulling our Nash for 10 years now all over the country and still going strong.

I really like these trailers are they a lot heavier to pull

[Captain_Happy]

With the rest of us out here that don't relieve on warranties, we use mobile RV Techs. They come to you and it gets fixed or replaced. Now, if you had to spend weeks living in a motel and paying the bills, it adds up fast. Probably more then the cost of what has to be replaced. Just something to think about before you buy one of those overpriced warranties. Just put that money into a separate account for fixing/replacing stuff the breaks. Just learn how to fix stuff yourself. It isn't that hard.

[2gypsies1]

PawPaw_n_Gram wrote:
I'll talk about one aspect of warranties that have a major impact on full timers.

Mainly that if you expect warranty work, you are going to have to leave the RV / TT with a dealer for a few days to a few weeks. While you have to find alternate living arrangements. Warranties will not pay for you to live in a hotel while repairs are being done.

Very few repair locations will allow people to live on their property while work is being done in a problem. In some cases it is a zoning restriction, others insurance problem, etc.

Sorry, I totally disagree with this. We bought two RVs new during our 16 years of full-timing and never had to stay in a motel for work done. We were always graciously allowed to stay on the service premises most often with even electric hookup.

[caseyhoward]

Look into the Northwood products either the Nash or the arctic fox... we have been pulling our Nash for 10 years now all over the country and still going strong.

[scbwr]

I think that most folks that full-time are happier with a decent size fifth wheel or motorhome due to storage space, both outside compartments and inside closets, cabinets, etc. However, your truck is your "daily driver" so you have to factor in it's gas mileage when not towing. There are some bigger class C units that could feasibly work for full timing if you can handle traveling somewhat lighter than most because they usually don't have as much storeage capacity and possibly weight capacity to avoid maxing out the GVWR. But, with a class C, you could tow a smaller and more fuel efficient vehicle for driving when not towing. I going with a long travel trailer (over 30'), I'd want a diesel truck that could provide a traveling range of over 350 miles on a full tank of fuel to prevent having to navigate fuel stops that can be tricky to navigate with a long travel trailer and larger truck.

[PawPaw_n_Gram]

I'll talk about one aspect of warranties that have a major impact on full timers.

Mainly that if you expect warranty work, you are going to have to leave the RV / TT with a dealer for a few days to a few weeks. While you have to find alternate living arrangements. Warranties will not pay for you to live in a hotel while repairs are being done.

Very few repair locations will allow people to live on their property while work is being done in a problem. In some cases it is a zoning restriction, others insurance problem, etc.

We have found I t best to get a recommended local mobile RV repair person to diagnose any problem that we cannot. We did have Suburban drop ship a new water heater to a dealer near where we were volunteering. It was cheaper to pay them $100 for a mobile callout to replace the water heater rather than tow the rig 84 miles each way and leave the trailer for two days.

It took 31 days for diagnosis of why the wheel hub failed, to find the other bad welds, for Dexter to work with the extended warranty company to cover the repairs and get two new axles shipped to Dallas.

We were lucky to have the failure occur only five miles from where we bought the trailer and they have a "head of the line" policy for rigs they sold. And that my daughter lived about 20 miles away.

When our water pump failed in Fort Lauderdale, the manufacturer would not consider anything except me taking the rig to one dealer in Fort Lauderdale, or taking it to Tampa. The Fort Lauderdale dealer told me we would not go in the work list until the rig was in their yard. It is was an estimated 3-4 weeks before they would be able to accept the rig. And 5-6 weeks likely before they would get to working on the rig.

RVs / TTs are more like homes than vehicles when it comes to warranty work. If the water heater, furnace, fridge, AC breaks - you have to deal with the company that made that component. The company who built the MH / TT doesn't warranty components.