Looking for first Travel Trailer

[carbine]

Wife and I have been talking about getting a bumper dragger for cross country travel and camping (Boondocking) for a while. I envision us using it 6-12 times a year, as vacation balance for our respective employers permits. Even if we only use it 2 times a year, it would open a lot of possibilities for us to relax; our last real vacation was almost 10 years ago. I'll also use it as a place to sleep during hunting trips; I have access to some land that is very mild to get to - there will no "4 wheeling" with the TT other than a dirt road.

So far, I'm starting to look at used trailers locally. Might as well let someone take the hit for driving it new off the lot and then parking it somewhere. I'm going to try to stay to 1-3 years old. We know that there are a few features we want;

-Door between the "master bedroom" and the main area/bed our son will be sleeping in.
-Generator (Although, as long as I can add it after purchase I'll be happy - any downside to a propane generator?)
-1 Slide
-24-26' (Would like to hit national / state parks and need to stay within limits)


I wish I could do a toy hauler to fit a Honda Pioneer 1000-5 (2/4 seater convertible Side by Side), however the weights just become too much for what I've seen for my tow vehicle (2014 F150 3.5L EcoBoost, super crew, 4x4 - NOT max tow).


What are things I need to know about buying a used TT? I'm curious on what I need to look for.

Is there an advantage other than aesthetics to fiberglass over the metal siding?


I appreciate any help; I'm fairly far outside of my element at this point.

[rvshrinker]

carbine, I'm not sure if anyone has clearly addressed this but I am concerned you cannot comfortably tow the TTs you want with your tow vehicle.

I had the disadvantage of needing to buy a tow vehicle, but as it turned out that may have been an advantage. As I did my (months and years of) research, I learned about tow ratings and payload ratings, and driving with ease vs 'white-knuckling' it. I realized that SUVs and half-tons, while capable at their limits with smaller trailers, could be more challenging in the moutains or if the trailer weight was near the limit. And I decided I didn't want to have that experience. At the end of the day I decided to go with the biggest tow vehicle I thought I would ever need, and now have a 2017 RAM 3500 megacab on order, with a Cummins turbodiesel and an AISIN transmission. Bottom line, no trailer is going to stop me now.

So back to your vehicle. It's true that you will be able to pull a good sized TT, if you just look at tow rating. But payload is going to be your limiting factor. Your payload is 1520 and I believe that excludes 150 lb for the driver, but not sure. To that add all the gear in your truck itself - passengers, food, clothing, etc. If you're bringing a deer home from the field you gotta throw that in, too. What's left is what's left for your trailer. Add 12-15% of the fully loaded ("wet") trailer weight for the tongue weight and that goes against your payload, too. When you run these numbers I think you'll see a 7000 lb wet TT is really going to cut it close. 14% of that is 1000 lb. That leaves you 520 lb for passengers, food, clothing, gear, extra fuel, supplies, firewood, etc. I think that's doable but awfully close, just judging by the way we car camp. And that's leaving no margin for error.

By the way I am looking for almost exactly the same trailer as you: 25', bunk model, more heavy duty for national forest, BLM boondocking, etc. Like you I have narrowed things down to Arctic Fox, Nash, and ORV; and possibly Lance (model 2185). These are quality models with well-built chassis and true four season ratings, according to most. They tend to be more expensive but like you I want mine to last 8-10 years or more. I haven't seen any other brands to get excited about for this purpose.

Now understand I am far from an expert. I have not yet towed a trailer of any kind! But My tendency to analyze and overanalyze and to research things to death did educate me, and led me to conclude that a half-ton truck would not be a good fit for the long run for the kind of towing I want to do. A 3/4 would have been ok but I decided to go fully monty and be prepared for any future tow job I wanted to do.

All this to say you might need to look for the smallest, lightest versions of the kind of trailer you're looking at to make sure you have an ideal towing experience. I cannot see going heavier than 7000 lb unless you always plan to travel solo..

[carbine]

Well, after looking at the Nash 29C online with the wife, she got a wild hair and we drove 125 miles to look at one at the dealer (Spoiler Alert: We didn't buy anything and won't for a while).

Night and day difference in the quality of the Nash and the UltraLights I've looked at. While it's $10k more for the Nash, it would easily be worth it.

We still want to check out the OutdoorsRV products; specifically the 27DBHS and the 27BHS

[Stevensondrive]

Great questions. I'm following this thread cause we are looking too

[falconbrother]

Wow, 5,579 is light for 32 feet of camper with a slide. It's mind boggling to worry about who builds what. I have never spent a single second thinking about that. In the long run it won't mean a hill of beans from my experience. Travel Trailers are a terrible investment no matter which one you buy, so that's not a factor. The internal/external parts are all built by the same companies. RV companies come and go. I have always looked at bang for buck. Find the one you like and buy it. If you were to look at a list of RV companies that no longer exist it would be a long one. I have passively kept up with RV prices for a long time. Then got serious about it six months ago. What amazes me is how hot the RV market is right now. It's a sellers market. Buyers are plentiful. My old 1990 Mallard (orphan) motorhome sold for what I was asking in 10 days. Granted it was in good shape and I wasn't trying to make a mint off of it. Point is, if you find one and really like it, and it's a good deal, it won't sit on the lot for long.

[carbine]

Aside from Northwood Manuf and Outdoors RV (who I've learned are connected, but somewhat separate companies).... who else builds similar quality units? Seems that there are hundreds of TT Manufacturers out there.

[BizmarksMom]

You really won't regret going with the better built trailer. Good dirt and gravel roads were destroying my Keystone Bullet. It just wasn't built to leave pavement.

[carbine]

Thanks for all the replies! After doing a lot of reading on this site and looking at some others, my wife and I have come to the conclusion that while we liked the floodplain and size of the trailer listed above, that we wanted something a little more stout than an ultralight to get where we wanna camp. We noticed that when we walked in the ultralights we looked at, you could feel the floor flexing - didn't leave me feeling too confidant that it would handle off-pavement use.

Now we are looking at Nash and OutdoorsRV. Little bit more expensive, but I think we'll be happier in the long run.

I really do like that the Outdoors RV tanks are 80gal fresh, when most others are 50.

[doxiemom11]

If it's beastly hot and you are sitting in the sun, yes it will be 85 in your trailer. At that temp and above sometimes 1 A/C isn't enough. Park in the shade if you can, it will help with the A/C as well as your refrigerator.

[BizmarksMom]

Battery life / generator useage is all hugely variable.

I have 2 deep cycle marine batteries and a 120w portable solar cell. Between those two items, I haven't used a generator in years. I can go 3 days before the batteries need to be charged if I'm not using the furnace.

Caveat: Without plugging in, I cannot use the microwave or AC. That isn't a huge deal to me in the Idaho mountains. It can be a big deal for other folks. I adjust my camping locations so that it won't be too beastly hot.

[falconbrother]

Having just bought a new travel trailer I can understand the sticker shock. However, buying a junker isn't worth the hassle. 30 years of used campers taught me that you pay to play. You either buy a junker and constantly worry about the roof leaks and old tires or, you buy a new one and make the monthly payments. At this juncture I find the monthly payments to be much easier on my mind. Are there good used campers out there? Sure. But, they cost as much as a new one in a whole lot of cases and the financing isn't as good.

As for a generator.. It depends on lots of variables. If you're going to be around other people and need a real quiet unit then to get much wattage will cost you big bucks. However, if you can stand a little droning noise you can get enough power to run everything in the RV pretty cheap. I used an 8500 Watt contractor generator when I needed power for years. It worked in the rain and snow till I sold it. Even then it started right up every time. I came to believe that the 8500 was too much generator. If I had it to do over I'd probably get a 4000 or maybe a 6500. Harbor Freight sells a 2k quiet generator that would probably pull your AC and lights all day. It won't do much more than that. The AC will max a 2k out during compressor surge (when the compressor cuts in).

We just stay at campgrounds with full hookups and wireless internet. No need for a generator. Although.. I do think I'll grab that 2k at Harbor Freight pretty soon.

[DrewE]

Battery usage varies a lot with equipment and usage habits and, of course, with the capacity of the battery bank.

I have a pair of golf cart batteries in my motorhome (which is likely an upgrade from what a trailer comes with new), and I should be able to go a week or so before they need recharging if I'm a little bit careful not to unduly waste power. (I haven't had need to do that yet, so it's a bit theoretical.) The biggest power consumer I have is the fridge control circuitry. Many fridges are not quite so good as mine in terms of power consumption, especially if mounted in a slide and so requiring fans to move air around the cooling unit.

On the other hand, if one were using an inverter to power a microwave, those same batteries might need recharging after several minutes.

At least a couple of days should not be an unreasonable goal. With solar power, if in an area and weather where it's doing much, that can be extended a lot--maybe indefinitely.

[carbine]

Alright, I'm probably going to be looking at a 2018-2017 (new), wife can get over the sticker shock.

Water issues aside, how long can one expect to "dry camp" / "Boondock" off of a battery if the AC/HEat isn't used? Really have no idea how long the battery would last.

Every trailer we looked at had a plug in the side for a solar charger, I figured Solar would be on the top, not the side... but perhaps it's to set it out next to the trailer vs mounting to the top?

The more I think about it, I'm really digging this trailer:
http://www.dutchmen.com/kodiak/floorplans-and-pictures/floorplans-detail/?modelId=4940

Does anyone have any experience with that unit/brand? I'd prefer to have one that'll last a long time and not fall apart when driving down dirt/washboard roads; I'm not looking to go rock crawling with it, just needs to not fall apart from some vibration.


Edit to add:
We would probably go with the 15k AC unit; although the salesman said that it'll really only cool 20 degrees below ambient temps. Out here, 110-115 is common during the summer; should I really only expect 20 degrees? 85 would be quite unfortunate.

Also, what type of generator would you guys recommend to power the trailer during the day? I know the Hondas and Yahamas can be quiet.

[falconbrother]

We recently sold our 28 foot class A motorhome and bought a new 27 foot travel trailer. Lessons: The price range for a 1 - 3 year old trailer is about the price of new, except without the warranty, new tires, bearings, roof, etc.. Any trailer under $10,000 that I saw was pretty high mileage and well, pretty close to junk. We jumped in deep and bought new. The modern travel trailers are light weight even with super slides. They have LED lighting which is great for dry camping. And the price isn't much more than late model used. And you can finance it and pay it off early, but have that flexibility in your budget.

I prefer the aluminum siding. The motorhome was laminate and had started to de-laminate and that's not really repairable. The weight difference in the modern world is barely noticeable. Our 27 footer with the super slide is still only 5500 pounds dry.

Personally, I would get a 3/4 ton to pull a toy hauler. It's a bit much for a 150/1500. I started out looking at toy haulers to haul my Valkyrie around but, came to my senses. My tow weight limit is 8200 pounds. I don't want to be at that number. My current weight of roughly 6500 road ready is plenty heavy. If I was pulling around the top number of 8200 I'm pretty sure I'd be irritable with bad hair.

[JAC1982]

Just had to add that we had a toyhauler that was around 8,000lbs loaded up and it wasn't very fun to pull with our F-150. I think you're smart to stick with a travel trailer well within the capacities of your truck. If you haul for a living that's one thing, but it doesn't sound like you do (we don't either), so staying well within your limits is a good thing.