Reliable camper

[Usmc68]

Hi all,

I know this is a loaded question but what is a good brand of travel trailer? We are getting rid of our 1994 Callista Cove 27' Class C and going with something we can pull with my 2000 F250 7.3. Also that can sleep at least 6 adults (3 teenagers) and have some pop-outs My neighbor had a pull behind (Springdale summerland series) and has had nothing but problems. We were looking at Grand Design. We also want to stay below 30K if possible. Thanks in advance,

Semper Fi

[Usmc68]

Grit dog wrote:
Definitley a loaded question lol.
GD, Lance, Outdoors RV all seem to be pretty well regarded.
The only travel trailer we've had is a Heartland, toyhauler, and I'd consider it to be of good quality, although at 5 years old, it is very lightly used.
Speaking of, have you considered a toyhauler?
We wuz looking for a TT after selling our truck camper. Not wanting bunks and light duty, barely capable chassis for the weight, got on the toyhauler kick. For overall interior space and ability to sleep alot of people, a comparable size TH (peon "garage") kills most TTs in this regard.
Aside from heavy tongue weight, if alot of "space" and # of people sleeping arrangements are wanted, the toyhauler wins.
They also genrally have larger tank capacities and more of them with built in gennys (blessing or curse...).

Knowing that I'm going down the road with 7k axles and 16" tires with a trailer that is only carrying maybe 4000-4500lbs per axle is nice too.
And I spent like $40 and made the ramp into a back deck. Open air concept with the screen and canvas wall at the back are nice in nice weather too.

Food for thought.

Thanks, that makes sense. I have been searching Toy Haulers and cannot find any in my budget with bunks. I am trying to find something that 3 teenagers,a 9 year old and my wife/myself can comfortably sleep/ live in. I like the idea of heavier/stronger frame and build though.
Thank you

[Skibane]

^There are plenty of much nicer places to camp than the dump...

[Huntindog]

Everytime I go to the dump. they weigh my truck with the driver and passengers inside. Often I have people with me to help. That is all I got.

[Gdetrailer]

Grit dog wrote:

Gdetrailer wrote:

Usmc68 wrote:
Thanks for all the replies. Yeah, the F250 is only 4x2 but it does have the 8' bed and crew cab, so 4 full size doors and seats. When I go to the dump she comes in around 7200K with a full tank. It does have the camper package so electric brake wired and extra cooler and leafs.

4x2 saved your bacon, 4x4 easily adds 800 lbs..

Might have 1800-2000 lbs of cargo to work with as a rough guess.. Verify that for sure by checking your GVWR and subtracting your known unladen weight.

Should have enough cargo for 1500 lbs worth of tongue weight or up to 10K GVWR with 15% TW..

No bacon to be saved, what are you even talking about?
And your math is, well, off a little.
How much is 10k - 7200? I’ll help you here. It’s NOT 1800-2000.
Why do you bother replying with weird supposition? Especially when it’s actually contradictory to things like, um, math?

I think you are a little weird and reading comprehension is not high on your list. So, I will t y p e t h i s s l ow l y.

OPs truck weighs 7200 per OPs post, got that?

Now. we know that Ford LIMITs F250s to 10,000 lbs GVWR MAX, got that?

Typically F250s will have max GVWR of 9,900 lbs (AKA 10,000 GVWR), got that?

Now we can take 9,900 lbs GVWR of the truck, subtract 7,200 lbs (OP weighed) and the cargo is 2,700, got that?

But that does not include DRIVER, PASSENGERS or anything else they have put into the truck, got that?

Assuming 250 lbs for driver and 150 lbs for another passenger we can subtract that from 2,700 lbs, gives 2,300 lbs, got that?

Now we know the OP isn't going to have a complete truck bed of fluffy pillows so say 500 lbs of misc stuff, gives us 1,800 lbs, got that?

Now for the trailer..

We know that 10,000 lb trailer should have 1,500 lb TW at 15%, got that?

We also know that a 7,000 lb trailer should have 1,050 lb TW at 15%, got that?

Now, if the OPs truck was 4x4, that would have removed 800 lbs of available cargo weight from the truck which would remove the hopes of a 10,000 lb GVWR trailer, got that?

Not unusual to end up with a decked out to the max Diesel F250 4x4, crew cab with long bed with the top tier package and all the bling to have available cargo below 1,500 lbs.. Perhaps not as bad now days but certainly was an issue early 2000's and older.

I DO know F250s very well, been buying them since 1997..

[Sjm9911]

Good luck, see what they have in quad bunkhouses now. That way you have beds that dont need to be broken down every day. They had lighterones in the past, not sure whats out there now.

[Grit_dog]

Gdetrailer wrote:

Usmc68 wrote:
Thanks for all the replies. Yeah, the F250 is only 4x2 but it does have the 8' bed and crew cab, so 4 full size doors and seats. When I go to the dump she comes in around 7200K with a full tank. It does have the camper package so electric brake wired and extra cooler and leafs.

4x2 saved your bacon, 4x4 easily adds 800 lbs..

Might have 1800-2000 lbs of cargo to work with as a rough guess.. Verify that for sure by checking your GVWR and subtracting your known unladen weight.

Should have enough cargo for 1500 lbs worth of tongue weight or up to 10K GVWR with 15% TW..

No bacon to be saved, what are you even talking about?
And your math is, well, off a little.
How much is 10k - 7200? I’ll help you here. It’s NOT 1800-2000.
Why do you bother replying with weird supposition? Especially when it’s actually contradictory to things like, um, math?

[Gdetrailer]

Usmc68 wrote:
Thanks for all the replies. Yeah, the F250 is only 4x2 but it does have the 8' bed and crew cab, so 4 full size doors and seats. When I go to the dump she comes in around 7200K with a full tank. It does have the camper package so electric brake wired and extra cooler and leafs.

4x2 saved your bacon, 4x4 easily adds 800 lbs..

Might have 1800-2000 lbs of cargo to work with as a rough guess.. Verify that for sure by checking your GVWR and subtracting your known unladen weight.

Should have enough cargo for 1500 lbs worth of tongue weight or up to 10K GVWR with 15% TW..

[Skibane]

Thermoguy wrote:
You are in the used trailer market - so everything you find will be reliable, the kinks worked out.

LOL - No.

Used trailers are filled with used appliances, fixtures, running gear and construction materials - any one of which is more prone to failure than when it was brand-new.

I would suggest avoiding slideouts. They add a lot of weight, complexity and failure-prone parts. They tend to leak, sag, or fail to extend and retract properly.

[Usmc68]

Thanks for all the replies. Yeah, the F250 is only 4x2 but it does have the 8' bed and crew cab, so 4 full size doors and seats. When I go to the dump she comes in around 7200K with a full tank. It does have the camper package so electric brake wired and extra cooler and leafs.

[Grit_dog]

Gdetrailer wrote:

You might need to put the brakes on this until you figure out just how much payload you have..

7.3 Diesel plus assuming 4x4 and if you have super or crew cab long bed you will be pretty low on available cargo on that truck. It is heavy to start with, north of 8K lbs and F250s are normally maxed out at 9,999K GVWR (IE 10K GVWR)..

Had a co-worker that had a F250 reg cab long bed 4x4 XLT, always complained that the PA turnpike scales would nail him on the next higher weight bracket if he spiked the brakes at the toll booths when stopping.. His was right at 8,100 empty, next weight class started at 8,200 lbs..

Figure out how much available cargo you have on your truck, then find a trailer that stays within your cargo of the truck and suits your needs.

GDE, when did you become a deputy weight cop? I thought I recalled you understanding things a little better.
That said, for the OP's sake, when it comes to payload rating, the only difference between his truck and a F350 is the emblems on the fenders and the sticker on the door. Even has 1 ton rear springs if it's a camper special or whatever they called them.

And what does the turnpike scale weight of your buddys truck have to do with anything? It's a cool story but not sure the point?

[Gdetrailer]

Usmc68 wrote:
Hi all,

I know this is a loaded question but what is a good brand of travel trailer? We are getting rid of our 1994 Callista Cove 27' Class C and going with something we can pull with my 2000 F250 7.3. Also that can sleep at least 6 adults (3 teenagers) and have some pop-outs My neighbor had a pull behind (Springdale summerland series) and has had nothing but problems. We were looking at Grand Design. We also want to stay below 30K if possible. Thanks in advance,

Semper Fi

You might need to put the brakes on this until you figure out just how much payload you have..

7.3 Diesel plus assuming 4x4 and if you have super or crew cab long bed you will be pretty low on available cargo on that truck. It is heavy to start with, north of 8K lbs and F250s are normally maxed out at 9,999K GVWR (IE 10K GVWR)..

Had a co-worker that had a F250 reg cab long bed 4x4 XLT, always complained that the PA turnpike scales would nail him on the next higher weight bracket if he spiked the brakes at the toll booths when stopping.. His was right at 8,100 empty, next weight class started at 8,200 lbs..

Yes, it is a 7.3 and yes it can pull stumps, but at a cost of less payload weight.

As far as "reliable" in trailers, not much there to go wrong as you have wheels/axles/brakes and for inside you have appliances like furnace, A/C, water heater, fridge, water lines, electrical and then silly things like drawers and such..

Much of the items are commonly used across all RVs such as appliances, furnace, water heater, A/C, there is no "seconds" or lower quality to these common appliances.. Expensive RVs use the exact same appliances as the cheap RVs..

Where most complaints really stem from is lack of quality of the workmanship when the unit was assembled.. That can be poorly installed water lines or electrical connections or poorly built cabinets, drawers, doors..

Figure out how much available cargo you have on your truck, then find a trailer that stays within your cargo of the truck and suits your needs.

[Second_Chance]

As Thermoguy said, at 30K you are in the used market. Some manufacturers may have a slightly better reputation for build, fit and finish, but in the end they all use the same appliances and accessories. In the travel trailer market, 90+% of them use the same chassis manufacturer and one of three axle/suspension makers. The common components are the ones that fail most often, so it goes across all brands.

Rob

[Grit_dog]

FWIW, when we were shopping last year, Covid prices, of course, a deal was tough to find several months and several states radius search.
I looked at a Springdale actually and yes, it was CHEEEEP.
Ended up with a Heartland Torque T29, and actually very close to your upper budget, been used like twice in 4 years and mostly stored in a barn.

[Grit_dog]

Definitley a loaded question lol.
GD, Lance, Outdoors RV all seem to be pretty well regarded.
The only travel trailer we've had is a Heartland, toyhauler, and I'd consider it to be of good quality, although at 5 years old, it is very lightly used.
Speaking of, have you considered a toyhauler?
We wuz looking for a TT after selling our truck camper. Not wanting bunks and light duty, barely capable chassis for the weight, got on the toyhauler kick. For overall interior space and ability to sleep alot of people, a comparable size TH (peon "garage") kills most TTs in this regard.
Aside from heavy tongue weight, if alot of "space" and # of people sleeping arrangements are wanted, the toyhauler wins.
They also genrally have larger tank capacities and more of them with built in gennys (blessing or curse...).

Knowing that I'm going down the road with 7k axles and 16" tires with a trailer that is only carrying maybe 4000-4500lbs per axle is nice too.
And I spent like $40 and made the ramp into a back deck. Open air concept with the screen and canvas wall at the back are nice in nice weather too.

Food for thought.