1st time buyer - 31 vs 35 ft trailer?

frenchmr wrote:
We are planning to get a 5th wheel trailer soon and are debating between a trailer that is 31 ft and one that is 35 ft length.

It's our first time pulling a 5th wheel trailer so we are leaning towards the 31 ft trailer so it's easier to pull and find camping spots, but we have 5 kids and the 35 ft one has a dedicated bunk room, plus an extra bathroom and an outdoor kitchen. The 31 ft trailer does have double bunks.

What advice would you have? Should we go with shorter to keep it simpler or is the extra 4 ft not as big of an impact and we should go with one that fits our family better? Our plan is do a fairly even mix of dry camping and campground camping, I'm in Utah.

Here are the models we are considering. Would love any feedback on these two as well.

2018 JAYCO EAGLE HT 26.5BHS
https://www.jayco.com/tools/archive/2018-eagle-ht-fifth-wheel/265bhs/

HIDEOUT 308BHDS
https://www.keystonerv.com/fifth-wheels/hideout/floorplans/308bhds-fifth-wheel/

Thanks for the help!

Since you want to boondock, don't even consider the Jayco Eagle HTs. Their tanks are too small. I was looking, heavily, at the 277RLTS and, because we like to boondock too, the 32.5gal black tank was a real knock against it, in my book. I was giving up 13gal of black capacity over my old, smaller FW. I would not have bought one without seeing one "naked" underneath so I could see if a larger tank(s) could be installed. If not, then I wouldn't have bought one. I was looking at a very similar KZ Durango 1500 model and, while I didn't buy that exact model, I did buy a KZ. 61gal fresh and 53gal black and grey tanks. The Hideout only carries 43gal of fresh, has 39 grey and 78gal "waste" capacity. Don't know if that's black for both bathrooms. So far, I'm enjoying the KZ and we've had minimal issues with it. One model, the D286BHD, in their Durango "Half-ton" series, looks like a good option for you. It falls between the 2 you're looking at, coming in at 33' and change. Also, the KZ was made since at least 2016, so there might be used ones on the market or old-stock sitting at a dealer somewhere. Don't let the "Half-ton" name fool you on the KZ. It's NOT half-ton towable. Minimum would be a late-model 3/4t; a 1t SRW would be better.

On edit:
RVTrader has over 20 KZ D286BHDs listed, including one from a private seller that looks awesome and price is even better. Just depends on how far you want to travel.

Lyle