Finding An RV Model

mbopp wrote:
Generally, small TT's have small water tanks. And finding one with a tub vs shower may be tough.
DW & I saw a Grand Design 2600RB that we like. No tub though.

https://www.granddesignrv.com/imagine2150-floor.php

Thanks. I was confusing with that requirement. A shower is great. I just don't want a wet bathroom where the shower would spray water on the toilet - like the Casita.

SoundGuy wrote:

tatest wrote:
I suggest Northwood's Nash 17K which is 22 feet long (despite model designation 17) and puts 4400 pounds of trailer on a 7000 chassis, right in the range of what your truck can be expected to handle. This one is generator-ready for boondocking, but you would likely be installing a LPG genset, so run-time is related to tank capacity. 50 gallons fresh water is really generous for this size TT.

coolmom42 wrote:
That is a nice trailer. It has a lot of options that could be added for boondocking--generator, solar.

At just 23' 10" I'd find the Northwood Arctic Fox 22G which features a walk around queen bed a lot more appealing than the Northwood Nash 17K which is 22' 4" and doesn't have a walk around bed.

I'm on the East coast where I guess these are not sold at least at the RV dealers I’ve visited. I just returned from Vegas where I found several other RVs I’ve not seen on the East coast including trailers from Pacific Coachworks. Pacific had some nice trailers but these Northwood products leave me saying WOW! Both the Nash and Artic Fox have great features and the quality makes me think of the Keystone Cougar line. Great recommendations. I might be heading out West for one of these. Thank you.

SoundGuy wrote:

BlunderLust wrote:
Soundguy. Thanks for your response. Your point on the 5th wheel height is definitely pushing more to travel trailers.

Another thought ... considering your anticipated use you might want to consider choosing a trailer without a slide as that will save weight and inherently increase CCC. The difficulty you'll have though is finding one as these days many more trailers than not seem to have a slide.

Good points on height and slides. The Technomadia.com couple have a vintage bus without slides which is lower than 5th wheels allowing them to get into more spots. Thanks!

Just another point of view regarding length and height: We full-timed for 16 years; 8 yr. with a 33' 5th wheel; 2 slides; 8 yr with a 40' motorhome with 2 slides.

Public campgrounds were always our first choice and I'd say we spent 90% of our time in them. The 40' fit in the spaces we had used with the 33'. We used the same campgrounds if they were favorites. We used national parks, state parks, county and city parks, many, many forest service campgrounds and lot of boondocking on national forest and BLM lands.

We did our research before and honestly, we always fit where we had intended to stay.

Now I understand that you're not looking for a 33' or 40' but keep in mind that you don't have to settle on the smallest you can find. Also, the 33' 5h wheel height was absolutely no problem.

We purposely ordered both with only 2 slides and both had to be on the same side so we wouldn't have to deal with trees and slides on both sides.

Good luck!

myredracer wrote:
In our case, one full holding tank will put us over the GVWR and we only have 555 lbs of cargo and mods/upgrades. The TT as picked up from the dealer was 190 lbs over the factory UVW (factoring in propane and battery). It might be that they don't include the weight of options in UVW, just don't know. Lack of industry standards doesn't help. Our NCC is way off what the factory would suggest it is. I just don't trust factory numbers. For sure, some manufacturers are realistic in their NCC/CCC numbers but how to know for certain?

As I mentioned our Freedom Express has an advertised base weight of 3535 lbs but as it arrived at our dealer it's actual dry weight as indicated on the yellow sticker affixed to the front street side of the trailer was 280 lbs more at 3815 lbs. :E One of several reasons we chose this particular model was it's generous CCC which easily took care of that extra 280 lbs. :B I also travel with the fresh water tank either partially or completely full and because I service my tanks here at the house with a FloJet Waste Macerator Pump I always travel home with the black water tank nearly or completely full. A generous CCC takes care of this extra weight so it's for these reasons I think the OP is correct in looking for a trailer offering a CCC of at least 2000 lbs. :)

SoundGuy wrote:

myredracer wrote:
Be vary wary of advertised cargo carrying capacities. They are often way less than expected.

Not "often" but always since advertised factory CCC usually refers to a base model without options or accessories, often without propane in the tank(s), and never includes the weight of a battery or batteries which are dealer or owner installed. To that most would also want to include the weight of water in the water heater tank and sufficient water in the fresh water tank so the system can be pressurized and used anywhere at any time, whether camping or not ... really handy for those road side stops. My own 19' Freedom Express has an advertised factory dry weight of 3535 lbs but with items just listed in reality weighs ~ 4000 lbs before any of our personal gear is added.

In our case, one full holding tank will put us over the GVWR and we only have 555 lbs of cargo and mods/upgrades. The TT as picked up from the dealer was 190 lbs over the factory UVW (factoring in propane and battery). It might be that they don't include the weight of options in UVW, just don't know. Lack of industry standards doesn't help. Our NCC is way off what the factory would suggest it is. I just don't trust factory numbers. For sure, some manufacturers are realistic in their NCC/CCC numbers but how to know for certain?

myredracer wrote:
Be vary wary of advertised cargo carrying capacities. They are often way less than expected.

Not "often" but always since advertised factory CCC usually refers to a base model without options or accessories, often without propane in the tank(s), and never includes the weight of a battery or batteries which are dealer or owner installed. To that most would also want to include the weight of water in the water heater tank and sufficient water in the fresh water tank so the system can be pressurized and used anywhere at any time, whether camping or not ... really handy for those road side stops. My own 19' Freedom Express has an advertised factory dry weight of 3535 lbs but with items just listed in reality weighs ~ 4000 lbs before any of our personal gear is added.

We first started RVing in a Jayflight 22FB. We picked it specifically because we were going to spend a lot of time dry camping, preferably in forest sites or on the beach. We loved that little trailer and spent up to three weeks at a time in it. It has a 2K cargo capacity, 90G fresh water, no slides, a walk around queen bed, and tops out at 27'. Yeah, it sounds large, but we managed to wedge it into many tight places. Unfortunately, they stopped making that model, but one can pick them up pretty cheap in the used market.

Best of luck in your search.

Our first TT was a 20 footer as in the floor plan below. We thought it was going to be our forever trailer. Only lasted one year until we discovered it was just too small and cramped. No slideout. It quickly got rather annoying having to squeeze by each other between the kitchen count and bathroom. Watching the TV from the dinette seat was quite uncomfortable. Could not comfortably relax with no sofa or recliners. Low on interior storage space. The best thing was how easy it was to tow a short trailer anywhere.

We ended up getting a 29' TT with one slide, a sofa, large walk-in shower and an efficient floor plan. Lost thousands of $$ when we went to sell the old TT.

Don't jump into something that catches your eye without doing adequate research. If you can, it might be a good idea to rent a TT somewhere and see what you think. Some CGs have rental units on site. There are some better layouts in shorter TTs than others so choose wisely. I think a kitchen on one side and dinette opposite gives more circulation space. You might find that a trailer in the 22-23' range may a whole lot better. A slideout is a great feature to have as it really opens up an interior.

Be vary wary of advertised cargo carrying capacities. They are often way less than expected.

tatest wrote:
I suggest Northwood's Nash 17K which is 22 feet long (despite model designation 17) and puts 4400 pounds of trailer on a 7000 chassis, right in the range of what your truck can be expected to handle. This one is generator-ready for boondocking, but you would likely be installing a LPG genset, so run-time is related to tank capacity. 50 gallons fresh water is really generous for this size TT.

coolmom42 wrote:
That is a nice trailer. It has a lot of options that could be added for boondocking--generator, solar.

At just 23' 10" I'd find the Northwood Arctic Fox 22G which features a walk around queen bed a lot more appealing than the Northwood Nash 17K which is 22' 4" and doesn't have a walk around bed.