First travel trailer, what should I buy?

Get you "second" trailer first.
i.e....get the bigger one with slides.

Asking what kind of camper to suggest is as hard as asking what kind of house should I live in or what style of shirt should I wear today? The options are so broad, it's mind boggling. Really, only you can answer that.

Not knowing the age of your children, it's also hard to make a suggestion. Small children can sleep in a bed together, about the age of 5-13, bunk house style campers are desirable for kids. From age 13 on, kids will either still REALLY be into camping or begin to get really turned off from camping. Some kids around age 13 or so would rather sleep in their own tent.

A lot depends upon what Mom and Dad's needs are too. What kid of camping are you planning? State Parks, off-the-grid camping, are you using your camper to tour across the country, or simply as an extra bed-room at grandma's house?

What kind of activities is your family engaged in. ATV, motorbikes, bicycles. Things like this will determine what kind of camper to get too.

Too many factors to make a suggestion. Not knowing what type of tow vehicle you will be getting makes it equally as hard. And is it possible you may consider a CLASS-A or a CLASS-C motor home instead of a trailer and tow vehicle.

If you can narrow it down a bit what your needs are, you'll begin to gets lots and lots of suggestions.

FYI, I suggest you visit your closest RV dealer and spend a day just walking through different campers. See what excites you, see what depresses you. Begin to get a feel for different floor plans, styles, designs.

Talk to the dealer about what kind of vehicle it would take to tow a specific trailer if you were to get it. Then visit another dealer and start over. Eventually you'll begin to see a pattern of what works and what does not work for you.

Please provide more info, that will help the rest of us help you.

Thanks,

Go to a local dealership or several and see what they have that you, but especially the wife, can't live without. Remember that your two kids WILL grow up and get larger. Prepare for that. If you get a small trailer, you will outgrow it quickly and have to purchase a larger one.

Look for the floorplan you like and take into consideration pulling the trailer, storing the trailer and then living in the trailer (in case of inclement weather). This will narrow down your choices.

Look at the construction and finishes within the trailers that you like and then narrow it down even further.

This should give you 3 or 4 trailers for you to definitely consider, then start lookiing at the owner's forums for those makers. Remember that on the forums, you are pretty much going to see the negatives, not the positives. Very few people go on a forum to tell what a great trailer they got, they will tell about the problems.

More than the quality of construction, find a dealer that has a good reputation for standing behind their products and you will have a much better time.

Look for a bunk house model and if you can afford it, one with a slide. We bought our first TT a few years ago after renting pop ups over the years. The selection was intimidating but after visiting an RV show and talking with a friend of our that had a similar bunk house, we went with a Jayco for their 2 year warranty, quality and value. While we don't have a slide I wished I had opted for a model with a slide but we still love out TT.