Hello! I wanted to jump in here and say hello from Mississippi. My wife, son, and I are looking at getting into rv'ing. We are looking at a few options for a travel trailer as we have a 1/2 ton pickup that I will be towing with so I have to be careful with the weight and such. We are completely new to RV'ing. We homeschool and want to travel around and let our son see more than just our local area. Plus he is big into archery so we will be traveling with that (goodbye **** hotels!!!!). So we will be doing a mix of campsites and some boondocking. All that to be said, I will have a bunch of questions but here is one to start with:What are some of the things I'll be looking at buying when we do get our TT? Besides the normal dishes, linens, etc. We are looking at bunkhouse floorplans if that makes a difference. Thanks in advance and I look forward to hanging out with everyone here virtually.

IMO you shouldn’t buy anything until you have rented at least two travel trailers to discover what you like, don’t like.

First thing is to NOT go out and buy a lot of stuff. You probably have most anything you need already in your home, so maybe try what you have before you buy. One of the biggest mistakes many people do is to go out and buy, then figure out later how much they really don't need or use. You will need a good certified safe water hose, sewer hoses and such, a few varied extension cords, and for me, a portable took kit with wrenches pliers, and whatever in a case that stays in the RV. A good charcoal or gas grill, tablecolths for picnic tables. Several various flashlights, extra batteries of all sizes. And MOST IMPORTANT, a Sense of Humor, and the wisdom of when it is needed.

It is easy to buy more than is needed initially. It's probably better to buy things you find you need as you go, than to try to imagine every possible eventuality at the start.I'd suggest the first camping "trip" or two be in your own driveway, if possible, for a couple reasons. First, you'll have a chance to figure out or remember how all the systems work on the RV with less stress. Second, if you find you need something that you don't have, it's ready at hand, and you can make a note to buy one for the trailer if applicable. This is especially useful for kitchen supplies and paraphanalia, though it applies everywhere.Do consider how long you'll likely be keeping the RV when looking at floorplans. Many of the bunks in bunkhouses I've seen are none too long, and may be fine for an 8 year old but could become pretty nearly useless in five years when the kid has become a lanky 13 year old. Also be thinking or even miming what you'd be doing to go about normal daily household tasks: can you turn around and reach the middle of your back in the shower? can you cut up veggies for a salad in the kitchen while cooking pasta? is there room for a trash can in a handy location? would there be room to do homeschool work and plan the next leg of travel at the same time?

If you plan on buying new, the stuff that typically doesn't come with it are sewer /water hoses, tire chocks, tire covers for covering while in storage, patio mat, chairs, small outside table, portable grill, maybe a set of tools, etc.If buying used, then a lot of this stuff may come with it. Either way, you will want a good weight distributing hitch. If you want to rent, take a look at RV Share to find a unit to rent - but these don't always come with a WDH, so you may be limited to local campgrounds.Do your research on payload - don't rely on tow capacity. Figure what you can tow before you start looking.Good luck

Does your 1/2 ton pickup have the factory tow package? If not, you are likely looking at a 5,000# towing limit. When we bought our Airstream we traded in our 02 Silverado without a tow package for a 17 F-150 with a tow package. The Silverado wouldn't tow the trailer we bought because of the lack of a tow package.

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bikendan
Explorer
May 19, 2020
kameleon wrote:
bikendan wrote:
kameleon wrote:
Thanks for all the input thus far. I see a major focus on tow capacity. I can definitely appreciate the focus on safety. For more info my tow vehicle is a 2015 Toyota Tundra Limited 5.7L 4x2 with the factory tow package. It has a 10,000lb tow capacity according to the owners manual and a 1390lb cargo capacity according to the door sticker. I am looking at trailers in the range of 7500lb total weight with a tongue weight around 10% of that. That with a proper WDH should net me a reasonable and safe tow.

I am looking at new TT's so I will definitely need the most stuff. Right now I am looking at the Grand Design Transcend and Transcend Xplor lines since they seem to meet most of our requirements. Mainly looking at the Transcend Xplor 243BH on the small/light side and the Transcend 29TBS or 32BHS on the larger side with more room to grow.

I recommend that you do more research on towing. You're looking at the 10000lbs towing capacity, instead of the poor payload capacity of 1390lbs. Nearly all tow vehicles will run out of payload capacity WAY before getting close to max towing capacity. And 10% for estimated tongue weight is too low. Normally 13%-15% of trailer GVWR is used.

Good info. I just checked and the TT's I'm looking at are rated at around 600lb-750lb tongue weight. This should be around half my payload capacity. This is the ballpark I am looking correct?

You're looking at fictional dry tongue weight numbers. Those numbers are unrealistic. When you add the weights of batteries, factory options, water and cargo, those numbers get bigger fast. #1 newbie mistaken, next to believing the dealer, is using fictional brochure/website dry weight numbers.
Taking the 243BH's GVWR and using the lower 13%, the loaded tongue will be around 915lbs. Subtract that from your 1390 number and that's what you have left over for everyone in the Truck, truck cargo and 100lbs for the WDH.
This is why Payload Capacity is more important than towing capacity.
2012Coleman
Explorer II
May 20, 2020
kameleon wrote:

Good info. I just checked and the TT's I'm looking at are rated at around 600lb-750lb tongue weight. This should be around half my payload capacity. This is the ballpark I am looking correct?
I checked the specs of the smallest one you mentioned, the Transcend Xplor 243BH - the one you need to be concerned with mostly is GVWR which is 7495. Multiplied by 13% you get 974 lbs which will be your calculated tongue weight - not the 597 stated in the brochure for reasons stated above. Subtract this from your cargo capacity of 1390 leaves you with 416 lbs for stuff like a weight distributing hitch - scratch another 100 lbs, so 316 lbs for everything else like all the stuff you're going to haul in the bed, plus the weight of passengers/pets and cargo inside the truck.

One more thing to mention is that air bags or other modifications do not increase payload. Good luck to you.
pitch
Explorer II
May 20, 2020
Bobbo is 100% wrong about a 5000K capacity. Every truck is different. I would suggest suggest a hybrid. Something like a Jayco 23B or the like. Hybrids are not for everyone, but are really nice.

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