Should I? so confused and overwhelmed.
Hey guys, 1st time poster here. For over a year I've been mulling around getting a trailer for me my wife and my 2 children. Currently I'm driving a 2017 yukon. I'm getting a little overwhelmed with t...
Forum Discussion
You need to first think about how you plan to use the RV, whether living in it long term, making road trips, camping out on weekends, etc. How you want to use it will determine how big it might be. A couple full-timing might want a 38-40 foot trailer, and I've known many families (including mine when the headcount was 5-6) who enjoyed weekend to week-long camping in a pop-up with a 10-12 foot box. I also know many families that tent camp, with the amount of equipment that packs easily behind the second row seat of a full-size SUV.
To deal with tow vehicle issues, manufacturers today build many lightweight designs in a range of lengths. Lightweights are built by minimizing the size and weight of every component, every piece of building material. This, and efforts to hold down costs, make them look as cheap as they are. A well-built travel trailer of similar length and floorplan might weigh 50% more and cost more than twice as much (or five times as much). There is a market for that, as well, but this is a very small market.
If a travel trailer has to be really big to suit your needs, the Yukon might not be the best, or even an adequate tow vehicle. Escalade with more highly tuned version of the same engine is not likely to be much better as a tow vehicle, because the limiting factor is more chassis stiffness and how much weight you can put on the hitch and in the car, not peak horsepower ratings. But you have to first figure out how much trailer you really need, before you shop for the vehicle that can safely tow it.
There are dealers who rent out travel trailers and other camper types, usually smaller lighter ones, at least in Oklahoma and Kansas; probably also in Texas. That could be an introduction to the experience, and suggest whether or not you need something bigger. A trial or two with rentals might help you figure out whether this is the type of adventure that works for your family.
To deal with tow vehicle issues, manufacturers today build many lightweight designs in a range of lengths. Lightweights are built by minimizing the size and weight of every component, every piece of building material. This, and efforts to hold down costs, make them look as cheap as they are. A well-built travel trailer of similar length and floorplan might weigh 50% more and cost more than twice as much (or five times as much). There is a market for that, as well, but this is a very small market.
If a travel trailer has to be really big to suit your needs, the Yukon might not be the best, or even an adequate tow vehicle. Escalade with more highly tuned version of the same engine is not likely to be much better as a tow vehicle, because the limiting factor is more chassis stiffness and how much weight you can put on the hitch and in the car, not peak horsepower ratings. But you have to first figure out how much trailer you really need, before you shop for the vehicle that can safely tow it.
There are dealers who rent out travel trailers and other camper types, usually smaller lighter ones, at least in Oklahoma and Kansas; probably also in Texas. That could be an introduction to the experience, and suggest whether or not you need something bigger. A trial or two with rentals might help you figure out whether this is the type of adventure that works for your family.
