26bh
Me and the family went to the the Cleveland rv show and have narrowed are new travel trailer search down to the basic 26bh models . There was jayco , colemen ,gray wolf and many others. After sev...
Forum Discussion
I had a Grey Wolf 26BH for a little over two years. Put 7,663.5 miles on the trailer and 122 nights. Had one thermostat go out (Suburban issue, not FR). It was a great trailer for the money.
However, just like Jayco and others in that range - the tanks were exposed under the trailer, subject to a road hazard hitting them. No heat or protection against freezing.
We strongly considered a Jay Flight 26BH but decided on the Grey Wolf. A friend bought the Jay Flight we looked at and had trouble with several issues. He broke an axle, had the grey tank punctured by something from the road. I don't think he overloaded the trailer - just bad luck. It had the same axles as the Grey Wolf.
What we didn't like about that size/ floor plan:
No enclosed underbelly and not cold weather protection of the tanks.
No slide - made rainy days with the grandkids 'difficult'.
The jackknife sofa is a real pain to sit upon for more than a half hour. At that price point there are simply no comfortable sofas.
The grandkids fought over who got the top bunk.
The bathroom is too small.
The dinette is a real pain because the heavy table top needs to be removed when you travel. Be sure to mount Velcro on the bottom of the table top and the edges of the seats. Otherwise it will come out into the aisle.
Too little storage for a trip longer than a weekend. Getting to anything under the sofa or the dinette seats was more work than it was worth. We ended up keeping a lot of stuff on the lower bunk simply to make it easier to get to.
No ducting on the AC. Ours was controlled by switches on the unit. It was too loud to talk while eating, or watch TV. Also ours would shut off the compressor if the temp go low enough, but would not shut off the fan. Constant noise.
We camped 24 nights with 4 or 5 grandchildren - needing every sleeping capability of the trailer, and 7 nights with my son - his wife and daughter.
Don't get me wrong - we had great times in the trailer, and it was a very good value. I'm just listing negatives - and they were mainly due to the floorplan and type of entry level trailer, rather than any issues from the manufacturer.
What we did learn from that TT was that we really loved RVing, and traveling, and we wanted to move to something bigger and full-time.
I also fully understand that most of us have to live with real world budgets and priorities - so price is very much a consideration.
I started towing the trailer - 4,850 lbs actual empty weight, 5,500 lbs loaded - with an F-150. The trailer could push the truck around if the wind was from the rear quarter and over 15 mph.
After a year, I got a Ram 2500 MegaCab - and it was a world of difference towing the trailer.
My personal opinion is that a trailer that size and weight is about the max to tow with a half-ton pickup.
However, just like Jayco and others in that range - the tanks were exposed under the trailer, subject to a road hazard hitting them. No heat or protection against freezing.
We strongly considered a Jay Flight 26BH but decided on the Grey Wolf. A friend bought the Jay Flight we looked at and had trouble with several issues. He broke an axle, had the grey tank punctured by something from the road. I don't think he overloaded the trailer - just bad luck. It had the same axles as the Grey Wolf.
What we didn't like about that size/ floor plan:
No enclosed underbelly and not cold weather protection of the tanks.
No slide - made rainy days with the grandkids 'difficult'.
The jackknife sofa is a real pain to sit upon for more than a half hour. At that price point there are simply no comfortable sofas.
The grandkids fought over who got the top bunk.
The bathroom is too small.
The dinette is a real pain because the heavy table top needs to be removed when you travel. Be sure to mount Velcro on the bottom of the table top and the edges of the seats. Otherwise it will come out into the aisle.
Too little storage for a trip longer than a weekend. Getting to anything under the sofa or the dinette seats was more work than it was worth. We ended up keeping a lot of stuff on the lower bunk simply to make it easier to get to.
No ducting on the AC. Ours was controlled by switches on the unit. It was too loud to talk while eating, or watch TV. Also ours would shut off the compressor if the temp go low enough, but would not shut off the fan. Constant noise.
We camped 24 nights with 4 or 5 grandchildren - needing every sleeping capability of the trailer, and 7 nights with my son - his wife and daughter.
Don't get me wrong - we had great times in the trailer, and it was a very good value. I'm just listing negatives - and they were mainly due to the floorplan and type of entry level trailer, rather than any issues from the manufacturer.
What we did learn from that TT was that we really loved RVing, and traveling, and we wanted to move to something bigger and full-time.
I also fully understand that most of us have to live with real world budgets and priorities - so price is very much a consideration.
I started towing the trailer - 4,850 lbs actual empty weight, 5,500 lbs loaded - with an F-150. The trailer could push the truck around if the wind was from the rear quarter and over 15 mph.
After a year, I got a Ram 2500 MegaCab - and it was a world of difference towing the trailer.
My personal opinion is that a trailer that size and weight is about the max to tow with a half-ton pickup.
