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Jim77's avatar
Jim77
Explorer
Aug 28, 2013

A TT with Office Space and Bed for 6000lbs or less

Hey guys,

I'm new here and this is it. I'm doing it. I'm buying a travel trailer. I'm in Canada right now and plan to leave right before winter to go explore the US and the west coast. Very exciting!

I would really like to get some assistance in finding the right product for me.

My requirements are a little specific and uncommon so I hope you'll be full of ideas and suggestions.
The main thing is that I'm looking for a TT in which I'll be able to convert a medium sized bedroom or bunk beds room into an office. (70-100 ft2 - yes that office is high in the priorities) I still need a comfortable space to sleep of course but I'm ready to make the necessary comprises (i.e. modular spaces or sleep in a bunk bed) so I can hopefully find a TT that is still compact and lightweight. (6000lbs or less, I would assume a 27-30 footer)

I went to an RV reseller recently and got to see the same as this one - Jay Flight 32TSBH. It has a big room (about 110 ft2) in the back for the office space and a dedicated space for the bedroom. I've fallen in love with those slide outs in the back and would allow proper room size for the office (video production). It's a similarly designed trailer I'd like to find only smaller and lighter. Or that 32tsbh model linked above (7,855 lbs) without the queen size bed space.

Now I'm ready to think outside of the box here. Maybe some smaller and lighter models have mezzanine type bedrooms? Or I don't mind sleeping in a bunk like bed if it's comfortable and big enough to accommodate a 6'2 man. Or I could replace the sofa with a couch that accommodates a comfortable futon. And the office space doesn't need to be as big as the one of the 32tsbh.

I'll be the only one living in the trailer.
Any ideas, brand/model suggestions and comments are welcome!
Cheers!

19 Replies

  • Goldstalker wrote:
    Jim I wouldn't recommend towing a 30ft trailer with your Cherokee, it won't be fun as the wheel base is just too short and you will have payload issues. 25ft Max IMHO.


    Is everyone feeling the same way? OK 25ft max. We might make this work... Interior or Exterior? Cause those 27 footers are in fact 30.
    This guy pulled a 26 footer with his less powerful Liberty. Of course a lot of people were opposed to what he was doing but the guy seemed to know what he was doing.

    How about this 26 footer at 4500lbs. Would that work?
    Any more ideas for 24-26ft products that would fit my needs that we might have overlooked?
  • MCIbus wrote:
    It sounds like you will need a 50 amp (220) electrical system for your computer stuff....


    Quite a lot of the trailers I've been looking at have 50 or 55-amps power. I wouldn't mind upgrading it I find the perfect trailer and it's only 30-amp; I do that sort of stuff a lot. Thanks for bringing it up though, good thinking.

    Sounds like your bus is a lot of fun. Do you have pictures of it somewhere? Would love to see your setup.
  • It sounds like you will need a 50 amp (220) electrical system for your computer stuff if you also want to run the AC. Depending on the location of the breaker box, power cord, and where you need the extra power it might be a PITA job.

    We have a tour bus with the house systems built how we wanted it. We live in our bus about 363 days a year. Before the bus we had a short class A and it was to tight. Were set up for event camping; no water, sewer, 15 amps of power or no power, and thin camp sites.
    We have no slides, large water / gray / black tanks, tinny Honda genset, large genset, large inverter / battery setup, and the list goes on.

    We do anything from large company pick nicks, NASCAR, golf, soccer, motocross, and a ton of other stuff. Most of the stuff we do we are hired by a company to take pics or marketing stuff, but sometimes we go to stuff hoping to get good pics that we can sell. We design marketing stuff, calenders, and a bunch of other stuff for companies.
  • Jim I wouldn't recommend towing a 30ft trailer with your Cherokee, it won't be fun as the wheel base is just too short and you will have payload issues. 25ft Max IMHO. If you do I see you at the dealership trading in soon after your first trip. White Knuckle!
  • Hey guys thanks for your inputs.
    The tow vehicle is a Jeep Cherokee CRD, 7300lbs max.

    MClbus, I'm doing video production and post-production. It will have an editing and color grading bay with computer, Raid array, some computer monitors and a bigger reference monitor, other equipment and also storage for camera, lenses, and filming equipment. I guess a 8x8 room would work but around 80-90ft2 would be neat. That's why I loved those slide-outs.

    I'd love to hear about your adventures on the road while working. It will be a first for me. Yes I am power aware but for now I was trying to find out what solutions were out there for Jeep and office requirements. Power can always be upgraded no?

    I had looked at the Toy Haulers and didn't find them to be lighter compared to travel trailers at similar lengths. Those Haulers Goldstalker linked seem to be lighter indeed. But the 30 footer (XT-300) is still 7,290lbs. The XT-276 would work at 5000lbs although it only has one slide-out (sorry to mention those again ;). I haven't been able to find any used and older models. I guess these toy haulers are new things right? I'm looking to buy used. Around $10-15K. But budget flexible if need be.
  • I think you need to look into a toy hauler like others have said.

    Do you need that much office space? What kind of work do you do? How many workers?

    Wife an I are both photographer / journalist and full time. When we first hit the road thought we needed huge amounts of office space and over time our office needs have shrunk.

    We have two 6' desks that we switch back and forth between them depending on what were doing. The one desk is set up with a desk top for photo editing / file server. The other desk has a 2 drawer file cabinet and an all in one scanner printer. We do most of our work on lap tops and use the desk top only when needed.

    Don't forget about the amount of power that will be needed to run office equipment. Office equipment puts out heat so you will need more cooling. Make sure you look at you power needs with the trailer before you buy anything. A 30 amp (120 volt) power system dose not go far after the converter is on and the AC.