Advice for semi-newbie on used TTs
Hi everyone, I camped a lot growing up, and my husband and I camped (tent and pop-up) when we were younger with fewer children. Our children are older now (teens, pre-teen) and we want to start cam...
Forum Discussion
Where and how you want to camp will be a big factor in your decision. Room and comfort and access tend to be mutually exclusive. We started out with 3 kids in a tent, then a smaller Coleman PU. Then many years later we went to a 16’ TT and there were usually 2 kids with us. Mine has a side bath, a bunk we used for storage and a gaucho in back that converts to a bed. The kids used it and we used the dinette table. If it’s just the two of us the gaucho remains down. Neither one has suffered any undue wear in 23 years of use, i.e., I’ve never had to do a repair. And we’ve never felt like we were in a closet or bothered with the conversion.
That said, for lack of a better term, we’re hard core campers. We like to get well back in the national forests and away from the easy access campgrounds. Most activity is outdoors and we don’t carry a tv. So we don’t “live” in it like we do at home. An added plus is I can get in anywhere so I can wander at will without having to make reservations to ensure I have a site. So if someone wanted to do that sort of camping I’d say stay below 20’, likely not an attractive option for you. If I were willing to give up that type of camping and tried to balance off as much access as possible with room, I’d say stay at 25’ max. That’s real length, not model number length which is always understated. But even that is too restrictive for me; I really couldn’t get far enough back in to suit me.
Slides are nice in that they give you some extra room without the length. But it’s a “weak” point that will require maintenance and repair at some point, so another decision of what is more important to you. I think for the most part you shouldn’t have a problem extending the slides; you’d have to be in some really tight quarters.
As far as brands go, I’m a Northwood fan. They’re built for off pavement travel and are pretty sturdy. But they are also heavy units. Lance seems to be a good one, too, and I’m sure there are others out there; I just haven’t kept up with the market.
So you have to decide what the best compromise of size and access is that works for YOU. Then you can look at a TV that will do the job well. Forget the tow ratings, though, you’ll run out of payload before you get near it. And if you want to drive the mountains a lot, the more excess payload you have left the better. Good luck in your search.
That said, for lack of a better term, we’re hard core campers. We like to get well back in the national forests and away from the easy access campgrounds. Most activity is outdoors and we don’t carry a tv. So we don’t “live” in it like we do at home. An added plus is I can get in anywhere so I can wander at will without having to make reservations to ensure I have a site. So if someone wanted to do that sort of camping I’d say stay below 20’, likely not an attractive option for you. If I were willing to give up that type of camping and tried to balance off as much access as possible with room, I’d say stay at 25’ max. That’s real length, not model number length which is always understated. But even that is too restrictive for me; I really couldn’t get far enough back in to suit me.
Slides are nice in that they give you some extra room without the length. But it’s a “weak” point that will require maintenance and repair at some point, so another decision of what is more important to you. I think for the most part you shouldn’t have a problem extending the slides; you’d have to be in some really tight quarters.
As far as brands go, I’m a Northwood fan. They’re built for off pavement travel and are pretty sturdy. But they are also heavy units. Lance seems to be a good one, too, and I’m sure there are others out there; I just haven’t kept up with the market.
So you have to decide what the best compromise of size and access is that works for YOU. Then you can look at a TV that will do the job well. Forget the tow ratings, though, you’ll run out of payload before you get near it. And if you want to drive the mountains a lot, the more excess payload you have left the better. Good luck in your search.
