Best regarded brands - Generally speaking
Hi, great resource you all have cultivated here. A little background...I'm a 40 something outdoorsman, life long camper, etc. Spent many, many days and weekends of my youth at various lakes and ca...
Forum Discussion
The height requirement drives you towards a 5th wheel. You can certainly do a travel trailer but the roof will always feel like it's right there about to hit your head.
Assuming you get a mid-height 5th wheel, you get a lot more head room everywhere except the bedroom but in the 26-30' range, you don't really spend a lot of time standing in the bedroom anyway (if you are comfortable crawling in and out of tents, this should be a non-issue).
Are you comfortable with your feet hanging off the bed a bit? A lot of RV beds are 6-8" shorter than a household bed, so if it's critical you will want to look for a full length bed or plan to replace with a full length.
With a 5th wheel, a 3/4 or 1 ton is really preferable as the pin weight is usually the limiting factor but if you stay in this size range single rear wheel should be fine.
Assuming you go used, past maintenance tells you far more than manufacturer. Most of the equipment and construction are largely the same unless you go really high end but then you are going to find it tough to get something reasonably new in your budget and it's going to be heavy (possibly enough to drive you to a dual rear wheel).
PS: I wouldn't consider not having at least one decent sized slide in the living area. The difference in living space (particularly with a couple kids on a rainy day) is just night and day. Also, the resale value will be hurt as almost no one wants a non-slide trailer.
Go to a dealer and sit down and imagine functioning with normal daily tasks (particularly if it's rainy and everyone is inside). With your height, some of the small toilet spaces are an issue. It sounds crude but pretend you are wiping. Does your head hit the wall during the process?
Assuming you get a mid-height 5th wheel, you get a lot more head room everywhere except the bedroom but in the 26-30' range, you don't really spend a lot of time standing in the bedroom anyway (if you are comfortable crawling in and out of tents, this should be a non-issue).
Are you comfortable with your feet hanging off the bed a bit? A lot of RV beds are 6-8" shorter than a household bed, so if it's critical you will want to look for a full length bed or plan to replace with a full length.
With a 5th wheel, a 3/4 or 1 ton is really preferable as the pin weight is usually the limiting factor but if you stay in this size range single rear wheel should be fine.
Assuming you go used, past maintenance tells you far more than manufacturer. Most of the equipment and construction are largely the same unless you go really high end but then you are going to find it tough to get something reasonably new in your budget and it's going to be heavy (possibly enough to drive you to a dual rear wheel).
PS: I wouldn't consider not having at least one decent sized slide in the living area. The difference in living space (particularly with a couple kids on a rainy day) is just night and day. Also, the resale value will be hurt as almost no one wants a non-slide trailer.
Go to a dealer and sit down and imagine functioning with normal daily tasks (particularly if it's rainy and everyone is inside). With your height, some of the small toilet spaces are an issue. It sounds crude but pretend you are wiping. Does your head hit the wall during the process?
