Camper travel trailer noob questions

Your trailer salesperson is probably not an expert on trailers and for sure isn't an expert on tow vehicles. Good for you for checking up on him.

As others have said you will likely be over on some of your load capacities. I think folks are surprised by the weight of all the junk they take on a trip.

My opinion (for what it's worth) is that you will be looking for a new truck in the near future if you go ahead with your trailer purchase.

Real world numbers.

Brochure UVW of my TT is 6035 and TW is 650.
My TV with me, dog, wife and full fuel is 6,000 pounds (CAT weight).
My gross with my trailer connected with TV loaded and ready to roll is 13,780 pounds (CAT weight) and TW is 900 or so.

dtzackus wrote:
...A RV dealership will tell you anything to get you to sign the dotted line and buy their units.

Not all of them. I walked out of one dealership when the salesman told me weights don't matter. At the next dealer, the salesman asked me first what I was towing with. I'd seen the trailer I wanted and was curious about the next bigger model. Salesman said "well, I'll show it to you, but I won't sell it to you because you can't tow it with that truck".

Guess which dealer I bought from?

I usually don't respond to posts like these, after they've gone to a page or two, because I end up repeating what everyone already said. I figure after you've heard it half a dozen times or more, you get the point. But, having said that, I will say that the trailer in my sig is approx 6800 fully loaded, and I would not want to go any heavier with my Sierra 1500. And, in fact, Im contemplating upgrading the truck prob within the next year, because I want to travel more want a greater margin and comfort level. Im fine towing with my setup, and I don't get blown around, and I don't have the tail wagging the dog, but I wouldn't go heavier.

The trailer you are looking at is 6500 dry, so figure at least 1000 more when you're all done. I thought that was BS, but I ended up there and then some. Im still below the trailer GVWR, below my RAWR and below my truck GVWR, and total GCWR, but I do wish I had more margin.

As far as the deal, camp-n-family found two at significantly lower cost, so I would go back to the table with the dealer.

WD Hitch, I really like my Husky Centerline TS. I don't have much to compare to, and I know Equalizer has a great following, so I don't think you could go wrong there. The dealer when I bought my rig threw in the Husky hitch, so I went with that. I like it because I've heard on other WD hitches, you have to disconnect the bars when backing up (don't know if that's true), but with the Husky Centerline, you don't.

Just another thought from first hand experience.

Mike

It is difficult for one person to know what another person considers scary, safe, difficult, dangerous and a host of other adjectives used to describe a TT/TV combo. These are all subjective based on people's opinions.

What is not subjective are the hard numbers. If your TV axle weight is 200 lbs over the manufacturer's rating while towing, you are subjecting it to excessive wear.

Now if you tow 200 miles to the Lake and back twice a year, you probably will never notice. If you tow cross country from dessert to mountains, it might take its toll.

One person's white knuckle drive, might be another person's typical ride. Once you know the numbers it is up to the individual to decide their level of comfort.

I agree with the posters above. Just remember that if you should have an accident, you don't want to sit across a table from someone else's attorney explaining why you were overloaded.

Reading all these responses definitely have me concerned. I called my salesman and voiced my concerns and he is looking further into the exact weight of TT. He said his company and himself wouldn't sell me something that wasn't safe for me and my family. I appreciate all the comments and advise and will let everyone know how this turns out. And as far as the price goes, I think this one is higher than the others because of all the options. This camper has every single option possible on it, even has two air conditioners.

I have the same year and make of truck as you, except mine is the Ecoboost. If you don't have the max tow package on your truck, you are likely going to exceed your receiver weight of 1050 lbs once you have 2 full propane bottles, batteries, and the added weight of of the weight distribution hitch. If you have P rated tires, you will feel like you're towing on marshmallows even at the max of 44 psi on the sidewalls. Trust me on that. I've done a lot to make my towing experience better. I don't lack for power. But if I had to do it all again, I would've rather saved the money and bought something lighter. Good luck!

Texanfordfan wrote:
Reading all these responses definitely have me concerned. I called my salesman and voiced my concerns and he is looking further into the exact weight of TT. He said his company and himself wouldn't sell me something that wasn't safe for me and my family. I appreciate all the comments and advise and will let everyone know how this turns out. And as far as the price goes, I think this one is higher than the others because of all the options. This camper has every single option possible on it, even has two air conditioners.

Have him put it on a scale. You also need to look at the specific axle and weight ratings for your truck. My guess is you need to think about more truck or less trailer.

I believe from all the above posts that the folks are telling you to approch this very carefully. It is hard to ignore the floor plan you really like.

From the above posts you should have gleened the following.
* You will almost certainly add 1000 to 1200 lbs to the TT dry weight.
* The TT tongue weight will likely exceed 1000 lbs when loaded.
* With family and stuff, you need to know how close you are to your max cargo.
* You also need to know how close you will be to your hitch capacity.

The dealer can give you some hard numbers but a lot of what you need to know depends on your camping techniques.

We did not know what we wanted in a TT, so the DW and I rented our best guess at what we thought we would like. 10 days in the Ozarks taught us a lot.

You'll be at 7500-8000 pounds loaded with 1000-1100 pounds of loaded TW. That puts your truck over tow rating and GCWR and I bet over rear axle and GVWR, maybe receiver too.

You'll need to get closer to 5500 pounds dry get under the tow rating/GCWR. Check your tire and loading sticker for as equipped payload. Subtract an estimate for your family's weight. Rest can be fore TW. Let's say 1400 pounds with a 500 pound family. That's 900 pounds loaded or 6500 pounds loaded TT.