Full Disclosure-Total Newbie! Starting "the Plan" :)

One other thing to consider is how big is big enough? We have a 25 ft. TT and have never had an issue getting a camping spot. There were some spots at Glacier National Park that definitely would have been a challenge but they were all reserved.

Our style of travel means we may pull though a town looking for a quilt store or gun shop and our Dutchmen and F-150 can squeeze into a two car length space if needs be. Also not all small towns have those Truck Stop style pull up pumps.

Everybody has their own style of travel and travel hints.

Good Luck

Hokiemom-you and your DH have much to look forward to..retirement sure beats working. Remember saturday mornings when you were a child?
(ok, after you finished your chores!).
Not had a MH, but have towed 3 different 5th wheels (from 18-30') and two travel trailers. Like others have said, they each have their + and -.
Remember that once you park at the campground, you will be using your tow vehicle (TV) as your get around car. I tow a 30' 5th wheel with a 1 ton dually truck-does a good job towing, but its just too big for running around in. So we downsized a couple of years ago; still have the 5ver but now our 21' Sunnybrook Harmony (now Winnebago Minnie) is our camping home. We tow it with our 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee and it tows like a dream. Yes, even with a WD hitch w/anti sway, you can still feel the trucks pass you, but its not bad. The Jeep rides so nice when towing and around town. You spend more time driving without your trailer than you do towing. I love the small trailer for getting in and out of small campsites. Its only 7'6" wide and just over 10' tall, so we can squeeze it into most anyplace we find. The narrower trailer (most are 8'+ wide) does make it easier to drive, maneuver and park.

So much you have to look forward too-look to the future and smile!

I'm all for research and planning, but your starting now - 4 - 5 years before planning on a purchase? Lots of things change in that long of a time period.

My advice would be to understand the capibilities of your tow vechile - focus on payload before tow capacity. Know what things subtract from your payload. This may have been mentioned - I didn't read all the responses. Post a picture of the sticker in the doorjamb and folks will be able to comment.

Renting is a good idea - here is a great website to help you find a rental - its called RVShare. I searched in Virginia and found lots of rentals.

Above all, avoid advice from sales persons - know how to determine for yourself what works safely.

Good luck and happy camping.

It sounds like you're off to a good start. Take your time and investigate all of your options before diving in. Renting some units is also a great way to figure out what you really need and like. We went to shows and dealers for about 10 years before we finally purchased our travel trailer and it took a lot of time for us to decide what we really wanted.

I also think his concerns with his ability to tow a trailer is normal. I would suggest starting with short local trips on easy roads to get used to towing. Plan the route and make sure there aren't any tricky areas along the way. Find a nice big parking lot to practice maneuvering and work out your role as a spotter. It will take a little time, but he should be OK. This spring I'll be teaching my wife how to tow the trailer and I plan to use the same method.

Good luck with your journey and check back in along the way. There's a lot of good info and helpful people on this forum.

Just for 2 ,I will look at a smaller ultralight . When the kids move out(our youngest is 4 .we are will 40 in a few year.). We will move to a 20 ft or less. As we were both new to towing my wife actually towed more .we went big with a 30 ft bunk house(2kids ,dog , us with my mother or mother in law or both joining us often.) but she just towed more.she left me pick the wide roads ,by pass traffic and jump out spot in tight sections. As with any marriage team work. I have started to tow a bit more now.but when going to a unknown areas she rather drive then monitor traffic via internet and reroute .

5 years ago we were tent camping. Then a popup, then a 19 foot trailer, now a 26 foot trailer with bunkhouse and large slide.

I was terrified of towing the popup before I did it. Same with the 19 footer. Then I get this 26 footer (30 foot total) and I think, oh lord can I handle it?

Guess what, easiest one to tow yet. Less bounce, less drag with the rounded front, and so much more floor space inside.

There is nothing worse than falling in love with something you cannot tow. When starting the TT thinking we bought a used Chevy Suburban. That vehicle is a love story all by itself. But there's not much it won't tow to boot!

Don't play by the margins. Get a bigger TV, and you'll be happy. Longer wheelbase = less bounce and a much smoother ride. Also, with a large trailer, the larger vehicle helps the 'battle' during wind or semi truck gusts.

Good luck, we LOVE the fact we moved to a TT. This year we traded in our only 2 year old 18 footer for bigger, took a beating on the trade, and are STILL happy we did it!

Hokiemom wrote:
My husband's current Chevy 4 door Colorado truck has over 120K miles on it,so we would be buying a family vehicle to use (regardless of the TT plan), so factoring in something that would be comfortable to drive in for a long distance, with a dog, the two of us and a not too big TT is what I am looking into.

The most important item driving your towing comfort is how well the truck and trailer are matched.

Your truck could ride like a Cadillac, while unhitched, and scare you to death, if it is hitched up to a trailer that pushes it beyond it's ratings. Being tensed up and fighting the steering wheel, makes a real uncomfortable ride.

As others have mentioned, visiting RV shows and multiple dealers, will give you a better idea of floor plans and trailer sizes that will suit your wants and needs.

While shopping around, think about where, how, and who, will be using the trailer, and what you might bring along. Be realistic any maybe think a few years down the road. IE:

Possible cold weather use - There are a lot of them who say, "They have heated tanks", but, that tank heat comes in varrying degrees. If this is what you need, ask exactly how the tanks are heated.

Exteme hot weather use - Maybe, a second air conditioner would be in order.

Possible use without hookups (water, electric, sewer)- Maybe tank sizes are important, maybe you need more battery power, maybe you want solar panels (some are prewired) or a generator.

Beds - Are there enough of them?, Are they big enough (RV queen is six inches shorter than a standard queen, standard sheets don't fit quite right)?, Are they laid out to allow enough privacy?

Access to bathroom / kitchen (while on the road) With some floor plans, the slide out, when pulled in, blocks access to areas such as the bathroom or kitchen. Could be important if you want to stop at a rest area and use your own bathroom, or fix lunch.

Bathroom - If there's going to be small children, you may want a tub vs a stand up shower.

Pets - Will you bring a kennel?, Is there floor space for it?

Storage - They have varrying amounts of storage accessible from the outside. You'll need some boards or leveling blocks, camping chairs, maybe charcoal, maybe a grill of some kind, maybe some equipment for tire changing, etc. When the trailer is in storage, is there a place to store the hitch? Might be OK to store some of these things on your bed, others not so much.

Trailer storage - Where? Is it accessible (24/7)? What does it cost? Some home owners associations restrict RV parking, will you have that issue?

Sit in the chairs, sit on the sofas, lay on the beds. Imagine being stuck in there on a rainy day. Are those things going to be comfy? Do you have a good view of the television, from your comfy seating?

We bought a bunk house trailer, thinking we needed room for grown up sons to go hunting with me, or grandkids to go camping with us. After five years, the bunks had been used twice. The rest of the time, they collected junk. That same trailer, had the issue with the slide blocking the bathroom door, if someone was cooking, they blocked access to bunks and bathroom, and it had a short queen bed with walls at both ends. I'm 5'8" and couldn't stretch out. It would take 4 -5 days to get used to the short bed. Didn't get much sleep on weekend trips.

When we went shopping, I made up a list of things we were looking for, or not, and used it to make score sheets. Wife and I, both filled out a score sheet on every unit. Then we plugged the scores into a spreadsheet and went back for a second look at the top five. Scored them again, to narrow it down to two.

Congrats on your decision and let the fun begin.

It is my belief that you look at the total RV puzzle.
• Floor plan
• Tow Vehicle
• Cost
These are the three legs of the RVing stool you have to sit on. They all have to be right to sit comfortably.

Once you have worked out the above puzzle or while trying to work it out. Rent what you think you want for a week or so. No one can describe to you what it is like to pull one of these barns down the road; you just have to do it yourself.

That is how we decided on a max length of 25 feet, a slide that did not block the kitchen or bath while retracted, a bed you can get out of without crawling over the other person and a minimum of 350 horse power to pull the load.

Renting is the best way I know to avoid buyer remorse.:S

Good luck.

Before we retired, we also wondered if RVing would be a fit for us. We started out with a used pop up in decent shape. We spent 2 grand on it and traveled the Southeast for about 2 years on vacation and breaks. That experience sold us.
I wasn't totally comfortable at first backing up a trailer. After practising in a vacant lot for a couple of hours, I felt much more comfortable. Now, it's no big deal.
Good luck.

Pick out your trailer first, then buy the tow vehicle second. That way they will fit