Help choosing something like Cougar

mtbfamily wrote:
Thanks so much everyone for your detailed and clear explanation. I can't believe the RV dealers we went to didn't provide the same. You are right that the towing capacity is calculated based on just one 150lb person driving. After I did the math you provided, I ended up with just a 5100 lb towing capacity. We just towed a trailer 3 hrs each way that's 6875 lb dry (not counting the weight distribution / sway hitch).

So, let's ignore the towing capacity for now and just focus on figuring out which TTs we should be looking at. Can folks help me with that please?

A. Not a surprise. Why would you trust a RV salesman any more than any other commission based salesman?
B. You just did the weight cop calcs and found out that your nice 1/2 ton "can't" pull squat if you believe that.
C. You just towed a 8000lb trailer 6 hours (6875lbs dry + + + + = 8klbs ish). How did it feel? Were you comfortable doing it? Did the combo handle appropriately? Refer back to B. above.
D. You and everyone else on this thread is now wrapped up in the towing capacity and payload semantics. Can't choose anything until you decide which side of the fence you're on.
Besides, size, weight, features, layout, etc is all easily determined for every model and brand out there on their websites. Complete with a host of pictures inside and out. That is far better info than you're going to get here. Here you will get folk's personal preferences, mostly from folks that don't match your demographic or even your generation.
E. You will not find a camper made of helium. If your family isn't comfortable in a smaller, more sparsely appointed camper then you're going to be towing a bigger camper.


Good luck camper shopping! Seriously, as said before, if you stick to 8klb max gvw campers, you can find everything you're looking for and the truck will be fine too.