I'm planning on getting an RV in the near future, and I'm thinking that a hybrid might be best. I'm hoping the great knowledge and experience here can help me out.A little intro might help. I live outside of Portland, OR right now, and most of our trips would be fairly local, hopefully growing into longer and farther trips later on. We've got two sets of twins (yes, you read that right) that are 7 and 4. Tow vehicle for the next few years is a 1991 GMC suburban 1500, so weight is a concern.My wife refuses to camp in a tent on the ground, but will do an RV.Any thoughts on whether a hybrid will be good for us? Coast is a concern with kids that eat us out of house and home, and weight. Most of our time would be spent outdoors, but on rainy days we would need enough room for all of us. Any suggestions on which used models to look at?Thanks in advance!

a rockwood roo 183 will give you 3 queen beds.Most room you will get for sleeping while staying the lightest.

Hi, we've got a family of 4 kids aged 9-15 so space is an issue for us as well. I was also worried about weight and length, so we ended up after many years in several pop up trailers with a 23 ft Jayco hybrid model. Couldn't be happier with our unit. It has a dinette slide out which I highly recommend. Ours is only approx 12 inches deep by about 5 ft long however it opens up the living space immensely. Some of the other slides are 2 to 3 ft out and down the length of the trailer so I highly recommend this option. Our trailer is only 4000 pounds dry however be mindful you can cram a lot of weight in that space we bring 6 bikes plus food/beer/water etc. Love the open air of the hybrids you can hear mother nature when you like and nice and breezy during the day. Good luck.

2 sets of twins, lucky you (we have 1 set, now 7, and 1 older). A 3 bed HTT could work well for you, if your kids are happy to sleep together. We really love our HTT and could sleep 2 adults/4 kids easily if you don't mind dropping down the dinette table every night.

Thanks for the thoughts. The kids are pretty close, at 4 the girls still share a bed. I think we could live with putting the dinette down. I didn't even realize there were three bedroom ones.

You can easily pull a Roo 23 with your truck. As for sharing beds, each bunkend is more like a tent than a bedroom, even if the mattress is shared. Unless the kids have to live in absolute luxury and sleep under sheets and blankets (which is fine too), they can each sleep in their sleeping bag, therefore sharing a bunkend is more like sharing a bedroom. Those little tents are so cosy and fun for kids, during the day for games and at night to sleep. The only drawback with HTT is the time required to fold and unfold the bunkends, but it is well worth it!

Hybrid with a big family | Good Sam Community

popupcamping
Explorer
Aug 08, 2013
a rockwood roo 183 will give you 3 queen beds.Most room you will get for sleeping while staying the lightest.
Habs33
Explorer
Aug 08, 2013
Hi, we've got a family of 4 kids aged 9-15 so space is an issue for us as well. I was also worried about weight and length, so we ended up after many years in several pop up trailers with a 23 ft Jayco hybrid model. Couldn't be happier with our unit. It has a dinette slide out which I highly recommend. Ours is only approx 12 inches deep by about 5 ft long however it opens up the living space immensely. Some of the other slides are 2 to 3 ft out and down the length of the trailer so I highly recommend this option. Our trailer is only 4000 pounds dry however be mindful you can cram a lot of weight in that space we bring 6 bikes plus food/beer/water etc. Love the open air of the hybrids you can hear mother nature when you like and nice and breezy during the day. Good luck.
3LittleDucks
Explorer
Aug 08, 2013
2 sets of twins, lucky you (we have 1 set, now 7, and 1 older). A 3 bed HTT could work well for you, if your kids are happy to sleep together. We really love our HTT and could sleep 2 adults/4 kids easily if you don't mind dropping down the dinette table every night.
oldbird
Explorer
Aug 08, 2013
Thanks for the thoughts. The kids are pretty close, at 4 the girls still share a bed. I think we could live with putting the dinette down. I didn't even realize there were three bedroom ones.
bovellois
Explorer
Aug 08, 2013
You can easily pull a Roo 23 with your truck. As for sharing beds, each bunkend is more like a tent than a bedroom, even if the mattress is shared. Unless the kids have to live in absolute luxury and sleep under sheets and blankets (which is fine too), they can each sleep in their sleeping bag, therefore sharing a bunkend is more like sharing a bedroom. Those little tents are so cosy and fun for kids, during the day for games and at night to sleep. The only drawback with HTT is the time required to fold and unfold the bunkends, but it is well worth it!
sausageking
Explorer
Aug 09, 2013
Palomino made a S23BH, two tent ends with two more bunks inside along with a slide.
epeters
Explorer
Aug 09, 2013
Hi neighbor!

We live in Vancouver, just across the river from Portland. We have a three bed hybrid with a small slide for the couch. We have two kids but with family we have had up to 10 in the trailer for a weekend.

We often camp at the coast and with the three bunks there is plenty of room for playing games reading or napping. We've also took a trip down thru Arizona up to Colorado and Utah and back. Of course we packed differently than a "weekend getaway".

Our hybrid is one of the heavier out there as it is a bit longer than the newer models with three beds, but not by much so I think you should be more than fine with a hybrid and your rig. We pull ours with a 1500 Silverado, two pugs, the family, firewood sometimes and bikes.

Let me know if you have any questions particular to our area or whatever.
Campfire_Time
Explorer
Aug 09, 2013
oldbird wrote:

My wife refuses to camp in a tent on the ground, but will do an RV.

Any thoughts on whether a hybrid will be good for us?

I'm more concerned about this statement than your choice of trailer. Have you camped before? If not, keep in mind that the beds of a hybrid aren't much different than a pop-up. Its not like a tent because you are off the ground and you have a comfy mattress. It is like a tent or pup because you hear everything outside, and conversely, everyone can hear you. Also, if you haven't camped before can you rent something first to try it out. Far too many people who have never camped have purchased trailers only to find that they just didn't like it.

BTW, the hybrid in my sig is our second one. The first was a 17' that we had for 10 years.
Billbeat
Explorer
Aug 09, 2013
We have a Coyote 23' hybrid with 3 beds ,plus the table and coach both can be used. We have 3 kids of our own and usually a few extra. With the beds all outside it allows for more space in the trailer. Ours weighs 4100 lbs ,tow with a GMC Envoy.Your Suburban should tow that kinda weight easily.
A hybrid is a good choice for someone with your concerns. Easy to tow, plenty of beds and lots of room inside for rainy days.We have camping friends with 30' trailers with less living space than ours.
We've had ours since 2009 and still love it! Good Luck !
atreis
Explorer
Aug 09, 2013
Any of the three bunk hybrids (there are several options) should work fine.