Life With a 37' TT

I had similar concerns moving from a Jayflight 26BH to something bigger. We ended up with a Sprinter 311 BHS, which is about 36'. In a lot of ways, it's easy to maneuver, it has a tighter "cut" due to where the wheels are. It did take some getting used to going down the road and getting into some spots. I plan very carefully for spots, routes, etc. I use a lot of google maps (earth) to see sites, roads, gas stations, etc. You probably don't need to plan as carefully as I do, but I make sure I know all my options. I've only had one really tight fit (at a KOA). We usually stay at state parks and do fine. We really like the layout (bunkhouse, outside kitchen). It is worth the hassle of parking it.

My wife and I backpacked in the mountains and tent camped for many years, finally moving to a pop-up when the 2 kids came along. After 3 years of enjoyment with that setup we absolutely can't wait to move up to a bunkhouse travel trailer. We're going long too, likely a 34 footer with outdoor kitchen summer of 2016 (gotta get the wife through nursing school first).

If it was just my wife and I, we'd probably end up with something like a 17 foot Casita. I love those molded fiberglass trailers for two people. But the reality is we have 4 and 5 year old boys and I want them to have their own space (for our sake more than anything else haha), as well as space to bring along friends and family. So we're going to rock the big trailer until they are out of high school. I want the ability to have 10 or 12 people up in there, a mobile gathering.

I guess we are lucky here in Tennessee, the state parks around here (and surrounding states that I've been too) are really nice, relatively updated and there are tons of sites for bigger rigs. That coupled with beach trips to SC and FL, we won't be missing out on much that we currently have access to with the pop-up. If we want primitive we'll go backpacking.

One thing, coming from a pop-up perspective, that surprises me in this thread is hearing people complain about the setup time on the travel trailers. What takes 30 or more minutes? It takes me 30 to 40 minutes to setup the pop-up and that includes hauling all of the******from the van into the camper and setting up decorative lights and flags. Seems to me a hard sided trailer could be ready to rock in 15 minutes tops but I've not owned one so I'm curious.

We made the usual path. Tents to pup to small tt to Bh. Our bunkhouse is 29 foot bumper to ball. Our first TT was 22. With just the wife and I it was great, full sized full time bed, dinette could be a bed. But we found even with the two of us 'living storage' was hard to come by. Sure it held all our gear, but groceries and clothing seemed to get moved from area to area to gain space. Add in our grandson wanting to camp, and my handicapped adult son and while we could 'make a go' of the smaller TT we always felt a bit full. This year we went to the RV show with zero intention of upgrading, but some financing options and such, and we ended up with our upgrade for 8 bucks more a month. Couldn't turn it down. Also, the new TT has a rounded front vs. the flat full front, and on our little tow home I noticed less drag already. Time will tell if that was all in my head. We love the idea of more space now, and the BH will likely be used to stow stuff when kids aren't with us. Plus, with the huge slide, we have floor space for 3 more dogs!

mtofell1 wrote:

Gdetrailer wrote:


Kids now days are really spoiled rotten..

Yes they are..... but so is dad. Trust me - the bigger TT has more to do with me being comfortable than the kids :)

It really is amazing to think back a generation. Tent camping for the most part. The RVs have really gotten to almost ridiculous with the "creature comforts". But I'll be the first in line to buy one :)

We family tent-camped for two nights last summer beside a bunch of trailers. All the other families felt sorry for us, and it was hard to convince them that we also have a trailer. It was a last minute trip, and we had to take the ferry, and the trailer was just too much expense and bother to take along. It was fun for two nights, but I sure missed the trailer.

I tent camp, paddle-in, with my friends a couple of times each summer, but not with the family. I don't mind tent camping with those guys, but I sure wouldn't want the wife and kids along!

Gdetrailer wrote:

mtofell1 wrote:
So, I started with a popup tent and thought that was too big to store and drag around. Fast forward 15 years and I'm realizing kids are getting too big and I need a bigger RV.... again.

Kids are: twins @ 5, girl @ 6 and older boy @ 15.

I'm currently in a 30' 2 bunk trailer (34' from bumper to ball). I've found some good quad bunk trailers in the 33' range (presumably around 37' from bumper to ball) but the ones I really like are 37' or so (a scary 40' from bumper to ball).

I have plenty of truck to haul basically any TT so that's no problem. Parking at my house would be a bit more of a hassle but doable. My main concern is just hauling 40' of trailer around and trying to find camp spots and places to stop while traveling.

How many of you regret hauling such a huge TT? Anyone gone big and regretted it? Anyone gone big and then back to something smaller?

I just keep trying to justify it by thinking, "well, that's only 2 feet longer.... and the next one is only three feet longer than that," and pretty soon I'm going to hauling a 93' TT :)

Thanks for sharing any experiences.

Hmm.. to think my parents "forced" all SIX kids AND themselves into a pickup truck with a cap then later into a pickup truck with a 12ft slide in (yep, us kids RODE in the back of the truck cap and later in the slide in.. From 4yrs old up to 18 years of age.. Spent 3 WEEKS IN A ROW EVERY YEAR traveling the east coast..

Didn't kill anyone of us..

Kids now days are really spoiled rotten..

The kids aren't spoiled, all of us parents are spoiled. I too remember six of us crammed into little log cabins, truck slide-in campers, and tents. It was fun for the kids, but horrible for the parents.

I choose to have a separate bedroom from my kids in both the trailer, and any hotel stays, cottages, ect.

They are just lucky to get the extra space, but it isn't for their benefit LOL

carringb wrote:
Mine is 38' overall. I did manage to get it pretty stuck in a primitive spot along the south bank of Crane Prairie reservoir, but most of the time is hasn't been an issue. Mine does have enough clearance to roll over logs and stumps which has been necessary for some of the primitive spots I go.

I want to hear about getting that trailer stuck... and how you got it out too!

Many campgrounds allow a tent at the RV site, perhaps kids are getting to the age of using a tent? The 15yr old might enjoy his own space.. just a thought (sorry if someone already mentioned it).. One of our daughters did that a few times and enjoyed it except when it rained for 24hrs straight once.. other daughter had no problem with it. Two (of 3) daughters married now and join us by bringing tents...

If you were okay pulling a 34' (total) trailer, the extra 3' probably won't matter. I would imagine going up from that would be a pretty big jump though. We have a 33' (total) trailer, and I am comfortable with it, but it is bigger than I want it to be.

As far as I'm concerned, the trailer is for sleeping and hiding from the rain. To that end, we can easily fit all three kids (8,10,17) and a few friends. We spend 90% of our time awake outside, and very rarely let the kids play inside if it's not raining. The point of camping (for us) is to be outside, without having to sleep on the ground.

If I could convince the DW, I would go smaller, but such is life.

mtofell1 wrote:
Apparently, the soap boxes, assumptions and advice are all getting bigger too these days. I was really just asking for experiences about towing something.

"soap boxes" aside, anytime you post something you should always expect answers or comments that do not support your ideas or notions..

"Supersizing" was mentioned by me.. Not sorry for that comment at all, all in all it is the truth.

Keep in mind a 37ft tongue to bumper trailer plus hitch shank of 1 ft and your tow vehicle length of 22ft-24ft depending on size of cab and bed you are as long as 62ft.. Pretty much in the tractor-trailer length of a semi (aka "18 wheeler"). At 62ft you are now greatly limiting places you can go and some places completely and even the "easy" places can now become a challenge..

62ft doesn't bend much gives you a much wider turning radius, takes much more planning for fuel stops, parking and so on. If you insist on the extra length you might want to consider an extra fuel tank so you can skip the real small cramped gas stations (which is most of them)..

You have to really eye up the entrance/exits of every place you go, too steep and you risk high centering it.. Even the ones you think are fine you WILL be dragging and scraping..

I found a big difference from my 20ft to 26ft for dragging, never dragged the 20ft but have done it lots of times with the 26ft.. The tongue jack has been scraped pretty hard and even my spare tire holder which is behind the jack has needed some repairs (had to make a new one from scratch the last time I dragged badly)..

You, yourself even mentioned something about it wasn't YOUR "idea" and YOU are the one having to "deal" with it. Why make things harder towing for yourself just to be a "bit more comfy" INSIDE the trailer?

If what you have now works for you then why bother, kids WILL be gone in a few years then you will have a huge trailer..

I don't buy into the upsizing thing, I grew up in a three bedroom house.. FOUR of us boys in ONE BEDROOM, TWO sisters on another bedroom and Mom and Dad in the third bedroom.. We had a bath and a half and we survived the ordeal. Now days that would be considered cruel and unusual punishment.. If I used todays way of thinking we would have to had 9 bedrooms (two bedrooms for His and hers "offices") and at least 8 bathrooms..

If you "want" a 37ft TT and you don't mind the extra hassles then go for it..

Apparently, the soap boxes, assumptions and advice are all getting bigger too these days. I was really just asking for experiences about towing something.