Forum Discussion

sewicamper's avatar
sewicamper
Explorer
Apr 10, 2015

light weight options/specs

Greetings from a newbie...
I'm looking at purchasing a small tt this year or next. Would love to search based on multiple criteria and haven't found anywhere to do this. There are simply too many brands out there to make sure I've covered them all!
I'm looking for your help to make sure i don't overlook any models that fit my criteria....

At or under 10' tall with a/c
At or under 25' overall length
Less than 4000# dry (lighter is better!)
Queen bed and 2 bunks
Dry bath
Enclosed underbody & heated tanks (has to at least be an option)
No tent pull outs
Hard slide may be tolerable (but will likely push weight past 4K#)

Some overall heights specifically mention 'including a/c' others don't (ie Rockwood Mini lite 2306).... not sure what height average a/c unit adds?

Thanks your help!
  • Well, here's my 2 cents. This will get you everything except the enclosed and heated underbelly: KZ Sportsmen Classic 19BHS A lot of manufacturers are making these single axle lightweight campers. We have a 2011 KZ Sportsmen Classic 19BH. At the time, we had a teenage niece and nephew who would travel with us, so we got the bunkhouse model (at the time this was their largest model in the Classic line). Now that the children have grown and moved to other things we use the bunks for storage. Also at the time there was no option for a slide in these. They have that option now, which gives you a larger dinette. One thing to pay close attention to is that these are made low to the ground and they have very small black and grey tanks. As long as you either use a dump cart or full hookup site, you're good. We really like ours and have had NO issues with it, but we're looking into a sizeable upgrade in space and amenities in our next trailer. One upgrade we have really enjoyed is doing the so-called "axle flip" to gain clearance under the camper. This moves the axle below the springs instead of above. It would often drag pulling into and out of drive entrances. Not anymore :-).
  • This might come close.

    http://www.chaletrv.com/travel-trailers/1860bh
  • Being under ten feet tall including an AC is going to be a big challenge and severely limit your choices. Even without an AC that is a tall order (pardon the pun..).
  • I would not lock myself into the GVWR of the trailer. the only valid number is the actual weight of it. I don't care if the GVWR is more than I can pull, as long as the actual weight is sufficiently below that limit. too many here limit themselves due to a very large GVWR when in actuality it will actually weigh much less than that.
    bumpy
  • RoyB's avatar
    RoyB
    Explorer II
    Not all TENT BEDS push in or pull out. The HYBRID SERIES have the tent beds that fold down from the outside. These do not take up any room inside the trailer when up.

    JAYCO has a great web page showing all of the floor plans on a view page so you can compare the various models.
  • donn0128 wrote:
    Tent trailers would fit your criteria quite nicely.


    Did you even read the post?
  • Welcome!

    First lesson is to ignore the dry weight. It is a fictional number. No one tows a trailer at it's dry weight. Dry weight does not include factory installed options like AC, awning, oven, or even the spare tire as is the case with some manufacturers. There is a yellow sticker on the driver side of the trailer that lists the "shipped" weight, which is always higher than the advertised dry weight.

    A better planning number is the GVWR. That's the allowed total weight of the trailer fully packed and ready to camp in. Most of us don't fill them to that extent, however the real tow ready weight most of us have is closer to the GVWR than the dry weight. Hence it's a good number for planning.

    That said, what are you towing with? What is the payload (on a sticker in your driver side door jamb)? With that info we can make a better determination of what's realistic for you to tow, and that will help narrow down your research.

    This is important because far too often people buy a trailer that's within their listed towing capacity but will easily push them over their listed payload. Towing capacity is not a hard and fast number. Knowing your payload and tongue weight limit need to be factored in as well.

    EDIT: The Jayco Jay Feather SLX 18srb may fit your requirements very nicely.

    EDIT again: Oop, sorry. I didn't catch that you need 2 bunks also.
  • Tent trailers would fit your criteria quite nicely. You will not find many hard side trailers to fit your want list