New to travel trailers. Seeking guidance

Without knowing your numbers, but just knowing what most 1/2 ton trucks are capable of, IMHO you're going to want a TT with a GVWR of no more than about 6,000 to 6,500 lbs. Over 8,000 lbs like that Northtrail is going to be bad news IMHO.

The first thing you need to do is throw that tow rating for your truck out the window. It's pretty much meaningless, as weird as that sounds.

As others have stated, you can PULL that much weight, but the problem is you will need to carry some of the weight of the TT on the suspension of your Tundra. And when you subtract the weight of the Tundra itself, any people, cargo, etc. from the GVWR of the truck you're more than likely going to be over what your Tundra's suspension can safely handle.

Thanks for the wealth of knowledge you have all provided. I have learned a lot in the last few weeks, that's for sure. I have checked the sticker inside my door and it states that the GVWR is 7,100 lbs.
Looking in my manual, it states that the GCWR is 16,000 lbs and the TWR is 9,700 lbs.
One of the trailers I am looking at is the Northtrail 32RLTS. It has a GVWR of 8,600 lbs and the hitch is at 780.

Is this too much?

Jason

A travel trailer in the 5000 to 7000 pound range would be fine for your Tundra. That's less than 30 percent of the 10,000 pound max dry. Keep the added payload reasonable ( people, cargo and tongue weight) and you will be ok. A trailer like the 29 foot Jayco 264bh would fit the bill if you like the floorplan. I did all the math for my Tacoma V6 and it could tow about 80 percent of its 6500 rated towing capacity.

A lot of good advice on this thread, and some not so good. I don't think you will have much difficulty sorting out what is not relevant to your situation.

For what it's worth I will share some personal information for your consideration. I too have a Tundra. My camper is about 20' so I never had much concern about capacities. But I weighed the truck and camper (loaded for a 5 day trip) at a CAT scale and was a little surprised at the result. All the numbers were good, but I was fairly close to the Tundra's load capacity. I think of all the numbers, load capacity probably runs out first so that is the one to focus on.

I've owned two campers, both purchased new, and I never regretted either one. To maximize your chances of making the right choice, I recommend doing lots of daydreaming about the choices available to you. For example:

If you hava corner bed and share it with someone, one of you will be crawling over the other. This was the case in our first camper. We were young and flexible so it was not so bad. Now we are neither young nor flexible and a walk around bed is a must have.

Consider meal preparation. If you do most cooking outside and occasionally prepare simple meals inside, kitchen counter space won't be much of an issue. But if you expect do more elaborate meals look for a better kitchen.

And of course you will have to deal with an occasional rainy day. Is the dinnete comfortable enough for extended lounging or do you need something better like a sofa?

So try to spend a fair amount of time in any camper you are considering. Imagine what it would be like sleeping, cooking, loounging etc.

Speedogomer wrote:
I also have to chime in about buying new...

It's all relative. If you've never camped or been RVing, I'd say dont buy new. You really need to figure out what you want by getting out there and RVing for a few years to really narrow down your wish list.

If you've tent camped a long time, and are seasoned in camping, I'd say buying new is fine. That's where I was at, and I bought new. I also camp with 5-6 other families, all of which have RV's. Pop-ups, TT, fifth wheels.. I was able to talk to them and see what they would have done differently.

I won't go over the weight tow capacity ect ect, as everyone else already has... But here's a few other things to consider...

1. How do you like to camp? Are you going to spend all day in your RV? Or are you outside all day and only use the RV to sleep in. If you're inside all day, you want a residential style floor plan, with lots of seating, space, and amenities. I'm primarily outside so I wanted a big bed inside, and an outdoor kitchen. I also like "camping", since I've always had a tent, so having a house on wheels wasn't as important to me, my Floorplan isn't as roomy as most, but it suits me better. It feels more "camping" than "RVing" since I use it more outdoor oriented.

2. What type of sites do you go to? Are they full hook up or dry? If you like sites without electric or water, find a unit with large tanks so you can stay out longer. Remember some sites have a length limit, so going over 30ft can limit your choices at some campgrounds.

3. How tall are you? Many ceilings are lower than you expect, so if you're over 6ft tall, you'll hit your head on the AC unit. Also camper queen beds are smaller than residential queen beds. This is why I found a unit with a king bed, 7ft ceilings, and a skylight in the shower so I can fit.

4. Do you have kids, plan on kids, or have others stay with you? Most would agree having a bunk model is a must with kids. Putting up and down a dinette can be more of a pain than you think. Having a bunk area really helps, and even without kids, it gives guests a place to stay. If it's just the 2 of you always, I'd look for non-bunk models.

5. If there's an RV show near you... go to it even if it's a drive. It really helps narrow things down. Go to more than 1 if you can... They're alot of fun too.

Great post as you gave reason as to why size and layout can affect your choices.


For me I was looking for a TT that was going to be placed on a seasonal site as I was not interest in towing a trailer for at least 6 years or so. So I picked a trailer with lots of floor space in the living room that did not have a bunk house as my kids are all grown up and will not be coming with us to the trailer. I also have a dinning table with 4 chairs as we simply do not need the extra sleeping space and hate the booths stye that afford no flexibility.

I believe that the floor plan is the most important aspect of choosing a trailer and the TV capabilities to be able to safely tow it, if that is what you will be doing.

I bought a Jayco as the two year warranty appealed to me...no extended warranty! I also bought locally so that if the TT need work to be done it would be at my local dealership one who is more invested at making me happy if they want to keep my business.

I went to the trailer show two years in a row and bought on the second year. I also had been looking for two years before I purchased. It helps to go into many trailers so that you get a feel for how they will work for you. The higher ceilings makes a big difference in the feel of a trailer and skylights and windows make some units brighter than others..

The last thing I want to address is the new vs old......this is a personal choice that is made for many reasons....but for me it was simple. I do not like the thought of sleeping on a bed that others used, I know a change of mattress is not a big deal....same goes for the sofa, toilet, shower etc. So me and my wife we knew we would be buying new. Also we will not be buying other peoples problems. Same reason I buy my vehicles new!

I also have to chime in about buying new...

It's all relative. If you've never camped or been RVing, I'd say dont buy new. You really need to figure out what you want by getting out there and RVing for a few years to really narrow down your wish list.

If you've tent camped a long time, and are seasoned in camping, I'd say buying new is fine. That's where I was at, and I bought new. I also camp with 5-6 other families, all of which have RV's. Pop-ups, TT, fifth wheels.. I was able to talk to them and see what they would have done differently.

I won't go over the weight tow capacity ect ect, as everyone else already has... But here's a few other things to consider...

1. How do you like to camp? Are you going to spend all day in your RV? Or are you outside all day and only use the RV to sleep in. If you're inside all day, you want a residential style floor plan, with lots of seating, space, and amenities. I'm primarily outside so I wanted a big bed inside, and an outdoor kitchen. I also like "camping", since I've always had a tent, so having a house on wheels wasn't as important to me, my Floorplan isn't as roomy as most, but it suits me better. It feels more "camping" than "RVing" since I use it more outdoor oriented.

2. What type of sites do you go to? Are they full hook up or dry? If you like sites without electric or water, find a unit with large tanks so you can stay out longer. Remember some sites have a length limit, so going over 30ft can limit your choices at some campgrounds.

3. How tall are you? Many ceilings are lower than you expect, so if you're over 6ft tall, you'll hit your head on the AC unit. Also camper queen beds are smaller than residential queen beds. This is why I found a unit with a king bed, 7ft ceilings, and a skylight in the shower so I can fit.

4. Do you have kids, plan on kids, or have others stay with you? Most would agree having a bunk model is a must with kids. Putting up and down a dinette can be more of a pain than you think. Having a bunk area really helps, and even without kids, it gives guests a place to stay. If it's just the 2 of you always, I'd look for non-bunk models.

5. If there's an RV show near you... go to it even if it's a drive. It really helps narrow things down. Go to more than 1 if you can... They're alot of fun too.

Very good advice above. Like you, we went straight from tent camping to purchasing a brand new TT (see signature). To reiterate:

1. On towing capacity, disregard the 10K number for your truck and focus on payload capacity, which is on the sticker inside the driver door jamb. The tongue weight of your trailer plus the weight of stuff you put in your truck (passengers + cargo) should not exceed the payload capacity. To figure out tongue weight a good rule of thumb is 15% of the trailer FULLY LOADED weight. So if the trailer will weigh 10K pounds fully loaded, figure the tongue weight at 1,500 pounds.

2. Length. The difference between 28'-32' isn't that big of a deal, other than the fact that the longer trailer will weight more. If a TT fits within your truck's capacity, I wouldn't pass on it just because you think it's a little too long. My TT is 34' long, and I also tow a 29' long enclosed car trailer. I don't notice much difference between towing these except that I have to make slightly wider turns with my TT.

3. Insurance. I pay around $40-$50 per month. I can't remember the exact number.

4. Price for a new one. 30% off MSRP is a good rule of thumb, and most people do better than that. I got 35% off our TT, which we bought new.

5. Warranty. Rather than buy an extended warranty, consider buying a TT that has a 2 year factory warranty. That's what we did by buying an Open Range. Jayco also has a 2 year warranty.

6. Used vs new. If you like new and can afford it, go for it. We bought new and paid cash and couldn't be happier. Just keep in mind that an RV depreciates like a car, and is harder to sell. We did look for a used unit for a while, but we couldn't find any that we liked except for some that were 1-2 years old. The problem with those was that the price was almost what a new one cost, so we bought new.

sask934 wrote:
A person post seeking advice and gets a lot of advice that is worthy and far to much that is simply BS.....

If you want to buy a new trailer.....go for it.

The people who posted about payload are correct, most TV will run out of payload before getting to max weight. Just do some leg work around what you can tow and enjoy.....

My best advice is to let the floor plan choose you!

By the way.....I just bought my first TT in Feb and have not camped in a long while....but there is no way that I would not have bought new....warranty is piece of mind!

Good luck.

I couldn't agree more. Great post.

We also purchased our first TT new back in 2006. Still have it with no regrets.
Sometimes buying used could be a very bad experience if you get stuck with other peoples hidden problems if that happened to be the reason
they traded or sold it.

Buying new or used is simply a personal preference. There isn't a right or wrong. I buy new because I keep things forever.

Great information on thiis thread. I also bought my first TT new. Camping before the TT was in a tent. I bought new because I didn't know a darn thing about repairing problems that would likely be present in something used, nor did I know what I was looking at. How much money you have to spend is no ones business, but people tend to put others in their own situation while honestly trying to be helpful. Extended warranties IMO are a waste of money, although I could have used a few more months of manufacturer warranty. With this in mind, some TT manufacturers offer two year warranties - Jayco is one, maybe Lance. If you decide to get an extended warranty, just make sure you understand the coverage.