New to TT's and RVing. Is there a "Getting Started Guide"?

In terms of weight, most times, you won't NEED to fill your fresh water tank. We never fill ours at home because our fresh water tank is at the very front of our trailer and would put a LOT of weight on the tongue. When dry camping we use a water bladder that we fill and haul in the back of my SUV after the trailer is unhitched in camp. Then we use an old water pump to transfer its contents into my fresh water tank.

You may need to not bring the canoe, or maybe you can figure out a way to put it inside the trailer when you're traveling....? Any heavy gear that you can take out of the car and securely put in the rear of the trailer will help with that tongue weight.

As for getting a good price...you may need to wait a bit. This is still prime time for camping. Folks who are planning on selling will tend to wait until they're had their fun and the season is over before listing their trailer.

Also, expand your purchase horizons. We're in Boise, Idaho and we looked at Craigslist ads in Utah and Oregon. The farther you're willing to go to get a trailer, the more choices you'll have.

Finally, beware of folks who took out a big fat loan to buy their brand new trailer and are hoping to find a buyer who will pay enough to retire their loan for them. They owe the bank a lot more than the trailer is really worth. They'll insist that the trailer is worth their asking price. Don't be the guy that believes them.

Good luck!

I have found this forum to be one of the most useful sites. We jumped into a Class C about 3 years ago and I must say I was very concerned about understanding all the systems of the unit. What I have found works best is when I run into a question I would search it out here first. I have also found that posting a question on an item will result in quick answers. Jump in, the water is fine and your family is going to have some great memories.

Good hints n7bsn. I have bookmarked the link to that book and it will be purchased before long.

Main goals I have in purchasing an RV is

1. Be towable by 2004 GMC Yukon XL Denali (stupid #$!%#@#$^ air suspension I didn't know about)
2. Sleep 2 adults + 4 Children
2. Have a Flushable Toilet
3. Not be a Pop Up Camper

So since you guys have pointed me in the direction of the FAQ, i've already hit Roadblock #1 (I know it only took that long right?)

Tongue Weight

So I've looked through this posting:
http://www.rv.net/forums/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/14369340.cfm

and my head is swimming to calculate what a workable tongue weight is since my 04 Yukon is (apparently) limited in cargo cap. See numbers below:

Base Curb Weight: 5735#
Occupants + Fuel + Gear in Truck: 950#
Total Vehicle Weight: 6685#

GVW: 7200#

Available remaining Payload Cap for TW: 515# (wow, really?)

2002 Terry Dakota 725H TW: 355# (dry TW)

Post said that roughly 10-15% of trailer GVW would end up as TW once loaded. OKay, so lets math Trailer loaded weight:

Dry Weight: 3625#
Water: likely average of 45gals = 375#
Gear in Trailer: est 400#

est likly wet weight: 4400#

est likely TW: 440 - 660#

err, thats out of an estimated 515# available payload capacity. WTF batman, this is on an ultralight trailer too. ****...

So are my estimates off? Or do I have a ****ty ride to try and pull something like this?

I would have to lose 100# personally, leave the canoe, and tell the kids no drinks in the truck LOL

Granted this math is without a WD Equalizer hitch which I plan on getting but have no idea how to math/account for.

Buy used, most people buy the wrong (for them) rig the first time.

After you own an RV, the best book to buy is Bob Livinston's "RV Repair and Maintenance Manual"

myredracer wrote:
In all seriousness, you won't find a better source for general or specific info. or anything to do with RV-ing than RV forums.

There are some things on the forums you won't find elsewhere, like the ins and outs of weight distributing hitches (WDH) and how to set them up. Or payload capacity, towing capacity, dry weight vs loaded weight and things to watch for with ST tires.

I would suggest going to an RV show and seeing what travel trailers are like and the various features they have. If you have any questions afterwards, ask away on the forum.

Once you actually own a travel trailer, you will learn a lot of things very quickly. Plan a weekend camping trip close to home for your first camping experience in case you forgot something or missed getting a necessity.

BTW, there are lots of places on the internet for buying RV parts and accessories and shopping around on the internet can save you a ton of money in the end.

Once you start reading the forums, you'll find you can't stay away. We even ended up getting Verizon 4G Mifi so that we can access the internet wherever we camp. So much for camping and roughing it, lol. :B

X2

My advise is to take your best guess at the floorplan and see if you can rent one or something close to it. We did and it was a real eye opener; giving us a chance to see what pulling one of these barns down the road was like.

The floorplan, tow vehicle, and cost all have to match. In my case it meant buying a new truck. The little V-6 just did not have the horses to pull the load.

Myredracer: I was dying of laughter when I read your post about the Mifi. we've already expereienced how bad some campground WiFi's can be. I might be able to convince the wife to allow me to get that now LOL.

Wow, ton of replies. Thank you guys. I had been lurking for a couple of weeks and found a ton of good information already, so I appreciate it.

path1, thank you for the link to the FAQ section. I feel kind of retarded for not seeing it before.

I've already settled on a couple of things, yes, I am going to stay in the 23-26' range. I've already done a couple of weeks pulling a pop up camper (totally different i know) and I hated the single axle, super close to me feeling. I also know that my backing up skills aren't that great yet, so anything over 27' is probably way too big for me to handle.

I found a couple of interesting options locally that I've looked at so far.

2002 Terry Dakota 725H. No Slide, Tripple bunk, Ultralight series that shows a dry weight of 3600lbs, so adding 3-500lbs of water and another 5-600 lbs gear should put me in a "comfortable" 48-5000lbs range. and I mean comfortable for my skills in Idaho mountains, not just for the truck.

I like the idea of a slide out for space, but they seem to add about 1000lbs, and most slides don't roll with bunks it would seem. I'm shopping in the $5000-$8000 range here so admitedly I have simply been keeping my eye out on local sales for a few months since bunk models don't come up for sale alot, and frankly I'm a little in the cheap end of the scale. carrnutt I am completely jelous of that beautifull 31SQB you decided on. I think I have the same taste as you as your purchase reasons mirror my own, but that will likely be a "once the kids are out of college" purchase LOL.

Another one I have been to see is this guy right here 26' Skyline Trailer w/Bunk. I like the larger tub and sofa, but it forces me to use the sofa for one of the kids (-1 bunk) and significantly older/heavier.

For some reason NADA seems to report much lower values for resale values for TT's in the Idaho area vs what people are actually trying to sell them for. Not sure if that's common to NADA, or common to people, or both.

Anywho, the ages of the trailers I am looking at is why I decided to post in these forums to find a starters guide so I could research what I am in for as far as maintenance. that FAQ post looks like it may be a week or two of reading alone, but looks very well worth it.

Thank you again for everyone's replies. any other tips are more than appreciated.

I am new to RVing as well, so the best advice I could give is the following.

I started out by checking RV ads to get an idea of what was out there, floor plans, features, etc that I'd want or need. I went to a few dealers and sellers. This enabled me to actually see and be inside several different units. On the ones I liked, I researched the models and equipment brands & types in them. It helped rule out or make me add to my list specific, types, makes, models, features etc. For example, I'm a big guy and I didn't like the way a lot of floors were extremely squishy under my feet in some, but not all brand new light weight TTs. I would have never known this would be a possible issue without having actually been in a few different makes / models.

As for learning what to look out for, I watched a lot of youtube videos and read a lot of info guides found by googling as well as the forums. This helped me learn what to look out for, and helped me make a list of must haves, wants, etc. Kind of like you would do when looking to buy a house or car.

This is how it worked out for me and my family of 6. The difference between you and I is merely our tow vehicles. I have a 1 ton diesel, so weight was not a huge issue for me. I did, however, want it to be tow-able with a 2500 suv if possible, which ruled out 5ers.

I started out thinking that a 26ft, 7k (loaded) pound TT would do well. We ended up with a 31ft, 9k pound (loaded) 31SQB model. The extra size and weight allows for sleeping up to 11 people. It sleeps 7 without using the sofa nor dinette. Not having to use the sofa nor the dinette for everyday sleeping, a MUST have. Also a large bathroom, with plenty of room for me, being big and having had recent spinal fusion surgery, this too was a MAJOR MUST have for us.

We did make other concessions on things that can be added, remedied later, or even traded off for other things.

For instance, I lost some outside storage, and got smaller bunks, but gained a few huge items:

1. A small but useful outdoor kitchen which wasn't even on my radar, but I expect will be used often as per my wife demanding I cook... BONUS is there is another refer (120AC only) located in it. This will keep the beers close while I cook lol. It also makes up for the 6cf one inside that is not the 8cf I wanted.

2. A very large wardrobe (small slide out) in the bunk room for my teenage boys to place their clothing. BONUS is this makes their bunk room rather large for entertaining themselves AND it even came with a TV in the room (in addition to the living area one) as well.

3. It worked out well that this TT has one of the most roomy bathrooms we'd seen. BONUS is a second entry to it from outside and the main entry is in the living area as opposed to the bedroom, like most other models.

Basically, educate yourself on what's out there, what features you need or want, as well as what you'd like to have, but can live without.

Most importantly, to us anyway, is that it needs to "feel" right. My wife and I loved another TT that we visited, but my wife felt something "off" about it (she attributes it to being brown inside). We both felt right as soon as we walked into our TT, we didn't discuss the feeling we shared until a while later. And we compared pictures of the other TT, only to see that it had less brown then the one we purchased. LOL

Welcome...you sound like my son a couple of years ago.

As suggested read, ask questions, and then do what you feel is best for you. There are a few TT that will work for you and your weight. We have a 30' with single over dble bunk and queen with a dry weight of just over 4200 lbs.
Do your homework, really pay attention to weights, payload (will be an issue)with a larger family.
Your dealer will sound like your best buddy but he could be your worst enemy. Double check any advice he gives. We find we have got more honest information from a technician that works at a dealership. If you are lucky enough to be able to talk to one you will gain great info.
Good luck, have fun and enjoy!