Ok.... So my wife and I are buying a TT. We currently own a pop up and have loaned it to some friends this weekend in hopes that they will buy it. My wife has had enough of camping without a bathroom. We've used a motor home a few times and we think we have a pretty good idea of what we want for a floor plan. Must have:Bunk bedsFull bathSeparate room for master (prefer doors over curtains)Slide outs for extra widthGood storage capacityLikes:Corner showerOutside kitchenOutside entry to bathSeparate room for bunksPower awningWe're tossed up on length. The two models were looking at are the Hideout 31RBDS and the Hideout 28BHS. I've checking the towing capacity of my Ram and it's 10,050lbs so I think I'm ok there. My concern is the quality of the units. I know that in the 20-25k price range I'm not getting top of the line, but I don't want a problem child either. Do any of you have any experience with this brand? ALL advice is appreciated.

We did the same thing except we went from a tent to a Hideout 26BHS. I agree that it is probably not the best camper on the market, but for the price, we couldn't go wrong. We had it for 9 months and there are a couple cosmetic items that need fixed, but I am thinking that is because it was a show TT that we picked up from the Hershey Camper & RV show. CW is currently fixing some of those issues and didn't give us any hassle about it. Nothing serious has happened yet (knock on wood). All in all, we are happy with it being our first TT and will probably upgrade in about 5 years. One thing, I wished I payed more attention to the TV ratings. I had a F150 Super Crew and it towed it, but it was not comfortable towing it. The 12yo F150 died so I ended up buying a F250 and have no issues at all now (other than getting 7.6 mpg.)

Hi and welcome to the forum! Your sig doesn't say what your Tow Vehicle is but those trailers are going to have tongue weights in range of 1,000# or maybe more. Put another 5 or 6 hundred pounds of people and gear in the TV means you need a load carrying capacity of pushing 2,000#.In other words forget about manufactures towing capacity ratings. You run out of load capacity long before you hit that tow capacity due to the heavy nature of TT tongue weights (12 - 15% of loaded TT). Those trailers are 3/4 ton needed.

do you need 4 bunk beds? if not seems sort of like a waste of space to me.bumpy

I have a 2013 ram 1500 outdoorsman model. It has a 3.92 gear and was equipped for towing. We do like the extra sleeping space cause the kids like to bring friends on our trips. I'm aware that it's going to be a heavy load for this truck, but are you saying it CAN'T handle it? If not, what size do you suggest?

Score300 wrote:I have a 2013 ram 1500 outdoorsman model. It has a 3.92 gear and was equipped for towing. We do like the extra sleeping space cause the kids like to bring friends on our trips. I'm aware that it's going to be a heavy load for this truck, but are you saying it CAN'T handle it? If not, what size do you suggest?No, not saying it can't do it but am saying you need to find out. You needed to do it, nobody on this board can do it for you, we can only estimate which isn't good enough because you are going to be really close if it is even possible.That trailer is going to have probably around 1200# tongue weight. Add the weight of your passengers and gear to that number to get your estimated load. Ideally this load will be within your rated available payload (listed on your door sticker), should be within your GVWR (you got to weigh your truck and then add the estimated load to the weight weighed, GVWR is also on door stickers), and you have to be under your axle capacity to legally be on the road (determine the same way except add you load to the rear axle weigh weighed, axle rating is also on your drivers door jam)My guess you will over your payload rating and GVWR. May or may not meet Axle rating. Only way to know is get your truck weighed at CAT scale and do the math. Also check your trucks hitch rating, make sure it can handle the 9,000# trailer weigh with 1,200# tongue weigh using WDH.

Taking the plunge | Good Sam Community

Doug33
Explorer
Jun 26, 2014
I have a 28BHS model, and it puts me at the weight limits of my Chevy 5.3L truck. Fortunately it is usually just me and the wife and we travel on mostly flat terrain over relatively short distances.
AH64ID
Explorer
Jun 26, 2014
442nut wrote:
ah64id wrote:

If you look at the 26BKS in my sig, it weights about 8200 loaded for camping which is a lot heavier than sticker, and when the batteries where still on the tongue it had over 1350lbs of tongue weight...

.

I have the same TT and have noticed how heavy the tongue weight is.
Where did you move your batteries to? I was thinking of doing that as well as adding one more.

Thank for you help. .. Dave...

I moved them under the "wardrobe" that is just to the right (aft) of the fridge.

It was a VERY tight fit, as I had to build the box in place but they are now within feet of the converter and are always warm.
442nut
Explorer
Jun 26, 2014
ah64id wrote:

If you look at the 26BKS in my sig, it weights about 8200 loaded for camping which is a lot heavier than sticker, and when the batteries where still on the tongue it had over 1350lbs of tongue weight...

.

I have the same TT and have noticed how heavy the tongue weight is.
Where did you move your batteries to? I was thinking of doing that as well as adding one more.

Thank for you help. .. Dave...
APT
Explorer
Jun 16, 2014
A 2009 Ram half ton will be payload limited well below its tow rating. The Keystone Outback 301 looks to meet your needs, but I would not recommend that for you. Start with the sticker love2rvcamp listed on driver's door or door jam. It does include full tank of fuel, but no driver or people. Subtract the 625 estimate you have for people/cargo. Multiply by 7 for a reasonable dry weight.

You may be thinking I want a Prime Time Lacrosse 318 but you'll be much happier towing a Keystone Passport 2920. You will likely be compromising things from your wish list.
rbpru
Explorer II
Jun 16, 2014
Same thing here Score. My F-150 payload is 1411 lbs.

Mom, Pop and dog 500 lbs.
Truck cap 200 lbs.
Tools and WD hitch 100 lbs.
Loaded trailer tongue wieght 600 lbs.

Not much wiggle room though there is a small gain, maybe 100 lbs, from the WD hitch weight shift back to the trailer.

Works for us but it is at the truck limit.
love2rvcamp
Explorer
Jun 16, 2014

This example has a cargo capacity of 2051 pounds.

Look at the yellow sticker on your drivers door. These are specific ratings for your truck. There will be a number that shows you the max cargo capacity of your truck. This number is how much cargo your truck can handle. This number includes a tank of gas (26 gallons) and the driver weight. Any other weight you add will have to be deducted from this weight. So that is weight in the bed of the truck, other passengers and the hitch weight of the trailer and the weight of any WDH you will add. There will also be weights for front and rear axle. You will find you will run out of cargo weight way before you run out of trailer weight on some of the 1/2 tons. You can figure the hitch of the trailer will be any where from 13 - 15% of the GVWR
hmknightnc
Explorer
Jun 16, 2014
Score300 wrote:
You guys are killing me.

Quick estimations:
6800 GVWR per my sticker
5600 truck weight close guess from the internet
625 passenger weight

That only leaves 575 for cargo and tongue weight. That would mean I would need a TT with a weight of 4500-5000 lb. is that really so?

Yep, that is really so. If you use Axle ratings instead of GVWR you might get to something less than 7,000# for a TT. Pretty typical for 1/2 ton with a TT and family.
AH64ID
Explorer
Jun 15, 2014
The hitch will likely take about 100lbs off of that number as well, leaving 500lbs at most for cargo/tongue weight. Assuming you family like to take a few games, books, food, etc.. I would plan on a TW of 450lbs to be safe. That's leaves you with a trailer that is in the 3,000 - 3,500lb area, once loaded.

The only way to increase your capability is to get a 3/4 or 1 ton truck.

If you look at the 26BKS in my sig, it weights about 8200 loaded for camping which is a lot heavier than sticker, and when the batteries where still on the tongue it had over 1350lbs of tongue weight...

I am sure a empty 1/2 ton would be rated to tow a trailer that big, but having towed it with an upgraded 1 ton I sure wouldn't want to.

Airbags add stability and load leveling, not capacity.

Anti-sway bars and shocks also add stability, but no capacity.

Better tires add stability, and a safety margin but no capacity on a 1/2 ton (might on a 3/4 or 1 ton thou).
Score300
Explorer
Jun 15, 2014
Is there a way to increase my capabilities as in air bags?
Score300
Explorer
Jun 15, 2014
You guys are killing me.

Quick estimations:
6800 GVWR per my sticker
5600 truck weight close guess from the internet
625 passenger weight

That only leaves 575 for cargo and tongue weight. That would mean I would need a TT with a weight of 4500-5000 lb. is that really so?