kasualkat wrote:
1) How durable are TT's? what kind of regular maintenance should I expect?
2) What can I safely pull with my truck....I don't want to spend 1000's modifying my truck
3) As a general rule, how safe are campgrounds? Also, how common are they? Do I have to worry about people breaking into my "home" while I am at work for 12 hours?
4) Do campgrounds usually allow people to stay for up to 13 weeks? Whats a price range for staying at a campground? Do most have water and power hookups....offer cable tv and internet?
5) What price range should I expect to spend on a TT? What make and model would you recommend?
6) I know this is short, and I just started today thinking about this option, but what other questions should I be asking?
Kevin
My wife is a nurse, I would LOVE to have her do a traveling assignment for a couple years when I retire. Have her get paid AND have the agency cover my vacation costs... YES PLEASE!
#1 The majority of travel trailers aren't meant to be lived in year round. They are made with cheap materials that will wear out over time. If you can find one that has the leather (likely vinyl) seats/couches etc, they will probably last longer.
#2 I have a 2010 Tundra with the same setup. Your biggest issue is PAYLOAD, which is the amount of extra weight you can carry. You should be somewhere around 1400-1600 lbs payload. You need to find a camper that has less then 1300 lbs of LOADED hitch weight. That leaves you a LOT of options. I would suggest a dry weight of around 6500 or less would be ideal. That leaves a loaded weight of no more than 7500 or 8000 lbs. Your Tundra will do fine with 8000 lbs trailer and less than 1300 lbs hitch weight. You need to buy a weight distribution hitch for any camper... about $500.
#3 Every campground is different. Lock your camper when you leave and you should be fine.
#4 Every campground is different. You can range from a campground with ZERO utilities to an "RV resort" that has all kinds of amenities. If you are staying for 13 weeks, you want full hookups. Full hookups are water, electric and sewer. Some campgrounds have cable, some don't. A lot of campgrounds have discount rates for extended stay, but you might have to pay for your electric use if you are extended stay.
#5 Depends on new vs used and what features you want. If you are staying full time you might want a slide. It really makes the camper feel more spacious. Literally you can go from $5000 for a used camper to $65,000 for a higher end new trailer. Figure out what you want and look from there. The bride and I are looking to buy a 26-28 foot bunkhouse with a slide. New range from about $16 to lower $30's. So many variables...
#6 Some things to consider...
I would avoid the north during the winter and the deep south or southwest during the summer. The heat and AC systems aren't spectacular in RV's.
I would be worried about leaving my dog for 12 hours at a time in an RV. If you lose power in the summer they could overheat and die. God forbid you have a problem with your electric cord and the trailer catches fire... I would research each new place I am thinking of going and find a kennel I could put the dog in. Then when I get to the campground, if I trust the camp host I might provide him/her a key and see if they could just check on the trailer a couple times while I am at work. I would just want peace of mind that my pup is okay.
If you can iron out the details, it might be a really good time. My sister did it for a while and the agency paid her decent money and paid a decent coin for her housing. If you want to get into camping, this is a great way to subsidize the purchase of a trailer. If you want to save money, might not be wise.
Good luck!
