Hi, I am looking for a triple bunk travel trailer, bumper pull that is under 36'. We will be pulling with a 2021 Ram1500, towing capacity of 11,000lbs. We have 3 small children and 2 dogs that we would like to camp with, and would like to upgrade to a travel trailer from tent camping. So far, we really like the Coachmen Freedom Express 292bhds. Are there other trailers out there that are similar in layout? The outdoor kitchen is a huge bonus, but not needed.

You may want to rethink this. A 36’ trailer is a lot for a half ton truck. You may have an 11k tow rating but that is useless when you don’t have the payload to carry the tongue weight plus 5 passengers and 2 dogs. Get your truck payload off the door sticker and subtract the weight of all passengers and stuff in the truck. What’s left is available for the trailer tongue weight. Figure 13% of the trailer weight is on the tongue (for good stability) and leave a little room to spare.Most half tons will max out with 7500lbs trailers or less. Know your numbers and don’t be fooled by the sales gimmick tow ratings. Many people here have made this costly mistake and quickly ended up spending a ton getting a bigger truck.

True "bunk house" trailers are hard to find, but there are a few out there. That is a lot of trailer for a 1/2 ton truck! Make sure the tanks are empty and don't overload the bed.

That trailer will have a tongue weight approaching 1000 pounds when loaded. Take that from your payload sticker and see what you’ve got left.

momma03monsters wrote:Hi, I am looking for a triple bunk travel trailer, bumper pull that is under 36'. We will be pulling with a 2021 Ram1500, towing capacity of 11,000lbs. We have 3 small children and 2 dogs that we would like to camp with, and would like to upgrade to a travel trailer from tent camping. So far, we really like the Coachmen Freedom Express 292bhds. Are there other trailers out there that are similar in layout? The outdoor kitchen is a huge bonus, but not needed.As others have said, you do need to watch your weights, but the only way to do that for sure is for you to look at YOUR numbers and not the assumptions of many on either side of the debate. I will tell you that we tow a very similar trailer in floorplan, length and weight with our F150. We are within all of our weights, but we travel with minimal fluids and nothing in the bed of the truck in order to stay well within those ranges. I will also say that, unless you are taking 2 vehicles, the dogs will become a problem in a hurry. Hard to travel with 3 growing kids and 2 dogs in the cab of a pick-up. Our dog has to stay home for any trip longer than a few hours (where we are not taking 2 cars).With all of that said, this floorplan is much like ours and it has worked very well for our family of 5. I will simply add that the outdoor kitchen is an absolute necessity for us. As the kids get older (ours are not 12, 15 and 16), the interior of that camper gets increasingly small. Being able to cook outside makes all the difference in keeping the center area of the camper from becoming overly cramped with people and stuff during meal times.

Mickeyfan0805 wrote:As others have said, you do need to watch your weights, but the only way to do that for sure is for you to look at YOUR numbers and not the assumptions of many on either side of the debate. I will tell you that we tow a very similar trailer in floorplan, length and weight with our F150. We are within all of our weights, but we travel with minimal fluids and nothing in the bed of the truck in order to stay well within those ranges. I will also say that, unless you are taking 2 vehicles, the dogs will become a problem in a hurry. Hard to travel with 3 growing kids and 2 dogs in the cab of a pick-up. Our dog has to stay home for any trip longer than a few hours (where we are not taking 2 cars).With all of that said, this floorplan is much like ours and it has worked very well for our family of 5. I will simply add that the outdoor kitchen is an absolute necessity for us. As the kids get older (ours are not 12, 15 and 16), the interior of that camper gets increasingly small. Being able to cook outside makes all the difference in keeping the center area of the camper from becoming overly cramped with people and stuff during meal times.We will most likely not be traveling with both dogs, as they are older and we are still in the research process. Most likely when we do get the travel trailer, it will only be one large dog(most likely a GSD). We plan to travel with very low liquids and maybe only our bicycles in the bed of the truck. If you don't mind my asking, what trailer do you have?

Triple bunk Travel trailer under 36' | Good Sam Community

12 Replies

theoldwizard1
Explorer II
May 26, 2021
True "bunk house" trailers are hard to find, but there are a few out there. That is a lot of trailer for a 1/2 ton truck! Make sure the tanks are empty and don't overload the bed.
camp-n-family
Explorer
May 25, 2021
You may want to rethink this. A 36’ trailer is a lot for a half ton truck. You may have an 11k tow rating but that is useless when you don’t have the payload to carry the tongue weight plus 5 passengers and 2 dogs.

Get your truck payload off the door sticker and subtract the weight of all passengers and stuff in the truck. What’s left is available for the trailer tongue weight. Figure 13% of the trailer weight is on the tongue (for good stability) and leave a little room to spare.

Most half tons will max out with 7500lbs trailers or less. Know your numbers and don’t be fooled by the sales gimmick tow ratings. Many people here have made this costly mistake and quickly ended up spending a ton getting a bigger truck.

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Triple bunk Travel trailer under 36'

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