Well, I don't know if this will be worth anything but here goes. We started with an 8 1/2' Mitchell TC and then bought a 24' TT w/slide. We really enjoyed them both and had no complaints and hardly any repairs. If fact, I could pull the TT with the camper on the truck without any problems. Chev 3/4, 460 (punched out 454) big block, 6-7 mpg.
I bought a 2002 HD 2500 GMC to replace my '77 Chev and found that the idiots at GM made the bed narrower in the rear preventing me from keeping our little Mitchell. I was not a happy camper! Measure EVERYTHING.
I missed having a TC so I bought a 9'6" Adventurer TC and while it was a great TC, I never felt comfortable because it was just too big and I didn't like having a camper that was 12' tall.
I had put air bags w/in cab control, bilstein shocks, Hellwig rear sway bar and 265/16 tires on the truck and these mods handled the camper very well, even though I was quite a bit overweight
Then I got really stupid and traded our little TT for a 36' TT Keystone Mountaineer. (Never again-zero quality control). We used that for about 6 years until we had traveled the country and then sold it last year. It required $4500 in repairs because water had leaked into the front cap, this in addition to repairs I had made during the 6 yrs we owned it. Point here is when buying a TT be damn sure you get something with a decent reputation.
I am 77 yrs old now and we are again looking at TC's. At first my wife didn't want another one but has finally relented. So I am looking for something in a 9' or 9'6" used camper w/o a basement. We really liked the front dinette/bed in our old Mitchell but I don't think anyone makes one like that.
I guess you can take the people out of an RV, but you can't take the RV out of the people!
Hope this blurb helps someone.
