trailer length

Sinbadman5024 wrote:
Have you considered a 5er bunkhouse? Many of the 5ers are now 1/2 ton towable.

not true, only a handful of 5ers are truly 1/2 towable.
the vast majority have pin weights that exceed nearly all 1/2 ton payload capacities.

Have you considered a 5er bunkhouse? Many of the 5ers are now 1/2 ton towable. They are easier to drive and steer and backup. Plus they are safer to tow than a long bumper pull. You don't get the sway from the wind, passing trucks, etc. Just a thought, but once you two with a bed mounted hitch, you won't go back to a bumper pull.

I really like this one for size with the quad bunks. Not sure it too small for your family or not.

Rockwood MiniLite

We camp in our Hybrid most often to the middle of October in NY.
Now if you're a native Californian or Southerner your blood may be too thin. We are comfortable into the high thirties with just our blankets and the trailers furnace.

We have an older KZ Sportsmen that is a 25' quad bunk with a queen bed in a rear manual slide. KZ no longer make these, but it's similar to the Jayco JAY FEATHER X254

Thanks for all the info. We are currently in CA for another year. I would think hybrids are great for this type of climate. But we will be back on the East Coast (military) for the next 3 years or so, thinking a hybrid may be to chilly for Fall in Virginia.

So, we will keep looking for something at 30 or just under.

bikendan wrote:
Having camped all over California for 30 years, your choices for places for larger RVs will be more limited.
The California State Park system has done very little to revamp their campgrounds for today's larger RVs.

Best bet will be private parks or state beach campgrounds.

We've been in some mighty nice national forest campgrounds and county parks in California with our 40' motorhome. They beat the state parks by a mile. :)

Well, one issue that comes with camping in California, is that most of the state park campgrounds have few, if not none, for RVs 30'+.

Having camped all over California for 30 years, your choices for places for larger RVs will be more limited.
The California State Park system has done very little to revamp their campgrounds for today's larger RVs.

Best bet will be private parks or state beach campgrounds.

If your preference is public/state parks, you might want to look at 3 bed hybrid trailers.
Sleeping for up to 10, in something like the Roo/Shamrock 233S, in a lighter 25' package.

We've owned a hybrid TT for almost 10 years and consider it perfect for California camping.

I towed a 30' travel trailer for years with a F150 with no problems.
The scariest thing was not pulling or backing but the turbulence you have going down the highway. For me that took some getting used to, but not sure I ever got used to it. Be careful while you learn about this. Got the best sway control you can afford.
Get out and enjoy!

All good advice. And yes a 30' trailer is a lot of trailer for someone who's never towed or is inexperienced. That said, it's not horribly difficult to tow and back a trailer.
The length don't mean much when towing down the road, it when you get into tight quarters of as mentioned, don't fit somewhere you want to camp. Idk how often that happens though. Not a campsite expert.
I do tend to forget the challenges learning to tow and back a trailer since its second nature now.
If you are reasonably adept at spatial and mechanical concepts then I'd suggest taking the New trailer by yourself for a couple practice runs. Do city, highway, practice backing, etc.
I think you'll find it's not terribly difficult. Just requires more attention than driving around bobtail.
The 2 car thing isn't a bad idea, mainly to remove distractions..... The kids!
Fun to stick the wife with them lol and trust me much easier to think about what you're doing.
I've been towing all kinds of trailers since I was 15 and 25 years later I will get distracted by the kids and yell at them. They don't seem to notice when you're heading up the pass, in snow, trying to change lanes, back into a driveway etc.