Bunks vs Bunk House

[TampaAppFan]

Our family is looking at travel trailers and debating the double bunks layout against the separate bunk room with typically 3 single size bunks. I only have a F150 which can pull a max of 8,000lbs. I like the Coachman Apex 300bhs at a dry weight of 6,000lbs but my wife thinks it is too big. She thinks we won't be inside the trailer much except to sleep and we can get by with something smaller and lighter. I don't know what we will like because we haven't had one but any advice or thoughts would be appreciated. Our kids are 5 and 3.

[Community Alumni]

allen8106 wrote:
If you tow it very far you will be unhappy. I had a Dodge 1500 pulling a 32' TT and it was terrible.

Maybe it was just the setup. I tow a 35' with a 08 Dodge 1500 that's almost or at max most times and love it. A more capable truck would handle it even better, but I have no problems with how the current one handles. We tow thousands of miles a year with a few being cross country trips.

[michigansandzil]

Get the bunkhouse with a door to a room for the kids.

The bunkhouse is worth it's weight in gold.

Your youngest can be napping or sleeping for the night and you still have full complete use of your travel trailer. You can cook, use the bathroom, play a board game with friends while it's raining outside; and the littlest one is deep in slumber.

Our first camper had separate bunks but they were not in a separate bunkroom, the bunks were part of the main camper area with just a curtain closing for privacy. If someone was napping, you couldn't go into the camper period without that person waking.
Now that my kids are older and not napping during the day, it's wonderful that they can shut their bunkroom door and still get away from the adults. My youngest is only 8 and goes to sleep earlier than anyone else. I can't tell you how many nights she has slept in that bunkhouse at 10pm and her parents and brothers are up til midnight watching a movie and eating popcorn while it's raining....and we're not disturbing her sleep so she wakes up happy and rested the next morning. Nothing worse than trying to go for a hike with a kid that had her sleep disturbed all night long the previous evening.

[RPreeb]

ford-willy wrote:
Your post sounds like you may not have had any type RV previously. Aside from the size/weight issue here is some thoughts. My neighbor just retired and bought his first RV. A large TT bunk house model. He did not know enough about RV's to make a wise purchase. There are so may issues to understand. One thing he did regret is that he did not get a combo propane/electric water heater. Just propane. The water heater is located next to the master bed. When he is in a full service campsite with all his grand kids the propane only water heater goes on and off all night waking him up. He has to turn it off all night to get his sleep. There are many options issues to understand, so do your homework first.

To be honest, this doesn't bother me anyway. I don't leave the water heater on most of the time anyway to conserve gas. I get an entire summer's worth of camping on less than 2 tanks. I also never run out of water in my 42 gallon tank, nor do I have issues with the waste tank capacity on a 3-5 night outing.

I started trailer camping 50 years ago with my parents with no electricity at all, gas was only for light and cooking (no heater except the gas light), manual pump for water, and an ice box instead of a refrigerator.

By comparison my Jayco is the height of luxury, but I'm conditioned to the old habits of extreme conservation. I have to use solar or a generator to keep the battery topped up, even with very frugal use. I haven't invested in any modifications to that yet, but I may just buy a second battery and swap them out as needed. Then I'll take a couple of hours to charge the depleted one with the generator (2000w Powerhorse inverter) and 110 volt charger during the time of day when it is least likely to bother other campers.

Since we are rarely parked where there are any services, we have to be pretty self sufficient, and electric hot water wouldn't be an option even if I had it.

[allen8106]

If you tow it very far you will be unhappy. I had a Dodge 1500 pulling a 32' TT and it was terrible.

[llr]

Being new to RVs I would highly suggest a used unit that you think will work. then as you use it make notes of what must be different and things you would like different. then in 1-2 years start looking closely for a better fit. By buying used you won't take a big hit on the 1st RV. We are in this process now. Looking and planning is way different then actual use.

[Opie431]

Anytime that you know you are going to spend all of your time outside, it rains every day of your vacation even tho the forecast has been for sunshine for the entire time. Be prepared.

[TampaAppFan]

Thank you all for the great advice! It is very helpful and I think we have decided on the Apex 245bhs. This is light and has the floor plan which will fit our needs. I am going to the RV show in Tampa in a few weeks to look at others to confirm I like the Apex the best.

[Community Alumni]

ford-willy wrote:
Your post sounds like you may not have had any type RV previously. Aside from the size/weight issue here is some thoughts. My neighbor just retired and bought his first RV. A large TT bunk house model. He did not know enough about RV's to make a wise purchase. There are so may issues to understand. One thing he did regret is that he did not get a combo propane/electric water heater. Just propane. The water heater is located next to the master bed. When he is in a full service campsite with all his grand kids the propane only water heater goes on and off all night waking him up. He has to turn it off all night to get his sleep. There are many options issues to understand, so do your homework first.

To be fair, those who are experienced probably would have made the same decision the trailer. All too often people walk into a trailer, fall in love with the colors and floorplan, and never question what's behind the walls, over their heads, or under the floor.

[shar3890]

We just bought a 2016 keystone Passport 24 ft bunk model, though it is really about 28 ft long. It has 2 full size bunks, full outside kitchen (I will never buy a RV without it), full slide, and so much storage space that I actually have empty cabinets !! Dry weight is only 4800 lbs. You would have no problem pulling a trailer like this with your tow vehicle.

[ford-willy]

Your post sounds like you may not have had any type RV previously. Aside from the size/weight issue here is some thoughts. My neighbor just retired and bought his first RV. A large TT bunk house model. He did not know enough about RV's to make a wise purchase. There are so may issues to understand. One thing he did regret is that he did not get a combo propane/electric water heater. Just propane. The water heater is located next to the master bed. When he is in a full service campsite with all his grand kids the propane only water heater goes on and off all night waking him up. He has to turn it off all night to get his sleep. There are many options issues to understand, so do your homework first.

[krobbe]

I've owned a bunk room with slide for several years with only 2 kids. Besides the obvious benefits of keeping all of their stuff in a room, they have a place to hang out when the weather turns bad. Mine used to sleep five back there, but I removed a trundle bed and put in 8 stackable 3ft deep drawers for more storage.
With a rollover sofa that converts to a full size bed, and 2 bunks, I've put up a family of 4 back there for a long weekend to Mammoth Caves NP. My niece and her 2 kids have joined us twice on month long cross county trips to the Pacific Northwest and South West. It also provides the perfect bunk house on our dirtbiking weekends with a friend and his sons.
With all that said, if all I was using it for was camping with just 2 kids, a shorter rig(26' or less) to get into smaller sites would be more convenient as I prefer rustic campgrounds. But, I always manage to find a site to fit my 33' into. Whatever you decide, getting out there is the most important thing.

As a side note; If you're planning any long distance trips, I see a F250 in your future. 😉

[Mike_Up]

I've had 4 campers, two 12' box pop ups (~15.5' tow length), a 22.5' tow length travel trailer, and now a 29' tow length travel trailer.

The pop ups and smaller travel trailer were all roughly the same when opened up around 22.5' - 24'. I could camp in pretty much any spot that allowed the trailer height, and towing was a breeze.

The larger 29' trailer can't fit into most spots due to it's size which is a real pain. I've been VERY lucky to find open spots that would fit it after finding several times the spots that were suppose to fit, could NOT and the campground was booked up. Luckily cancellations allowed me to get spots that fit.

Towing in wind or storms can push the rig around, not sway, but as one single rig from the wind sail sides on a larger travel trailer. Stiffer side wall LT tires, heavier truck, and stiffer anti sway hitch system all help. My new truck is lighter and it only has P series tires so it's not to bad but not great. Blue Ox Anti sway hitch helps pretty good when enough tension is put on the bars.

BUT with 40 - 45 mph side winds, it still can get dicey. In that case just slow down even if it's slowing down to only 50 mph as the rig should handle better.

I wouldn't fret over only a couple of feet in length, but 5' or 6' in length could make a difference in towing ease and fitting into a nicer, shorter camp site.

That said, I prefer bunks when the kids will be using it a lot.

[mtofell1]

I'll let the OP and the others settle the truck/weight issue. As for the bunks versus bunk room debate, the difference is night and day. Having a room for the kids instead of just some shelf/bunks will change your life on a rainy day.

[pira114]

One thing I've noticed is that the bunks are rated to hold different amounts in different trailers. Some I looked at only said 100 lbs max weight. We're big people, and as time went by, both my boys blew past 100 lbs way before they stopped coming with us. Some trailers seemed like I could have added support to increase that capacity, others didn't.

Just something to consider