Buying first camper. Few simple questions...
Found the forum last night and read till 0300. Great info and community here. Wife and I got 9 month old son and 18 month old German Shepherd. All of a sudden, tent camping is losing its luster. Think...
Forum Discussion
I think you’ve gotten some good advice already but I’ll throw in my two cents anyway. Don’t get in a hurry; look at many TT’s at RV shows, dealers, etc. to know what’s out there. Load up your TV the same as you would for a trip and weigh it so you know what your real payload is. You’re almost sure to run out of payload before you reach the max tow capacity. Then you can narrow down the selections to those that will work. Don’t take what a salesman says as far as what you can pull; their job is to sell TT’s not recommend the best one for you.
Recognize that you’re going to have to choose between desirable goals, RV’s are all compromises. If you want to do mountains and less developed campgrounds, smaller and lighter is better at the expense of room and amenities. Commercial campgrounds, no problem, get as big as you like at the expense of access to many scenic roads and more pristine campgrounds. Along that line, you mentioned primitive settings, hiking, and fly fishing. To me that says mountains and would exclude anything over 25’ and I’d personally probably be a little uneasy with that. Of course one can camp closer to civilization and drive back into an area.
Don’t pay any attention to dry weights, they’re useless and you won’t be pulling an empty TT. If you have a good idea of the loaded weight use it, otherwise use the GVWR of the TT. And avoid pulling too close to your capacity. You can get away with it to an extent in flat country but mountains will not be a pleasant tow.
I’m unsure of what “hidden” costs are associated with a TT, though depreciation is probably the most ignored. There will be routine maintenance and repair costs which are generally not that serious on a TT. And the usual taxes, insurance and registration of any vehicle. With the TT’s you mentioned you’ll also be looking at a wd/sway hitch, too, but they’re not unduly expensive. And of course the usual goodies you’ll want, hoses, blocks, etc. that are cheap.
I generally take mine anywhere I please, it’s only 16’. I usually go pretty far back in on national forest roads and boondock, though I also often dry camp in NF campgrounds, too. I’ve also spent a lot of time in national parks. I consider commercial parks an act of desperation and I can probably count the ones I’ve stayed in over 30 years on my fingers. The same with state parks, they’re usually a bit overdeveloped for my taste.
It’s possible to get by without a generator, I’ve never had one. I can get by the best part of a week, then I have to recharge. But I’m very frugal and don’t carry tv’s and the like. I’ve considered it but don’t think engine sounds belong in the cg’s I frequent. Solar doesn’t work because I’m usually always in heavy trees. So I’ll probably get a spare battery to trade off while the other is recharged.
Recognize that you’re going to have to choose between desirable goals, RV’s are all compromises. If you want to do mountains and less developed campgrounds, smaller and lighter is better at the expense of room and amenities. Commercial campgrounds, no problem, get as big as you like at the expense of access to many scenic roads and more pristine campgrounds. Along that line, you mentioned primitive settings, hiking, and fly fishing. To me that says mountains and would exclude anything over 25’ and I’d personally probably be a little uneasy with that. Of course one can camp closer to civilization and drive back into an area.
Don’t pay any attention to dry weights, they’re useless and you won’t be pulling an empty TT. If you have a good idea of the loaded weight use it, otherwise use the GVWR of the TT. And avoid pulling too close to your capacity. You can get away with it to an extent in flat country but mountains will not be a pleasant tow.
I’m unsure of what “hidden” costs are associated with a TT, though depreciation is probably the most ignored. There will be routine maintenance and repair costs which are generally not that serious on a TT. And the usual taxes, insurance and registration of any vehicle. With the TT’s you mentioned you’ll also be looking at a wd/sway hitch, too, but they’re not unduly expensive. And of course the usual goodies you’ll want, hoses, blocks, etc. that are cheap.
I generally take mine anywhere I please, it’s only 16’. I usually go pretty far back in on national forest roads and boondock, though I also often dry camp in NF campgrounds, too. I’ve also spent a lot of time in national parks. I consider commercial parks an act of desperation and I can probably count the ones I’ve stayed in over 30 years on my fingers. The same with state parks, they’re usually a bit overdeveloped for my taste.
It’s possible to get by without a generator, I’ve never had one. I can get by the best part of a week, then I have to recharge. But I’m very frugal and don’t carry tv’s and the like. I’ve considered it but don’t think engine sounds belong in the cg’s I frequent. Solar doesn’t work because I’m usually always in heavy trees. So I’ll probably get a spare battery to trade off while the other is recharged.
