Camper travel trailer noob questions

[Texanfordfan]

About to pull the trigger on a 2016 Dutchman Aerolite 292 DBHS.
http://www.dutchmen.com/aerolite/floorplans-and-pictures/floorplan-details?modelId=22695

I'm hoping I got a good deal at 31950 out the door. This one has the 50 amp service and all options and packages. MSRP is 41,759 at camping world of Houston and I close the deal Wednesday afternoon. The salesman said my truck can handle this beast, but now I'm having doubts. Camper dry weight is 6500 and hitch at 895. My TV is a 2013 F150 CC SWB FX4 with 5.0 with 7350 tow capacity. I'd like to know your thoughts on this configuration and what WDH I should get, or even if I should reconsider this exact camper. My wife and I have looked at many campers over the years and really like this one and are excited to get this particular TT with all the options and a whatnot. What things can I add to make going down the road easier and safer? Thanks

[Harlock]

I will echo everyone else's comments above - even if you might barely be able to get away with it, it will be very unpleasant and possibly unsafe depending on where you drive it. You really need an F250 for that type of thing, diesel if you can afford it. Then it becomes a pleasure and not a chore to tow.

My first TT I had an undersized tow vehicle and nearly crashed as I was blown off the road coming over a hill when a strong side wind hit me. you want the gap between the tow vehicle weight and the trailer weight to be as close as possible so you're pulling it around and it's not pulling you around.

[rbpru]

Camping in the yard or close to home sounds silly but it is not. Before our first trip to FL we scooted over to the State Park for a shakedown cruise of about 100 miles round trip.

We had to dry camp, as there was about 2 feet of snow on the ground but the snow shoeing was really good. Three days later we left for the Everglades.

Do not forget your spare tire and the tools to change them. If you have them it is less likely you will need them. Murphy’s Law and all.

[Walaby]

Cool... Congrats.

We spent our first camping trip in the driveway at home. Acted like we did not have access to our house stuff, and used that opportunity to create a list of things we needed. The deal was, you could not go in the house to get it until you wrote it on the list. Nice little shakedown opportunity.

I know you will enjoy it.

Mike

[IDoMyOwnStunts]

Congratulations! I think that'll be a much better towing experience for you. If you already haven't, you should read over the weight distribution thread on the Towing subforum. Great information on hitches and proper setup in there. You'll likely have to do some adjustments as you load up to camp and get your final weights. It'll make towing much better, though, if you have everything properly set up.

Now, go have some fun and enjoy! And post pictures.

[IdaD]

Congrats, and let us know how it tows.

[Texanfordfan]

Settled on the 242 for 28500 out the door. 25,999 before all the taxes and fees and prep. Dry weight is 5574 and hitch is 735. I close on this tomorrow, just need to get a hitch. I'm going to see what's open and available tonight. We got everything we were looking for and then some. This thing has a remote to control jacks and awning and the slide out and lights. Didn't do too much research on the Dutchman brand but what I did read seemed positive. I'll report back what hitch I get and how the walk through and closing go. Thanks for all the responses and advice in making a more intelligent decision for me and my family and everyone else on the road.

[Walaby]

As I stated earlier, I like my Hustky Centerline TS. You can't go wrong though with an Equalizer. Lots of folks like 'em and that is probably for good reason.

I would still do the math to make sure you'll be within weight standards with the lighter version. I know weight "shouldn't be an issue", but doing the math will "guarantee" it won't be an issue.

Costs $10 to weigh your truck at a Cat scales. Load the truck up with the family, and what you think you will load in the back, fill up the tank, and weigh it. Add 100 lbs for the WD hitch, and the rest will be tongue weight capacity. Add approx 1000 lbs to the dry weight of the trailer you are looking at. Multiply that value by 13-15% to get your likely tongue weight. If you're still within the cargo capacity, you should be good to go.

Good luck

Mike

[Texanfordfan]

I'm trying to work a deal on a 242, it's 1000 pounds lighter so weight shouldn't be an issue. This has not been a very enjoyable experience dealing with camper world of Houston. I'm about ready to walk away from the whole thing. Are these aerolites any good, everything I've read seems good. Also, any recommendations on the brand of hitch or other items I should look into.

[Kansas_couple]

Let me share from my own experience.

Four years ago I bought a '99 Suburban 1500 with a 350 engine. That was before I found this forum and learned about payload being a bit more important than horsepower. I later bought a 23-foot TT but pulling it with the Suburban was never pleasant. I was not an experienced camper and knew almost nothing about towing.

Folks on this forum warned me about being careful when I loaded up the Suburban for several of the same reasons you see now.

Finally 11 months ago I bit the bullet and purchased a 2014 Ram 2500 HD with built-in tow package and Hemi engine.

The difference in pulling the camper was like night and day. And it was great to know my truck had beefier suspension and brakes to handle anything that might come my way. Great peace of mind.

Welcome to the forum!

[Drew_K]

Another Houston guy here, and I went from a 2012 F150 Ecoboost to my current rig, 2013 F250 diesel. Forget the salesman - he's there to collect your money. You'll have to make this assessment on your own.

The tongue weight will undoubtedly be in the 1000-1100 pound range by the time you add propane, battery, your gear inside the RV, and perhaps water in the gray/black/freshwater tanks. Look at the sticker on the truck's trailer hitch and you might be over it already, without even getting into payload capacity. Look for the number that has the weight capacity with weight distribution hitch.

On top of that, 34' is pretty long for a travel trailer.

Once you figure out all the math, my suggestion is to ask yourself how far and often you plan on traveling with the RV. If you think it'll be short trips, like maybe Austin or closer several times a year, then you can get away with being closer to the limit because Texas is pretty flat. If you're thinking Colorado, Big Bend, Florida, or anywhere along those lines, I strongly urge you to buy a smaller TT or upgrade trucks. Towing for hours and hours in windy conditions, which is unavoidable, is not fun if you're under-trucked. Towing up/down long hills/mountains will also be pretty hard on the truck.

[IdaD]

The interesting thing on that trailer is the carrying capacity is only a bit under 1100 lbs. 52 gallons of water, propane and a couple of batteries and I bet you'd only have 500 lbs left for cargo. Seems odd that it's so low.

[APT]

You'll be at 7500-8000 pounds loaded with 1000-1100 pounds of loaded TW. That puts your truck over tow rating and GCWR and I bet over rear axle and GVWR, maybe receiver too.

You'll need to get closer to 5500 pounds dry get under the tow rating/GCWR. Check your tire and loading sticker for as equipped payload. Subtract an estimate for your family's weight. Rest can be fore TW. Let's say 1400 pounds with a 500 pound family. That's 900 pounds loaded or 6500 pounds loaded TT.

[rbpru]

I believe from all the above posts that the folks are telling you to approch this very carefully. It is hard to ignore the floor plan you really like.

From the above posts you should have gleened the following.
* You will almost certainly add 1000 to 1200 lbs to the TT dry weight.
* The TT tongue weight will likely exceed 1000 lbs when loaded.
* With family and stuff, you need to know how close you are to your max cargo.
* You also need to know how close you will be to your hitch capacity.

The dealer can give you some hard numbers but a lot of what you need to know depends on your camping techniques.

We did not know what we wanted in a TT, so the DW and I rented our best guess at what we thought we would like. 10 days in the Ozarks taught us a lot.

[IdaD]

Texanfordfan wrote:
Reading all these responses definitely have me concerned. I called my salesman and voiced my concerns and he is looking further into the exact weight of TT. He said his company and himself wouldn't sell me something that wasn't safe for me and my family. I appreciate all the comments and advise and will let everyone know how this turns out. And as far as the price goes, I think this one is higher than the others because of all the options. This camper has every single option possible on it, even has two air conditioners.

Have him put it on a scale. You also need to look at the specific axle and weight ratings for your truck. My guess is you need to think about more truck or less trailer.