Frustrated by short beds and uniformed salesmen

[Stevensondrive]

We are shopping for our first travel trailer. Something around 26-30ish long. The lighter the better.....

I'm 6' tall aka 72". Most of the mattresses are only 74" long. So with my pillow I'll probably be hanging off the end and not comfortable. Some of the salesmen acted like they had no idea the mattresses were shorter.

I'm finding it frustrating to compare brands and features. We have a toddler so we need a bunkhouse with a tub. I looked at a Keystone Premier that had the bunkhouse but no tub. 😞

And finding what a fair price is annoying too.....

This whole process is frustrating

[Walaby]

Stevensondrive wrote:

Walaby wrote:
You're getting some great advice here. As you pointed out, salesman are not necessarily the most informed.

Take the fact you learned that, and apply it to your choice of tow vehicle as well. Don't rely on the salesman to quote you the gross towing numbers. You need to focus on cargo capacity for your tow vehicle.

Figure 13 percent of the trailers GVWR will be tongue weight. That, plus the weight of your family, weight of everything you add into the truck should not exceed the cargo capacity specified on the yellow sticker on your drivers door or door jamb.

What happened to the E350?

Mike

I think you are confusing me with someone else. I have a F150 that's almost paid off. I've never considered trading it.

Steve

You're right.. There was another thread someone asking about a trailer for 10 people and he had a E350.

Still, pay attention to payload, not what the book says your tow capacity is. You will exceed payload capacity well before you get to the magical mystical tow capacity.

Mike

[Stevensondrive]

qtla9111 wrote:
RV mattresses are mostly junk (at least in my personal experience). We bought a queen size that was longer than the platform. However, there was still room for it to fit without any issues. The bed has storage underneath and half of the platform lifts up on a piano hinge. We replaced that side of the plywood with one that was four inches longer. Problem solved.

Trust the information here. You'll end up replacing the mattress anyway. Good luck and let us know what you choose.

I agree about the poor quality of the mattresses. I have no problem replacing the original thin mattress. However, some of the campers I've looked at don't have enough room for the 80" long mattress.

[Stevensondrive]

Walaby wrote:
You're getting some great advice here. As you pointed out, salesman are not necessarily the most informed.

Take the fact you learned that, and apply it to your choice of tow vehicle as well. Don't rely on the salesman to quote you the gross towing numbers. You need to focus on cargo capacity for your tow vehicle.

Figure 13 percent of the trailers GVWR will be tongue weight. That, plus the weight of your family, weight of everything you add into the truck should not exceed the cargo capacity specified on the yellow sticker on your drivers door or door jamb.

What happened to the E350?

Mike

I think you are confusing me with someone else. I have a F150 that's almost paid off. I've never considered trading it.

Steve

[Walaby]

You're getting some great advice here. As you pointed out, salesman are not necessarily the most informed.

Take the fact you learned that, and apply it to your choice of tow vehicle as well. Don't rely on the salesman to quote you the gross towing numbers. You need to focus on cargo capacity for your tow vehicle.

Figure 13 percent of the trailers GVWR will be tongue weight. That, plus the weight of your family, weight of everything you add into the truck should not exceed the cargo capacity specified on the yellow sticker on your drivers door or door jamb.

What happened to the E350?

Mike

[Opie431]

Your toddler can take a shower.
Take your pillow and make it narrower and you need a shorter bed.Do you really sleep on your back all stretched out? If you do you probably snore. Sleeping on you side will probably lead to a happier marriage. Your knees bend and you do not need as much length.

My six foot four uncle said he had to adapt to the world as it was.

And would I be disgusted if everything was too short for me. Good luck in your search.
One of our old Keystone Outback bunks is longer but it is so narrow it would probably not help you at all.

[qtla9111]

RV mattresses are mostly junk (at least in my personal experience). We bought a queen size that was longer than the platform. However, there was still room for it to fit without any issues. The bed has storage underneath and half of the platform lifts up on a piano hinge. We replaced that side of the plywood with one that was four inches longer. Problem solved.

Trust the information here. You'll end up replacing the mattress anyway. Good luck and let us know what you choose.

[Jeeperinmoab]

Look at Cruiser RV. I have both a full size queen bed and a tub for the kids. We also have a quad bunk in ours. Our empty weight when I weighed it coming home from the dealer with propane and 2 batteries was just over 6000 lbs. we have been adjusting what we bring with us and we have carried between 6600 - 6950 for our trips.

I agree that you will not get enough hot water to fill the tub we get enough to be able to give the little one (he just turned 1) a bath and he has fun and it is warm enough for him. The rest of the family gets a quick shower.

[ChuckNTruck]

Before it got totaled i had a Heartland Sundance XLT 241BH.
I now have a Heartland Sundance XLT 281DB which is the same basic layout but slightly longer.
They both have Full queen beds up front with dual 275lb capacity bunks in the back. The bathroom has a shallow tub but its works great with my toddler. Also mine had the 6 gal DSI water heater and i have yet to run out of hot water with the gas and electric going at the same time.

I only paid ~23k for the 241BH brand new and i paid ~25k for the 281DB brand new.

[Stevensondrive]

Hannibal wrote:
The Jayco 27BHS might be along the lines of your search. Our 28' Jayco is actually 32.5' long bumper to coupler. They're all a bit longer than their model number would lead you to believe.

https://www.jayco.com/products/travel-trailers/2017-jay-flight/27bhs/

That's a nice camper. It would get the job done! Thanks for link

[Hannibal]

DutchmenSport wrote:
More than likely, EVEN if you do find a camper that has a mattress your size, it won't be comfortable. Almost every mattress factory installed is junk. Mattresses are usually the VERY first think RV owners change when getting a new camper. (of any make, model, design, or class).

We got lucky with our Outback. It actually came with a decent mattress. We never had to swap it out. Previous 2 trailers we did.

About the mattress? Chances are you will swap it out anyway. So, if mattress is the #1 draw back, then take a tape measure with you when looking at various campers and measure to see if a standard size (length) mattress will fit. (check with slides IN!!!!). Even if the bed frame is a bit small, you can always add an extension support for the end of the mattress that might hang over. So, just because it's a short mattress, does not mean you can't swap it out. Just make sure the camper has room for a long one with everything buttoned up and all relevant slides retracted.

About "tubs"? IF you find a trailer with a bath tub, it will be so small, it will be virtually unusable. Your camper will probably have a 6 gallon water heater, which will not even be enough water to adequately heat, even a small bathtub, with enough water for even a small child to take a comfortable bath.

If your baby is a "baby", you are best to just get a child-size bath tub that can be stuck in a closet when not in use. Also, if the camper has a shower, you can always put a cover over the shower drain, fill the basin with an inch of water, and put the baby in the water on the basin floor.

6 gallons of hot water will not go very far... Tubs are useless in a camper. Teach the toddler to take a shower, or just simply give him/her a cat bath. Or better yet, hose him down outside.

Bunkhouse models are popular floor plans. But really ... kids will sleep anywhere and DO adjust to anything! Get a camper that is comfortable for you and your spouse FIRST! Kids second! Kids are along for the ride! You are the one paying the bill. Especially if your child is a toddler, he/she won't know anything different. Get what works for YOU first! Chances are very great that in 2 - 4 years you will be getting a different camper. As the kids grow, you're ideas will change too. So you really don't need to make this purchase a life-drama event or stress over it. It's not a life-long commitment. You will eventually change for a different camper. It just happens!

I agree with this. We've never owned a bunkhouse. Our kids slept on the sofa bed, dinette bed or floor wherever they could see the TV and reach the fridge and feel the a/c. Bunks would have put them out of the middle of everything. When DW's parents went with us, we slept on the sofa bed and gave them the queen bed. We get far more use out of two recliners than we would have ever gotten out of bunks.

[Hannibal]

The Jayco 27BHS might be along the lines of your search. Our 28' Jayco is actually 32.5' long bumper to coupler. They're all a bit longer than their model number would lead you to believe.

https://www.jayco.com/products/travel-trailers/2017-jay-flight/27bhs/

[DynoDragn]

I'm 6'1" and I got used to the short queen as my bedroom is situated where a full queen would block walking around the bed.
On the tub, I've seen this used a lot Tub and it seems to work pretty good. At least it gives you an option if you found a layout you like without a tub option.
The 6gal water heater should be fine unless your taking hollywoods. I've never run out of hot water with mine.
I'm with you on salesman, they should know the product they are selling. I'm in sales and I make it my job to understand all aspects of the equipment I provide.

Too bad you mentioned a weight in here, the weight police are going to swarm.

[hokeypokey]

Not reading every post here,so maybe someone covered this already. I took a queen size fitted sheet and sewed 3" seam across about the center of the sheet from side to side. This way I don't mess with fitted corners. When in bed, we don't feel the seam at all. Try it on mattress and see if it fits before continuing.
You have successfully shortened the sheet 6". (3 x 2 = 6). Stitch the flap down at the fold OR cut flap off about 1" remaining. Then cut ONE side of 1" down to 1/2". Fold 1" over 1/2" and tuck under - then stitch down. This makes a " flat fell seam" like the side pant seam of jeans. You can bounce a quarter on your bottom sheet. MUCH better than tucking excess and fighting with it daily.

guy near us sells mattresses out of a little warehouse and he handles 3 grades of "short queen" mattresses. He's $100 cheaper than the one furniture store who sells them. I should get a kickback because I send lots of business his way! We got middle grade, paid $259 and LOVE it. Doesn't even advertise, but he says his phone rings off hook starting May 1

[the_happiestcam]

Ours came with a short queen that was junk. We replaced it with another short queen, cause a regular one would be too long for the tight bedroom. However, we also have a full size body pillow. At night, we pull the mattress out and put the body pillow behind, then put our regular pillows on top of that. Works just fine. In the morning we pull the body pillow out, push the mattress back, and the body pillow looks okay on top of the mattress during the day.