Looking for advice on length

My wife and I just purchased a Solaire 317BHSK Ultra Light.

We went back and forth between bunkhouse, bunkhouse with slide, no bunkhouse and we kept coming back to a bunkhouse with a solid door and a slide.

I like the idea of aluminum construction over wood for the main framing and the Solaire got us fiberglass exterior at other competitors aluminum exterior pricing.

It took us about 2 months of research and footwork to decide and we think we made an educated, informed decision.

Thanks for the advice and suggestions.

Thanks for the insight and suggestions. Ill take it all under advisement as we continue looking.

I think my apprehension about a longer trailer has been put to rest.

The extra space can be critical in bad weather and indoor family time at night. Pulling a few extra feet is no big deal.

I couldn't tell a difference at all when we went from our 28ft to 36 foot. I've never been hindered by the length in a campground, or in transit. With kids the rear slideout bunk plan cant be beat. We love it

I commend you for think this through. Do not fall into the upgrade trap. Buy your lat RV 1st.
Since you have towing experience with 18 wheelers. Towing is not a factor.
The debate is space and comfort vs. finding a campsite.
I towed a 36' TT prior to my current 5'er. I was always able to find a sight anywhere I cared to go. Nevertheless there were always more smaller sites and there were always a few sites I could not fit into. In the end I always found a site. In 5 years I was never turned a way or left a CG because they did not have a site large enough for me. Keep in mind I'm on the east coast. I use both private and public CG's.
As to space I prefer to have ample room. You mentioned you have a tall family. Beware the kids will outgrow the small bunks in some of the smaller units.
There is more to the equation than just a place to sleep.
I also prefer the kids to have their own space. A separate room gives the kids a place to store their stuff as well as a place to hangout. If the kids do not have their OWN space, than the adults Do Not have their OWN space either.
Lastly, consider tank capacities and cargo carrying capacity. Being able to haul and store fresh and waste water is important and are factors often overlooked.
There will be compromise. Site selection maybe tougher for a larger rig, on occasion.
However having enough space is a factor every trip. The kids will only get bigger and bring along more stuff including friends. Pay attention to the physical size of the bunks and decide if you kids will fit in them for the next 10 years.
Choose a size and floor plan with the future in mind. Avoid upgrading for at least 7-10 years.
If you follow there forums you will read of a lot of upgrades. We started with X and moved to Y and then on to Z. Many slowly upgrade every few years to gain space and features. Buy your Z model first avoid X and Y.
Cramped and spacious can be very subjective terms. However adequate and enjoyable are not. If the space is not adequate the trips will not be enjoyable and the RV will eventually sit idle.
The only way to get value out of any RV, in any size or type is to use it.
Be sure to pick a size that will be usable not just right now, but for years into the future.

Get the longer one now. Will save you from having to upgrade in the future. I do recommend a premium hitch. A standard hitch with friction sway bars isn't going to cut it.

Hensley Arrow or Propride
Reese Dual Cam
Equalizer

My preference is toward the HA or PP. Pulling performance with those two hitches is a world apart from others. Yes, it is pricey. However, if you watch your local craigslist carefully you might score a great deal (I've found three in the last three years within 50 miles of my middle of nowhere location). $800 is an average used price on them, and anything less is a great deal. I have $250 in one, and $450 in another. A friend has $800 in the third.

With the amount of miles you are going to be traveling, I HIGHLY recommend a premium hitch. Especially on the longer trailer. You will be glad you did.

eipo wrote:
Howdy everyone...

My wife and I are in the market for a travel trailer while the kids are still young enough to not be into the high school scene and "to busy or to cool" to hang our with their folks.

A little background. I hold a Class A CDL in MI and have thousands of miles under my belt pulling all sorts of trailers hitched to various tractors. So the length and weight aren't an issue aside from Ive never pulled anything longer than 20' behind a pickup truck. Tow vehicle is a 2016 Ram 2500 with 6.4. 10,000 gvw, 19,500 combined, just over 3,000 payload and 1,250 dead weight on the class V hitch and 12,500 trailer gvw. 3.73 gears.

We went to a local RV show over the weekend and almost wrote a check for a 32' (35'+ including tongue) Jayco. But as we were standing outside the trailer looking at it, it seems awfully long for a bumper pulled trailer. We sat down and rethought our "needs" and believe we would be happy with a 26' trailer but we also do not want to settle. We anticipate keeping whatever we buy for a long time.

Family backstory... My wife and I are tall. Wife is 5'11, I am 6'4, our 12yo son is already almost 6' and our 9yo daughter is following suit. So we need a bunkhouse, but not the half sized bunks for normal sized people. We will also be traveling with 2 dogs, an Aust. Cattle dog and a Boxer/Beagle mutt.

The idea of a bunkhouse in the rear of the trailer with a door and a slide is VERY appealing to us not only for the dogs and kids, but for storage while in motion.

We contemplated the idea of going 5th wheel, but we really want to keep the bed free for misc. storage of items during our trips. Truck cap has been ordered and we would like to keep it on the truck all the time. BUT, the 5th wheel isn't ruled out. It will add not only additional cost in having the hitch mounted, but 5th wheels are also more expensive. We can get more bang for our buck going bumper pull so that is the direction we really want to go.

So my question... Is there a noticeable (As in unsafe, white knuckled feeling) between a 26' and 32' trailer? Will the longer trailer limit us in which campgrounds we can get into, etc?

Thanks in advance for reading my long winded post.

Kris

It's a balancing act for sure. A lot depends on where you live and how you camp. If you're mostly going to be traveling highways and staying in improved campgrounds, I don't think longer is a huge issue. If you're going to be getting off the beaten path and into the mountains where roads can get narrower and steeper and there are more trees to navigate, it can be a bigger deal.

After a lot of deliberation and discussion about the amenities/size we wanted balanced against the size of the combined load going down the road, we actually bought a fifth wheel. It allowed us to get a little bit longer trailer in a little bit shorter overall package. It's also very tall inside which helps make it feel more roomy, especially with the big slide. Our unit is 31' so it's probably equivalent to about a 27' TT. Fifth wheels inherently tow better than TT's and I'm amazed at how well our combo goes down the highway - absolutely solid with no sway and trucks and cross winds are a complete non-issue.

The tradeoff is losing a lot of the bed space, but our rail mount Andersen hitch isn't too much of a space hog so there's still room for the dog kennel and some other items back there. The cost of the hitch was $300 off Craigslist plus $200 for the rails from etrailer. I haven't priced weight distributing hitches recently but I doubt a good one would cost any less than that.

Going into it we thought we'd probably buy a travel trailer for the same reasons you brought up, but the more we considered our options the more obvious it became that a fifth wheel was a better fit for us. I would recommend at least looking at some before you write them off.

FWIW, with your truck I don't think you'll be white knuckling it whether you buy a 26' or 32' travel trailer or a fifth wheel. However, fifth wheels do tow better just by virtue of how and where the load is carried. A travel trailer can be dialed in to where it tows well, but with a fifth you pretty much just drop the pin on the hitch and are good to go.

As an aside, I use a Softopper for the times I need a canopy. It's a one-man five minute job to take it on or off so it's very easy to switch, and it works great as a topper in every respect aside from security (the one major tradeoff).

Having done considerable long distance touring / camping when our boys were younger I see 25' as just about ideal - long enough to be comfortable but short enough to park on pretty well any campsite one may select or be assigned, a particular advantage when not reserving ahead of time. Sure, a 34' trailer with all the amenities may offer comfort "just like home" but at the end of a long driving day I'm far more interested in being able to park my camper as quickly and easily as I can on whatever site may be available, particularly on a summer weekend when there's often little choice. Our previous triple bunk bed KZ Spree 240BH-LX measured 26' 9" coupler to bumper, these days is available as the slightly longer KZ Spree 240BHS in which the two 32" wide rear bunk beds run the full width of the trailer and are especially suited for tall people and offers all the necessities for a comfortable home away from home. Sure, a sofa in addition to a dinette would be nice but not when it means dragging around a longer trailer that would be more restrictive in terms of what sites it may comfortably fit ... given the choice, with our past experience in long distance traveling, I'd take the shorter trailer hands down every time. :B

I do most of my camping in Michigan. I share your concern with too long a trailer. I have a 28-foot with full size bunks which is basically 30-feet stem to stern (Aerolite 282DBHS) (by the way, it has the door and storage area you talked about). The challenge of getting into sites is usually because of obstructions around the site (trees, bushes, etc.). I think 28-feet is the perfect compromise, not too long, not to short. With your skills as a truck driver you shouldn't have any problem getting into properly sized sites. I pick sites that are suitable for 35-feet and I while it can be challenging at times I have always be able to get onto the site.

Ours is 34 ft hitch to bumper and after 5 years it still looks to long every time i see it hooked up. I might go another foot or two but that would the max for me now. I would like to go shorter for campsite selection but other than that it has not been an issue