Looking to purchase a travel trailer

[sparkylola]

Hello, my name is Rose and I am retiring in one year, I have been looking at the Winnebago Minnie Winnie and Lance both seem to be all weather terrain durable, I just bought my Silverado 1500 LT to pull it so now I'm hoping to buy my first travel trailer at the end of the year, I am a single women traveling alone and know nothing about travel trailers but I am eager to learn and looking forward to traveling in my retirement years, meeting new people and seeing the sites of our planet!!! Does anyone have advise first of all on which of the 2 travel trailers are best. Thanks so much for any input you all may have.........:@

[gmw_photos]

coolmom42 wrote:
....snip....

But very few 1/2 ton towables are going to have a huge amount of cargo capacity, much less a trailer sized for a single person.

And this is part of why I suggested to the OP to really do her homework.
Here's an example: the OP stated the Winnebago Mini is on her short list. One of their models, the 1706FB, which is certainly half-ton towable, has a 5500 pound GVWR. Over 2500 pounds of that rating is cargo capacity.

There are many tandem axle trailers in the "shorter" ( let's say under 21' ) end of the market that have very high GVWR, but in reality, they normally don't weigh anywhere near that in use. The trailer manufacturer can assign a high gross rating because they typically put two, 2800 pound axles under them ( like my trailer ).

To the OP, a good "starting point" as for weight is to look at the listed dry weight, then add 1000 to 1200 pounds. You're now getting pretty close to what it weigh in use, depending on what you want to take with you. There's more to it than that, but it's a good place to start.

[TomG2]

coolmom42 wrote:
Very few trailers are a comfortable safe tow for a half-ton pickup without some type of weight distribution/sway control.

I've investigated this myself, as a woman who will mostly be travelling alone. My boyfriend has an Equalizer hitch that does a great job, but it is very heavy. I can barely pick up the hitch head. I'm planning to investigate Anderson hitches, since the entire assembly weighs under 60 lb.

GM says that the OP's Silverado does not "Require" a WD hitch for up to a 7,000 pound trailer. I limited my 1500's to about 5,000 pound gross trailer weight. One reason being that I hate messing with WD hitches. The Andersen is easier than others I have owned. My point is that ease of use may outweigh (pun intended) some of the advantages of heavier trailers. It is no fun to avoid RVing because of the effort involved. Yes, at 250 pounds, I can handle hitches and bars but the OP might not.

[gmw_photos]

Many people simply leave the WD hitch head installed while they are on a road trip and the camper is parked at the campground.

There are easy and inexpensive solutions to dealing with the weight of the head while you are at your home base. In another thread here I showed a picture of a dolly I made to wheel the BlueOx hitch head around my garage when it's being installed or removed from the truck.

OP, what approx size trailer in length and price range are you thinking of ?

[coolmom42]

gmw photos wrote:
Using GVWR of a trailer is as flawed as a concept as using the stated dry weight in a brochure.

The important point is what is the actual weight of the trailer ? For instance, my trailer had a stated dry weight of 3040 pounds, and a GVWR of 6000. What I care about is what it really weighs, as I use it. That number is 4000 pounds. The scales tell the truth.

Original poster, my suggestion is to "really" do your homework.

I suggested that number as a starting point to start looking. How can a person know the exact weight of the trailer, loaded for use, before purchase? That's not realistic.

Now I can say that if a trailer has 2500 lb cargo capacity, a single person is not likely to load it to the max, and a more reasonable number might be something like 1000 lb cargo added to the trailer, or less. But very few 1/2 ton towables are going to have a huge amount of cargo capacity, much less a trailer sized for a single person.

[coolmom42]

TomG2 wrote:
The single most physically demanding task with travel trailers can be installing the weight distributing hitch. I would pick a trailer light enough that a weight distributing hitch is not required. Secondly, cranking the trailer tongue jack can be tiring but an electric tongue jack will take care of that. Glad to see that you are looking at travel trailers as they are the simplest RV of all.

Very few trailers are a comfortable safe tow for a half-ton pickup without some type of weight distribution/sway control.

I've investigated this myself, as a woman who will mostly be travelling alone. My boyfriend has an Equalizer hitch that does a great job, but it is very heavy. I can barely pick up the hitch head. I'm planning to investigate Anderson hitches, since the entire assembly weighs under 60 lb.

The second physically hardest is probably cranking down the stab jacks. A power drill for those, plus an electric tongue jack, can make the entire job much easier.

[TomG2]

The single most physically demanding task with travel trailers can be installing the weight distributing hitch. I would pick a trailer light enough that a weight distributing hitch is not required. Secondly, cranking the trailer tongue jack can be tiring but an electric tongue jack will take care of that. Glad to see that you are looking at travel trailers as they are the simplest RV of all.

[ulvik]

My advice would be to get one made with all aluminum construction no wood studs. Hit multiple rv dealers and look online at as many models as possible. Then you decide what will fit your needs and also what you can safely tow with your truck. Don't listen to RV dealers on what you can tow they will lie just to get your money. I have a GMC 1500 and would never tow over 6,000 lbs with it. Just my opinion. Good luck!

[lhenry8113]

My DW and I are Northwood MFG. fans. We are on our 2nd Arctic Fox which has about 35,000 miles on it. Last big trip was to the Yukon Terr. from So. Calif. Northwood makes a number of different campers-they originally started with Nash, than Arctic Fox, etc. They are 4 season campers and they make their own camper and trailer as well. Good Campers. Lars

http://northwoodmfg.com/

[gmw_photos]

Using GVWR of a trailer is as flawed as a concept as using the stated dry weight in a brochure.

The important point is what is the actual weight of the trailer ? For instance, my trailer had a stated dry weight of 3040 pounds, and a GVWR of 6000. What I care about is what it really weighs, as I use it. That number is 4000 pounds. The scales tell the truth.

Original poster, my suggestion is to "really" do your homework.

[gmw_photos]

Bumpyroad wrote:
my first cut is No rubber roofs.
bumpy

What's a rubber roof ?

TPO and EPDM are the dominant materials used these days.

[Bumpyroad]

my first cut is No rubber roofs.
bumpy

[donn0128]

Lance or Northwoods Nash or Arctic Fox would be my first two choices. Be very careful on trying to get too much trailer for your truck. It is capable as long as you stay in the numbers.
BTW for a lighter trailer you might also check out RPod.

[sparkylola]

Great, Ok I will do that!

[coolmom42]

You need 3 numbers:

Towing capacity of your truck
Payload/cargo capacity of your truck
Gross (max loaded) weight of the trailer

Start looking at trailers with a gross weight no higher than 80% of your tow capacity. That's an easy first pass test.

Then take the gross weight of the trailer and multiply it by 12 percent. That is what the tongue weight of the trailer should be when it's all hooked up. That weight becomes part of the cargo of your truck. You need enough payload left for yourself and any other passengers and whatever stuff you want to carry in your truck.

Find out the EXACT cargo and tow capacities of your truck. You can't just pick something like a generic Silverado. Those numbers vary hugely depending on the options on the truck.

If you can't find the information readily, a dealer should be able to help you track it down.

Of the 2 trailers you mentioned, the Lance is generally the brand with the better build quality. More important are the specific items on the trailer that suit your needs. The floor plan has to work for you. Also if you plan to camp anywhere without water and sewer hookups, you need generous holding tank capacities--fresh, gray, and black.

Do your reading on here, there is tons of good info.

I personally am not a fan of RV shows. In my experience, dealers take their fanciest biggest models with all the bells & whistles, to show off. If you will be travelling alone, something of a much more modest size will probably suit you better.

Look up some dealers within a reasonable driving distance. Check out their inventory and identify some models/stock numbers that you think might work for you. Then go and look on a weekday (less busy) and tell them you are not buying today but you are doing some preliminary fact-finding, and might be back to buy if they can help you. If they are not helpful and informative, that is a sign you might do better somewhere else.

[sparkylola]

Good points to think about, ok I will check it out.