Newbie questions

[tenortodd]

Hi all! I'm a newbie to this forum.

My brother-in-law just bought a pop-up camper and they used it this past summer to travel the U.S. They love it!

So I started looking. I have a wife and 2 young daughters. We are definitely middle class without a lot of extra money in the budget, so I'm looking for something small that will hold us all comfortably with bunks and a full bathroom. We also want something light enough to be hauled by something that gets decent gas mileage. (A travel trailer, not a pop-up.)

Tell me if this sounds ok:

I'm looking at a Dodge Durango SUV, which gets 20mpg and tows 6200lbs.

Then I'm looking at the Jayco Jay Flight travel trailer - the SLX 7 174BH. Its GVW is 5000lbs.

Do those numbers sound good? I don't know anything about towing. Never done it. I just want us to be safe, if we're going to travel the country. I thought the loaded weight of the Jayco being 5000 and the Durango able to tow 6200 would be enough of a buffer for us to be safe going cross county. Am I correct?

We're in OH and I'd like us to visit FL, the TX gulf, and go out west.

Thanks for any input!

[Grit_dog]

Lwiddis wrote:
“I don't know anything about towing.”

Towing capacity is only one piece of the puzzle. What’s the TV’s payload? What will you carry in the TV...weight?

Tenortodd hasn’t chosen to tell us where he is located or where he plans to travel, jfk.

Re read the first post.

[Grit_dog]

SidecarFlip wrote:
Durango's are notorious for tranny issues when towing as well. Far as I can ascertain, the only FCA products that deliver descent mileage are the diesels. All the gassers cannot pass a filling station.

Get a 3/4 ton truck with 4 doors and be happy.

Welcome to 2018. What are the trans issues you speak of in the new gen models or are you referring to the old 4 speeds?

[toedtoes]

LG61820 wrote:
IMO - why not try tent camping first? If your family doesn't like tent camping they may not like trailer camping. I wouldn't invest in a TV and a trailer if I didn't know that the fam enjoyed camping.

I agree with this if you're looking at a popup trailer. The similarities to tent camping are much greater.

If you are going to a hard sided trailer, then I think the differences will outweigh any benefit of starting with tent camping.

[LG61820]

IMO - why not try tent camping first? If your family doesn't like tent camping they may not like trailer camping. I wouldn't invest in a TV and a trailer if I didn't know that the fam enjoyed camping.

[toedtoes]

theoldwizard1 wrote:

toedtoes wrote:
I have a Durango with a 6000 gvwr. I am towing a 2800lb FoldnRoll trailer with it. I wouldn't tow much heavier than that. I do routinely tow in the mountains - if I were only doing flat terrain, I would feel OK going heavier.

Does your Tow Vehicle have a factory Trailer Towing option ?

Yep.

[K-9_HANDLER]

You may want to consider a pop up yourself. We bought a used one for $750 bucks. Put alot of miles on it and it served us well when both our girls were young. Towed it with an old two door Tahoe. When your ready/ can afford to move up they are easy to resell if in decent shape. Used if for 6 years and sold it for alot more then I paid.

[theoldwizard1]

Every Tow Vehicle should have an auxiliary transmission cooler. For the couple hundred dollars it will cost, it is cheap insurance.

Any trailer with a GVWR of over about 4000 lbs should use a a weight distribution hitch. That trailer is on the borderline so I would spend the money for the hitch.

Hybrids do give you a lot more living space for the same weight. Fall and spring camping will be chilly so take extra blanks. If you are going to have an electrical hook up, most people use an electric heater. Save your propane !

[theoldwizard1]

toedtoes wrote:
I have a Durango with a 6000 gvwr. I am towing a 2800lb FoldnRoll trailer with it. I wouldn't tow much heavier than that. I do routinely tow in the mountains - if I were only doing flat terrain, I would feel OK going heavier.

Does your Tow Vehicle have a factory Trailer Towing option ?

[toedtoes]

afidel wrote:

toedtoes wrote:
There are ways to make it work. Hybrids are one. Adding a tent for the kids is another. Just dealing with a small space is a third option.

Hybrids are generally heavier than an equal length box conventional bunkhouse with a single slide from what I saw, every 16-18' hybrid was several hundred pounds heavier and had significantly higher tongue weight than the competition I was cross shopping.

Really, when I was looking I found the hybrids to be lighter for the size - but it's been a few years.

[Jebby14]

My 5.0 F150 is currently averaging around 17 mpg and that's mostly city and I drive like an arse hole. it drops considerably on the highway and if I drive more conservative I can get that number up to around 18 in the city and well into the 20s on the highway. also have more room for the kids and a more capable vehicle. the eco boost will get better numbers than I do.

[afidel]

toedtoes wrote:
There are ways to make it work. Hybrids are one. Adding a tent for the kids is another. Just dealing with a small space is a third option.

Hybrids are generally heavier than an equal length box conventional bunkhouse with a single slide from what I saw, every 16-18' hybrid was several hundred pounds heavier and had significantly higher tongue weight than the competition I was cross shopping.

[afidel]

KD4UPL wrote:
No matter the tow vehicle, a gas engine towing a TT will be getting 10 mpg or less. If the vehicle will be used mostly for towing unloaded mpg is pointless. If you'll drive it a lot with no trailer that may be a consideration.

I've average 10.94MPG over the last 24,639 miles of towing, average speed is probably 60-65 but most of the highway cruising is at 68 with occasional sprints to 75 for passing. Probably the big difference between my experience and most is I have a 7' wide trailer.

[GrandpaKip]

Another consideration is where to put stuff like bikes, chairs, etc.
If it were me, I believe I would seriously look at the diesel Colorado/Canyon.
Gets decent mileage towing and solo.
If I was going to get a new TV, this would be at the top of my list.

[drsteve]

With a family of four and cargo in the tow vehicle, plus the tongue weight of the trailer, you'll exceed the payload rating of the Durango well before you reach the towing limit.

5000 lb loaded trailer weight translates to approx. 650 lb of tongue weight. Add to that the weight of your family and whatever else you carry in the SUV. That number should not exceed the GVWR printed on the door jamb sticker. It'll say something like "weight of passengers and cargo cannot exceed xxxx lb."