our first travel trailer

[tamarastraub]

after 37 years of camping in tents and pop-ups we are now ready to buy our first travel trailer. we plan to retire in 2014 and we both love to travel. we have visited or camped in all 50 states. we've cruised the caribbean, visited europe and love to travel the roads of north america.
so, here is my question. we camp in state and national parks and love the wildness and roominess that those sites afford us. but, we also plan to spend 3 to 4 months per year in southern USA during the worst of wisconin's winters. so what SIZE of trailer should we purchase? we fell in love with a 31 foot travel trailer that has 3 slides with lots of space for my husband, myself and our 2 small dogs. will we be able to camp in state and national parks with this length of a trailer? will we lose the wildness we long for? will camp sites accomadate a travel trailer with opposing slides?
thanks for any assistance anyone can offer. this is a BIG decision for us.

[xteacher]

Congrats on your new TT! For snowbirding, we're partial to the SW coast of FL - anywhere from Clearwater down to Ft. Myers. If you're going to stay in a commercial park, Sun 'n Fun in Sarasota, FL is a wonderful park with a LOT of ammenities (pool, bar-happy hour too, workout center, two dog parks, tennis, pickleball, volleyball, great bathrooms, laundry, etc.). It's not on the beach in Sarasota, FL, but it's right off the interstate and about a 15-20 minutes drive from Siesta Key Beach. With a park like this (or any other one like this) you're NOT going to find huge private sites, especially in FL. Land is too expensive near the beach. BTW, these parks are pricey and fill up fast.

Sun 'n Fun

[tamarastraub]

We are planning to snowbird the months of January, February, March of 2016.
I have reviewed MANY parks and resorts and am quite overwhelmed! Any suggestions for snowbirding for two people, two small dogs who like to hike and bike and spend time outdoors. We would like FHUs, laundry facilities, exercise facility. But mostly we do NOT want to be crowded like sardines in a can ! We are thinking of spending our first winter by staying one month at three different spots. We have not determined our budget yet. We prefer daytime temps at 50° or above. So many choices!!!

[tamarastraub]

Our final purchase? Rockwood ultra lite 2703WS. Almost 28 foot box with a trailer and hitch length of almost 32 feet. 3 slides. Substituted dinette with table and chairs. Substituted sleeper couch with reclining theatre seating. Spent 25 nights this past summer in various Wisconsin state parks and in western national parks. Loved every second!

[dadmomh]

Congrats on the new adventures! We bought our Rockwood Ultra Lite 2604 this past spring and love it. A change from our HTT 23SS, which was wonderful, but as we got a bit older it became less enjoyable doing set up and break down. Our 2604 came with the standard style dinette, but somewhat larger. Saw some pictures online of the same with the table and chairs....we're happy with our dinette, but also like the table set up. Personal opinion is that you've picked a good size. Assuming the second slide is the wardrobe?? Contrary to others experiences, several of the CGs we enjoy would not make getting a 32' box into a site much of a pleasure. The site may be big enough, but that darned cluster of trees right where you need to cut the wheel seems to be in the way. Our very fav site at our very fav CG was second nature with our HTT, but found just that bit of extra length meant taking several tries to get it right....then remembered that the slide is deeper, so had to pull forward and move over...lesson learned. Looks like you've done your homework and have lots of fun things coming up. Enjoy!

[DiskDoctr]

Congratulations!!!

Here's a tip for bringing it home. Start clearing out the spot you want to park it, make sure there is a LOT of extra room, then once you think you have enough room, double it!

If you have a place you can avoid backing it up the first day, do it. Fill your tow vehicle with fuel on the way to the dealer so you have a full tank, and avoid any stops with the trailer.

If you have a relative or buddy with towing experience, tap them to help you the first day home.

There will be plenty of time for practicing towing. Saturday's goal is to get home safely...and it is winter, requiring extra caution and care.

Oh yeah, avoid rush hour with your new rv 😉

Did the dealer winterize it for you? Might be a good idea, then don't run any water in it.

A midwinter rv purchase...that's so cool! Enjoy!

[tamarastraub]

so here i go with more questions??
our next purchase is a generator. we are looking at purchaising two 2000 watt champion generators. we need to keep the weight down (due to my husband's injury) and the cost down (due to my unemployment). anyone have experience with these generators? (i have reviewed online for hours before making this preliminary decision.)

[tamarastraub]

we have camping weekends planned for wi state parks may thru august and are planning our september trip to rocky mountain national park. we will do our first camping weekend in our back yard in march or april-depending on snow melt. it has been an abnormally cold winter here in wisconsin and i am raring to get camping!

[tamarastraub]

YAHOO!! after numerous delays, mostly due to my husband's tree trimming accident, on friday september 13th, which has modified his right hand and wrist for forever (still recovering) we are finally getting our travel trailer. we are so grateful for my husband's recovery as his injuries were numerous and could have been so much worse. now there is no question that i will be learning to drive the travel trailer-never have towed a trailer before! we do a quick walk-thru this saturday and will bring our TT home when the snow melts. YEAH!!

[DiskDoctr]

tamarastraub wrote:
we have offically joined the ranks of travel trailer campers!
we purchased a ROCKWOOD ULTRA LITE 2703WS and modified it by substituting 2 lazy boy high back recliners in place of the sleeper sofa and substituting free standing table with 4 chairs in place of the dinette.

Uh-oh. You know that modding is ADDICTIVE, don't you? :R :B LOL.

Congrats! Do you have your first "camp driveway" planned yet? Good way to shake it out and figure out what you really need. Don't forget a tablet and pen. There will be a lot of things that you will forget your first trip and likely a bunch of others that you realize you just don't need 😉

Make sure you post pics of your new family member! :B

[gettinhitchy]

Congrats! I'm partial to Tundras so I'll have to tell you that I absolutely love your TV and think you will be happy as well. It tows great and is very comfortable, powerful and then it is great for exploring when not hooked up. Especially with the 4WD for getting off the beaten path. Looks like an excellent floor plan on the Rockwood you chose. Our TV and TT weights are fairly close to yours and we've traveled over 9,000 miles so far and have been very pleased. Happy Travels!

[GilliedogKiwi]

tamarastraub wrote:
we have offically joined the ranks of travel trailer campers!
we purchased a ROCKWOOD ULTRA LITE 2703WS and modified it by substituting 2 lazy boy high back recliners in place of the sleeper sofa and substituting free standing table with 4 chairs in place of the dinette. we ordered other options based on our camping history and plans. we should receive our travel trailer in October. YEAH!!
we also purchased a TOYOTA TUNDRA 4X4 5.7L V8 double cab truck with various options added. we should pick up our new truck next week. DOUBLE YEAH!!

Congratulations!!! What fun you will have. There are so many great places to go camping in the fall.

Angela and Gary

[Doug33]

tamarastraub wrote:
we have offically joined the ranks of travel trailer campers!
we purchased a ROCKWOOD ULTRA LITE 2703WS and modified it by substituting 2 lazy boy high back recliners in place of the sleeper sofa and substituting free standing table with 4 chairs in place of the dinette. we ordered other options based on our camping history and plans. we should receive our travel trailer in October. YEAH!!
we also purchased a TOYOTA TUNDRA 4X4 5.7L V8 double cab truck with various options added. we should pick up our new truck next week. DOUBLE YEAH!!

Congrats - as Tom Petty sang, the waiting is the hardest part. Years ago I ordered a car, and it was torture waiting for it to be delivered!

[tamarastraub]

we have offically joined the ranks of travel trailer campers!
we purchased a ROCKWOOD ULTRA LITE 2703WS and modified it by substituting 2 lazy boy high back recliners in place of the sleeper sofa and substituting free standing table with 4 chairs in place of the dinette. we ordered other options based on our camping history and plans. we should receive our travel trailer in October. YEAH!!
we also purchased a TOYOTA TUNDRA 4X4 5.7L V8 double cab truck with various options added. we should pick up our new truck next week. DOUBLE YEAH!!

[GilliedogKiwi]

We also have a half ton truck Ford F150 Lariat 4x4 with super crew cab and with the max towing package and heavy duty suspension and 6.2 ltr V8, max cooling package and we tow a Jayco Jayflight 24FBS. Its perfect - we tow at about 2/3 of our max capacity (7,000lbs and its rated at 11,000 lbs). So we can go anywhere and have no problems. We like the front bedroom, rear bathroom design and one of the biggest things we like is we have an 86gal fresh water tank!!! (well its two tanks that make it up). We have never run out of fresh water. The overall length is 27 feet with the tongue. We stay in a lot of state parks as well as private campgrounds and have no problems fitting into 99% of the sites. One in Kentucky in the hills was a bit of a challenge but it was for everyone there except the tenters!
Good luck on your decision and let us know what you get. A great time to buy coming into fall as dealers are willing to deal more now.

Angela and Gary