Pulling a 32ft

[salrosa]

Anyone pulling a 32ft Camper for weekend and extended weekend trips?
I currently own a 27ft and it is easy as pie to trailer and maneuver in to the sites. We are looking for a new camper and found a 32ft that we like. The only thing that has me on the fence is the length. Not sure I am going to like pulling around something that long and don't want to be limited on the distance we can travel. The new one is only 1000lbs heavier so weight is not an issue. Any thoughts?

[musherdeb]

i pull a 31 ft laredo two slides.... i drive an F150 5.4L engine. have gone from Arozona to Connecticut and back again. i travel alone. i dont push it. i usually go about 55 mph. i gutted the trailer due to a flood in the slideouts and the toilet seal breaking. i redecorated. i completely gutted the living room slide down to bare wood. i took out all the carpet. took off the window shades and the huge things holding them in place. got rid of the heavy sleeper couch and the built in dining table. i painted and made new curtains and i love it. itis a lot lighter too. oh yeah got rid of the veryoutdated huge tv that came withit too... i have had noproblems pulling my trailer.

[PenMan]

RedRocket204 wrote:
Curious how people are fitting a 35ft trailer into a maximum length spot of 30ft?

And yes, was just at a RV location that would not allow a 35ft TT.

That is why I previously commented about limitations for longer trailers. Most RV sites, not 100% of them though, can easily handle the longer trailers, but if those longer spots are gone, don't expect to fit in a smaller spot. Simple physics 😉

Obviously you don't fit a 35 ft. trailer in a 30 ft. spot. You either reserve a space large enough for your rig or you keep looking. Lots of state parks don't have larger spaces but many do. You just have to know ahead of time or be flexible.

[RedRocket204]

Curious how people are fitting a 35ft trailer into a maximum length spot of 30ft?

And yes, was just at a RV location that would not allow a 35ft TT.

That is why I previously commented about limitations for longer trailers. Most RV sites, not 100% of them though, can easily handle the longer trailers, but if those longer spots are gone, don't expect to fit in a smaller spot. Simple physics 😉

[PenMan]

I pull a 36' TT and it is easier to pull that my HTT that I traded in. It does require a longer space to camp in. Just got home today from a small campground in the Santa Fe National Forest. We had planned to camp in a small meadow off a forest service road that I had heard about but a brand new barbed wire fence kept us out so we had to go to our backup plan and stay in the campground. Turned out there was almost no one else there and we pretty much had it to ourselves. There were quite a few spaces large enough for our rig.

[ReneeG]

I agree with the sway issue, but I think the OP was asking about sites, etc. At the time we had a TT, our TV was an F250 6.8L V10, short bed pickup. We had three TT's ranging in length from 19' to 29'. When we bought the last TT at 32', we noticed a tremendous amount of sway to the point we thought something was wrong with the TT (novice!). The TT manufacturer advised us to pack heavy in the rear compartments/cupboards of the TT to which we thought was ridiculous to have to do. We then started researching hitches. Our TT dealer suggested two anti-sway bars but couldn't guarantee that would work. We researched Hensley and purchased it with the money back, satisfaction guaranteed warranty and kept it, being extremely pleased with the performance.

[ckwizard777]

Tulsa_Trailer_Family wrote:
You know, I disagree with most answers here. There will be a difference with the longer trailer. It has to do with sway.

We travel with a 34' heavy trailer that is 11'6" tall. The problem is sail area and leverage these long trailers can have on your tow vehicle. But...with the proper hitch, these forces can be minimized. I am saying strongly that you need to consider a pivot projection hitch (Propride or Hensley).

Say you are towing at say 60 mph in a 20 mph drivers side cross-wind. A tractor-trailer truck with a bluff front end could pass you at 75 mph, temporarily blocking the cross-wind and creating a 'Bernoulli effect' that reduces the aerodynamic pressure on the drivers side of trailer and TV. This aero-induced pressure change also moves along the trailer with the relative speed of the truck/trailer interaction. These extreme and sudden changes in the pressure field around the trailer will exert changing forces at the pivot point. If the pivot point is behind the TV axle, the forces will cause cross-control of the TV. The distance behind the axle is the leverage of this force on the yaw control of the TV. If the forces act near or in front of the rear axle, the leverage effects of same can be significantly reduced.

I've towed 31 - 35 ft trailers with conventional WD hitches and with a Hensley hitch. You will need such a pivot projection hitch for the longer trailer. It is a worthwhile investment and allows you to tow in comfort for long distances.

This is how I solved the sway issue but I started looking for a Pro Pride and ended up finding a $200.00 Pullrite hitch on craigslist.
Anyone that is familiar with this hitch knows its a killer deal and now I have a physical pivot point behind the rr axle instead of a projected one.

[bighog01]

You will need a significant tow vehicle. You will know its back there. And the semi's do tend to move u when they pass you on the interstate. But you won't really be able to tell a difference between 25 and 32 feet. I've been pulling my 32' for the last 6 years and I can get into most campsites. Typically the longer the trailer, the easier it is to back it up. Just get a good WD hitch and you should be ok.

[Tulsa_Trailer_F]

You know, I disagree with most answers here. There will be a difference with the longer trailer. It has to do with sway.

We travel with a 34' heavy trailer that is 11'6" tall. The problem is sail area and leverage these long trailers can have on your tow vehicle. But...with the proper hitch, these forces can be minimized. I am saying strongly that you need to consider a pivot projection hitch (Propride or Hensley).

Say you are towing at say 60 mph in a 20 mph drivers side cross-wind. A tractor-trailer truck with a bluff front end could pass you at 75 mph, temporarily blocking the cross-wind and creating a 'Bernoulli effect' that reduces the aerodynamic pressure on the drivers side of trailer and TV. This aero-induced pressure change also moves along the trailer with the relative speed of the truck/trailer interaction. These extreme and sudden changes in the pressure field around the trailer will exert changing forces at the pivot point. If the pivot point is behind the TV axle, the forces will cause cross-control of the TV. The distance behind the axle is the leverage of this force on the yaw control of the TV. If the forces act near or in front of the rear axle, the leverage effects of same can be significantly reduced.

I've towed 31 - 35 ft trailers with conventional WD hitches and with a Hensley hitch. You will need such a pivot projection hitch for the longer trailer. It is a worthwhile investment and allows you to tow in comfort for long distances.

[dodge_guy]

35 feet ball-bumper. no issues for me!

[thewhitehat]

The one thing I began doing on planned trips when I went from a 25' to a 34' trailer was mapping out the gas stations I could get into with the much longer trailer and truck. I like to use google earth and pictures available on the internet to actually see how easy it's going to be to pull into and out of the gas station. Flying J truckstops have been great, because many of them have special lanes specifically for RVs and long trailers.

[APT]

I recommend spending some time at a scale to understand where you stand with respect to all your TV's ratings. Then you can decide if you have enough extra capacity for a heavier RV.

As for the length, the only difference is parking.

[jerem0621]

Enjoy the new camper, don't worry about the length.... It will pretty much be a non issue for you.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[TheGriswolds]

We went from a 27' to a 35' trailer (decided to buy a bigger truck, but that's a different story) this year. Like others said, the only bad part is that my limiting factor has been the grade of the road so I don't drag the dang spare tire on the ground. It's happend at a gas station and the entrance to a potential storage facility which we didn't end up storing at. Other than that it's a non issue.

[Hondavalk]

I had the same concerns when I went from a 26' to a 34' camper. Because of the rear axle overhang I really don't notice much difference. I did go from a WD hitch only to a Reese DC for sway control only because I was concerned about sway and thought better safe than sorry. I say go for it and enjoy.