Smaller bunk house trailer recommendations
My wife and I are looking to enter the travel trailer world. We've been attracted to the 15-19 foot bunk house as we will be towing with a 4.6L Tundra with two young boys to stow in the bunks (not ...
Forum Discussion
Glad to hear you got a new 5.7 liter V8 Toyota tow vehicle. That truck will handle either 7,500 lbs or 10,000 pounds depending on year and model. This is a great place to get information....something's more than you want....Having been "around this block" a few times starting back in 1985 and having been there and done that with two children I must say you may have started with too small a unit.
We started with a 16 ft. Travel Trailer and quickly moved up to a 24 footer.
The 16 was too small...the 24 did work. It was a bunk house that had plenty of storage, full bath and kitchen. It was a light weight and towed well with a 6 cylinder automatic with trans cooler plus weight distribution hitch with sway control.
First thing you must do is confirm your towing capacity and never exceed it. You have a great truck. I owned one a few years back. Mine had a V8. I currently tow a light weight (3370 lbs dry weight)
R-Vision Trail-Lite 26 ft TT. I found it used in mint condition. My current tow vehicle is a Toyota FJ LandCruiser with a 4 liter VVTI V6 engine and 5 speed automatic trans with trans cooler installed after market by a qualified transmission shop.
I include all this info so you can begin the process of towing using all the right equipment.
Now some simple advise: First explore the used market...only consider units that are in excellent condition. Try to buy from the original owner...hopefully someone who is trading up after using the TT for one or two years and needs a bigger one or has decided the RV life isn't for him! This will save you lots of cash and you can ask a lot of questions of the original owner and not an RV salesman.
RV salesmen, like auto salesmen often will say whatever you want to hear....you can tell if they are lying (their lips are moving!).
Double check the weight of the unit ( stay 10% under your max towing capacity).
Tires....check mfg date codes.
Try to picture your family living in the Trailer on a rainy day...any trailer will work on a sunny day!
Look at a lot of different trailers and ask a lot of questions.
Then go camping. Try both full service RV campgrounds, Resort campgrounds and my favorite...
Rustic Natural Lakefront State Park campgrounds (they have the largest site often with privacy.
If you enjoy rustic camping next thing might be a small inverter-class generator for the boondocks!
Buy a canoe or a few Kayaks...ENJOY!
Happy Camping.
We started with a 16 ft. Travel Trailer and quickly moved up to a 24 footer.
The 16 was too small...the 24 did work. It was a bunk house that had plenty of storage, full bath and kitchen. It was a light weight and towed well with a 6 cylinder automatic with trans cooler plus weight distribution hitch with sway control.
First thing you must do is confirm your towing capacity and never exceed it. You have a great truck. I owned one a few years back. Mine had a V8. I currently tow a light weight (3370 lbs dry weight)
R-Vision Trail-Lite 26 ft TT. I found it used in mint condition. My current tow vehicle is a Toyota FJ LandCruiser with a 4 liter VVTI V6 engine and 5 speed automatic trans with trans cooler installed after market by a qualified transmission shop.
I include all this info so you can begin the process of towing using all the right equipment.
Now some simple advise: First explore the used market...only consider units that are in excellent condition. Try to buy from the original owner...hopefully someone who is trading up after using the TT for one or two years and needs a bigger one or has decided the RV life isn't for him! This will save you lots of cash and you can ask a lot of questions of the original owner and not an RV salesman.
RV salesmen, like auto salesmen often will say whatever you want to hear....you can tell if they are lying (their lips are moving!).
Double check the weight of the unit ( stay 10% under your max towing capacity).
Tires....check mfg date codes.
Try to picture your family living in the Trailer on a rainy day...any trailer will work on a sunny day!
Look at a lot of different trailers and ask a lot of questions.
Then go camping. Try both full service RV campgrounds, Resort campgrounds and my favorite...
Rustic Natural Lakefront State Park campgrounds (they have the largest site often with privacy.
If you enjoy rustic camping next thing might be a small inverter-class generator for the boondocks!
Buy a canoe or a few Kayaks...ENJOY!
Happy Camping.
