T T Decision Time

[piconroy]

Hello to all. I'm still a relative newbie. I have been researching TTs as the wife has won the debate over going with; drive it or tow it! We are looking at 24-26' possibly 28' max TT. Of course there are many manufactures to choose from and each has floor plans that are similar and would fit our needs. Electronics & appliances are more or less the same in each. So now I'm down to who are the better TT manufactures. Researching this on the Web is quite frankly a waste of time. The best you will get is a top 5 or top 10 list and without much justification for the rankings. Searching the Web for quality info leave much to be desired

So, given we have narrowed down to a size, a floor plan or 2, I need some experienced help on the not so visible considerations. Recommendations on framing, roofing, Siding, flooring, springs vs shocks, Slide mechanical parts (tracks), In general what should I look to upgrade vs taking the std stuff.

I have seen many complaints about Forest River & Bullet leaks, multiple brand stories about slides not fully retracting etc. Why are there so many late model Forest River for sale at rvtrader? I have seen multiple brand complaints about abnormal tire wear and that many are probably related to axles bending. In this case I like the Minnie as they come with dual 3,500 lb axles vs what looks like std 3,000,lb on the others. There are tons of Coachmen out there but many people rip them on quality, why?

We are based in FL but will be traveling much of N America 6-8 weeks at a time over the next 7-10 years. The unit will definitely get some cold weather exposure too. For the foreseeable future we will tow with a 2014 2x2 5.7 Tundra extended cab. I will beef up my tires on the next replacement. I will add a distribution & sway system. This should take me to 10,200 Tundra tow limit but I plan to keep my weight to a total not to exceed 7,000-8,000 lbs max.

My research and conversations with owners and sellers has clearly led me to believe that IF we buy new or used and IF we buy from a dealer we need to be extremely careful in choosing which dealer. It's unbelievable that in this day & age that some of these guys can get away with lousy service and a I don't care about you attitude. I was actually told by one dealer in Southern MD "if you don't but it here then don't bring it here" Remember the days before Honda, Toyota, and Datsun, arrived on our shores how the auto dealers were? Well, it's apparently much the same today in the RV industry. Seriously, I would take 500 miles if need be if the Dealer was worth it.

So, in the end it only make sense to find the best built and hopefully eliminate ans many trips back to the dealer as possible. So, what ever advice you can provide it would be greatly appreciated. Also if you have a dealer or service shop you have full faith in then that would be good info too. We will probably purchase a unit in the next 30 days. So, if you love your unit & your dealer let me know about it

I'm going to try and copy to this to another Forum. So you may see this twice. PAT

[Skelshy]

Don't get too worried about the "weight police" people. It is true the advertised max tow rating is an extreme upper limit, and there are other factors like payload that might restrict the weight that you can tow.

Start with an RV show to find out the features and layouts you like. Once the must haves are a little clearer, it's not that hard to find similar units and/or to find a lighter weight or better quality version of what you are looking at. RV manufacturers copy from each other all the time.

Most manufacturers have different lines built towards different price points.

Have fun!

[piconroy]

2012coleman thanks for hanging in there with me on the towing. I'm not really interested in swapping out trucks just to improve towability. So, I guess I'll narrow my TT search to shorter and lighter units. If I can't find something that works then I reconsider other options

[piconroy]

djsamuel thanks for the Camplite lead. Nice units look well built and do come in lite. I did a rvtrader and a dealer search. Not too many out there and closest dealer is in Key Largo. I will keep my eye out for them thanks.

[2012Coleman]

OP wrote:
If my trailer dry weight is 5,500 lbs and we add 1,500 pounds of supplies travel (including propane) with drained tanks save of bit of fresh water then my tongue weight should come in around 700 lbs which is below the 15 lbs over the above. Add to this that properly equipped the Tundra is rated at towing up to 10,100 lbs and I'm at 7,0000 lbs / 69 of the total towing capacity and I'm at 87 of the GCWR of 16,000 lbs the then what am I missing ?

Your trucks towing capacity is basically meaningless. Sure, it probably could pull the 10,000 pound weighted flat trailer used to determine this number.

What your missing is that payload will be exceeded before you reach your towing capacity. A lot of payload is taken up by tongue weight. Even the weight of the WDH setup you plan on getting subtracts from payload.

So you estimate 5500 lbs + 1500 lbs of gear + some fresh water. Lets say your hauling 10 gallons. At 8.34 lbs per gallon, that's 83.4 lbs. So just calculating tongue weight given these weights is (5500 lbs + 1500 + 83.4) X .13 = 920 lbs.

Check your manual or door jamb sticker for the statement weight of occupants and cargo should not exceed xxxx lbs. What is that number?

Subtract 920 lbs from it. Now, subtract the weight f your camper shell, then approx 100 lbs for the WDH setup, then weight of passengers, pets and cargo.

The high front wall of the camper is a sail. Much different towing experience.

I'm not dissing on your Tundra - they are great tow vehicles. In your case, I'd take the advice to load it up and weigh it. Otherwise, go with it and let the chips fall where they may.

Again - good luck.

[djsamuel]

piconroy wrote:
Hey all, Some very good advice and experience sharing. Still a bit confused on some of the emphatic trailer-ing advice. This will not be my first trailer-ing rodeo. With this Tundra and other 150s/1500s I have towed 7-8,000 lb loads for (all be it flat and eastern mtn.) thousands of miles without incident.

So, this is for the guys who have said I'm missing the trailer-ability of my Tundra......In looking at a TT I realized the trailer has a different profile but weight is weight. Adding distribution and sway should only help. So if my package is in the 7,000 +/- range and yes I'm not stupidly loading up the truck then I don't understand why some think I'm overdoing it. My GVWR is 6,900 lbs. My GAWR FRTis 3,900 lbs / RR is 4,100 lbs / my combined weight rating is 1,520 lbs. So, lets assume that me and the wife total 300 lbs, the dog in the back 70 lbs, camper shell @ 250 +/- msc gear 100 lbs and I think we add in gas too at full tank at 115 lbs all totaling 835 lbs leaving me 685 lbs of tongue weight. If my trailer dry weight is 5,500 lbs and we add 1,500 pounds of supplies travel (including propane) with drained tanks save of bit of fresh water then my tongue weight should come in around 700 lbs which is below the 15 lbs over the above. Add to this that properly equipped the Tundra is rated at towing up to 10,100 lbs and I'm at 7,0000 lbs / 69% of the total towing capacity and I'm at 87% of the GCWR of 16,000 lbs the then what am I missing ?

Now I don't want to push any limits, mechanical, safety, comfort. SO, I can see I might want to drop down a bit to a 22-24' where I can start off with a 4,500-5,000 lb dry weight but I really think I'm in the ball park, don't you? Off course before I buy anything we will hook it up and go off to the scales to be certain.

PAT PS: I take all advice seriously so please keep it coming

We tow a Camplite 21BHS with a Ram 1500 with no problems. We've gone from Florida out to Utah and Arizona and up to Tennessee as well. We love the trailer and the light weight yet rugged construction. It costs a bit more, but it is a solid today as it was when we bought it almost 4 years ago. It may not be what you are looking for, but you can easily tow it with your Tundra. May be worth a look.

Camplite 21BHS

Camplite 21RBS

[Bobbo]

piconroy wrote:
Two Msc Questions Please,
1) in one response it said "image not shown due to your preference settings"
How do I change this?

1. Click on "My Forums" above.
2. Click on "My Preferences"
3. Scroll down to "General Preferences"
4. Click on "Show images that are part of posts ( not recommended for dial-up users )"
5. Scroll down and click on "Submit Changes"


2) How do I upload a photo or pdf showing for example the towing specs of my truck?

Upload the photo to a photo hosting service.
I use PhotoBucket, but there are others. The photo hosting site will give you a url for the photo. Post that url here between "{img}" and "{/img}" but use square brackets instead of the curly brackets I used. I am going to post a photo below. You can quote this message and look at how I did the url. FWIW, both dogs and the MH I am driving are all gone now.

[piconroy]

Two Msc Questions Please,
1) in one response it said "image not shown due to your preference settings"
How do I change this?
2) How do I upload a photo or pdf showing for example the towing specs of my truck?

[piconroy]

Hey all, Some very good advice and experience sharing. Still a bit confused on some of the emphatic trailer-ing advice. This will not be my first trailer-ing rodeo. With this Tundra and other 150s/1500s I have towed 7-8,000 lb loads for (all be it flat and eastern mtn.) thousands of miles without incident.

So, this is for the guys who have said I'm missing the trailer-ability of my Tundra......In looking at a TT I realized the trailer has a different profile but weight is weight. Adding distribution and sway should only help. So if my package is in the 7,000 +/- range and yes I'm not stupidly loading up the truck then I don't understand why some think I'm overdoing it. My GVWR is 6,900 lbs. My GAWR FRTis 3,900 lbs / RR is 4,100 lbs / my combined weight rating is 1,520 lbs. So, lets assume that me and the wife total 300 lbs, the dog in the back 70 lbs, camper shell @ 250 +/- msc gear 100 lbs and I think we add in gas too at full tank at 115 lbs all totaling 835 lbs leaving me 685 lbs of tongue weight. If my trailer dry weight is 5,500 lbs and we add 1,500 pounds of supplies travel (including propane) with drained tanks save of bit of fresh water then my tongue weight should come in around 700 lbs which is below the 15 lbs over the above. Add to this that properly equipped the Tundra is rated at towing up to 10,100 lbs and I'm at 7,0000 lbs / 69% of the total towing capacity and I'm at 87% of the GCWR of 16,000 lbs the then what am I missing ?

Now I don't want to push any limits, mechanical, safety, comfort. SO, I can see I might want to drop down a bit to a 22-24' where I can start off with a 4,500-5,000 lb dry weight but I really think I'm in the ball park, don't you? Off course before I buy anything we will hook it up and go off to the scales to be certain.

PAT PS: I take all advice seriously so please keep it coming

[FrankShore]

If you're looking for a very well built lightweight that can accommodate your current tow vehicle, I'd suggest Lance. They're spendy but worth every penny!

Lance Travel Trailers

[falconbrother]

First off, your wife called it dead right. I have had the motorhome and, speaking strictly for me and mine, we wont do that again.

We have had various RVs in three decades. Over time we figured out the things we wanted the most. A walk around bed, a slide out, a roomy bathroom. Three biggies. Then, central air and all at a towable weight. Then, we wanted new or nearly new. Bought new. We don't enjoy the buying process, at all. So, we did our research and went looking on a Saturday, found a new unit on sale, knew it was a really good price, bought it right there, never looked back.

There is no perfect. We are pretty close to thrilled with our camper, keeping in mind 30 years of used RVs. See yourself in that camper after two solid weeks. What things are important to you for comfort and that fits your lifestyle. As we get older we basically want a small vacation house that we can take to where we want to go. We don't do extended road trips (at this time, maybe never). We go to our destination and stay the week. But, we could do a road trip if we decided. The last true road trip we did with an RV was pulling the old Prowler and that was in like, 1992-ish. It was amazingly fun and we had zero breakdowns.

[tomkaren13]

I am going to shout at you! You would you be surprised at how soon you will reach the towing capicity of your Tundra. Got to figure you and DW weight, water fuel and even propane into the towing weight!

GET A BIGGER TOW VEHICLE!

[2012Coleman]

OP wrote:
For the foreseeable future we will tow with a 2014 2x2 5.7 Tundra extended cab. I will beef up my tires on the next replacement. I will add a distribution & sway system. This should take me to 10,200 Tundra tow limit but I plan to keep my weight to a total not to exceed 7,000-8,000 lbs max.

You may need to research your Tundra's capacities a little more than this. For instance, your tongue weight at your max planned weight may exceed your Tundra's specs. Payload needs to be considered as well - do you know about payload and what weights subtract from it? Have you loaded the truck for camping including all the stuff you'll be putting in the bed along with family members and pets and had it weighed at a scale?

[Downwindtracke1]

My neighbor just bought a used toy hauler,'08. It leaks. So he's resealing. The thing is, if he bought a new one, he would be doing the same thing in a couple of years. I know I did. I bet if you pulled the vinyl strip on any corner you will find rusty headed screws. If undo the screw you will find rusty threads. Leak !! When you buy a trailer, buy a case or two of Proflex.

[rbpru]

Lots of good advice. I suggest you do what we did.

Select the TT size and floor plan you think you want and rent it or a similar sized unit for a week or ten days of travel.

You will learn a lot from towing one of these barns behind you and living with the floor plan you think you want.

We settled on a 25 ft. 3 year old used unit with a big bath, couch/bed for the dog and a small slide out.

Floor plan lives on when all else is forgotten. 🙂