Tips on buying a newTT

Nagaraj that's a fine floorplan. Not having a slide out could possibly feel restrictive, so have the whole family in it before you decide.

I really like the BH designs. Ours has four individual bunks. Each kid will have their own berth, complete with curtains :-) The wife really wanted a slide-out, but compromised for what we have when she saw four bunks.

I'm being strict with our weight limits/ratings because I'm inexperienced and the last thing I want is to have something happen and I not know for sure if it was because I was over some spec. After I get more miles under my belt I'll grow comfortable with judiciously exceeding ratings.

We towed a Jayco 26BH for 1.5 seasons with a Yukon XL 5.3 and did really well, except going up hills. We had an equalizer hitch system. We were close to or slightly over some of the ratings, but I never felt out of control ascending or descending mountains.

Personaly, I think you'd be fine with either trailer

Suggestions well taken.
Trying to be little more cautious regarding the trailer wt.
For my suburban specs above, thinking of going for keystone hideout 24bh with UVW of 4450 lbs!
Think should be fine with WDH and tongue rating of 1000 lbs as above mentioned.
Thoughts??

The TT you're looking at weighs almost the same dry as ours. I'm also planning a 2 week trip. In planning, I try to get weights of everything I think I'll bring, plus a 20% buffer because you never know. And then on top of that you don't want to tow more than 80% of your tow vehicle's towing capacity, to leave a safety buffer. And then the aforementioned passenger weight. So our SUV, rated to pull 8900lbs, should not pull more than 6400lb, which is right at our trailer's GVWR.

Just some things to keep in mind.

handye9 wrote:
1. Every pound of people, aftermarket accessories, cargo, weight distribution hitch, etc, that you put in, or on the tow vehicle, takes a pound away from payload and tow capacity.

What handye9 said. Also, check the height/weight charts for boys and girls. Project out what you think your children will weigh for as long as you think you'll keep that trailer/vehicle combination:

Boys
Girls

For my trailer, I projected out seven years, and assumed they were in the 95 percentile for weight. (Three little porkers.) That gave me a worst-case passenger weight to help me know if I'd be bottoming out after two years.

In our situation, we weren't close to the tow vehicle's GCWR (combined weight of vehicle+trailer) but are close to its GVWR due to the tongue pressing down on the tow vehicle, adding to the weight of the passengers, some of which are, shall we say, "fluffy." So when it's time for a trip, and especially when the kids get older, I'm getting Nazi on weight in the tow vehicle. I'm tossing out the floor mats and newspapers, and moving anything not needed while driving (e.g. cell phone chargers and drinks would be needed but tools and coolers would not be) into the trailer. Even the vehicle's spare and jack. The trick becomes remembering to put that junk back in the vehicle if I have to separate the two and go somewhere like the grocery store. Just need to develop and stick to a good checklist, and we should be alright.

We also chose a relatively lightweight hitch, which goes a long way. Each pound of hitch saved is for me worth several pounds towed.

From what you describe you could be butting up against these limits. Check and see. Also keep an eye on the GAWR.

Specs from a Chevy website, for 2015 Suburban

2WD

payload 1682 Max tow capacity 8300

4WD

payload 1643 Max tow capacity 8000


Average weights, percentages, and items to keep in mind when doing your calculations:

1. Every pound of people, aftermarket accessories, cargo, weight distribution hitch, etc, that you put in, or on the tow vehicle, takes a pound away from payload and tow capacity.

2. Brochure weights are notoriously incorrect and not normally in your favor. The trailer most likely, is heavier. A dealer could have two trailers of the same model, with different weights. Your model for example, at several online advertisements, the UVW varries by as much as 400 lbs.

3. Before the trailer leaves the dealer lot, it will gain weight from propane, battery, and any dealer installed options. The biggest gain will be tongue weight.

4. Average trailer load of dishes, pots and pans, utensils, bedding, camp chairs, BBQ equipment, groceries, toys, bicycles, and water, etc, weighs 800 - 1200 lbs.

5. Average tongue weight is about 12.5 percent of loaded trailer weight. Actual tongue weight will go up and down during every trip. Groceries and water get used up. Black and grey tanks get filled.

6. Holding tanks can have a huge impact on tongue weight. Depending on their location, in relation to the trailer axles, they can make tongue weight go up and down quite a bit. (My fresh tank has a 150 lb, up and down affect on my tongue weight)

7. First camping trip will be lower weight than any future trips. That's when you find all the things you don't have onboard. If you're on the edge (weight wise) out the gate, you're probably going to go over.


When loaded for camping, looks like that trailer will need about 800 lbs of payload.

Unless you go crazy with loading stuff, you should be OK.

I have to say that Dick B is correct. Rent what you think you want first.

We rented a 25 ft. TT for 10 days for a trip to the Ozarks. It was just the DW, the dog and me.

I learned more about TT travel in those ten days than all the years of “book learning”, PUP and tent camping had given me.

Two things you will quickly discover,
1.) Pulling a barn down the road is different and will tell you a lot about your TV.
2.) As mentioned, there is no “alone” in a TT, even the dog shifting at night is shared by all.

A weekend jaunt can help you decide but the more you can drive through towns and various roads, search for campgrounds etc. the better your feel for RVing.

Nagaraj wrote:
Thx APT. when u say "Receiver is another at 1000 pounds", are you referring to tongue wt?
Tongue wt on this particular TT is about 500 lbs.

I think your tongue weight guess is a bit low. Don't use dry weight to calculate it - use gross wght of the TT, or get it weighed at a CAT scale.

Yes, your receiver is rated at 1000 pounds of tongue weight when using a WDH. Expect any TT you purchase to increase by about 200 pounds over dry rating when loaded up for a trip.