Travel Trailer Advice

[slashnburn]

We are looking to purchase our first travel trailer. We started looking around and found a few that we really liked. Unfortunately, I posted on an F150 forum to see if they would be too long. While they were, in fact, too long, they were also too heavy. It isn't a matter of towing capacity for my truck (~11000lbs), it is the payload capacity (1596). With all of that said, I am still trying to find a travel trailer that will work with my current truck, but thought I would ask here for suggestions. In an ideal world, we would have: a bunkhouse, a door to the bedroom, decent amount of space (two little ones and a big dog), outdoor kitchen, awning, dinette, and sofa. I am trying to stay around 7000lbs when loaded up. That would leave me with a hitch weight of 900 pounds. Any suggestions?

[Terryallan]

slashnburn wrote:

Terryallan wrote:
Look at APEX/My 30' Apex bunk house came in at 4811lb dry, and right at 6000lbs loaded. Tows easy. Look around. what you need it out there.

That is probably what we're going to go with. The Sunset Trails isn't readily available around here. Do you have the 288BHS? Do you like it? Did you can any upgrades?

I have a 2013 288BHS. I like We like it fine. The only problem we hade with it, was that it sat to low. Which I thought I wanted at the time. but it was bad to drag the rear end on up hill transitions. So I had it raised. I don't think the newer ones sit as low as mine did. We also didn't like the hard master bed. I had a friend that worked at a foam factory cut us a 4" piece of foam, and put it under the bed. Sleeps REAL GOOD now. The only other thing I did to is, was to add hold up shocks to the bed storage. It didn't have any.

It tows great, and had held up very well. It is now 8 years old, and far as I know doesn't leak. Well it did leak alittle thru one of the top clearance lights. Not all the way thru, but got the carboard wet under the GelCoat, and buckled a little. but has now pulled it self back to where it was. That was last fall. Really my fault. I missed recaulking that light when I did all the rest of the caulking.

I wax it once a year, and it sits under a pole shed. It still looks very nice. We can't complain about it, It was bought to sleep the entire family, and it has. we had 10 people sleeping in it at the beach for several years. Been thru 2 hurricanes, and a couple near miss tornadoes. which is really nothing to compare with the 65 MPH earthquake it goes thru every time it leaves the yard.

What ever you get. remember the first rule. Enjoy!, and NEVER make it harder than it has to be.

[wanderingaimles]

slashnburn wrote:

Terryallan wrote:
Look at APEX/My 30' Apex bunk house came in at 4811lb dry, and right at 6000lbs loaded. Tows easy. Look around. what you need it out there.

That is probably what we're going to go with. The Sunset Trails isn't readily available around here. Do you have the 288BHS? Do you like it? Did you can any upgrades?

Edit correction
Did a quick dealer search for the CrossRoads Sunset trail dealers,
found a dealer in Md.
Md dealer

[Grit_dog]

Advice:
Read some of the 100s or 1000s of threads in here asking the same question. You have the same truck and looking for the same trailer and some will tell you that you can't tow much more than a popup camper due to the magical payload number and others understand trucks and will advise otherwise.
Good luck camper shopping!

[slashnburn]

Terryallan wrote:
Look at APEX/My 30' Apex bunk house came in at 4811lb dry, and right at 6000lbs loaded. Tows easy. Look around. what you need it out there.

That is probably what we're going to go with. The Sunset Trails isn't readily available around here. Do you have the 288BHS? Do you like it? Did you can any upgrades?

[drsteve]

slashnburn wrote:


Apparently I can't post links....

New members cannot post links for the first 30 days, I believe....

[Terryallan]

Look at APEX/My 30' Apex bunk house came in at 4811lb dry, and right at 6000lbs loaded. Tows easy. Look around. what you need it out there.

[TomG2]

To the OP. Congratulations for investigating instead of buying and then complaining. Personally, I like plenty of truck and will sacrifice floor space for a more enjoyable tow. I use travel trailers for travel, not for mobile housing. They make mobile homes for that. Less trailer + more truck = more fun. (For me)

You have plenty of truck for some very usable trailers that weigh under 6,000 pounds loaded and ready for RV excitement.

[ajriding]

Never heard of a trailer too long to tow (not about legality). Do you think a longer trailer will be too wiley? It is the little trailers that get wiley, not the long ones.The little toy-sized trailers you see folded up at Northerntool are the short ones, not a camper, but get quite squirrely back there, but are too light to matter.
Length equals stability?
Manuevering around town and corners is different

[wanderingaimles]

Saw one the other day that may work.
sunset trail
With a dry weight of 5400 and loaded around 72 depending on what you carry, this punches all your buttons.
Not the most common brand, dont know about availability in your area.

[kellem]

CFerguson wrote:
See if the Aerolite 242BH floorplan works for you.

I like this recommendation for OP's truck and naturally with WDH.
Most of the 25 footers I've looked at start entering into 2500 series trucks, Lance may be an exception.

[CFerguson]

See if the Aerolite 242BH floorplan works for you.

[slashnburn]

Walaby wrote:

slashnburn wrote:

bid_time wrote:
Aerolite 2843BH ***Link Removed***

Those are almost 6k dry.

Actually the 2843 he linked to is almost 7K dry.

I comfortably towed a 6800(ish) lb fully loaded trailer with my Silverado half ton. That's about the max I would personally do with a half ton.

You might be a bridge too far with a bunkhouse requirement.

Mike

Here are the models I have found:

Apparently I can't post links....

Passport 240BH
Bullet 273BHS
Outback Ultra Lite 257BHS
Freedom Express Ultra Lite 257BHS
Apex Ulta Lite 288BHS

[Walaby]

slashnburn wrote:

bid_time wrote:
Aerolite 2843BH ***Link Removed***

Those are almost 6k dry.

Actually the 2843 he linked to is almost 7K dry.

I comfortably towed a 6800(ish) lb fully loaded trailer with my Silverado half ton. That's about the max I would personally do with a half ton.

You might be a bridge too far with a bunkhouse requirement.

Mike

[Lwiddis]

"it is the payload capacity (1596)....I am trying to stay around 7000lbs when loaded up. That would leave me with a hitch weight of 900 pounds."

Seven hundred pounds of "left over" payloand with you, DW, two kids and a big dog means you won't be carrying much in the truck, not much at all. Thirteen per cent of hitch weight is a minimum IMO.

"Too long" is in the eye of the driver. I like my 22 foot TT box length but have friends who think 30+ feet is easy.