TT n00b

[drbenzo]

I love camping and I have been a tent camper my whole life. But, the kids are 8 and 12, and it's time for an upgrade. I have been shopping trailers for about a month now, and I have narrowed it down to a few dealers and models. We have a Tundra 5.6 V8 and can tow 10K. I am looking at 30 footers essentially. As of shopping yesterday, I have narrowed it down to two main units. Our biggest requirement is bunks. We wan't the kids to be on the other side of the unit and comfortable. Here are the two units we are currently considering.

https://www.jayco.com/products/travel-trailers/2017-jay-flight/27bhs/

My wife really likes the Jayflight series, and this one met all our needs.

The equivalent Forest River brand would be the Grew Wolf series. We also like this one, but the Jayco felt like a better construction for some reason.

http://www.forestriverinc.com/product-details.aspx?LineID=248&ShowParent=1&ModelID=1629#Main

We want to be somewhat frugal, but I really liked the Sonoma series. It is about 3K more, and has a different outer layer and insulation.

http://www.forestriverinc.com/product-details.aspx?LineID=429&Image=18425&ModelID=3008#Main

If money wasn't an issue, I would be buying a Airstream but we don't need to be spending that much... well, at least till it's just me and the wife and we can buy a smaller one 😉

Does anyone have experience with these brands?

[bobndot]

I would weigh the truck, to see the real weight is with the options that your particular has. Weigh each axle to see how the weight is distributed.

I regularly see Tundra's towing 27-29 ft TT's with one slide . I think you need to do as someone suggested already, rent a TT and see if you like it . See how it feels with your Tundra and go from there. See how crosswinds feel using your truck with a TT . You might hate it ! Then you can visit the rv.net motorhome section .:B

Re trailers dry weight....i would forget that number ! They post them to attract unsuspecting buyers to make them think they can tow a 35 ft TT with a Kia.
I have never towed or hauled any trailer or truck camper that was close to a dry weight and that was from the dealers lot, empty. The RV's listed options usually bumped up dry weight numbers by 500 lbs.
My dealer used portable scales to get real weights of his units on his lot.
***many potential buyers felt they had to downsize the rv or upgrade the truck and many others went ahead with the purchase and towed for years w/o issues. Im not saying its a good idea to do that, but people do it and i see those people all the time when they return to the shop for service. Still towing, still smiling and never had an issue regarding weight.

What i see some 1500 owners do is upgrade the tires . If not for weight reasons, they simply feel better while towing.
"My truck feels kind of squishy towing this thing". Owners have said, the stiffer sidewall of an LT tire, just feels better. I guess it becomes more of a factor as you get closer to the max ratings of things.

Your trucks tires also have a weight rating stamped on the sidewall. "P" rated tires might be your limiting factor and might have to be upgraded to an LT tire. If that's the case, make sure the rims (wheels) will match any tire upgrade.


http://towingplanner.com/Calculators/TowingPayloadEstimate

http://www.rvuniversity.com/staticpages/index.php/Matching_Tow_Trailer_101

[Camper_G]

drbenzo wrote:
OKAY

Here is my Tundra info:
2016
Crew Max Short bed
5.6L V8
It looks like the "combined weight o occupants and cargo should never exceed" is 1,212lbs. It says 1270 and a small yellow stickers says mods have reduced the load carrying capacity by 58lbs.

Wow, that's a very low payload figure for a half ton truck. With that low of a payload, I'd suggest you look for smaller campers in the 25'and under size and under 6k gvwr. Don't go by dry weights. With your family of 4, gear in\on the truck, hitch weight, tongue weight, you will run out of payload very quickly.

I'd also humbly suggest you not jump from a tent right to a 30' tt. Most folks, myself included go to a pop up first or at least an older/smaller tt first.

If you want them to stay nice, TTs require a lot of maintenance. Washing, waxing, cleaning, winterizing in the fall, state inspection, etc.

Not to scare you off, they are totally worth it to me, but they are work. Good luck

[Tvov]

Since you are working out the towing math, my two bits of advice on which trailer is....

1. Make sure the bathroom is comfortable - you can sit on the toilet comfortably, the shower stall is roomy enough, and the sink is usable. We love our TT, but the toilet is too close to the wall, the shower is tiny, and the sink is hardly big enough to wash your hands in.

2. Get what the wife likes. Old, old wisdom dating back to the time of cavemen - if the wife ain't happy, no one is happy.

As to future planning - once kids hit 16 years old, it is common that they start to be less interested in camping with the parents. We bought our 21 foot TT 14 years ago, and now that the kids no longer (usually) camp with us it is a beautiful size for two people. Except, of course, for some issues with bathroom size! lol

Have fun, maybe see you on the road!

[APT]

Ignore the tow rating. Your truck's rear axle and GVWR will be greatly exceeded with a 9900 pound TT, a family in the cab, and the a bed full of camping gear.

This is tthe math on what
1200 pounds of payload
500 pounds of people in cab and stuff in the bed

700 left for TT tongue weight. That's about 5500 pounds loaded travel trailer, and 4500-5000 dry.

If you, wife, and kids are only 300 pounds and the truck bed is empty, then you have 900 pounds of TW which is closer to 7000 pound loaded TT.

[wowens79]

The LCC (load carrying capacity) on your truck is 1212lbs, that is how much total weight can be added to the truck. That weight assumes you have a full tank of fuel, and a driver. You have to take that 1212lbs, and subtract the weight of you wife and kids, and anything you put in the truck(bikes, dog, firewood, chairs, etc), then you have to subtract the weight of the hitch (about 100lb). Then you still have to subtract the tongue weight of the camper.

The tongue weight on these trailers once you get them loaded is going to be 900-1000lbs. With a 1212lb LCC, that only leaves about 200-300lbs of capacity, when the wife and kids get in, you will probably be overloaded before you add any bikes, toys etc to the bed of the truck.

Unfortunately I think you need to look for a little smaller trailer.

[drbenzo]

Jebby14 wrote:
1200lbs - weight of your family - weight of your gear - weight of your hitch - 13 percent of your trailers loaded weight = available payload. This needs to be a positive number. keep in mind things like propane and a battery and pots and pans and water and bedding and any other stuff you put in the trailer is not included in its weight. Heck some options aren't even included. I personally think you are looking at a smaller camper or bigger truck but with careful planning you could sneak inside the numbers by just a hair.

Could you expand on this equation a bit?

"1200lbs - weight of your family - weight of your gear - weight of your hitch - 13 percent of your trailers loaded weight = available payload. "

What is available payload?
Is trailers loaded weight the weight with all the gear, water, propane etc included with the dry weight?

[drbenzo]

So I found some more info on my truck!
GVWR: 7000lb
GAWR: FRT 3900lb, RR 4150lb
LCC: 1212
Tow: 9,900

Does the weight of my hitch include the WDH?

[Santa_Fe]

FWIW, I'd choose Jayco in your situation. They were the runner up for me when I was shopping last year.

[qtla9111]

Have you checked out the Tundra forums? You'll get first-hand advice from those over there that tow.

Tundra Talk

Tundras.com

You'll be fine. If you're not doing boondocking there's no need to run around with full tans which reduces the load quite a bit. I'm not a believer in overkill.

We've always towed with SUVs and after 15 years I wouldn't change a thing. Have a great setup and use the tow/sway bar.

Have fun!

[Jebby14]

1200lbs - weight of your family - weight of your gear - weight of your hitch - 13 percent of your trailers loaded weight = available payload. This needs to be a positive number. keep in mind things like propane and a battery and pots and pans and water and bedding and any other stuff you put in the trailer is not included in its weight. Heck some options aren't even included. I personally think you are looking at a smaller camper or bigger truck but with careful planning you could sneak inside the numbers by just a hair.

[beemerphile1]

drbenzo wrote:
...it has about 6000lb's of dry weight. If my vehicle's tow capacity is 9,900lbs, it would seem to me that I have about 3900lbs of leeway of payload capacity. Am I simplifying this too much....

You are making a common mistake that most of us also made in the beginning.

You will tow that "dry weight" one time and that is the day you take it home.

A family of four will require lots of gear, food, water, and other stuff. You should forget the dry or empty weight and only consider the GVWR of the TT. The GVWR is much closer to what it will actually weigh when loaded for camping.

After finding the GVWR, figure about 12 to 15 percent of that number will be on the back of the truck. The GVWR is mandated by federal law to be on the info placard of the TT which also has the serial number and tire information.

You will want to use a weight distribution hitch (WDH) but that doesn't change any numbers or ratings.

If you really only have a truck cargo capacity of 1,200 pounds, you will be limited to a trailer of about 5,000 to 6,000 pounds loaded.

[hohenwald48]

Tow vehicle "tow rating" is seldom the limit reached first when applied to a travel trailer as they will have a significant tongue weight. If you were towing another vehicle (like a motorhome towing a car) then it would be different as there would be nearly zero tongue weight and "tow rating" would be the limiting factor.

A travel trailers "tongue weight" will usually deplete a tow vehicles "cargo capacity" before "tow capacity" is reached.

TT brochure weights (dry and tongue) are usually significantly understated.

[rbpru]

One other piece of information I would like to offer is, we rented a TT similar to what we wanted before we bought.

This gave us a feel for what we were getting into before we spent the big bucks. Namely 10 mpg, 60 mph, 300 mile days and being passed by everything on the road. 🙂

We answered a lot of questions very quickly. We also discovered that RVing and tent camping have two very differed feels.

We have towed over 25,000 miles in three years since then, so obviously we enjoy the RV lifestyle. Though we still have the tent and canoe.

[westend]

There is a trailer weight calculator floating around the Web but I don't have the link. Maybe someone will post it.

Basically, your target maximum weight is calculated by subtracting any weight of cargo and passengers from your payload and then using the remainder for the weight of a WDH and the tongue weight of the trailer.

If your payload is 1212, you subtract the weight of any passengers besides the driver and the cargo. Lets say your passenger weight is 200 (Mom and a kid). You now have 1012 left. Firewood, the camp chairs, the water toys or fishing gear in the bed all add up,lets say another 100 lbs. You're now down to 912. You buy a WDH and it's total weight with bars and all is 100 lb., 812 final tongue weight maximum. Divide that number by .13 and you will have the average gross weight target of the trailer at 6246. You may wish to have some leeway with that and aim lower. You may wish to ignore the payload ratings of your truck and pull more weight.