What are advantages and disadvantages of travel trailers

[newatrvinginohi]

Hello everybody, we are new to this site and exploring rving. We are pretty sure we want to get a travel trailer and have some questions.

We are not rushing into this decision as we are planning on renting a travel trailer this spring or summer and taking it out for a week. We will then be renting a fifth wheel and also taking it out sometime. We have actually been looking into this for 3 years and will not purchase for at least 18 months. So, we plan on getting a lot of practice in before we purchase.

We are also a family that has extensive camping experience as we are the proud parents of two Eagle Scouts and got to do plenty of camping while they were growing up (tents, bare ground, cabins).

1. How do you secure the travel trailer when you want to take your truck and drive somewhere else and would you say it is pretty safe to leave your travel trailer once secured?

2. Can you park travel trailers in Walmart, Target, etc. or non-rv camping sites? I am asking this because I assume that Walmart parking lots, Target parking lots, etc., don't have a hookup to hook your travel trailer up to and I assume it wouldn't be real secure sitting in a non rv park. Is this correct?

3. What do you think are advantages/disadvantages to having a travel trailer versus a fifth wheel or other RV?

Thanks!!

[DutchmenSport]

Wow! seems everyone jumped on this bandwagon! Lots of good advise and suggestions here. I didn't read every response in detail, just did a quick skim.

So, I'll go back to the original questions and give my wonderful 2 cents worth of experience also. I'm only standing on my own soap box, no one else's (my own experience)...

1. How do you secure the travel trailer ...
2. Can you park travel trailers in Walmart...

These 2 questions can be answered together. I am one of those who does have concerns about RV theft and vandalism. I am also overly cautious with my personal safety and the safety of anyone with me (especially my wife). We travel with 2 dogs and a cat.

We don't overnight anywhere except in established campgrounds, usually KOA's or Good Sam campgrounds, occasionally a State Park if one is conveniently located on our route. Being in an established campground eliminates a lot of the fear of someone hitching up and taking off with your camper. If they want to take anything, they are more likely to take your propane tanks and battery off the trailer A-frame. But, that's also why you carry full coverage insurance too.

When traveling, and site seeing, we find somewhere to park the truck and trailer and never unhitch or separate them. Everything is locked down, and that's the best we can do. We choose our parking spots carefully and thoughtfully, and never park anywhere that even remotely looks questionable. We can then walk to whatever we are interested in seeing at that location.

If we are camped in an established campground, we have no problems unhitching, I use a trailer hitch lock, the jacks are down, slides are out, and doors are locked. If someone want to steal the trailer, they're going to have to work to make it movable first. And thieves don't like to work. They want easy targets.

3. What do you think are advantages/disadvantages to having a travel trailer versus a fifth wheel or other RV?

We went from tent camping for years, to a Pop-Up for 6 years, to three different travel trailers, each one longer than the one before. We are travel trailer people and that's our niche.

The SECRET to successful towing is to have an over-kill of a tow vehicle. We towed with a Chevy Surburban 1500 and it destroyed the transmission in about 3 months. We then decided we wanted the biggest, baddest, truck we could find. At the time, it was a duly 3500 Chevy Silverado gas model. And we never looked back again. Second and third trucks were 3500 Chevy Silverado duly long bed diesel trucks that towed strong as an elephant. Our truck is probably still an over kill for our 35 foot trailer now, but overkill equals a comfortable, no threatening, relaxed tow in ANY condition or on ANY road or incline. THAT is the secret to successful, relaxing towing! Truck over-kill!

Now matter what you settle on, get MORE truck than you think you'll ever need. You will not regret it towing!

Why a travel trailer? So we can carry a shell on the bed of the pick-up truck. The shell is a construction style shed, with full length side tool-boxes (doors), with 2 enclosed shelves and full length doors. This provides LOTS of shelf space, easy to access on both sides of the truck and still leaves the entire bed of the truck empty for other large items, like portable generator, air compressor, extra 35 gallon water tank, portable sewer tote, step ladder, doggie carrier, hoses, tool boxes, and spare tire for the trailer.

Plus the shell (originally) came with a ladder rack so we could carry our canoe on top. Yea, the canoe. Easy to transport upside down on top of the truck bed shell. Thus the reason for not getting a 5er. (now you know the rest of the story).

It cannot be emphasized enough that you purchase a tow vehicle that is not just "marginal" at towing, but truly an overkill at towing. If you do, you'll have an enjoyable, leisurely, traveling experience. Yes, a (new) duly (provides a LOT of stability) diesel, long bed, 3500 will cost in the neighborhood of $60,000 to $80,000. But it's worth every penny when it comes to towing!

These are MY experiences! No one else's. Others can agree or disagree, but these are the decision I've made, and we've had 100% trouble free camping experiences for over 30 years.

Good luck!

[newatrvinginohi]

Trying to catch up on replying to all you great folks. I will reply in a few posts.

**Turnthepage--Very good points to consider....thanks so much. Never knew that on the travel trailers and their weight requirements. I am definitely passing all this technical information to my husband and he is definitely taking it all in. In fact, someone on here suggested looking into youtube. He has now been looking at Youtube for the last 2 hours. We are definitely gathering all the information we can on this subject. Thanks so much for your help. I like knowing the difference with the travel trailer versus fifth wheel with going off roading. Thanks.

**I think you probably saw the updates, but we are thinking of spring or summer and are very flexible with either one of these. It will just depend on our schedules for when we rent a tt. I am defnitely passing all of this information on to my husband about the truck size, etc., because I am not naturally mechanically inclined to understand this stuff. He is a total car guy who appreciates all the mechanical things that go with any vehicles. Thanks.

**theoldwizard1--Thanks so much for all the info. We are learning a lot for sure with these posts. I would not have thought of how difficult renting the fifth wheel would be compared to the tt. It is great advice about not taking valuables. I can totally understand that and had not thought of that before. Great information about Walmart....we definitely appreciate the information. Thanks for all the information and also your points about tts being easier to tow with more space.

**gmw photos--Thanks so much for your thoughts. I am definitely passing on the technical information about the trucks to my hubby who is pretty knowledgeable on the mechanics of a lot of vehicles, unlike me. Just reading all these posts has a thinking in a new direction with renting. We originally were going to rent for a whole week and go to another state. However, now we are thinking maybe renting a few days and staying closer to where we rent the tt from and really practing driving, backing up, etc. We also want to get a feel for spending the night in one, using the shower, toilets and then figuring out how to take care of the waters (gray, black, etc.). Yes, we are definitely looking at the fun part with this. Part of the fun when we do this is being retired and being able to be on our own schedule and take it all at our own pace. Thanks again for all the information.

**Jbarca--that is awesome, we might be neighbors. We are in the Toledo area but have also lived over in the Dayton area. My job has me traveling all over Ohio. Scouting, both boy scouts and girl scouts are awesome organizations and glad you all had a chance to be part of that. Yes, we definitely consider rving a huge step up from the tents and the baregrounds we had with boy scouting...lol. Yes, we have had so many responses, we are overwhelmed and I have gone over everything with my hubby. We are now rethinking some things because of the great responses. We know it will be a learning curve and it will take some mistakes, etc. before we get it down pat. Ohio does have some awesome state parks and doing some camping there would be a great idea. Yes when we rent this, we want to get a feel for everything including backing, backing, backing, lots of driving, hooking, unhooking, locking, changing waters and figuring out lines, gasing up, etc. Great idea on renting a smaller unit, which would probably be wise. We definitely want to practice with renting a uhaul too and practice backing it first. You brought up some points, about the trees and the low bridges. Great question about us being handy. Maybe with some things, but probably not all. My husband is a good driver (don't want that to go to his head).....lol. But, I have no doubt he can figure the backing and driving fairly well. The repairs, etc. it depends. But we will be retired and will then have time to learn new skills...lol. You have given quite a lot of great information and we are going to digest it all. Thank you so much and maybe we can see you rving sometime in Ohio.

**Soundguy---I think the popups would be fine, but there are things I want like a bathroom in the trailer. I had too many years of going to the boyscout camp bathrooms at night which as a woman who is fearful of snakes, that was not my cup of tea. However, your idea of starting out with a popup and working up makes a lot of sense.

**gmw photos----I have passed on the information from the mechanical engineer to my hubby who is an electrical engineer and completely understands this stuff. Yes, my husband has read thru all the posts about the trucks and he understands this pretty well. We will do lots more exploring about this though. Which resort are you at? We would definitely be willing to go to some rv parks and walk around and talk to people. I have never been known to be shy...lol. Thank you for all the great information.

**rexilon-- Yes, the reasons you described and others are why we don't want a pop up. We are trying to figure out the smallest unit we can get based on our needs. If we knew it was primarily going to be us traveling, we could do fairly small. I don't want our adult children to feel like we don't ever want them with us though and are weighing that out now on the size. Your points make a lot of sense. Thanks and yes we are starting to feel like two kids in a candy store the closer we get to retirement. As we near it, we have smiles on our faces more often...lol.

**profdant139---I know I don't need to respond to everybody, but I am very appreciative to everybody who has taken the time to respond. I want to make sure I try to do this Now, when work starts this week, I will not have time, but I do today...lol. Yes, we are soo hoping to have a lot of fun doing this and cannot wait to get started. Thanks!

**timstartrvlr--Thanks for your ideas and yes exploring the rv parks is a great idea. I don't mind at all going up to strangers and starting friendly converstations. This will be a great learning opportunity for us. Thanks for that suggestion. Stairs is definitely a great thing to think about. For us, right now, it is no problem, who knows later on. Also, the layout I know is super important and we know some of what we want. Hubby wants no more than one pullout. We would also like to have a door from the outside to go to the bathroom so no tracking of mud thru the entire trailer to use the bathroom. So, at least we have those things figured out...lol. Thanks for all the info. We do plan on buying used eventually once we figure out what we want. We figure at least that way, we could probably put about 10k or so into a used and it wouldn't be as expensive as many of the other rvs. Thanks!!

**gmw photo--We will be happy to share pictures of our adventures and will share pics of the rental when we do that. Thanks again for your help.

**ken56---Wow you sure have a big unit....I can imagine that would be tough to get around into different spaces. Sounds like you have some great rving experience which sounds like so much fun. We plan on taking our time. We will be retired and I for one will not be rushing for anybody at that time...lol. Thank you so much and the more I type and respond, the more excited we are both getting about our future adventures.

**Poohper--You have had if for 11 years? Wow, that is amazing!! I love hearing that. Thanks so much for pointing out the various pros/cons of the tts and fifth wheels. Yes, when we get one, we plan on taking it to most of the places we plan to travel to and will do our homework ahead of time to search for the rv parks, etc. in each destination. Thank you.

**rbpru--Great suggestion about weighing the vehicle at the CAT scales. We want as much practice as we can get when we rent it and never thought of that. Wow, sounds like you and your wife are quite adventurous. When it comes to material things, neither one of us is super picky and the tt does not have to be perfect. We just want to use it as a means to get to the awesome sites the USA has and as a comfortable and safe place for us after touring the sites we plan on exploring all over the USA. We are definitely going to enjoy this no matter what bumps we might have in the road....Thanks.

**Oldshu--thas is funny about the new thread and the new equipment we need. But you all have given us amazing information and in fact hubby has now been on youtube going on a few hours listening to travel trailer stuff. Thanks for telling us about the KISS principle. Yes, that is our issue now not knowing exactly the size. We would rather do something somewhat smaller but we do want to be able to have the adult kids if they ever want to go on one of our road adventures. Thanks for your input.

[OldShu]

I can't wait to see the next thread about "What equipment do we need to load in our new TT?" 😉

Seriously, it sounds like you are one the right track.

If I may add anything to this it is:

Use the KISS principal.

Find the trailer first, the then tow vehicle to ensure compatibility.

On the issue of accommodating the children and friends, My DW and I struggled with this Q probably the most since it has a huge influence on what TT to choose. At the end of the day we decided that we would get what we liked and make it work (tent) for the times we had tag alongs. Its is a separate camping journey for them and they enjoy their camping time away form the "adults". On the rare occasions of bad in climate weather they and their mattress pads fit on the floor just fine. It is camping after all, not the Hilton.

[rbpru]

Well after seven page the lessoned learned is; there are as many ways to camp as there are campers.

Some folks sweat the detail and examine every possible scenario other just get in and drive. Some folks pick a place and park for a week, others stay long enough to see the local sights then move on. Some folks are on a limited time frame others have all the time they need.

The best advise given so far is, to take your best guess at what you want to do and RENT a trailer the size you think you need or your tow vehicle can handle.

You will learn about driving it traffic, on interstates and local roads. Driving 55 to 65 mph and being passed by everyone, getting 10 mpg, driving 250 to 300 mile a day, being buffeted by wind and a host of other things. RVing is neither scary or dangerous, it is like any other hobby, you get better the more you practice.

Plus, if you rent first, you get a chance to weight your rig at the CAT scales and to know exactly what your weight is at that time. No guess, no estimates, no salesman trying to convince you.

When you are done you will have a far deeper appreciation for the RV life style, your vehicles limitations as well as the things you liked and disliked.


When you are done, you give it back and can think before you spend the big bucks.

My wife and I are wilderness canoe campers, so our viewpoint is rather biased. There is nothing we have experience it our years of RVing that remotely resemble paddling 8 hrs. into two foot swells and rain to get the grandkids back to the cabin before it is too dark.

Buying and RV in not a race. Enjoy the ride.

[Poohper]

We have a Springdale TT and still love it after 11 years. We originally started in Tents then a Tent trailer which I loved and after the kids got older we went to a TT which is 2 bedrooms. After 11 years I still love my TT. We also wondered if we should get a TT or 5th wheel and we picked the TT as it is easy to hitch and unhitch so we can use our truck. Eventually when my husband retires we also are going to travel the US with it. We even take it to Las Vegas with us as it is so much cheaper than a hotel room and I love sleeping in my own bed. My neighbor had a 5th wheel and when he didn't hitch it up right, it fell and actually bent the bed of his truck in half. Also having a TT you will not lose your truck bed space for bikes and other items. I hope this helps. Good luck!:)

[ken56]

My we are a helpful bunch aren't we. Most RVers are more than willing to help you out so when you do rent a trailer and hit a campground don't be afraid to talk to folks. We love to talk about our trailers and trucks.

We started into the RV way of life going into 7 years ago now and I am on my 3rd trailer. 1st one was 24 ft. Great learning unit. Next was 30 ft. We went on the big circle tour out to the Olympic Penn. and Grand Canyon and points in between. We now have a 37 ft and its by far a handful. Pulls just fine but I have to look very carefully for a gas station I can get into and out of. The 30 ft. one was no problem really for that. Length will limit you on some state/federal parks you can fit into also.

Backing a trailer is dependent on wheel base. The shorter the trailer the quicker it reacts to steering wheel input. Longer trailers are easier to back up. Its not hard to master it but practice goes a LONG way. Don't go get a small U-Haul and think it will be the same as a bigger trailer. Get the longest one they have if you can or at least similar to the trailer you will actually rent to camp in then it will react the same.

Getting to where you are going is half the fun of the trip. Never be in a rush. We try to stay off the interstates and do secondary routes as much as we can. Lots to see in small town America so don't be afraid to stop and see things.

Enjoy the learning process. Enjoy your future travels.

[rexlion]

I know the feeling... like 2 kids in the candy store! 😄

[newatrvinginohi]

We are so glad we found this site. You are so helpful. I have been to many different forums and am amazed at how active this site is. I will definitely keep you all informed of our journeys.

1. We are definitely leaning toward the 250 truck but will keep exploring and we seriously have digested and taken in all that has been said on this forum.
2. We are hopefully going to be renting out the TT in either spring or summer....nothing confirmed although I have seen the unit we would like to rent on rvshare for 75.00 per night and it is not far from us.
3. We realize there is no experience as good as the real experience of having that unit in our hands and really exploring it and that is what we intend to do.
4. We anticipate that we are going to have the time of our lives with doing this no matter how it turns out.
5. We will be retiring when we do this so no matter what we aren't going to take any of it too seriously. Spent too many years at work (both of us) taking everything too serious. It is time for us to kick back, have fun and we are on the countdown for that. This is actually extremely fun for us now, just planning it all.
6. We will definitely post pictures on here of our adventures and maybe since we eventually hope to explore all states in the USA, we can meet up with some of you on here at some point in our travels.

[gmw_photos]

Hmmmm, well it seems the OP has come back and said they have picked out a truck and trailer as the likely candidates.

Enjoy, and as Professor Dan says, it will be a very enjoyable way to spend time seeing the country.

Come back and show us pictures of the new truck and trailer. We like pictures here !
Camping season is just around the corner in many parts the country, or come on down to AZ and it's a beautiful 75 degrees right now.

EDIT and I agree with Dan, no need to type out lengthy replies to each poster. We all understand a "thanks to all". Enjoy and safe travels.

[tinstartrvlr]

There is a lot of good information here, but I agree with those who suggest who seek out every resource you can to learn as much as you can. Even go visit an RV park and find some folks who don't mind telling you (and showing you) the differences. RV'rs are a friendly bunch who will likely be happy to help you out.

One thing I didn't see mentioned was deciding what works for you. TT and 5ths are different in many ways, similar in others. I agree with those who say a properly setup TT tows fine, but what I am leading to is this: Find the floorplan and accessories and all that stuff that works for you, and perhaps let that be the deciding factor. Things like whether you can access the bathroom, kitchen, bedroom with slideouts pulled in. On mine, I can, so for a night at a Walmart (or wherever that I don't unhook) I stay hitched and can get to everything I need. Whether or not stairs will be an issue. Enough storage? All those types of things. You might end up with a TT, or you might end up with a 5th depending on which one has everything you want.

The old saying "buy your third rig first" IMHO speaks to a lot. That means lots of research initially.

Same thing with a truck. If you have a 1500 now and you buy a TT, fine, but if you want to do a large upgrade, then you need a new truck.

Just my 3 cents. Good luck with it all.

Edit: Typos

[profdant139]

newatrving, two additional points: first, you are not ethically obligated to respond to everyone. That is a nice goal, but sometimes it is impossible. Usually, just a "thanks, everyone!" is appreciated.

And second, a point that no one may have made above: you will be shocked by how much fun RVing is, no matter what you choose. We had no idea -- the goal was simply to have a mobile motel room. It has turned into a lifestyle for us, and that was not what we had anticipated.

Enjoy the ride!

[rexlion]

A certain poster seems to have staked out this thread as his personal hobby horse. :W Oh well, to each his own. Even a grain of sand can potentially become a pearl, eventually.

Buying a popup instead of renting a TT? No, I would not recommend that. Now, if you wanted to rent a popup for a few days as your first outing, it could be educational. A popup is low enough that you may be able to see overtop it while driving, and they provide a good way to start an initial checklist of things to do when setting up/breaking camp with an RV and a list of things you need to bring (which will have some different things on it than your old tenting list). But it is by no means mandatory to try a popup prior to a TT, especially if you already know you want hard sides.

Personally, my first RV was a popup. We took one trip with it, from OK to ID, and we knew we didn't want to camp that way so we sold it. My DW was particularly unhappy when she could hear the bear snuffling around outside the popup, in that WY NF CG (national forest campground). I got splinters from the plywood undersides of the bunk ends, and they wanted to sometimes go cockeyed and jam up. Wind whipping the canvas, hearing all the neighbors... but you know how that is already. A hardside was much more our cup of tea.

Depending on how many people will be in your rig, I'd suggest that you try to buy a little on the small side. I've moved from a 23' with slide to having towed TTs of 16'-17' overall length, and I like them. They are easier on the drive train, I don't feel the need for a WD hitch (but I make sure 10%-15% of TT weight rests on the ball), they're more maneuverable IMO, and I can fit into some small NF CGs that a larger rig could not (such as Amphitheater CG above Ouray CO, beautiful views there). Of course, if you have family along besides the two of you, a longer unit will be needed.

[newatrvinginohi]

I know I need to individually respond to the other comments on here and I will do that as soon as I get a chance. Just to clarify, the travel trailer we are looking at has a unloaded weight of 6,025 pounds and we will probably now consider the F-250 or 2500 truck base on the feedback we have heard on here. Of course we will continue exploring and researching elsewhere as well but this forum really has given us a great start. Thanks to all of you.

And again, I am a woman and I will admit I am not very mechanically inclined (I know some women are, but I am not). My husband knows cars, trucks, mechanical stuff that I don't know and so if my responses on the mechanical stuff seem lame, I admit I am not the most up to date woman on that stuff. However, I have shared the feedback you have all given with my husband and he is also very appreciative of all of the feedback and comments.

[gmw_photos]

Sound Guy, you have a well deserved reputation here on the forum for coming back over and over and trying to shove your opinion down the throat of all who read here. You love telling people ( like me ) "you are wrong". It has gotten old.

I say it again especially to those who may be new around here, do your homework, which will almost certainly lead you beyond this forum. There is good, reliable, safe information out there.

Engineering white papers, SAE testing procedures, and even information provided by manufacturers of for instance, axle companies. Government websites can often provide specifics regarding safety and regulatory issues.
Homework will set you free.

[SoundGuy]

gmw photos wrote:
My point is, dear original poster, as is usually the case, there is more to the story than what some internet experts might type into a forum post. I say it again, to really understand subjects such as payload, GVWR, axle ratings, one might need to do some digging and reading.

I sure wish you, OP, were here at the resort I am staying at right now. If you were, we'd go for a walkabout here and talk to a dozen or so 1/2 ton truck owners that pulled their lengthy/heavy travel trailers here from far away places. You could in fact get info, straight from the horses mouth. Real world out here is a very interesting place.

Exactly ... it's just unfortunate you've come to the wrong conclusion and in doing so are happy to lead the OP astray. 😞 We've all also seen minivans in campgrounds towing travel trailers but being ignorant of the facts which are born out by simple calculations weighed against known vehicle ratings doesn't diminish the fact that a 1/2 ton truck is considered by vehicle manufacturers to be in the light weight category. As a 1/2 ton owner I myself wish this wasn't so but numbers don't lie. 😉