What can our Kia Sorento tow?

Well, we've spent a lot of time this week looking at trailers. We've moved on from the hybrid to a hard-side with internal bed. The walk-around bed is non-negotiable. Almost everything else is. Almost.

We found two that we really like, a 2014 Forest River Surveyor Sport SP264, and a gently used 2012 Jayco White Hawk UltraLite 26'. Both have lots of features we like and a couple we're not so wild about. But we've also learned that over 26', we'd need a truck; under that length, we could tow with a diesel SUV, like a BMW, Mercedes, or Touareg. Since we prefer an SUV to a truck for daily use, we also saw a 2015 Surveyor Caded SC226 that we like. No sofa, though, which we'd really like. Our local dealer is kind of pricey, too, so the search isn't over. We have more homework to do.

So if having a walk-around queen bed is a must, then that eliminates hybrids from your search.

Hybrids are wonderful and you really feel the outdoors. However....and this is especially true if you're storing away from your home, if it's at all wet/damp, you have to open it all up when you get home and let it completely dry out or mildew will be your enemy. Then you have to go back and close it all up when it's dry....could be a pain. We were plenty willing to deal with that because we have a large covered area, formerly the ROOport and now the Rockyport. But those other things I mentioned above figured heavily into our decision to change.

The R-Pod is a great little trailer. Nice quality. They have been out about long enough for early buyers to decide of they love it or hate it and you may find a dandy deal. I still suggest you seriously consider a slide, even a small one. A sofa is very nice, but not what I would consider an absolute requirement in a trailer in the 22' range. Since the island kitchens are relatively new, you probably won't find that in your search. Yes on the cooktop and I would say yes on an oven...we use ours every trip. Biscuits. Cookies. Cinnamon rolls. You're right about having some work to do on this but you're approaching it from a realistic point of view. It's out there, now you just have to find it. Good luck.

On a hybrid you have to close the tents wet and reopen immediately when you move. Popups are worse they have wet wall and bed ends to worry about and some are a pain to crank up.

Crunching the numbers on my setup: truck empty 6300 with 7600lb towing. Truck loaded to camp add 1000 to truck and delete 1000 from tow rating.
7300lb truck with max 6600 trailer. I could tow a 6600 gross trailer. 76% of 6600 is a 5000lb trailer. I am right at the sweet spot of capacities and worry free towing.

Question: If you're out in it and it's raining and you fold it up and move on, where does the rain drip to? Does it drain outside the unit or inside?

If I upgrade my htt I lose the oppurtunity to park winters here.

Twenty five foot trailer 9ft6" tall and 7ft wide and 5000lb gvw.

Any half ton v8 pickup should tow a basic rear living tt. 17 ft hybrids have horrible payload. Not worth the work or tow vehicle shuffling. Glad you can store it at a friends house. We store our's 3 seasons on the side of my garage and winters under the covered side porch of my parents pole barn.

No, but good friends have offered to keep the trailer on their property, about five miles away.

We want to keep this as simple as possible, so we're thinking that we can find something we like for no more than 22'. We saw some R-pods yesterday that looked good, and my husband found some nice used units at good prices... in Arkansas. Considering that we started talking about a pop-up or 17' hybrid, we find our conversations creeping upward into the 25'-slider-gotta-have-a-sofa-and-a-3-burner-stove-and-wouldn't-it-be-fun-to-have-an-island? range, so we keep going back to our list of the items we absolutely must have (a walk-around queen or twin beds,) those we'd like to have but it's OK if we don't (slider,) and the items we're not interested in paying extra for (TV.) This may take a while!

We bought a used Class A about six years ago. I adored it - it was very basic, no sliders or bells or whistles, but comfortable. But my husband, who is 73 and a total mechanoboob, was so nervous every time we went anywhere that I suggested that we sell it a year later. We did and he breathed a HUGE sigh of relief. That's one reason we want to keep it simple.

My wife commutes 50 miles a day and I commute 120 miles a day. That's 3rd vehicle loaded and ready to go scenario. We went with a k2500 with center buckets as a gear hauler SUV not a soccer team hauler, and I even removed the rear third row.

Do you have space to park an 18ft pupil or 30ft trailer?