What to buy...I need a little advice!

[rfloyd99]

I am buying my 1st RV, and have done lots of looking and thinking but have a basic decision I need help with.

My wife and I plan to spend 2-4 months on the road each summer once she retires next year. I have been planning to buy a 26' TT with an unloaded weight of 4500-5100 lbs. Of course we would add appr. 1500 lbs or so to that in cargo, our own weight, fluids, etc. I have a 2012 Ram 1500 5.7L gas engine with a tow limit of 8700 lbs.

I am buying used, and am finding mostly larger units available. I'm considering a couple now that are 32 ft and about 6300 lbs dry.

Of course the bigger units will be much more comfortable considering we will be full-timing for up to four months.

My question: will 6 feet in length and 1500-2000 lbs be a big difference in towing issues and gas costs?

Obviously, if I were jumping from a 20' to a 32' the answer would be yes.

I only want to make this purchase once, and avoid the moving up or down in size that so many people seem to do. Also, I can't afford to get a bigger truck.

Please let me hear from someone with experience! Thanks!

[rbpru]

We have towed 15,000 miles in the last two years. The 25 ft. TT is as small as we would go. A 28 ft is about as big as we would consider.

It is a personal choice limited by TV and cost.

[Atlee]

That is currently me. We have a 24' (bumper to ball) Koala 21CS. It went cross country on our Big Trip in 2014, Virginia to the Pacific Ocean in Los Angeles, and a lot of places along the way and on the back. 7,900+ miles all total.

Our little trailer came along with no troubles. I pulled it with a F150 XLT, SuperCab, 4x4 and 1420# cargo capacity.

wanderingbob wrote:
In your intro you said that you would be traveling for several months at a time . If that means traveling every day or two then smaller is better . If that means staying in one spot for a month or two large might be better .I prefer smaller units as I am a 'traveler ' not a camper . We never stay three nites in one location .

[stufarmer]

We've owned a similar Laramie 5.7 Ram, 3:73's L/S & tow pkg. While it towed our 5500lb boat fine here in Florida, it struggled dearly when we traveled with it threw the Smokey's.

[patperry2766]

camper

For me, this would be they layout that I would be leaning towards if I were planning to go for extended stays. While this might me a bit big for your truck, several manufacturers have similar floorplans.

For me, tripping over stuff and not having a place for everything is frustrating for me. With the double bunks in the back, both you and your wife could each have a bunk to keep your clothes, nicknacks & things you pick up along the way, or you could remove one of both to free up more room for storage.

It has an outside kitchen that you'll probably use more than the one inside (at least we do) and an exterior door that leads to the bathroom.

[OutdoorPhotogra]

rfloyd99 wrote:
Thanks to all - I have learned a lot, please keep posting!

Have looked at the door sticker, and done more research.

The GVWR is 6700, payload is 1611. Does that mean that I can load the truck with up to 1611 lbs? Made up of the weights of passengers, fuel, tongue wt of trailer, plus anything else carried/added onto/in the truck?

Am I missing anything here?

Close. You need to take your truck to a scale and get the weight with a full tank of gas and no other extras and then subtract that from GVWR. I think the payload of 1611 takes a full tank of gas and a 150 lb driver into account.

In other words, if you can squeak by with 600 lbs for your other passengers and gear ( and whatever you weigh over 150) then you would have 1,000 lbs for tongue weight and weight distribution hitch (100 lbs). A 6,500 lb GVWR travel trailer will be an 850-900 lb tongue weight.

[bid_time]

rfloyd99 wrote:
Thanks to all - I have learned a lot, please keep posting!

Have looked at the door sticker, and done more research.

The GVWR is 6700, payload is 1611. Does that mean that I can load the truck with up to 1611 lbs? Made up of the weights of passengers, fuel, tongue wt of trailer, plus anything else carried/added onto/in the truck?

Am I missing anything here?

Yes, that 1611 number is the maximum wt of passengers, tongue wt., hitch equip't, cargo, etc. all added together. So your first step is to determine what the tongue wt. will be loaded and ready to go camping.

this may help you out.

[wanderingbob]

In your intro you said that you would be traveling for several months at a time . If that means traveling every day or two then smaller is better . If that means staying in one spot for a month or two large might be better .I prefer smaller units as I am a 'traveler ' not a camper . We never stay three nites in one location .

[patperry2766]

A lot of packing will depend on how you anticipate camping. If you plan on staying in the same place for an extended time, or staying in a campground that has W/D facilities as well as being close to a grocery store, then your packing will be different as opposed to camping in remote places that aren't as easily accessible to stores, etc where you have to plan on longer stays between return trips to civilization to replenish your supplies.

This will just be something that you learn as you go.

[kearlms]

I had a 1998 Dodge 1500 with the 6.0 in it and it had a hard time pulling our 23 foot at 6300 lbs loaded. We upgraded to a one ton dually and love it. Pulls all we need to pull. We lost a transmission and the rear end after upgrading to the 23 footer. I dont know what or if there has been improvements, but I would be careful with anything to big.

[rfloyd99]

Thanks to all - I have learned a lot, please keep posting!

Have looked at the door sticker, and done more research.

The GVWR is 6700, payload is 1611. Does that mean that I can load the truck with up to 1611 lbs? Made up of the weights of passengers, fuel, tongue wt of trailer, plus anything else carried/added onto/in the truck?

Am I missing anything here?

[rbpru]

Yes you can get by in a smaller unit, I have in the past camped with a canoe and a tent. However, floor plan in an RV makes a big difference.

The DW and I wanted.
* A pantry for food and pots and pans storage.
* A closet for clothes.
* A bed you can exit with out crawling over you partner.
* A decent bathroom.
* Room to move when you are rained with the dog.

A 25 ft with a slide fit us fine. Others would find this way too small.

As you have found out, it is not a simple decision.

[APT]

The average weekend RVer adds 1000 pounds to dry weights, and 200 of that is TW based on the storage of many TTs. Full timing, 2+ months on the road? That's more like 2500-3000 pounds of extra weight. 6000 pounds dry means 8500 pounds loaded with 1100 pounds of loaded TW. How much payload does your tire and loading sticker say you have? And then take off the weight of you/spouse. Full timing wit a bed full of stuff? I don't see how the numbers will turn out in your favor given the payloads of 2009+ Rams. Your truck is worth at least as much as a quality used 2010 Ram 2500 gasser that will be much more comfortable towing across the country. Do you wan to enjoy the trip? Get the truck that will handle the weight more comfortably.

[patperry2766]

There is absolutely no reason why you couldn't FT for 2-3 months in a camper that size.

2 years ago, we ran across a lady in a New Mexico state park that FT'ed in a 1970'ish Volkswagen Beetle....not the van, but a Beetle. She was kinda odd and a little kooky, but she was pretty much a loner. From talking to her, she was a professor at some college back east and was doing some research for the government. She was exposed to some kind of neurological chemical that messed her up. She said that she got a big settlement from the government as well as her pension from the school.

She would F/T in the mountains during the summer and go to Arizona during the winters. She had bought the VW new, no husband, family or anything. Now, her whole story could be made up but the park host confirmed to us what she had said because she had been coming to that exact campground for many years. It was the Columbine campground outside of Red River NM, so if you see a faded old silver bug parked there...you will know the rest of the story.

[Steeljag]

As those others have posted check the yellow drivers door sticker for your passenger / cargo weight. Our 26 foot TT has a dry weight of approx. 5800 lbs, and tows very nicely. The rear living floor plan works great for us.