which TT is the best to downsize?

[aka4170]

we presently have a 2012 Outback 312 BH Travel Trailer Bunkhouse Double Slide and LOVE it. Last summer 2012 we spent 6 weeks out west (from Buffalo, NY). This past summer, 2013, we spent 6 weeks down south. We have two daughters under 10 years old. We would like to downsize in campers. We had a Ford F350 to pull it but due to work situations, had to get rid of it.

We love camping and would like a similar camper but without the bunk house/outdoor kitchen and 35 feet is too big and too heavy. we would like at least a slide for the living area.

We won't be doing any more 6 week trips, 2 weeks would be the max.

Anyone have any suggestions on what you have or seen that would be a "smaller" (under 30 feet) Travel trailer, easier to pull with a F150. No outdoor kitchen needed, etc. We "think" we would still like the bunk beds for the two girls but then again, that is what blow up mattresses in the sofas are for, right?

thanks for any suggestions. I just started looking at keystones....any help would be appreciated.

[aka4170]

Thank you so much to everyone for their help! I really don't WANT to get rid our camper that we have right now and maybe will have to wait it out and look for a good deal on a used F250 or something to pull the present one. After looking around, the one we have now is "perfect" except that it is so big that we need a big truck to pull it.

Thanks again everyone. I really appreciate it!!!!

Happy New Year!

[doxiluvr]

Keystone has a 29' model in the Cougar Lite (150 or 1500 towable) that has a 2 bed bunkhouse and a sleeper sofa and 1 slideout.
26BHSWE

[thomasmnile]

A Jayco WhiteHawk 23MBH or WhiteHawk 25BHS might fill the bill for you. Both are under 30' in length and max gross weight rating of 6500 lbs. Dry tongue weights are 595 lbs. and 640 lbs. respectively. Not especially useful numbers but may help you calculate your loaded tongue weight with respect to your truck's payload capabilities..........

[myredracer]

First thing I would do is determine what an F150, you want or have, can tow. It's going to be more about payload capacity than towing capacity. Unless you get an F150 with the max. tow capacity option, you will find that you may be limited to about 6-7,000 lbs GVW trailer weight. That is, unless you don't care about being overloaded. Some find that even at around 22-24' they are overloaded. If you have factory options, esp. 4x4, super or crew cab and long box, the payload capacity will go down quite a bit. Same with stuff you install, like say a canopy (200-ish lbs). It's best to take your TV through a scale all loaded up as for a camping trip with passengers, pets, groceries, camping gear and a full tank of fuel. You may find that you are under 1,000 lbs available payload cap. Don't go by just the sticker on the door jamb.

Tongue weights vary between 10-15% of the GVW. Unless you know for sure what the actual tongue weight will be, use 15%. Once you have your max. payload, take that number and divide it by 15% to get the max. actual trailer weight you can pull. Say your actual payload capacity is 900 lbs loaded for camping, your max. TT weight would be 6,000 lbs. At 12%, it would be 7500 lbs.

Once you know your max tongue capacity and GVW for the TT, then you can confidently shop for a TT that won't overload your TV.

Don't use dry TT weights. Unless you know for sure what the TT would weigh loaded for camping, use the GVWR. Some units end up close to the GVWR loaded for camping. Listed dry tongue weight can be close to actual or nearly double.

If you do end up being limited to around say 22-24', I think you will find they are nowhere near as functional and comfortable compared to what you have now. You'll want at least one slide (which will add weight). Something with a sofa or two recliners would also be a must for me (adds length though). If you get a 3/4T, you would have a lot more choice and have a better towing experience. After having 4x4, I wouldn't again as it adds height and weight and I never use it.

Beware of anything labeled "ultra-lite" or "1/2 ton towable" because it means they're less substantial overall to save weight and are less durable. Some of the ultra-lites are also using a 3-piece welded fabricated I-beam which is not very strong and can cause issues. Also, just because it says 1/2 ton towable doesn't mean any old 1/2 ton can tow it without being overloaded. I know of one manufacturer that has a "1/2 ton towable" unit that adds around 2K lbs payload to your truck. It's ridiculous and would overload even our 3/4T.

If it's something of better quality you want, I'm reading a lot of good things about Outdoors RV and Northwood. They also make their own HD frames. Lots of TTs out there with a good selection of substandard quality, poor factory support and bad dealer service . Besides trying to find a nice TT, I'd look carefully into dealer quality because a bad one can turn a great RV into a nightmare. Our old dealer was flippin' awful (extremely slow and inept) and our new one is great.

[dadmomh]

Seems like in the 26 - 28' range you can find most of the features you'd want. Not a fan of bunkhouses....too narrow and claustrophobic. However....very popular. Our new Rockwood Ultra Lite 2604 has perfect features for us and does have a sofa with air mattress. It takes about 3 minutes to inflate/deflate, but wouldn't want to do it every night.

Have you considered a HTT?? You either love 'em or hate 'em. We loved ours and you could easily tow a 3 bed model (all queen size beds) and each child would have their own space and room to bring a friend. A bit lighter weight, usually a bit less $$, tow a smaller size and open up to much more space. Suggest you take a look at the ROO 233S - 3 beds, slide, tow approx. 23', open up to 30'. If more interested in a TT, suggest trying to stay in that 26 - 28' range to keep in weight limits....much more than that and you're too heavy. We also tow with an F-150 with Blue Ox Sway Pro 1000 and Prodigy. Excellent.

[xteacher]

I would defnitely stick with a bunkhouse while your kids are camping with you. I like this one: Coachmen Apex 235bhs. It's lightweight (4293 lb. dry/6500 gvw), and it's only 26'7" from bumper to tongue. The large u-dinette is spacious and can easily be converted to extra sleeping space when friends of your kids come along.

Here's one a bit longer that also has a couch in addition to the u-dinette (29.5 ft. total length/ 4767 lb. dry/7000 gvw): Coachmen Apex 268bhs.

[wmoses]

aka4170 wrote:
Anyone have any suggestions on what you have or seen that would be a "smaller" (under 30 feet) Travel trailer, easier to pull with a F150. No outdoor kitchen needed, etc. We "think" we would still like the bunk beds for the two girls but then again, that is what blow up mattresses in the sofas are for, right?

The RV in my signature fits your stated needs. The sofa has an air mattress with electric inflator, and when the girls don't want to sleep together the dinette also converts to a bed. While the Rv can be pulled by a 1/2 ton truck, you need to assure you have one that can pull over 9000# as you will need the extra margin over the RV's GCWR.

[bumpdaddy]

After a ton of research for a decent bunkhouse, we settled on a F-242bds Fun Finder from Cruiser RV. It's 4,700 lbs dry, has the larger bunk beds, a large slide for the dining area, and the outdoor kitchen. We also liked the fact that it has sliding pocket doors to the master instead of curtains. Because of the "shorter" length, you do give up the sofa, but besides that we couldn't come up with too many drawbacks to this unit/floorplan.

[mlts22]

I second the Camplite. Fully loaded, it will be under 5000 pounds, and because it is all aluminum, it will still be around and usable while most travel trailers of the same year have been sent on their one-way journey to the county landfill.

[djsamuel]

Camplite 21BHS

[PawPaw_n_Gram]

aka4170 wrote:
We "think" we would still like the bunk beds for the two girls but then again, that is what blow up mattresses in the sofas are for, right?

You should get bunks for the kids. Rigs in that size/ weight/ price range are not likely to have sofa's which include air mattresses. More likely it is going to be a jack knife sofa. Those are actually better for sleeping than sitting.

But having to make up the sofa and dinette for beds each night gets old.

We replaced our Cherokee Grey Wolf 26BH with a bigger trailer with opposing slides and couch, recliners and table dining area - in part because we found the bunks were used as storage space the 90% of the time we didn't have the grand kids.

Since your girls will be with you on every trip, til they discover boys, my belief is that each will want a space of their own - and bunks can be that.

Plus they will be out from underfoot in the late evening.

I would recommend you stay under 5,000 lbs 'empty weight' if you can - and 30 foot length. The weight will be okay for an F-150.

[Caboose66]

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I am going to advise you to take a look at the models with a double double bunk. Typically, these are available in the 28 foot class, although I may have seen one that was labelled a 27 foot class by the manufacturer... Can't remember which one.
This is the floor plan we chose. We have a 14 y.o. Son and a 12 y.o. Daughter. We came from a very small travel trailer that had the smaller bunks, but those really became too small for our kids. The double double model will grow with your kids as long as they care to come camping with you.

The particular model we chose was the Cruiser Viewfinder Signature 28BHSS but there are a growing number of this floor plan out there from various manufacturers. Oours does not have an outdoor kitchen, but that's what we have the Camp Chef for. It's got a separate queen "bedroom" with sliding hard doors rather than curtains. Large slide with what is referred to as a "mega lounge" - which is a large u-shaped sofa with the ability to place 1 or 2 tables or just leave as a large sofa. This option seems to be rather rare, with a separate sofa and dinette being more common, personally, I like the large lounge.

If you like the floor plan, check out the offerings from Jayco WhiteHawk, Keystone Bullet, Aerolite and others. It really was the perfect layout for our family. The kids can double up in the double bunks if need be or the dinette and sofa make into beds as well ( in the separate sofa/dinette models).

Good luck and have fun in your search.

Edit to add: we were looking for a model that came in under 6,000 lbs dry. The Viewfinder came in under and there are others that are lighter yet. For the newer F150 with the 5.0 liter or Ecoboost 6-cylinder, you shouldnt have to worry too much, but watch the payload. I have a 2012 5.7 liter Toyota Tundra and it pulls it just fine. I can't recall the hitch weight right off hand, but I'm right in the ballpark ( a bit under, I believe) of my payload with passengers, fuel, tongue weight (including propane and battery) and the conservative amount of stuff I pack in the bed of the truck.
Dean

[Bank_of_Dad]

I just downsized from a class A motorhome with one slide, 34ft, a design we loved (but it was old and had mechanical issues) to a 23FB Puma TT. Reasons for picking it: I can tow with my Suburban 2500, no slide=no slide issues, aluminum siding=no delamination issues, it has a bedroom door that closes, and I got nice recommendations from other Puma owners.

Searching is a lot of fun, nothing is guaranteed to work perfect.

[Terryallan]

My APEX is VERY light, ( 4811 lb yellow sticker) and right at 30' overall, and has bunks, a sofa, dinett, Good floor plan