All ActivityMost RecentMost LikesSolutionsRe: Travel Trailer Purchase - Quality Hunterred wrote: We have the 29QBS. The dry weight was 7556. Loaded for a week it is 9200 with a hitch weight of 1230. Our payload is 1985 on our truck and we were running 92% of the GVWR that day. We also had 100 gallons of water on board though. Best to weigh them the heaviest they will be. That being said, with only 1350 payload, your truck will most likely be overloaded with a 29 QBS. I would say you want to stay in the 6500 GVWR for a trailer that will be around 800 lbs tongue weight. When you do the math your weight distribution hitch will likely only transfer its own weight and a bit more so don't use the weight transfer as a cusion. Just run % of GVWR for your math. Jayco makes a good product. We have had our issues with it but overall a decent trailer. It is definitely heavier than most others with that floorplan I will say. I would recommend Jayco, in your case maybe look at the white hawk line. We looked at the apex, wasn't for us, seemed cheaper than most and the salesman I asked said they don't seem to move many of them when people walk through 5 or 6 they usually feel it is lesser quality than the others, however, they are still making them so people are buying them so they must like them. If we all liked the same thing there would only be 1 manufacturer... It would most likely be Jayco:) http://kz-rv.com/spree-connect/C250BHS.html http://www.dutchmen.com/kodiak/floorplans-and-pictures/floorplans-detail?modelId=4938 http://www.dutchmen.com/kodiak/floorplans-and-pictures/floorplans-detail?modelId=4940 http://www.heartlandrvs.com/classes/lightweight/wd-wilderness#!dview=modeldetail&c=lightweight&sc=WD&m=534&cidx=5&ajax=? Have a look at those, it's what I would be looking at with your truck. Let us know how you make out. Thanks for the info, I have never heard of the Dutchmen campers they look pretty nice, around here everything seems to be Outbacks and Jayco's I'll have to try and find one to look at are they pretty good in your opinion?Re: Travel Trailer Purchase - Quality Danattherock wrote: tkwood**** wrote: APT wrote: A WDH is required over about 600 pounds of tongue weight on every half ton I have seen. If you adjust the WDH such that 100% of front axle weight is restored, then only about 80% of loaded TW should be accounted for in payload. But dry weight will go up, as will dry TW. Take your 1380 pounds of payload and subtract however much you an family weighs. Maybe that's 300 pounds or 800 pounds - you do not have to disclose. 1380-500=880 pounds for trailer TW. I'd look closer to 650 dry then. Get a WDH with integrated sway control and learn how to adjust it. Ok I feel a little better now I was beginning to think the only thing I could tow would be something less than about 5000 lbs. SO If i'm understanding it correct, and I apologize if I'm not, I need to keep my tongue weight from the TT around say 650 to give me some payload room under the 1380 limit. I need to make sure then that the trailer is not more than about 6000 to 6500 lbs to keep it within the safety margin of the 9000 lbs capacity listed in the owners manual to account for cargo, water and such. Towing the popup at only 1400 lbs this was not an issue. There is no way in hell I would consider towing 9,000 lbs with a 1/2 ton truck safe. I realize, that's not what your saying you will do, just being Capt Obvious here. You are smart enough to be doing research, which is why I'm here too. But I would continue to give lots of consideration to the max I would tow. Nor am I implying you got bad advice before me, just suggesting you continue the conversation with yourself and others. Just because it's in print, doesn't mean you should do it. Driving down straight interstate, maybe not an issue. However, a Ford Excursion flipped last week in Nash County carrying a 30' white box and it was on a straight section of highway from what I saw on the news. But think of all the real life issues that could arise. Transfer truck blows your doors off, you barely go over a low shoulder for whatever reason, up and especially down steep grades, slippery road conditions, a tire blows out at 64 mph, braking hard and changing direction to avoid a car pulling out in front of you while going highway speeds, etc. I lack the experience to answer your question, but have a few questions you need to get answered. And not from folks towing with Tundras. It's a well known fact that they have an over inflated sense of what the truck is capable of and the vast majority that are towing larger travel trailers are overloaded. That's an absolute fact, but I have no proof. How much the actual WD hitch itself will detract from payload. 100 lbs? More? How much your camper will actually weigh loaded, which will be far more than manufacturers advertised dry weight. How much the actual hitch weight will be, again, known to be much higher than manufacturers website. I've heard from many folks it can be hundreds of pounds more. Being honest with yourself, add weight of any and all gear you will carry in truck bed or cab. That added to all human weight, including driver, added to the actual tongue weight, not advertised tongue weight, and the weight of the WD hitch itself, will give you a better idea on where you stand with payload. Heard it a million times lately, it's not whether the truck will pull a trailer, it's whether or not it will stop it. Seeing the cause of so many accidents involve, braking, decelerating, going downhill, downhill around curve, etc. It is something I recently gave lots of thought to. And I was joking about Tundras, their owners just have big buttons sometimes, I like pushing. We saw and loved the Tundra 1794, but payload wasn't near enough. Dan Dan, I appreciate all the info it's alot of stuff to understand. I started looking last night at different models and manufacturers, there are some out there that have about half the tongue weight and are only about 4500 lbs but seem to have just as much room. The Coachmen Apex Ultra-Lites look to be more like what we should be looking at. I think I got carried away with the the bells and whistles instead of practicality. I have a buddy who has a custom utility trailer that I think I'm going to load up with different weights behind the Tundra and see how it pulls and stops to see how it will tow.Re: Travel Trailer Purchase - Quality APT wrote: Towing an RV is hard work for the truck. Towing a 9000 pound boat will be easier than a 6000 pound travel trailer. The Tundra has a great powertrain, but handling and stability comfort level for towing 8000 pound loaded TT is not what I recommend for someone's first big tow. Many people get aa little too much trailer to comfortable tow and then upgrade the truck later. That gets more costly than being realistic about weights. The Jayflight line has more traditional materials which are heaver than many other lines. Have you considered lighter brands? Something similar in floorplan to the Jayco 29 can be had for closer to 5500 pounds dry. I spent a good deal of time last night looking at some other brands the Coachmen APEX line seemed to have a lot of what we were looking for with dry weights of between 4200 and 5300 lbs and the tongue weights are about half the Jayco's The construction looks to be about on par with everything else. I think I was just looking big and shiny instead of practical. We may need to tone down what we're looking for. I'd like to buy a camper that will be good to camp in for the foreseeable future. Not in the mood to get one every four or five years because it falls apart.Re: Travel Trailer Purchase - Quality APT wrote: A WDH is required over about 600 pounds of tongue weight on every half ton I have seen. If you adjust the WDH such that 100% of front axle weight is restored, then only about 80% of loaded TW should be accounted for in payload. But dry weight will go up, as will dry TW. Take your 1380 pounds of payload and subtract however much you an family weighs. Maybe that's 300 pounds or 800 pounds - you do not have to disclose. 1380-500=880 pounds for trailer TW. I'd look closer to 650 dry then. Get a WDH with integrated sway control and learn how to adjust it. Ok I feel a little better now I was beginning to think the only thing I could tow would be something less than about 5000 lbs. SO If i'm understanding it correct, and I apologize if I'm not, I need to keep my tongue weight from the TT around say 650 to give me some payload room under the 1380 limit. I need to make sure then that the trailer is not more than about 6000 to 6500 lbs to keep it within the safety margin of the 9000 lbs capacity listed in the owners manual to account for cargo, water and such. Towing the popup at only 1400 lbs this was not an issue.Re: Travel Trailer Purchase - Quality APT wrote: Not tow capacity, payload. Any given vehicle is limited to the lowest of all its ratings. That could be receiver, axles, tow rating, GCWR, etc. A 10,300 pound loaded TT will likely exceed every half ton receiver. If you have 1200 pounds of payload and 1000 pounds of TW, then you have 200 left for driver, passengers, and anything else in the truck bed and cab. Just make sure yours has enough for what you estimate. Open drivers door and locate this sticker. Note what it has where mine says 2051: And verify the yellow sticker weight on the actual unit you plan to purchase. I looked at the Jay Flight 31QDBS that were 500-600 pounds over the web site weight. Then I would add fresh water, pots/pans, food, clothes, etc. Mine shows 1380 in the place where yours says 2051. But my owners manual says 9700 lbs capacity based on my engine and the factory towing capacity. The other sticker says GVWR 7100 lbs and GAWR 4000 front 4150 rear. I think I'm getting a little confused with this. Can you help me out, what size can i really tow? The hitch weight is 855 on one of the trailers, will weight distribution arms not help me?Re: Travel Trailer Purchase - QualityFrom Sticker GVWR 7100 LBS GAWR: FRT 4000 lb REAR 4150 lb Based on Owner manual with A towing package 9700 lbsRe: Travel Trailer Purchase - Quality midnightsadie wrote: make sure it has two AC units one can not handle the heat . Thanks, I never thought about making sure about a 2nd AC unit. It's been really hot this summer and it's been hot in the popup. We need to make sure its comfortable we have a 5 year old and a 1 year old.Re: Travel Trailer Purchase - Quality Iraqvet05 wrote: Those horror stories on build quality seem to feed the forums but isn't that why most people come to a forum...to discuss problems or find an answer? We have had our Jayco since we bought it new 2.5 years ago and I have never had to return to the dealer for repair. There were a few minor issues that I corrected to save myself the hassle of driving the TT back to the dealer but I am very pleased with the purchase. I don't know the payload capacity of the Tundras but the 29QBS is 6400lbs dry...seems like a heavy trailer for that TV. The capacity on my Tundra is 10,300 lbs I'm going to upgrade the weight distribution system. The weights on all the Trailers we are looking at are all around 6200 lbs to 6900 lbs.Travel Trailer Purchase - QualityHey guys I have a question that I'm sure everybody has been asked but alot of what I have seen is at least a couple years old. We are in the market for a TT. We currently have a 1983 Palomino MXL Popup but are ready to upgrade to a full size TT. Camping in the south with no AC has not been the greatest experience. We have a 2012 Toyota Tundra 5.7/V8 rated at 10,300. We are looking at bunkhouse models in the 28' to 34' range. I really like the Jayco Flights namely the 29QBS but have heard alot of horror stories on build quality. Has anyone else had any bad experiences? We are also looking at the APEX line as a possibility but don't know much about them. I haven't seen a lot of Palominos around our area but I know out old pop up has been good. Does anyone have any experience with their Puma or Solaire Lines a friend of mine said to steer clear of them but I want more than one opinion. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide. Happy Camping
GroupsTravel Trailer Group Prefer to camp in a travel trailer? You're not alone.Jan 21, 202544,029 Posts