Community Forums

starkk00 · 06-20-2018, 11:36 AM

Hi all,

I'm looking to get an ORV trailer either the 23DBS or 27BHS. I have a family of 3 (daughter, wife and myself) and my retired parents plan on using it as well. I'm kind of torn between the two and feel the biggest factor between the two will be cost. The cost difference between the two does not appear to be all that much but I'd like to hear what you paid if you're willing to share. My tow vehicle is a 2018 f-250 SRW diesel so no concerns in that regard. Any possible pro's or con's you could think of between the two? I'm not exactly sure where I am going to purchase the trailer but I think my parents may be making the trip to go and get the trailer. Any additional advice you could offer on the situation would be great. Thanks for the help and advice in advance.

dconnolly · 06-20-2018, 11:45 AM

Go with the 27BHS. I was in the same predicament and it’s nice having the extra cargo space. Won’t outgrow it and you won’t feel cramped.

starkk00 · 06-20-2018, 12:27 PM

dconnolly - I tend to agree with you and your choice. If you don't mind me asking...what did you pay? Out the door, taxes included? Which WDH are you using? Thank you.

dconnolly · 06-20-2018, 12:31 PM

37650 including tax.

dconnolly · 06-20-2018, 12:32 PM

Correction 36750 WA tax

dconnolly · 06-20-2018, 12:33 PM

Blue ox sway pro which I paid cash for

Billy79 · 06-21-2018, 07:43 AM

I would defiantly buy the 27 bhs over the 23 dbs. I have been down this road already. We bought a 23 DBS and found we used the trailer more and more, we just finished purchasing a 2019 27 BHS. We are a family of 4, the extra room in the trailer when the weather is bad is awesome. Should have bought the 27 from the start.

starkk00 · 06-21-2018, 08:37 AM

Billy79 - Thanks for the reply and that is what I fear happening. Buying the 23 and loving it and wishing for a bit more room. I also really like the door directly into the bathroom. What did you end up spending on the 27? What dealer? WDH?

60sumtin · 06-21-2018, 11:22 AM

I guess a possible con is where do you typically like to camp and what time of the year? You mentioned you have a daughter so peak tourist season? I ask because longer trailers have fewer campground sites available to them. Parks will allow shorter trailers into their longer sites but for obvious reasons that doesn't work the other way around. This is more problematic in older campgrounds that were designed decades ago when average trailer lengths were much shorter.

A few weeks ago I made reservations in several mountain parks for mid-August and noticed that if I would have had a shorter trailer there were more sites available. Had I had a longer trailer I would have been out of luck. As it is I managed to snag a couple of the last available sites for the size of trailer I have so I consider myself lucky this time.

One also has to keep in mind just because the site is long enough is the lane and site entrance wide enough to swinging into? That information campgrounds generally don't give you. I've seen it happen several times where someone would pull up with a good sized trailer, try to back in but the lane is either too narrow, there's a steep drop off on the other side, or there are trees too close to allow the front of the truck to swing around and they end up having to leave.

I only mention this as its something many don't consider. Shorter trailers have their advantages too. What's good for others is not necessarily good for you. Cheers.

shane_the_ee · 06-21-2018, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 60sumtin

I guess a possible con is where do you typically like to camp and what time of the year? You mentioned you have a daughter so peak tourist season? I ask because longer trailers have fewer campground sites available to them. Parks will allow shorter trailers into their longer sites but for obvious reasons that doesn't work the other way around. This is more problematic in older campgrounds that were designed decades ago when average trailer lengths were much shorter.

A few weeks ago I made reservations in several mountain parks for mid-August and noticed that if I would have had a shorter trailer there were more sites available. Had I had a longer trailer I would have been out of luck. As it is I managed to snag a couple of the last available sites for the size of trailer I have so I consider myself lucky this time.

One also has to keep in mind just because the site is long enough is the lane and site entrance wide enough to swinging into? That information campgrounds generally don't give you. I've seen it happen several times where someone would pull up with a good sized trailer, try to back in but the lane is either too narrow, there's a steep drop off on the other side, or there are trees too close to allow the front of the truck to swing around and they end up having to leave.

I only mention this as its something many don't consider. Shorter trailers have their advantages too. What's good for others is not necessarily good for you. Cheers.

And this is exactly why we went for an 18CK for 6 of us. One of the things I did as part of my research was to pull up my favorite campgrounds and figure out how many sites I could fit into with a given tow vehicle/trailer combination.

There are very, very few national park campgrounds with sites big enough to accommodate anything larger than our rig. But wait! It gets worse! Not only does every additional foot of length mean there's fewer sites you can squeeze into, it also means there's more people vying to reserve said site. And this isn't even considering if you want to go with another family or the grandparents. Because now you need two sites that are big enough for both trailers and which are close to each other...

That said, starkk00 was the one asking about getting a trailer to Pittsburgh, so I'm not sure site length is going to be much of concern for him.

60sumtin · 06-21-2018, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shane_the_ee

That said, starkk00 was the one asking about getting a trailer to Pittsburgh, so I'm not sure site length is going to be much of concern for him.

There was question was about the pros and cons choosing one trailer over the other:

"Any possible pro's or con's you could think of between the two?"

Off Road · 06-21-2018, 11:27 PM

We have a 23dbs and are on our third summer camping season. Usually it is just my wife and myself but at times we bring our grandson and during hunting season we have three of us in it. There are competing voices in my head at times about this trailer. Some days I love it and some days I wish I had gotten the 27bhs. The biggest advantage to the 23dbs is I can put it just about anywhere I want to, in fact I’ve yet to find a site I can’t fit in. If the weather is good we spend most of our time outside so the 23dbs is just a place to sleep and cook. When the weather is bad or during a cold hunting trip I wish I had the 27bhs. All that said I think I counted 4 campsites last year that I probably couldn’t fit the 27bhs into. Trailers are a series of trade offs and compromises and so I continue to waffle between the two. I will say that second door into the bathroom is a stroke of genius on the 27 but I use the outdoor kitchen more than I thought I would on the 23.

Billy79 · 06-21-2018, 11:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by starkk00

Billy79 - Thanks for the reply and that is what I fear happening. Buying the 23 and loving it and wishing for a bit more room. I also really like the door directly into the bathroom. What did you end up spending on the 27? What dealer? WDH?

We got ours for 51000 Canadian, it had the factory 160 watt solar panel on it. We bought it from Kelowna RV in British Columbia. If I had more time I definitely would have made the trip to Pendleton and purchased from Thompson RV, they are awesome. They quoted me the basically the same price 39300 US funds with the solar package. We ended up buying the Equalizer 4 point sway control WDH. Really like it, it's a huge improvement over the old Husky WDH we used on the 23 DBS.

brulaz · 06-22-2018, 05:36 AM

Really good discussion above of the sizing dilemma.

We went from a 24' trailer to the current 28'. Most of the time I don't regret it, but we do have to reserve sites earlier if we want to camp during busy seasons and summer weekends. And especially in some older parks there are fewer sites available.

Good luck!