Going Cross Country

[Rosalind Lee]

We are planning on spending 6 months to travel cross country in about 3 years. We are looking at travel trailers - what size would you recommend?
Happy New Year

We are planning on spending 6 months to travel cross country in about 3 years. We are looking at travel trailers - what size would you recommend?
Happy New Year

[radams]

That's darn near impossible to say for someone else with all the variables involved. I can say that the people I know have appreciated all the space they can get. If it were me I would figure out how much my tow vehicle would handle and then I'd go for the max size.

Good luck with your decision. Sounds like you've got a heck of an adventure ahead of you!

[IWillRVToo]

Hi,
30 feet or less. Many state parks, national parks and national forest CG's have a 30 foot limit.
If you buy bigger, you won't be able to stay everywhere that you might want to.

[Bee950]

Who cares what others think, you are the one that has to live in it. In my case, it was 40 feet or longer wiht the most number of slides. I have never had a problem with space restrictions, because I can drive past them.

[Ray,IN]

There are far too many unknowns to make any recommendation. Some are: how many people, how many children, how many pets, what climates do you anticipate, what type tow vehicle is desired, what will be average percentage of boondocking vs FHU, will you frequent public CG's or private parks, etc. That is just a small portion of things to be answered before you can begin trailer shopping. The trailer length, GVW, layout, tank capacities, build quality, storage space, etc depend on your answers.

[powerboatr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bee950 Who cares what others think, you are the one that has to live in it. In my case, it was 40 feet or longer wiht the most number of slides. I have never had a problem with space restrictions, because I can drive past them.

yup
but i have even squeezed into the crater of diamonds state park in ar.
we just took our time and eased on through

if you do good research first about a park....and then have an alternative place to stay, you will do just fine

patients is the key.

[wingnut60]

Rosalind,
You are listed as in the Winnebago Owner Club--is it not possible to use what you have? Or, why change to a travel trailer?
Joe

[RickO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by powerboatr yup but i have even squeezed into the crater of diamonds state park in ar. we just took our time and eased on through if you do good research first about a park....and then have an alternative place to stay, you will do just fine patients is the key.

Great advice. For the most part, we've been reluctant to try to get our 40 DP in state or national parks. Many times, however, once we get set up in a private CG and begin to explore the parks... we kick ourselves because we could have fit.

Good luck

Rick

[Rosalind Lee]

Presently we do own a 1985 27ft Winnebago, we love it but not much living area inside. We would also have to buy a truck to tow whatever trailer we buy. We are looking at 26 ft keystone hornet right now.
Thanks for all the relpies

[CD]

As others have said, it depends on what you need/want or have to have. We have some friends ( 60s, not young) that travel with a small PU (Ford Ranger I think) with a small cargo trailer on business trips. They have an antique business in their home and go on trips all over the US. They sleep in the back of the PU W/canopy. They have a small stove that they use to cook on. Occasionally they stay in a motel. They go for 1 to 2 mos at a time. (NOT FOR ME). On the other hand, this weekend we saw an Aqua RV on TV (42'). I think it cost $2.5M. They could drive it down a boat ramp to launch it in a lake. I'm sure these extremes are not what you are looking for.

[vermilye]

I love to travel and now that I'm retired I can take as long as I like. My previous trips were a mix of tent camping & motels (although we did do a 2 week trip in a rental class A) but my current combination is a RAV4 (V6 & tow package)& a 17' Escape (fiberglass egg) travel trailer. This spring & summer I did a 111 day trip across the country, and a 2 week trip following the fall colors here on the east coast.

The combination works well for me - a single traveler that spends most of my time outside the trailer photographing state & national parks. Obviously, something larger would work better for a family, but I do have the advantage of 15MPG towing & 24 unhitched. A journal of the summer trip starts here & links to all my trips are here.

[Rosalind Lee]

My husband would be content to do the "TENT" thing cross country me not so much!!

[SmokeyWren]

If a 27-ft motorhome is too small for your druthers, then your first job is to find a trailer that will satisfy your need for rattling around room. Then find a tow vehicle that will be more than enough truck for the job.

In our case, we chose a 25-foot fifth wheel mid-profile RV with a GVWR of 8,000 pounds, with one big slide in the living room. We towed it with an F-250 diesel pickup that was slightly overloaded over the GVWR of the pickup. We put around 100,000 miles on that trailer in a little over 10 years, and the pickup had almost 200,000 miles on it when we sold it.

With a clean sheet of paper and 20/20 hindsight, I'd probably choose a slightly bigger trailer, 28-foot full-profile 5er with a GVWR about 10,000 pounds and one big slide, and drag it with an F-350 SRW (single rear wheels) diesel pickup. The pickup wouldn't be overloaded, and plenty of rattling around room for two adults.

Mid-profile means about 5" floor to ceiling in the bedroom over the hitch. Advantage is less wind resistance so better fuel mileage. Disadvantage is you have to stoop to make the bed or when walking around in the bedroom. High-profile is about 6.5 to 7' floor to ceiling in the bedroom, but it's heavier and drags more wind. Our first 5er was low profile - only crawling around room in the bedroom. Darling Wife insisted we trade up to a mid profile after a couple of years of her having to crawl around on arthritic knees to make the bed.

Just like motorhomes, 5ers come in all sizes. If money were no object, I'd love to have a 40' diesel pusher motorhome dragging a small pickup or SUV toad. Or a 37' Mobile Suites 5er with an F-450 diesel pickup to drag it around with. But money is a concern, so I have to compromise. So I'd limit the size and weight capacity of the RV trailer to something I could pull with an SRW pickup without overloading anything.

For 6 months of full-timing, you must know which 6 months so you can buy the right RV. If it's the 6 warmer months, then no big concern except get plenty of AC to keep it cool. But if any cold months are included in that 6 months, then you must have a "4 seasons" RV with plenty of insulation to prevent frozen water pipes. For a reasonable priced 4-seasons RV, check out Artic Fox ( Northwood Manufacturing: Arctic Fox ). If $100,000 for a camper trailer doesn't phase you, then check out Mobile Suites ( www.drvsuites.com )