Towing and using a Travel trailer vs a Class A Gasser

[Unicorn Driver]

Hi,

When I was first looking at rv's 2 years ago my v6 4runner
could only tow 5000lbs, I set myself a dry weight limit of 3500lbs and in this range there was no floorplans we liked. We ended up purchasing an 11 year old 35ft class A gasser.

Today I purchased a 2010 Toyota Seqouia 4wd which came with a brake controller.

I have never towed even a utility trailer in the past. I have driven my class A about 5,000 miles and used for 50 nights.

I am not saying I want a travel trailer but would like investigate possibly moving to one.

Thanks,

[WinnieView]

We have had 3 motorhomes and no trailers. And for all the reasons including the convenience of moving from the driving seat to the bed without having to go outside, always an on board generator, and being self-contained, we see no reason to change.

[Superslif]

With the 2010 Toyota Seqouia's 8800lbs. towing capacity. I'll assume it has the 5.7L (4x4). and a max tongue limit of 910 lbs. ( Toyota Sequoia towing numbers / specs 2010 )

That will open you up to many more trailer options. Before my Tundra I have now, I had a 05' 4Runner with the 4.7L V-8 (7200 lb. max towing). Even that SUV I only towed a 3700 (dry) 24' tt and a 4400 lb. (dry) 5500 (wet) / 25' tt. I would not have gone any larger.

That SUV was used for 9 years to tow both RV trailers about 50-60 nights per season.

In my opinion, unless you have a larger budget for a motorhome plus a toad, I'll stick with my truck and trailer. You almost have to have a toad if your doing any vacationing and want to check out the sites. I remember Yellowstone last year where people with only a motorhome were extremely limited in finding any parking spaces. We do a lot of one week stays per stop where we will drive the near by area to see other sites.

[plasma800]

Let's forget the truck for a second and discuss the differences in RV's.

Basically, Towable vs Class A or drive it RV.

I think there are a lot of major differences to consider, and I've owned both.

With any motorized RV, the engine and drive train are of course in the RV. Now there are of course major differences between the diesel and the gasser, but regardless, the engine and drive train are in the RV.

That means different kinds of maint. Specialty shops and possibly higher dollar points to fix, repair, upgrade vs a truck, which can be easily fixed at any dealer, at almost any time, and likely for less, or even better, under warranty.

Floorplans... towables offer different floorplans, where I find that a lot of bus style rv's have very similar floorplans. Opposing couches, that's that. Not all, but most. This is a personal decision.

Towing the wrong towable with the wrong truck is miserable. Period.

Towing the right towable with the right truck is a pleasure.

regular trucks have nice cabs.. and the stuff in them works all the time. The cabs always work. The air conditioning works, the heater works. Occasionally in a driveable, the cab isn't as well thought out.

When you show up in a driveable in the rain, you can just park and get busy. When you show up in a towable in the rain, you're wearing a rain jacket to set up.

Safety. I trust the safety of my family more in a truck than a driveable. A major accident in a driveable can truly wreck everything behind the cab.

Storing...storing a towable I think is easier. You don't have to worry about oil, fuel, gas going bad, algae in a diesel tank.

Big Buses have a lot of under storage. Travel trailers not so much. 5th wheels have a big storage bay too. We personally travel light, so we always made do no matter. Matter of fact our class A was full of empty bays, and empty drawers. This is not the case for everyone.

Towables are more "systems simple".

Driveables are more convenient in some ways.

[Unicorn Driver]

Originally Posted by plasma800

Let's forget the truck for a second and discuss the differences in RV's.

Basically, Towable vs Class A or drive it RV.

I think there are a lot of major differences to consider, and I've owned both.

With any motorized RV, the engine and drive train are of course in the RV. Now there are of course major differences between the diesel and the gasser, but regardless, the engine and drive train are in the RV.

That means different kinds of maint. Specialty shops and possibly higher dollar points to fix, repair, upgrade vs a truck, which can be easily fixed at any dealer, at almost any time, and likely for less, or even better, under warranty.

Floorplans... towables offer different floorplans, where I find that a lot of bus style rv's have very similar floorplans. Opposing couches, that's that. Not all, but most. This is a personal decision.

Towing the wrong towable with the wrong truck is miserable. Period.

Towing the right towable with the right truck is a pleasure.

regular trucks have nice cabs.. and the stuff in them works all the time. The cabs always work. The air conditioning works, the heater works. Occasionally in a driveable, the cab isn't as well thought out.

When you show up in a driveable in the rain, you can just park and get busy. When you show up in a towable in the rain, you're wearing a rain jacket to set up.

Safety. I trust the safety of my family more in a truck than a driveable. A major accident in a driveable can truly wreck everything behind the cab.

Storing...storing a towable I think is easier. You don't have to worry about oil, fuel, gas going bad, algae in a diesel tank.

Big Buses have a lot of under storage. Travel trailers not so much. 5th wheels have a big storage bay too. We personally travel light, so we always made do no matter. Matter of fact our class A was full of empty bays, and empty drawers. This is not the case for everyone.

Towables are more "systems simple".

Driveables are more convenient in some ways.

I hear you on the safety, we dont have kids, so just my wife and I and our dog.

My buddy has told me some horror stories of towing his TT with a half ton truck. I think he is at the ragged weight limit though.

I like driving my class A but we do not pull a toad at all.

[Isaac-1]

One thing to ask yourself, assuming you will not be full timing. What do you do with the trailer if the truck breaks down or gets in an accident while you are traveling. This happened to my father some years ago while he and my step-mother were crossing Texas.

They were somewhere west of San Antonio (about a 7-8 hour drive from home), and something broke on the truck while going down the highway. I forget the exact issue, but the truck and trailer were left disabled on the side of the highway. They ended up getting a tow truck to take their truck to a dealership 70 or so miles away, but the tow truck t could not also pull their travel trailer. After several hours they were able to get the travel trailer towed to a nearby campground where it ended up sitting for the next several weeks while the truck was in the shop.

They ended up having to rent a car to drive home, then take another trip out to west Texas 3 or 4 weeks later to retrieve the truck and trailer, all the while paying campground fees to store the trailer while the truck was in the shop.

[Superslif]

That is why for one, I keep a relatively newer tow vehicle. #2 I drive Toyota's, #3 I carry a factory $0 deductible warranty (on tow vehicle), # never keep a vehicle over 100k miles.

That is why I bought my new Tundra in 14' knowing we were going to Alaska in 16' and I didn't want to take a 9 year old 4Runner.

The last thing I want is to be 1000 miles from home and have a broken down vehicle. The only minor issue was an alternator on my 2005 4Runner left me. Was able to baby it home 100 miles, and replaced under warranty.

[BirchyBoy]

I went through two different truck/trailer combos and then moved to a class A.

My first trailer was a 24', 3,500lb, with no slides and was super easy to pull and backup. I pulled it with an older Yukon and then a new Grand Cherokee. It was definitely the least expensive setup we've had. We had a lot of fun but outgrew it.

I then went to a 31', 8k trailer which needed a bigger truck. I found a good deal on a '05 Super Duty crew cab long bed. Great truck but the combination of the length of the truck and trailer degraded the fun. The trailer was great when parked (opposing slides) but was absolutely no fun to back into spots, go through gas stations, etc. My point is there is a sweet spot in total length and features, etc. It may take some time to find that.

Since we moved to a class A, life has been so much better. With trailers, getting there and getting setup was a chore. That's not the case with our class A. We pull through or back up, hit the levelers and then put the slide out. My larger trailer had electric jacks, which was easy, but getting the weight distribution hitch connected/disconnected and then manually leveling with blocks under the wheels was not.

The last time we took a trip to Denver with our class a for two weeks we rented a car for a portion of the time. It was a couple hundred dollars but was dang easy. The one time we pulled a toad it was so nice. Having a 17k class A pulling a 4k car is super nice. We couldn't back up, but everything else about towing it was much, much better.

[Mr_D]

Owned TT's for 19 years then switched to MH's in 1988, will not own another TT.
Just a personal preference for me.

[stepside454]

It’s all personal preference . Each haspros & cons.

[Gordon Dewald]

Whatever you think works the best for you, works the best for you.

[Unicorn Driver]

Thanks all for the replies,

We are going to stick with a Class A.

[manderson2228]

I started with a TT and moved up to a Class A. There are some pro's to the TT for sure, mostly getting into smaller spots, but I am sure glad I went to the Class A. I like it so much better. It's more relaxing to travel in it than to tow the TT.

[MetalGator]

We rented several travel trailers before we purchased a 30' TT in 2011. We had many great trips in that trailer and it served us well. Last summer we purchased our first Motorhome and we'll never go back to a TT. Besides the $$$, we absolutely love traveling in the motorhome. It was so nice the first time we arrived at a destination and it was raining. I already had the generator running so I just parked, hit a button to put down the jacks and waited for the rain to stop. With the TT, I would have been soaked by the time I got the trailer unhooked, leveled, the dogs moved from the truck to the trailer, etc. The other thing I like is having a cool house once we arrive. We live in Florida and traveling in the summer is always really hot. When we travel now we run both AC units with the generator while driving. With the trailer, it would be hot inside for awhile with the AC only being able to run once we got hooked up. I also find our 37' motorhome easier to manover in tight spots although I never really had an issue with the TT. Oh course, our current motorhome cost 6 times what I paid for the trailer. Both the trailer and motorhome were purchased new.

Burch