Looking for 1st BH TT

[wawazat]

I'm beginning my TT search and am looking for some input. Tow vehicle is a '09 Silverado 1500 Ext Cab Z71w factory tow. Initial research tells me my max tow weight is 7,500, I'm trying to stay well below that between 5k and 6.5k lbs. We have two girls and are looking at bunkhouse units. However, we're not fans of the tub-showers. We like the layout of the Jayco Jay Flight SLX 287BHS with it's large shower and 2 entries. We also like the Grand Design Imagine 2400BH. Are there any others we should be considering?

Thanks in advance!

[Dfair622]

Apex makes a REALLY light 24 foot bunk house. Check them out.

[Dfair622]

https://www.rvusa.com/rv-guide/2018-...245bhs-tr35522

[Freqz]

Pretty much every manufacturer makes a bunkhouse in your length range your problem will be finding the right one instead of just finding one. Good problem to have [emoji4]

Tow/payload capacity will be an issue (it always is)...half tons will run out of payload long before they run out of tow capacity so it is wise to keep it light. It’d be even better if you figured out exactly how much payload you have available either by weighing your truck for $11 at the local truck scales or by looking at the yellow sticker in your door that tells you your available payload for your truck (it’s been my experience that trucks gain weight as they age...). Then you can back out kids, spouse, pets, etc and find your real max safe tow weight. The more you can leave as margin, the better off you'll be. You may be surprised at how small this number is but it’s far easier to find this out before you buy the trailer: we see threads weekly, if not daily, about upgrading tow vehicles because they bought too much trailer and wound up in a bind the first time or two they tried to go camping. This is an avoidable problem.

My favorite light weight bunkhouse would be the Lance by a mile but it’s easy to spend someone else's money. [emoji38]. Generally, the more you pay the better off you'll be. Trailers in this class are fiercely price competitive so be wary of deals that seem too good to be true...

Good luck!

[wawazat]

Originally Posted by Dfair622

https://www.rvusa.com/rv-guide/2018-...245bhs-tr35522

I really do like this one.... as well as the 288BHS! Thanks for the suggestion!

[Dfair622]

Originally Posted by wawazat

I really do like this one.... as well as the 288BHS! Thanks for the suggestion!

Absolutely. A local dealer had this one on sale for under twenty grand due to the new models coming in. Safe travels

[wawazat]

Originally Posted by Freqz

Tow/payload capacity will be an issue (it always is)...half tons will run out of payload long before they run out of tow capacity so it is wise to keep it light. It’d be even better if you figured out exactly how much payload you have available either by weighing your truck for $11 at the local truck scales or by looking at the yellow sticker in your door that tells you your available payload for your truck (it’s been my experience that trucks gain weight as they age...). Then you can back out kids, spouse, pets, etc and find your real max safe tow weight. The more you can leave as margin, the better off you'll be.
Good luck!

Freqz, thanks for the solid info.
I weighed the truck today.
GVWR 7,000
Actual - 5,680 -Full tank of gas and me in it.
Family - 370
Stuff - 100
Remaining 850 Lbs

Did an online web chat with GM this morning to confirm that the truck has a 3.73 axel ratio.

Trailer is getting smaller all the time... now looking at an Apex Nano 208BHS with a hitch weight of 516lbs and a GVWR of 6,000.

Thoughts on these numbers welcome and appreciated!

[shane_the_ee]

How are you going to be using it? If you're not going to be doing long interstate trips, you could even consider moving down again in size and price and looking at the little single axle bunkhouses from Keystone (Springdale or Hideout)...

[wawazat]

Originally Posted by shane_the_ee

How are you going to be using it? If you're not going to be doing long interstate trips, you could even consider moving down again in size and price and looking at the little single axle bunkhouses from Keystone (Springdale or Hideout)...

Mostly weekend camping, East Coast... PA, VA, NC. Doubt we'd drive further than 6 hours.

[shane_the_ee]

The downside to the bigger single axle trailers is that for almost all of them, the maximum carrying capacity is the maximum axle weight. Which is ok for short trips to a local campground, but you don't really want to be running a highly loaded travel trailer axle at high speeds and high temperatures for long periods of time. Which is why the wheel bearings tend to be the most common mechanical failure on trailer running gear. So it can be advantageous to get a trailer with a higher GVWR due to the 2nd axle and then limit the amount of stuff you put in it...

[wawazat]

Originally Posted by shane_the_ee

The downside to the bigger single axle trailers is that for almost all of them, the maximum carrying capacity is the maximum axle weight. Which is ok for short trips to a local campground, but you don't really want to be running a highly loaded travel trailer axle at high speeds and high temperatures for long periods of time. Which is why the wheel bearings tend to be the most common mechanical failure on trailer running gear. So it can be advantageous to get a trailer with a higher GVWR due to the 2nd axle and then limit the amount of stuff you put in it...

I wasn't considering a single axle at all. The Apex Nano 208BHS has 2 of 'em.

[Freqz]

Originally Posted by wawazat

Freqz, thanks for the solid info.

I weighed the truck today.

GVWR 7,000

Actual - 5,680 -Full tank of gas and me in it.

Family - 370

Stuff - 100

Remaining 850 Lbs



Did an online web chat with GM this morning to confirm that the truck has a 3.73 axel ratio.



Trailer is getting smaller all the time... now looking at an Apex Nano 208BHS with a hitch weight of 516lbs and a GVWR of 6,000.



Thoughts on these numbers welcome and appreciated!

Thank you for taking the time to weigh your truck

6000 lbs GVWR would be an excellent cutoff for trailer weight with your setup. That hitch weight will go up as the trailer gets loaded

[wawazat]

Originally Posted by Freqz

Thank you for taking the time to weigh your truck

6000 lbs GVWR would be an excellent cutoff for trailer weight with your setup. That hitch weight will go up as the trailer gets loaded

The Apex Nano 208 BHS (fully loaded) should give me roughly 130lbs remaining payload, 300 lbs under GVWR and, 800 lbs under GCVW. With that small of a trailer I doubt I'd be able to fill it with 2,000 lbs of "stuff" to get it up to that 6000lbs GVWR.. so I should feel pretty comfortable towing this setup.

Thanks again for all the input.

[lcboy]

We have a 2800 bh imagine and I pull with a 2016 Chevy z71 with 342 gears and it pulls good. But it will downshift on hills or bridges. Got 10.3 mpg this weekend pulling 60 mph on a 2 hr trip.