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Old 08-26-2019, 05:48 PM   #1
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New to RVing and have questions!

Hello everyone on this fantastic forum!


You are the ones my wife and I need to hear from.


We are lining up to buy our first pull behind travel trailer.


I want, no - need, your opinions on several questions.


We have several trailers we are looking at and deciding is a little difficult.


1) How close to your trucks GVWR max would you get when picking a camper?
We have a truck with a towing cap of 8800 lbs.
Does that mean it is comfortable to take it up towards that or should we stay below by say, 1000 lbs?


2) This is mainly for my wife and myself but we want it capable for 2 to 4 more guests.
Are most that say they have sleeping room for 6 really legitimate or is that a tight 6?


3) Keeping the "Up to 6" in mind, but 99% of the time it will be the two of us, what is the minimum Fresh/Gray/Black water capacities you would recommend?


4) We are thinking a 24' to 26' trailer. What are your experiences? Is that a good size to comfortably house up to 6 (but mostly 2)? We chose that length range for ease of pulling and backing.


5) Any things that stick out in your minds that you especially like or do not care for in a travel trailer?


6) Does it matter regarding fiberglass or metal shell?


7) Does having a ladder on the end indicate you can go up on the roof or always avoid stepping foot on the roof?


8) Is there a make or two that stands out in your mind as having exceptional trailers?


9) We are hoping to have our travel trailer on hand by the end of October.
We live in north central Pennsylvania.
We will use it mostly in fall and spring as we are always very busy in the summer. Any thoughts on colder weather RVing?


Please, throw out there anything that comes to mind. It will only help us. We feel strongly about having a slide. Are those without big enough to enjoy as well?


Thank you to everyone for helping us out. While working today and thinking where can I go to get answers it hit me - a forum like yours here where you all have great experiences!


God bless!!


Michael and Karen
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Old 08-26-2019, 06:50 PM   #2
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Truck cargo carrying capacity is what you need to know.......be a tight 6....
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Old 08-26-2019, 07:16 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MJSteele View Post
Hello everyone on this fantastic forum!


You are the ones my wife and I need to hear from.


We are lining up to buy our first pull behind travel trailer.


I want, no - need, your opinions on several questions.


We have several trailers we are looking at and deciding is a little difficult.


1) How close to your trucks GVWR max would you get when picking a camper?
We have a truck with a towing cap of 8800 lbs.
Does that mean it is comfortable to take it up towards that or should we stay below by say, 1000 lbs?


2) This is mainly for my wife and myself but we want it capable for 2 to 4 more guests.
Are most that say they have sleeping room for 6 really legitimate or is that a tight 6?


3) Keeping the "Up to 6" in mind, but 99% of the time it will be the two of us, what is the minimum Fresh/Gray/Black water capacities you would recommend?


4) We are thinking a 24' to 26' trailer. What are your experiences? Is that a good size to comfortably house up to 6 (but mostly 2)? We chose that length range for ease of pulling and backing.


5) Any things that stick out in your minds that you especially like or do not care for in a travel trailer?


6) Does it matter regarding fiberglass or metal shell?


7) Does having a ladder on the end indicate you can go up on the roof or always avoid stepping foot on the roof?


8) Is there a make or two that stands out in your mind as having exceptional trailers?


9) We are hoping to have our travel trailer on hand by the end of October.
We live in north central Pennsylvania.
We will use it mostly in fall and spring as we are always very busy in the summer. Any thoughts on colder weather RVing?


Please, throw out there anything that comes to mind. It will only help us. We feel strongly about having a slide. Are those without big enough to enjoy as well?


Thank you to everyone for helping us out. While working today and thinking where can I go to get answers it hit me - a forum like yours here where you all have great experiences!


God bless!!


Michael and Karen
Welcome! Good to have you here,

1- I believe probably nowhere near the max because of things like braking. Go to someone who specializes in towing applications to see what you need to tow trailers safely and comfortably. If you post that question in the Travel Trailer forum with all of the particulars of the truck you can find out a lot more.

2- how well do you know these folks? Look at the layouts and imagine sleeping in the bed/dinette. Is the couch long enough?

3- The gray water is the limiter here. My wife and I have learned to stay in the outdoors for a week with a 50 gal grey tank but it takes navy showers and care in washing dishes. Outdoor showers and dish washing will stretch things.

9-If you plan to get below freezing be sure that the trailer is built to handle it. Talk to the dealer but confirm it here.
All of the questions are subjective. Use the search and spend a week reading all sorts of good stuff. Then you will have what you need to decide. You are going to have a great time.
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Old 08-26-2019, 07:21 PM   #4
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After deciding on the appropriate tow vehicle, become very knowledgible on your hitch. It should be a weight distribution hitch that transfers some of the tongue weight to the tow vehicle and it should also include a method of controlling trailer sway.

Admittedly my experience is decades old and I have no doubt that many improvements have been made, but I had to learn by trial and error how to set the weight distribution spring bars to the right tension and to get the friction sway bar set tight enough to be effective.

Here's a "scary story" of what can happen if things aren't set right: Upon leaving Indiana bound for Florida we encountered some moderately heavy rain on a busy highway. Even though I was trying to keep a careful eye on the traffic and signal lights, one caught me by surprise by turning red before I expected it. I stepped on the brakes pretty hard - and proceeded to slide right through the busy intersection. Fortunately the cross traffic hadn't started yet so I got through unscathed and no close calls.

I pulled over immediately and quickly discovered I hadn't tensioned the spring bars nearly enough and that transferred the tongue weight to the hitch ball which in turn took weight off the front wheels, allowing them to easily break traction with the wet road. After tensioning them properly, which puts a portion of the tongue weight on the vehicle frame and thus to the front end, we never had that problem again. Lesson learned!!!

P.S. - In my feeble defense, we bought the trailer from someone who lived in it but had never had it out on the road. Thus my "learn by doing" excuse.
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Old 08-26-2019, 07:22 PM   #5
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Thank you Bob.


I appreciate your response.


Would you say there is a minimum of fresh water capacity you would consider?
On the couple of trailers I have narrowed my search down to I have seen as high as 50 and as low as 31 gallons.
I know 31 is low but would you consider it just too low?


The manual states a max of 8800 lbs for towing.
Would a trailer weighing 7600 be too close and you would look lower or are your thoughts "it says 8800 and so you can comfortably pull up to 8800!"



Again, thanks!


And God bless!!


Michael and Karen
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Old 08-26-2019, 07:32 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by MJSteele View Post


Would you say there is a minimum of fresh water capacity you would consider?
The answer to that is ... it depends. What style of camping are you going to do? Campgrounds only or dry camping in the boonies? How many nights to you plan to be out at a time? Do you cook from scratch, which uses more water?

And most importantly, for the sake of your relationship, how many days can you go without a real shower?
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Old 08-26-2019, 07:36 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MJSteele View Post
Hello everyone on this fantastic forum!


You are the ones my wife and I need to hear from.


We are lining up to buy our first pull behind travel trailer.


I want, no - need, your opinions on several questions.


We have several trailers we are looking at and deciding is a little difficult.


1) How close to your trucks GVWR max would you get when picking a camper?
We have a truck with a towing cap of 8800 lbs.
Does that mean it is comfortable to take it up towards that or should we stay below by say, 1000 lbs?


2) This is mainly for my wife and myself but we want it capable for 2 to 4 more guests.
Are most that say they have sleeping room for 6 really legitimate or is that a tight 6?


3) Keeping the "Up to 6" in mind, but 99% of the time it will be the two of us, what is the minimum Fresh/Gray/Black water capacities you would recommend?


4) We are thinking a 24' to 26' trailer. What are your experiences? Is that a good size to comfortably house up to 6 (but mostly 2)? We chose that length range for ease of pulling and backing.


5) Any things that stick out in your minds that you especially like or do not care for in a travel trailer?


6) Does it matter regarding fiberglass or metal shell?


7) Does having a ladder on the end indicate you can go up on the roof or always avoid stepping foot on the roof?


8) Is there a make or two that stands out in your mind as having exceptional trailers?


9) We are hoping to have our travel trailer on hand by the end of October.
We live in north central Pennsylvania.
We will use it mostly in fall and spring as we are always very busy in the summer. Any thoughts on colder weather RVing?


Please, throw out there anything that comes to mind. It will only help us. We feel strongly about having a slide. Are those without big enough to enjoy as well?


Thank you to everyone for helping us out. While working today and thinking where can I go to get answers it hit me - a forum like yours here where you all have great experiences!


God bless!!


Michael and Karen
Welcome, there are great people on these forums willing to help.

I like something in the order of 15% reserve weight capacity, never get too close the max.

Are the other four people adults or kids? If kids, like grandkids it could work. If adults it would be tight in that size of trailer. The extra beds are not frequently very big or comfy. Try it before buying. I'd stick with the 26ft range.

There are many tricks to make your fresh water last longer. Use external shower and restrooms anytime you can.

Ladders can be very handy to get on the roof.

Shell material is not real important. Fiberglass finishes can be very pretty and glossy, if that's important to you.

As for what we like may have little to nothing to do with your likes or needs. Check out every bed carefully, some are very hard. The factory battery will probably be almost useless. Makes sure you can put in at least 2 6 volt golf cart batteries. There are endless threads on batteries. Spend at least 4-6 hours going through every aspect of the RV before buying. Inside, under and on top.
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Old 08-26-2019, 07:52 PM   #8
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I think the first thing I should do is get our hitch system inspected.
See if we need any improvements or upgrades to handle weight.
akeagle - Thank you for the scary story (that turned out okay!)
I am sure I do.

Our truck is a 2004 Ford F150 Lariat with the 5.4L engine, 18" wheels, 145 wheel base, and 3.73 Rear Axle Ratio.
According to the trucks manual we are good up to 8800.
If we switch to 17" wheels we can go up to 9300 lbs.

I have been targeting trailers at 7K and below regarding weight.

The responses regarding fresh water are good ones.
We want t be able to camp for up to three of four days without hooking up to an additional water supply.

We have been advised of the "Submarine Shower System" of water on, water off!!

You all have such good input.

Trying to figure out how to pick you all up in the truck to go check these trailers out!!

God bless!!

Michael and Karen
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Old 08-26-2019, 07:56 PM   #9
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I wanted to welcome to the forum. Since we have a MH i really can't help with the TT questions. However it seems you have gotten some good advice already.

You are joining a good group of folks here with good info to share.

Good luck and enjoy the adventure!
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Old 08-26-2019, 07:58 PM   #10
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Get the biggest truck on the lot. Bring a tent for the extra 2 or 4 people, give them a flashlight and make sure they know where the shower/bathrooms are.
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Old 08-26-2019, 08:01 PM   #11
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TTs are built to conserve weight; meaning that they are built light; meaning that they are built with the least amount of structure possible. Don't expect one to not get loose on you fairly quickly.

You won't know what you really like until you've spent time in one, so buy your first one cheap and plan to keep it one year while you learn what you really want.

Heating a TT is a big deal, because you'll need either propane or a generator and make sure that the one you pick out has double pane windows.

6 people sharing a bathroom in a 24' TT just boggles my mind to think about, and the refrigerator and A/C units aren't built to accommodate that many bodies.

Buy your first TT for price, buy the next one for needs/wants
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Old 08-26-2019, 08:14 PM   #12
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switching to a TT myself, but as a roughly same size class c owner can address a couple questions

You might be able to sleep 4-6, which is everyone mainly staying outside, but bad weather, ect, its going to get cramped inside quick at only 24-26 ft

water depends, if your mainly camping at campgrounds they have water hookups, unless your going to boondock, camp several days with no hookups, fresh water cap isnt a big deal
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Old 08-26-2019, 08:56 PM   #13
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Bear in mind that besides the trailer, you'll also be carrying passengers, full fuel tank(s), food, clothing, and all manner of odds and ends. I try very hard to split my gear between truck and trailer, for weight distribution. It helps keep truck and trailer level too. I have a 25' Lance which sleeps 4 reasonably well, 6 isnt likely. Absolutely the #1 thing is a good weight distributing anti sway hitch, properly installed. Likely your dealer will be able to do this. There are endless RV "how-to" videos on youtube, and its always eye opening to talk to the service dept at the dealers, if you can ditch the sales people. Best Luck!
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Old 08-26-2019, 09:24 PM   #14
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Couple of buying tips.

Always be prepared to walk away from any deal if things don't look right. They're not going to be any better latter. With ANY new RV there will be problems and issues needing to be fixed. Even high end stuff. Just nature of the beast and the industry these days. Check out the service department as well as the TT. Frequently RV sales people will tell you anything you want to hear to make a sale. Some dealers that sell financing plans make a lots of profit from the sales contract. Be ware.

I agree that TT in the class you're looking at will be light weight. That means less structural material used in their construction. Be ware of buying the glitz, look for real value.

We spent a year looking and researching before buying our first RV, that we still have. Being new to this and wanting to buy within a month or so means limited time to learn, thus mistakes are more likely. Might consider buying used so as to lessen the depreciation hit of buying new. We bought both of our RVs used. Let someone else work through the factory errors.
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