Travel Trailers and campers advice

[Busterbrown]

The wife and I are in the market for a light weight travel trailer for future camping expeditions with our growing family. Since this will be our first RV, we're playing it smart and buying used. Looking for advice from members who have owned these campers with regards to what are absolute necessities, what configurations work best for young families, and what to stay away from. We'd like to keep it at least 4-5 years, and maybe upgrading then as space (most likely) will become an issue. For now, just the two of us with a 3 year old, a dog, and a new kid (hopefully) next year. I don't think will end up buying anything larger than 26ft with a max dry weight of 4500 lbs.

Items that immediately come to mind are:

1. Slides or no slides?
2. Floor plans
3. Duct or ductless AC units
4. Identifying roof leaks and other structural issues upon inspection.
5. Buy private or from a dealer?

Anything that will help us with a smart purchasing decision is greatly appreciated.

 

[Blade]

Tough to get under the weight if you have slides. So length is your best chance to get what you want.

Roofs leak. It's always at skylight, roof vents, and AC units. They must be caulked at least every two years minimum and more if you log lots of miles.

if you don't mind people being able to hear you fart or do other stuff, a pop-up style tent trailer will make it easy to fulfil your space and weight requirements.

leaks usually always show themselves as stains on the roof. check the roof inside the cupboards and feel for mushy wood. You can usually smell the musty smell that goes with it. If the vinyl covering on an inside roof liner is wrinkled that usually means trouble.

After a few trailers and a motorhome I have learned a few things and repairs can get expensive. I do not recommend extended warranty deals as it usually never pays. They find a way to exclude you unless you perform required maintenance from a licensed dealer.

 

[Playsinsnow]

There are so many variables that will make/break the experience for some.

Blade is right about leaks and soft sides.

Do not worry about the floor plan, doesn't sound like it should be a high priority.

Buy a car from a dealer or private? Depends, do your homework!

I would skip the slides for now unless you find a keeper. Adds weight. How far are you willing to travel? Some places out west will not allow soft sided trailers in certain areas. If you plan to travel far, lighter is better!

You will not know exactly what you want until you've been tried and tested. Do you plan on hanging out at camp or getting away? You'll know what you want and what you don't want after a few trips. Thought about renting a trailer to get a feel for it?

 

[The_Roadie]

If cost is not your main concern, consider what I have - a Trailmanor. It's basically a hard-sided pop-up. Mine's 23 feet closed up and the equivalent of a 30 ft trailer inside when expanded. It's like a transformer toy. Clever light-weight construction, and around 3000-3500 pounds. Many models, available from time to time on the used market or through a Trailmanor enthusiast forum that's easy to find.

 

[Sir ffeJ]

If cost is not your main concern, consider what I have - a Trailmanor. It's basically a hard-sided pop-up. Mine's 23 feet closed up and the equivalent of a 30 ft trailer inside when expanded. It's like a transformer toy. Clever light-weight construction, and around 3000-3500 pounds. Many models, available from time to time on the used market or through a Trailmanor enthusiast forum that's easy to find.

That is one sweet camper Roadie. How much did it run you, if you don't mind me asking?

 

[Mark20]

I have a 23 foot Kodiak 235 hybrid camper. The bunks fold out from the ends like a pop up but the rest is hard sided. It has the sofa on a slide. About 3800 lbs empty and 4500 loaded.

It was within the Envoy's specs but just didn't feel good when towing. The Silverado tows it much better.

A camping website I visit usual recommendation is to buy your second camper first.

 

[Busterbrown]

Tough to get under the weight if you have slides. So length is your best chance to get what you want.

Roofs leak. It's always at skylight, roof vents, and AC units. They must be caulked at least every two years minimum and more if you log lots of miles.

if you don't mind people being able to hear you fart or do other stuff, a pop-up style tent trailer will make it easy to fulfil your space and weight requirements.

leaks usually always show themselves as stains on the roof. check the roof inside the cupboards and feel for mushy wood. You can usually smell the musty smell that goes with it. If the vinyl covering on an inside roof liner is wrinkled that usually means trouble.

After a few trailers and a motorhome I have learned a few things and repairs can get expensive. I do not recommend extended warranty deals as it usually never pays. They find a way to exclude you unless yu perform required maintenance from a licensed dealer.

o

Thanks for the buying guide and advice. We'll be out looking after the holidays. With regards to weight, we've looked at new ultra light models in the low 4000 lb range with sofa slides that open up that middle space quite a bit. 5 years or older units are hard to find in this size/weight category.

 

[Busterbrown]

You will not know exactly what you want until you've been tried and tested. Do you plan on hanging out at camp or getting away? You'll know what you want and what you don't want after a few trips. Thought about renting a trailer to get a feel for it?

We'd like to stay light so mobility is a high priority. As far as renting, we've considered it but my wife doesn't agree with using discretionary income for something that we'd want to own in the very near future.

 

[Busterbrown]

If cost is not your main concern, consider what I have - a Trailmanor.

Funny you mention this: we're off to see one this weekend.

2001 Trailmanor Model 2720 Travel Trailer for sale.
It's been renewed on CL for almost a month now. Private owner so we'll go in low as conditions dictate.

TrailManor|Elkmont Lightweight Upright Trailer
The above unit's layout is the 3rd one listed on the manufacturer's website.

 

[Busterbrown]

I have a 23 foot Kodiak 235 hybrid camper.

We'd like only a hard shell as another member mentioned, some parks out west require it. I missed out on a Yellowstone opportunity years ago and am determined to go back.

A camping website I a visit usual recommendation is to buy your second camper first.

As in, don't "settle" with a unit in the interim, regrets can be costly. <----AGREED!

 

[Blade]

We'd like only a hard shell as another member mentioned, some parks out west require it. I missed out on a Yellowstone opportunity years ago and am determined to go back.


As in, don't "settle" with a unit in the interim, regrets can be costly. <----AGREED!

I like the unit Roadie has. They take a bit to set up but the weight/space ratio gain is fantastic! (Although set up time to me is paramount as I measure the unhook the trailer/to "Coke Zero" in chair time)

Mine is up there in weight but gives us a nice trade off in space and ease of set-up.

 

[DocBrown]

Do NOT go by the dry weight. That's a facade to convince people they can tow big trailers with mini-vans. Dry weight is the weight of the trailer as delivered from the factory with NO options and empty propane tanks. Options usually include A/C, awning, microwave, and a host of other things. My hybrid trailer has a dry weight of 3600#, but its nearly 4000# with options. Now that still doesn't include our "stuff".

What you want to pay attention to is the GVWR of the trailer. That's the max the trailer can weigh with all the options and all your "stuff". Know the towing capacity of your Rainier and know your GCVWR. That's the total combined weight of your tow vehicle, trailer, people, and stuff. Never exceed that number. Its far more important than the tow rating of the tow vehicle. The more "room" you have between the GVWR of the trailer and the GCVWR of the entire rig, the more pleasant your tow experience will be. The other concern is cargo capacity of the tow vehicle. Say its 1000#. That 1000# is people, the dog, the kids, all the stuff in the truck, AND the tongue weight of the trailer (which often be 500# or more). You have to subtract that from the GCVWR to get a realistic number for the size trailer you can pull. The good news to that you can move the "stuff" to the trailer and reduce the stress on the tow vehicle. the bad news is that moving the stuff won't change the gross combined weight. Keep in mind too that your kids will grow and gain weight, and they will take more toys with them too.

Let me give some real world examples from my experience. My TB has a 4900# towing capacity and a 10,000# GCVWR. I used to tow a 3500# GVWR hybrid. Well within my TBs tange. The TB towed it beautifully. We towed it to Yellowstone, no trouble in the mountains. And we've towed it all over WI. We could take my adult daughter with her camping gear (tent and everything that goes with) in the truck, again no problem. Now we have a 4750# GVWR hybrid trailer. So you can see we are pushing the capacity of the truck. On our maiden voyage we had far too much stuff in the truck and it struggled a bit to tow it. Second trip we carried almost nothing in the truck and the towing experience was great (there are a few other things I changed also). As good as it tows in WI, I would NOT tow this trailer through mountains with this truck.

All that said, you still might want to consider a hybrid trailer if you don't mind the vinyl/canvas bunk ends. Its really a pop-up camper with a travel trailer body and can give you far more space in a lighter package. The caveat is that you hear every noise outside, but those of us that have them love that part. and there are lots of places to stay just outside Yellowstone that don't require hard sided trailers. We stayed at Grizzly RV park which is less than 5 minutes from the west entrance. Everything in Yellowstone is a long drive no matter where you stay. This is our second hybrid trailer. Ours has a small slide for the couch. It makes a huge difference on floor space. BTW, you can also camp with the beds closed and its no different than a hard sided trailer, just less roomy inside.

 

[DocBrown]

A camping website I visit usual recommendation is to buy your second camper first.

The people who say this are usually the ones who bought on impulse the first time. Its almost impossible for people with no trailer experience to know what they need let alone what they want, so I always say to go to dealer and the camper shows and play with everything, even stuff that's out of your price range so you get an idea of what's available. Anything you buy will be a compromise. No camper has everything the way you want it except for the one you build yourself. Then too people's needs change over time and learn what they really want through use...

 

[Playsinsnow]

I've surfed a few of those forums. Dads with growing families. 1-2 kids with 1-2 more on way. As they grow you want more space. I'll be shocked at how many of them will continue to camp that long. Most come to realize the trailer was too heavy or too small for their liking.


Do your homework with weight and space and you'll have a gem that'll last a lifetime with the right care.

one more thing... BRAKES!

 

[The_Roadie]

Trailmanors are always higher price due to low production volume and clever use of construction materials. When we got our 3023 in 1994, it was a dealer demo that list for $22K I think and we got it for just under 20K. Equivalent full-size 25-27 foot trailers were going for $15K or so. We were towing at the time with a GMC 4.3L V6 Safari mini-van. But if it fits the mission you have for it, it's the bomb. Ours is getting long in the tooth and probably only worth $3-4K nowadays because the newer models like you're looking at have some significant improvements in materials and design. But I've towed it for 30-35K miles, 4 sets of tires, and some memorable family vacations like the Canadian Rockies and Yellowstone, while we were living in Oregon.

 

[Instrumental]

FYI: there's only one campground in Yellowstone that excludes soft sides, there are many other choices. We spent a week there in a pup a few years ago, it was amazing.