Travel Trailer Query

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Raj

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Feb 13, 2017
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Hi,
My name is Raj and I am from the beautiful Edmonton, Alberta! My wife and 2 kids enjoy the great canadian outdoors and love camping. Tenting was fun but we thought it was time i upgrade so are looking for a travel trailer now. Since we are new to this adventure, I have listed some specific requirements that I would like to have in our trailer. I am hoping the experts here can help us find the trailer of our dreams! We are looking for:
A Complete Hard Top
Sleeps 4 comfortably - with a queen and bunks
Tandem axles (new to towing so want to be on the safer side!)
Max dry weight of 5,000 Lbs (allowing for additional 1,000 Lbs of people and cargo) - have a dodge durango that can tow max 7,200 Lbs
Length - Bumper to A-Frame not to exceed 23'
Price not to exceed $22K Canadian!

Thanks in advance for all your help!
Raj
 
One of these may work for you:

http://www.coachmenrv.com/product-details.aspx?LineID=63

 
You really need to check the payload rating of your Durango first (yellow label on the driver side door). Pulling 6000 lbs wont be the problem...the 600-800 lb of additional tongue weight will be an issue (especially with 4 people and all your stuff in the vehicle).

You may need to look for an ultra-lite (3500 lbs) that can sleep 4.
 
Max dry weight of 5,000 Lbs (allowing for additional 1,000 Lbs of people and cargo)
Click to expand...

Why mess with dry weight, which probably won't even match the actual unloaded weight of the trailer (extras, etc.)? IMHO dry weight is a useless figure. Look, instead, at the max gross (GVWR) for the unit; this will keep you from unintentional overloads and will better match your tow vehicle to the trailer.
 
If the tow vehicle has to be the Durango, as already suggested, you need to see what you can actually tow.  Once you load it up with your family, etc. you likely won't be able to haul nearly 7,200 pounds.
 
Jayco x213 is a possibility.      Queen hard pull out. Bunks for the kids.  6000 gross 1200 payload.  Alot of floor space for a 23 ft Couch and dineat. New 2017 list at 25,000 us.  So a little haggling should get you into the target price. Or get one that a year or two old
https://www.jayco.com/products/travel-trailers/2017-jay-feather/x213/
 
That max tow number assumes very few options on the Durango, one 150# driver, no other passengers or cargo.  You must subtract the weight of all passengers and cargo, plus another 200# for installed options to get a better estimate of the heaviest TT you can tow.

As Larry said, forget dry wt.  Go by the TT GVWR to determine tow ability.
 
Looks like you and I have the same tow vehicle, Durango, AWD with the HEMI. Massspike is right, our limitation isn't just the weight of the camper, it's more the max 720 lbs. on the hitch. I've looked at tons of different nice trailers and had to rule a bunch out after adding some cargo, water, etc. and calculate the increase in dry hitch weight.
 
I do alot of interstate travel.  With the exception of dulley pickups I would say 85% of the tow vehicles I see are overloaded ..... State police go after tractor trailers and other commercial vehicles all the time ... But almost never stop a privet RV or tow vehicle for being over weight and or unsafe
 
Thanks a lots for all your replies! Today I am going to check out Starcraft Launch 19BHS which is very similar to the Jayco Jayfeather X213 except this has a queen pull-out/slide out in the back instead of a King in the Jayco. I will check the payload of the durango today but I think this trailer should work! Let me know if you have any comments!

Thanks..Raj
 
Hi CArcher..what trailer do you pull with your Durango? Thanks...Raj
 
Haven't made a purchase yet, but I'm wary of buying more than the Durango can pull. I'd imagine too much weight will kill that HEMI and the AWD system over time to boot. I'd like about 1,000 lbs. of "cushion" and have made a list of RVs that I think I can accommodate. I'd be happy to send it your way, along with the calculations I've run about how much cargo, water, passengers, etc. will impact the various weights in question.
 
What kills a tow vehicle is bad towing practices...... Over heating a motor and transmission leads to blown head gasket and burned transmission fluid which causes failer of the cuch rings.    If your drango dosent have a tow package I would look into installing a oil cooler and transmission cooler.
 
Raj said:
Today I am going to check out Starcraft Launch 19BHS
Click to expand...

The nice thing about the Launch design is having the hard top for the bunks at the front of the trailer. One of the big hassles of a hybrid with a front fold out is it makes it a pain to load up since you have to empty the bed and fold it up to get the trailer hooked up. With 2 kids you really want to leave their beds as is. Also these soft tops let in a lot of day break sunlight and this can make it hard to get the kids to sleep in (you'll notice people in campgrounds will lay a tarp over the tent sections to keep sunlight out).

The dry hitch weight of 455lbs seems high for a 19' rear fold out hybrid. For example, our old 20' hybrid with a queen fold out in the front had 1250lb more GVWR but only 480lb dry hitch weight. You may want to query the dealer about the weight distribution and look to where you will be loading your stuff in it.
 
Thanks Masspike for the reply! Actually we ended putting an offer for a Jayfeather X213 and will be buying it. It is very similar to the Starcraft Launch 19BHS but a little larger with a King Bed pull out in the back. Hope everything goes well come spring!! We have booked our first camping trip for May long weekend....
 
Thanks Robertusa123....my Durango has the group IV towing package so I think I should be fine!
 
Hi CArcher....let me know what you end up purchasing. As I said earlier, I am going for the Jayfeather X213...All the best!
 
Raj said:
Actually we ended putting an offer for a Jayfeather X213 and will be buying it.
Click to expand...

Looks nice...the dual axle will help with your payload. Ironically, they appear to have loaded so much weight behind the axle (ref. the 330lb hitch weight vs. 3995 lb dry) you may be too light at the hitch. Interesting to see how it tows. But you can always add water to the tanks which appear to be in front of the axles or fill the storage to add load.
 
As Mass said, hitch weight is very important!  It must be at least 10% of the gross weight of the trailer or it will not tow well.  Sway, bouncing, and potentially uncoupling (Don't ask how I know!).  More than 10% is okay as long as the tow vehicle can handle the weight.
 
I ended up going with a Keystone Passport 2400BH. Nice and light, the Durango doesn't have a problem pulling it.
 
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