Looking To Buy My First Travel Trailer

Hello everyone, new member here. I am looking at getting a travel trailer next spring or summer.  I want to get some other bills paid down first. I found 2 that I like,  but have plenty of time to figure out what to get. 1 is a Forest River Salem 27 REI and the other is a KZ Sportsmen 292RLLE . Both 33feet with 2 slides. I would tow with my 1/2 ton truck, both fit within the weight specs of what my truck can handle. Does anyone have experience with these 2 travel trailers or brands? If so, how are they?  How are 33 footers like this for towing? Much for sway? I will use a weight distribution hitch with sway control.

If you were to tell us the brand and model of your truck we could help better, though off hand I question any 33 ft trailer being towed by a 1/2 ton truck, though perhaps some of the newer ones with the HD towing package might handle it.

p.s. one has an 8,000 GVWR with 810 pound tongue weight, the other 10,000 with 910 pound tongue weight, remember don't look at dry weight when you are planning on towing unless you plan to take it to one place and never move it again.

I hope others add to your answers on the specific models you are looking at, and winter RV shows are a great way to learn as well.  Your first post implied you were looking for possible advise or wisdom.  I won't debate if some F150 trucks are capable of pulling those 2 trailers, the HDPP ones a are certainly impressive.  The deal is, many of us have put or know people who have put their trucks to the higher limits, and the outcomes are disappointing in the whole scheme of the relaxing RV life or vacation.  If you want the 'whole picture advise' free, we'll be there to help.  It might save you from buy the new F250 truck.  Many, including myself, wouldn't go that long with a F150, here is a video on why not.    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M75Sm7XaIdY

I have a 2013 Dodge Ram 1500 with the 5.7L.    Towing capacity is 8550 and cargo  capacity is 1400. It has a class IV hitch which is rated for 1,000 lbs alone and 1400 lbs with the weight distribution hitch.  The KZ Sportsmen is the lighter of the 2 but by floor plans looks pretty similar.  I am aware of the weights part.  The KZ is from a local camper place and the other is a couple hours away.  I am not set in stone on which one to get and am open to looking at a slightly shorter one if needed.  I like the 2 slides and the room they give.  Anything shorter gives 1 slide.  I have 5-6 months to figure it all out.  The biggest thing Im worried about is the sway and if there is a significant amount less sway in say a 28-30 footer compared to one of these 33 footers. 


I use to do some landscape work as a side business and pulled a 20 foot trailer with a small tractor and equipment on it, and this weight more than either of the 33 foot travel trailers I mentioned.  I did get to experience trailer sway with that and will say the first time it happened, I almost had to stop to clean out my pants.  But after that, based on how I had to load stuff, I would know when it was gonna happen or when it wouldn't so I was ready for it.  So I do have some experience towing trailers  and some good weight.  The travel trailers are a bit longer though and higher.


How is a 5th wheel for towing compared to a travel trailer?  For comparable size, aren't they a bit heavier?

Welcome to the Forum!  Thanks for coming BEFORE purchase!

First, all those big towing numbers are very close to false advertising.  Yes, Ford (Chevy, Ram) do MAKE a truck that will tow that load, but they build very few of them!  Those numbers are based on a base model, no options, no cargo and only two 150 lb passengers.  The small print footnotes say the weight of all installed options, added passengers and cargo will reduce those weights.

There is a yellow banner placard on the driver door latch post that will give you the payload for YOUR truck as it left the factory.  What does it say?  That is your real cargo capacity.

As others have said, camper salesmen push dry wt.  That is almost criminal because nobody goes camping in an empty camper.  You will tow the loaded weight, which will be much closer to the GVWR than dry wt.  Any weight less than GVWR is called a safety factor.

To see if you can tow a given camper, take 10% of GVWR as a good estimate of tongue wt.  Add 80# for the WD hitch and add the weight of all passengers, firewood, tools, toys and other cargo to be carried in the truck.  Make sure your cargo capacity can handle all of this!

Yes, FW do tow better than TT, but your truck is totally to small to pull a FW.  A TT places only 10% - 12% of its gross weight on the truck.  A FW places 20% - 25% of its gross weight on the truck.  A small 8000# FW will place 1600# in the bed of your truck.  You are overweight before you add the required 200# hitch, let alone you sit down in the cab!!

There is a HUGE difference between towing a 6,000# flatbed with a tractor, with a very small frontal area or side area, and towing a 33 ft long TT with a huge frontal area (parachute) and side area (sail)!!!

The hitch ratings indicate the HITCH is capable of handling those weights.  It does not say the truck can handle those weights!

To be honest.....I am not as concerned about the weights...hitch weight and total weight as I will keep in within my trucks limits, as I am about that sway. It seems that most problems and accidents come from when it starts to sway and gets out of control before you know it.  I have towed 10,000 lbs  total weight  with my 20 foot trailer and equipment on it.  That was short distances though to.... not 70 mph on the highways.  The salesman at the local camper dealer didn't push the footer..he actually did say the  28 foot ones are some of the most popular.  There is  a lot to digest with this.  I did find a KS Sportsmen LE 261RLLE, with a dry hitch weight of 670 and GVWR of 7000 that don't look to bad either.  One like this would probably be  better for me  weight wise and its  3 feet shorter than the  292.  I will find out the cost difference to.

Sway generally comes from the trailer not having enough tongue weight on the hitch. 10% is the minimum, but getting it to 12 1/2 to 15% would be better. Spend your hitch money on one that has built in, active sway control. The add-on friction type work, but there are a lot better setups out there.

I hope you watched the video above, and glad you are aware of towing and the issues that arise.  Sway, it always can be tamed.  Slow down.  The only other answer is to have a tow vehicle that can deal with the sail behind you.  Weight distribution, can be fixed with hitches and proper packing. You might pull bigger weights around the city, oh my, wait until you go to a campground, or area with hills, big hills, or wish you could merge, or wish you had more solid footing underneath when you are going 65mph and the idiot in front is texting and drifts in your lane. I'm not going to talk you out of your quest, but advise you to continue your research and read many posts about people pulling large trailers with 1/2 tons.  I hope you find the perfect trailer, and enjoy the outdoor life starting as soon as possible for you. 

I did watch that video..funny as I saw it on you tube before here.  I may not be able to get a travel trailer spring, but am working towards it.  I plan to do some of the stuff in the meantime in preparation for it.  I am going to get a an Anderson 3350 weight distribution hitch with sway control and the Air Lift Load Lifter 5000 Ultimate Plus 89370 air bag suspension, with Air Lift 72000 compressor.  I will have my truck prepared. I mostly wont travel to far from home,  a few hours maybe and don't think I will be through any big hills or mountains.  I will be watching the weight limits of my truck as well as weights of any travel trailer.  I admit while I will be within the multiple weight limits, I will probly be  fairly close to the limits.  Nothing is set in stone. I have been watching videos and saw some nasty crash videos to, which makes a person not want to push the issue to much.  Trailer sway scares me the most by far.  I just need to learn I cant drive the same speeds with the camper hooked up as I do without. 

SpencerPJ said:

I hope you watched the video above, and glad you are aware of towing and the issues that arise.  Sway, it always can be tamed.  Slow down.  The only other answer is to have a tow vehicle that can deal with the sail behind you.  Weight distribution, can be fixed with hitches and proper packing. You might pull bigger weights around the city, oh my, wait until you go to a campground, or area with hills, big hills, or wish you could merge, or wish you had more solid footing underneath when you are going 65mph and the idiot in front is texting and drifts in your lane. I'm not going to talk you out of your quest, but advise you to continue your research and read many posts about people pulling large trailers with 1/2 tons.  I hope you find the perfect trailer, and enjoy the outdoor life starting as soon as possible for you.

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RobD70 said:

I just need to learn I cant drive the same speeds with the camper hooked up as I do without.

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Ya, I sometimes drive too fast, wife lets me know about it. Don't get me wrong, you are doing your homework and I want you to have the most you can have.  Hopefully the perfect setup shows up, and you are able and willing to jump on it.  Good luck.

I am so refreshed to read OP's posts!  Here is a person who is doing it right!!

It is fine if your weights are near the limits.  Trucks are over engineered a bit.  The problems come when you are grossly overloaded, like a 1500# payload  ? ton pickup trying to tow a 10,000# FW (2000# pin wt) plus 4 passengers (600#) plus a hitch and misc cargo (500#).  This is 3100# in a 1500# truck, or over 100% ABOVE payload.  THAT is a problem!

Perhaps know would be a good time to review this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vHf1h8xc0g

That's pretty darn cool.... pretty good way to demonstrate  that sway and cause.  I wonder if it is done to scare as far as weight and percentages.

Isaac-1 said:

Perhaps know would be a good time to review this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vHf1h8xc0g

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coming from some one that has pulled a 29ft ( 1973 nomad ) TT with a 1/2 ton, 5.3 Silverado with the tow package, 3.73 GR, WD hitch, did I do it ?..yes !, was it safe ?, maybe ?..but it sure as heck put a load on my truck !. I can honestly say..gas mileage bit the dust !..lol. going up and down mountains really put a strain on my truck and my nerves. my .02's worth ?, please consider using a larger truck to pull a TT that is 30 something feet !. its not safe for you..or other drivers on the road. do as you wish ?, but coming from a person that has been there, done that ?, no way would I do it again in a 1/2 ton truck !.

If I was going to be going much for distance or  up and down any big hills or mountains....I don't think I would try it.  I am still checking into it. Weight wise, I have pulled more than the travel trailers weight that I am considering. So the  overall heavier pull don't bother me. I will also stay under my tow capacity of my truck .  I am gathering information now to help make a decision in the future when I get that far.  The truck I have now is what I will use either way as there is no way I can afford a different  truck. In an ideal world I would have the 2500 for sure. I have learned a bit about trailer sway and that is my main focus while staying under weight limits.  A travel trailer will be new for me and I am trying to learn as much about them in general as I can along with the dos and donts of towing them before spring or summer when I would first have a chance of getting one.  I will do some of the little things, like air bag suspension in the rear and shocks and springs to help make my truck the best it can be for towing in between now and then while knowing what the trucks limits are.

alan6051964 said:

coming from some one that has pulled a 29ft ( 1973 nomad ) TT with a 1/2 ton, 5.3 Silverado with the tow package, 3.73 GR, WD hitch, did I do it ?..yes !, was it safe ?, maybe ?..but it sure as heck put a load on my truck !. I can honestly say..gas mileage bit the dust !..lol. going up and down mountains really put a strain on my truck and my nerves. my .02's worth ?, please consider using a larger truck to pull a TT that is 30 something feet !. its not safe for you..or other drivers on the road. do as you wish ?, but coming from a person that has been there, done that ?, no way would I do it again in a 1/2 ton truck !.

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RobD70 said:

If I was going to be going much for distance or  up and down any big hills or mountains....I don't think I would try it.  I am still checking into it. Weight wise, I have pulled more than the travel trailers weight that I am considering. So the  overall heavier pull don't bother me. I will also stay under my tow capacity of my truck .  I am gathering information now to help make a decision in the future when I get that far.  The truck I have now is what I will use either way as there is no way I can afford a different  truck. In an ideal world I would have the 2500 for sure. I have learned a bit about trailer sway and that is my main focus while staying under weight limits.  A travel trailer will be new for me and I am trying to learn as much about them in general as I can along with the dos and donts of towing them before spring or summer when I would first have a chance of getting one.  I will do some of the little things, like air bag suspension in the rear and shocks and springs to help make my truck the best it can be for towing in between now and then while knowing what the trucks limits are.

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I am sure you know what your doing . please keep in mind, pulling a flat bed trailer loaded down, is nothing compared to pulling a long TT loaded down. there are a lot of things that come into play here, flat bed trailers loaded down are not getting hit by a lot of wind going down the highway, where is, a TT loaded down will be. I am not saying your truck can't do what your wanting ?..what I am saying is, please make sure your truck is not over loaded, as well as your TT ?, make sure you have a WD hitch rated for the TT as well as what your truck can pull ?. you say you wont be going far ?, or up and down hills ?, but !, who's to say some day might come when you want to make that ONE trip ?. call me over safe if ya want ?, but trust me, I have been down this road, and it did not turn out very good in the end !..lol. needless to say, I now have a 22ft trailer, still use my WD hitch, all safety stuff. I feel a lot better now pulling it around. please...PLEASE BE SAFE !!. the last thing we need to read/see on the 5 o'clock news is you laying in the middle/side of the road ! .

Thank you alan6051964 for sharing your real life experiences. 
I too have a solid Yukon XL, can tow a decent amount, and choose to only drag round a 21'.  I can afford more TT if I wanted. I consider myself pretty risk tolerant as well.  Even with my little setup, I was coming home one day by Indiana Dunes on Lake Michigan. Not hilly area, that of course is another dilemma.  I had no firewood, no water, no beer left, so light load.  Wind was pitching me around like a ragdoll.  I slowed down of course, after getting an ear full from my wife.  These TT can get dicey, and I agree, keep them in tolerance only means that, it does not mean that you won't still get in unpleasant circumstances.  Stretch the max, and get into a dicey situation, it very easily will not have a good outcome. 

Trust me,,,I don't want to be that guy in the ditch  and my truck and trailer scattered all over.  I have been watch a lot of you tube videos of rv crashes and it does get your attention. I have time and will get it figured out.  That's what is nice about places like this...you get all the different opinions, ideas, levels of experience, etc that makes you think of this stuff at all the different angles, something you don't get just by doing it all on your own.

alan6051964 said:

I am sure you know what your doing . please keep in mind, pulling a flat bed trailer loaded down, is nothing compared to pulling a long TT loaded down. there are a lot of things that come into play here, flat bed trailers loaded down are not getting hit by a lot of wind going down the highway, where is, a TT loaded down will be. I am not saying your truck can't do what your wanting ?..what I am saying is, please make sure your truck is not over loaded, as well as your TT ?, make sure you have a WD hitch rated for the TT as well as what your truck can pull ?. you say you wont be going far ?, or up and down hills ?, but !, who's to say some day might come when you want to make that ONE trip ?. call me over safe if ya want ?, but trust me, I have been down this road, and it did not turn out very good in the end !..lol. needless to say, I now have a 22ft trailer, still use my WD hitch, all safety stuff. I feel a lot better now pulling it around. please...PLEASE BE SAFE !!. the last thing we need to read/see on the 5 o'clock news is you laying in the middle/side of the road ! .

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SpencerPJ said:

Thank you alan6051964 for sharing your real life experiences. 
I too have a solid Yukon XL, can tow a decent amount, and choose to only drag round a 21'.  I can afford more TT if I wanted. I consider myself pretty risk tolerant as well.  Even with my little setup, I was coming home one day by Indiana Dunes on Lake Michigan. Not hilly area, that of course is another dilemma.  I had no firewood, no water, no beer left, so light load.  Wind was pitching me around like a ragdoll.  I slowed down of course, after getting an ear full from my wife.  These TT can get dicey, and I agree, keep them in tolerance only means that, it does not mean that you won't still get in unpleasant circumstances.  Stretch the max, and get into a dicey situation, it very easily will not have a good outcome.

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your welcome . I only wanted to post in this thread because like I said..been there..done that !. I had that 29 ft nomad loaded close to max, another 1k in the bed of my truck ( mostly tools ), WD hitch, new tires, everything checked before I left Arkansas headed to AZ, I-40 was the route. was told I would never get this TT out of the state pulling it with my 1/2 ton ?, well..yes..i did..and it was fairly easy ( cept fuel..lol ), got just west of Albuquerque,NM. and some drunken gal doing wayyyyyy over the speed limit decided to park the car she was driving ( not her car ! ) in the back of my trailer !, jack knifed me, wound up in the middle of the median , truck was damaged pretty bad, trailer was really bad on the side , she had no insurance, no DL, and here I am wondering what the heck just happened ?. yeah..that left a very bad taste in my mouth to say the least !. I will never..EVER..pull anything like that again..some things you just learn from !. just trying to pass on what I have learned from..just because you think it can be done ?..DOES NOT MEAN IT CAN BE DONE SAFELY '' !. .

RobD70 said:

Trust me,,,I don't want to be that guy in the ditch  and my truck and trailer scattered all over.  I have been watch a lot of you tube videos of rv crashes and it does get your attention. I have time and will get it figured out.  That's what is nice about places like this...you get all the different opinions, ideas, levels of experience, etc that makes you think of this stuff at all the different angles, something you don't get just by doing it all on your own.

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totally understand . just trying to keep you alive and have safe travels is all .