Newbie help with travel trailer and pickup

Hello!
My husband and I lost our house to a fire and are a planning to live in a travel trailer for the next 6 months to a year and traveling south to find where we would like to move to while it is being repaired by our insurance. We have a 3 year old and 5 year old so are loving the bunk house travel trailers with the outside kitchen and the outdoor bathroom door to the trailer. Could someone please give me their opinions on a brands from the few of the models we've picked out? We were told a half ton truck would be sufficient, but I've also read online that that's something that dealers say to get you to buy their trailers and it'll still be very hard? I was thinking of getting an f150 or ram 1500? Opinions on trucks would be awesome as well. I plan on picking out the travel trailer, buying the truck I need for towing, then buying the trailer so I can actually haul it.

I think the jayco jay flight 32bhds is ideal, but is maybe 1-2k more and it's heavier (7600 lbs and gvw 9975) but I've read it's made better? I haven't seen one of those in person, but I did see and put a refundable $500 deposit on a keystone 3220bh ($25000 +850 destination charge + ttl) which weighs 6040 lbs and give 8000 lbs. I have until Thursday morning to decide if I want to go with the keystone or not. But today I've also seen online 2016 forest river Wildwood 36BHBS that I could get for $20k (Ship Weight: 7,892 lbs. GVW: 10,880 lbs.) and 2016 Heritage Glen 312QBUD for $25k (weight 6,840 lbs. and GVW: 9,500 lbs). It's very confusing. If you could let me know if you have purchased one of these, how much you paid for it (if you don't mind), what you haul it with, or your opinions on the brand - I would so greatly appreciate it.

http://www.keystonerv.com/passport/models/3320bh/model-mobile
http://www.jayco.com/products/travel-trailers/2016-jay-flight/32bhds/
https://rvwholesalesuperstore.com/unit/6555TT
https://rvwholesalesuperstore.com/unit/6338TT

Thank you in advance for your time.

Very sorry to hear about your house.  Glad the kiddos are okay!

There are tons of used trailers out there so there is no way I would buy a new trailer and take the depreciation hit.  Look around!!!  Many people buy a new trailer only to find that it is not the life for them so you can find many trailers out there that are in excellent condition .  Also i would think you would need a bigger truck when you talk about pulling a 30 ft trailer.  My brother rented a 30 ft trailer for the weekend and said he would never pull that much again with his half ton pickup.  I'm sure more people will chime in when they read your post.

Welcome to the forum!!

Robin

Road happy-
Thank you for the quick reply. One of the reasons we decided to get a new trailer, the dealer showed us that the keithstone we put our deposit down on had great resale value. She showed us a 2015 in her inventory that sold for $24999. That looked great since we were getting the 2016 rv at the discount 24999 price. By chance, is it normal for them to charge a destination fee price on top of the price they give you on a new trailer when you buy it or is that an additional thing they try to put in there?

I don't know about the destination fee.  I'm what you would call a tight wad and only buy used.  We bought our 5th wheel used and right before we retire we will be looking to upgrade but it will also be used.  Have you looked on craigslist or ebay.  Another thing to think about is when we bought ours we bought bigger than what we had planned.  Within a couple of yrs we were wishing we had bought even bigger so after you get a trailer you will find that your wants may change.
Saying all of that, buy what will work for y'all and enjoy this beautiful country of ours.

Robin

Personally, for the trailers you are looking at, I would get a 2500/F250. It would be a lot less complicated than trying to figure out "can I pull it?". I know, I know, everyone here was waiting for me to say a half-ton would pull any of them- fooled ya' though didn't I?

Hello Kapron82,

You are on the right track already: do *not* trust salesmen, they will tell you anything to make a sale.

About trucks: I don't know much about Travel Trailers as we've been focusing on 5thWheels for our planned purchase , but I'm sure other folks here with more experience with TTs will chime in. Anyway, I strongly recommend that you make sure you will have enough truck for your intended trailer *before* committing to a truck.

Also, I concur with Robin: better buy used. Not only because of depreciation, but because it's sadly customary for brand-new RVs to come with lots of issues, which will be taken care by the dealer under warranty -- but will waste from weeks to months before everything is fixed to your satisfaction.

Cheers,
--
  Vall.

First, forget the "shipping weight" or UVW or "dry weight" - they are all meaningless since you don't tow it that way. Since you don't know what your loaded weight will be, assume it will be at or near the max, i.e. the GVWR. If you can tow that, you are OK.  All those trailers are right around 10,000 GVWR, and that is stretching it for any half ton, though some of the new ones are rated that high. A 3/4 ton (2500 or F250) is a much better choice for you.

As soon as you sign the papers for a new trailer the retail value drops at least 30% from MSRP. The dealer's asking price for that 2015 is meaningless - they could ask $1M if they want, but who would pay it?    Clearly you would take a new 2016 over that 2015 if the price is the same, right?

The only advantage of a brand new one is the 12 month warranty (Jayco is 24 months). That's worth something, but not  several thousand dollars, which is the likely price difference for new vs used.  Of course, finding a used one that suits your needs may take a lot of searching and I'm guessing you don't have time for that after losing your home.

Yes, you should look for the F-250 because you have more options and you won't be limited by the truck's towing capacity.
We made a mistake by not listening to these nice RVforum members when they told us the same thing. We bought the F-150 with TC of 7,350# and now I have to find the lightest TT with bunks but also big enough for the 4 of us...
And listen to their advice and look for a nice used unit that fits your needs. We liked a Cherokee or Catalina BH TT when we went at an RV show and the prices were around 22-23k. After looking on CL and some dealers used lots, I found that we can save more that 10K if we buy used. Now I'm trying to find a lite trailer with bunks that's almost "like new", for less that 10k (with hitch, sway bars and with the sales tax included). ;D It's hard but not impossible and we'll gonna make it work.
But you should browse CL first and check up used inventories at nearby RV dealers. If you enter a dealership saying that you can afford new they will not show you the gently used models. But why would you want to pay $250/ month for 12 years when you can buy money down a nice used unit?

p.s. if you're gonna get the F-150 look for "lite" bunkhouse TT in your search

For fulltime living, you will want as big of a trailer as possible... which means at least a 2500-series (3/4 ton chassis) truck.  If you don't have the truck yet, then by all means stick with a 250/2500 truck and then you'll have a LOT more trailer options.  Unlike any RV (they all depreciate quickly, especially when new which no dealer will tell you), the truck will actually be something that will retain some value if you decide to sell after a year or two.

Don't get hung up on makes/models of trailers.  Floorplan, budget (price), and condition should be much bigger components.  They are all pretty much built the same, although some higher end models might have nicer installed features or options (cabinetry, some audio/video electronics, outdoor kitchen like you mentioned, etc).

Thank you guys so much for the replies. I will definitely look for used trailers and 3/4 to a ton trucks. Also, any opinions on fiberglass vs aluminum? I know fiberglass gives better mileage and doesn't damage like aluminum, but aluminum is sooooo much cheaper and I heard is easier and cheaper if something happens.

I personally would not let fiberglass vs aluminum weigh very heavily in your decision.
Floor plan, age, price, condition, and tow ability for your vehicle is what I would concentrate on.

That's just my thoughts anyway.

Thank you. My husband was told he should always push for fiberglass. I don't think it matters. I'm scratching that off my list. Floor plan, layout, and price is how I'm going to do it. 

If you have the time (sounds like you are kinda in a rush to get something?), get out there and look at as many RV styles as you can.  Large dealerships and RV shows are a good place to do this, but DO NOT be pressured to buy if you research that fashion.  Wherever you live, start combing through Craigslist.  There are bound to be dozens of good, used trailers that you can check out, with more posted daily (almost everywhere in the U.S.).  Research prices at www.NADAguides.com so you know what a reasonable price range is for any given unit.

Keep asking questions if/when you have them! 

hi there sorry about the house - I'm not going to tell you what to buy that's up to you - if nobody ever bought new there wouldn't be any more trailers built - some like new some don't, because you don't know what the previous owners have or haven't done. so I will leave that decision to you, however if you plan on living in it full-time - the bigger the better without a doubt.

As for the truck that's a different story you really need to be looking into 2500 3/4 tons or even a 1 ton - its really not the towing capability  - yes a 1/2 ton will pull 10,000 lbs but a typical 1/2 ton only has a CARGO CAPACITY of about 1700 lbs give or take so with 900 lbs of hitch weight on an empty trailer  1700-900= 800 lbs that 800 lbs has to include you,hubby,kids, dogs, hitch @ 50lbs and whatever you throw in the box of the truck ie wood, bikes, etc etc plus the stuff you haven't put in the trailer yet. So as you can see the remaining 800lbs gets eaten up very very quickly

on the B pillar of the truck between the front and rear doors is a decal a yellow one that states "Cargo capacity must not exceed xxxx" thats your magic number

cost of a 3/4 ton is only about $400 cheaper than a 1 ton and if you ever want to move up to a 5th wheel a 1 ton is ideal
cheers

To reiterate what the others have said, first and foremost sorry to hear about the house and glad everyone is OK

You'll want a big travel trailer, and like the others said, that puts you in F250/2500 truck territory.  The new Ram/Ford/Chevy 2500's all easily pull north of 10K lbs, and the diesels are rated near 18K lbs of conventional towing.  That will get you any travel trailer you want.  If you want to go into a fifth wheel, look at 3500 trucks for anything over about 12,000 lbs of GROSS (not dry) weight.  Look at duallys if you go much beyond 15K lbs.

Pick the floor plan that suits you best...don't worry about brand names...they're all just boxes on wheels filled with furniture and appliances that are made by just a handful of manufacturers.  Look at as many trailers as you can make time to...and then make 3 lists;

1.  What it MUST have
2.  What it CANNOT have
3.  What would be NICE to have.

Don't budge on lists 1 and 2, and get as much of 3 as you can.

Above all, don't believe ANYTHING the RV salesman tells you.  He/she is interested in their commission, and nothing else.  They will tell you that a half ton pickup will "pull anything on the lot".  No, it won't....not safely anyway.  It's good that you're here doing  your research first before buying.

Happy shopping!

I can't believe the number of replies I've got. Thank you so much! I thought it would only be just a couple of people but you guys really came through for me. What a nice community you RVers are.
You guys have any camp ground or state you really like? We'll be traveling from Michigan to Florida. Are there any areas you steer clear of? If so, why? And what makes a camp ground more desirable for you than others? I read that florida campgrounds might be hard to reserve in the summer/fall because it is their peak times. Do you guys usually reserve? Or sometimes are you lucky if you must drive on by?
Do you guys have any other rv advice? I've been watching long long honeymoon on YouTube and a few other people to try to figure what rving entails. I know I have to practice driving, take wide left turns and there are different methods of tying your trailer to rv. Double cross chain.
Thank you guys again. I will update later what I get and why. Maybe it'll help some other rvers out there. Right now it's looking like forest river wildwood 36bhbs. It doesn't have the door bathroom access or the outdoor kitchen, but it's so big and roomy. It seems more like a home and that's what's important for my family. It does have an extra access door to the master which is right next to the bathroom (which is huge) and a full size fridge (which the other 3 did not have) and I can just stick a grill in storage and pull it out. It also has a huge sliding door and it brought in so much light and it will help us load and unload things. I question if we'll lose heat/cooling capabilities though.

You have received much good advise already.

Ditto the 2500 or 3500 pickup.  Drive all three and get the one the wife likes.

I strongly suggest a used TT.  New units usually spend some time at the repair shop - sometimes months - getting everything fixed right.  Since this will be your principal residence, that is simply unacceptable!!  Almost new units usually have these issues fixed already.

A diesel pickup will be more expensive new or used.  It will tow the TT easier, get better mileage and hold value better than its' gas counterpart.  Get the diesel!

Frizlfrac list is also very important.  While you can add a fireplace or change a toilet, adding a bunk or making a peninsula bed into a walk around is nearly impossible.

Floor plan, Floor plan, Floor plan  the most important thing.

As for the 'destination fee' - sometimes also described as "PDI and freight" - PDI = pre-delivery inspection.  The RV industry outsources the last stage of manufacturing to dealers - who are required to do a detailed inspection and fix any issues with the trailer when it is delivered.  Whether it is added on or included in the price depends on the advertising practices of the dealership.  Other common fees that crop up, depending on dealer practice are licensing fees and financing fees.  Of course, the government also gets its share in sales taxes.  When you negotiate over the price, make sure you are talking about your final 'out the door price,' so you know what you are actually going to pay.

My experience - the best dealers will let you know about those costs upfront.

I got the truck and trailer (bunkhouse) in my signature for significantly less combined, than the prices you're looking at for the trailer alone.

I have had both Keystone and Forest River travel trailers and both were good trailers. I would not hesitate buying either brand. As for trucks, a properly set up 1/2 ton truck would do really well pulling the Keystone 3220bh but, the other two would be right on the edge for most 1/2 tons trucks. I really think you would be much happier and probably better off with a 3/4 ton when towing that heavy.