Need advice - first travel trailer for family of 4

[Ryan F]

We like ours shown in the signature. It is a bunkhouse floor plan. 6200 lbs dry. I know the truck weighs about 6600 lbs. I ran it all across the scales fully equipped (wife and I included) and we were a total of 14,500 lbs. (carrying some water). We use a Husky Centerline WD 800-1200 lb hitch. If your much newer motor is not making at least as much power as our 7.4L (and I assume it does with newer technology and more gears/shifts with current transmission options) you may find yourself feeling a little underpowered with something this size.

I like that layout as well. We hadn't looked at those yet. We like having an entry right into the bathroom.

My truck's horsepower is 420 @ 5600 rpm and the torque is 460 @ 4100 rpm. How do you think that would do with a trailer like yours?  Trying not to get something too big.

 

[Peggyy]

So Peggy, how does your truck do pulling that trailer?

I am in similar situation as the original poster.  Have a F150 rated for 12,200 towing capacity, 1900 payload, and 157" wheelbase.  Looking at 26' trailers (30' with tongue, etc.) and a dry weight of about 6300 or so and gross weight of around 8000.    Family of 4 weighs about 800, tongue 750, gives me 350 max for gear.    I think this should be good (with a WD hitch of course) but there are alot of opinions.  I welcome any thoughts or advice.

Our truck does great pulling our 26 footer. We have the maximum towing package on it so it can tow 10000 lbs.  however, we would not feel safe with anything bigger than what we have.  And our gross weight is probably under 7000.  It's not the polling that is a problem. Coming down the big mountain and stopping can be scary! 

 

[donn]

Sadly, the 6.2L motor is more of a race motor and not a heavy duty truck motor. I suspect trying to tow heavy with that motor will eventually cause you issues.  Do so e research on the motors family heratige before you go towing heavy.

 

[viceprice]

I like that layout as well. We hadn't looked at those yet. We like having an entry right into the bathroom.

My truck's horsepower is 420 @ 5600 rpm and the torque is 460 @ 4100 rpm. How do you think that would do with a trailer like yours?  Trying not to get something too big.

An Internet search says the 7.4 produces 290 horsepower at 4,000 rpm. It has 410 torque at 3,200 rpm. Looks like you have the power though that is pretty high rpm. Ours is really screaming at 4000 rpm.

 

[sarajo83]

We are a family of 5 - kids are 6, 4 and 6m and we just purchased a 2017 Forest River Cherokee Grey Wolf model 26djse. We love it for the size of our family. The bunks are double over double with dinette, fridge/freezer, sink, couch and queen bed for us. It was very affordable for us and just the right length - 30ft. We drive a 2008 Chevy Silverado k1500 with sway bar/hitch stabilizer and it towed very smoothly and we had some wicked wind on our way home from camping this weekend!

 

[Ryan F]

We are a family of 5 - kids are 6, 4 and 6m and we just purchased a 2017 Forest River Cherokee Grey Wolf model 26djse. We love it for the size of our family. The bunks are double over double with dinette, fridge/freezer, sink, couch and queen bed for us. It was very affordable for us and just the right length - 30ft. We drive a 2008 Chevy Silverado k1500 with sway bar/hitch stabilizer and it towed very smoothly and we had some wicked wind on our way home from camping this weekend!

Which sway bar/hitch stabilizer do you have?

 

[schrederman]

I have a Jayco White Hawk 28DSBH with a gross weight of 7500#. It would be great for your family but I wouldn't want to pull it with your truck. I have a 3/4 ton diesel and it does fine. I have that truck because I towed with a 1/2 ton for a while... and didn't like it. I wouldn't have a bunk house trailer except that I have grandchildren that love to come with us. I got the wider bunks so they could grow into them.

 

[sarajo83]

Which sway bar/hitch stabilizer do you have?

I will have to check the brand - the camper dealership that we bought our camper at suggested and attached it. It's a simple set up and on our way home this weekend we had some wicked wind. You could feel a little push but she kept steady on the road!

 

[scottydl]

Lots of great discussion on weights, towing, and trailer size (with wind factor) that limits your comfortable towing length.  Towing a large travel trailer (perhaps anything over 30' or so) could really pull your truck side to side on windy days, making for a pretty harrowing ride.  Can your truck do it on paper?  Probably.  Will you enjoy the towing experience?  Likely not.  Think "white knuckles" all the way.

That's why I went with a 3/4 ton Suburban, same vintage as viceprice's truck.  My trailer is longer though, a 32' bunkhouse (35' with tongue).  Also it's a 2008 and has everything we need and most of the features of many new units.  You do NOT need to drop a bunch of money or go into debt on a brand-new trailer that you might outgrow (or realize you want something different) in the next few years.  New RV's depreciate horribly and with enough research and patience, you can find something gently used that will have what you want and save you a bunch of money.

Good conversation, keep asking questions!  ;D

 

[datavirtue]

Truck is too small for 30ft trailers.  I started with something like that pulling a super lite TT (6000lbs) and found the front end on daily driver trucks to be way too soft.  You should have enough motor there but the rest of the truck is too light.  After my first or second trip out with a brand new EcoBoost F150 I immediately went out and bought a new 3/4ton maxed out tow package with camper/plow package.  This after almost getting blown over from a wind gust on a bridge.  Hooked up the F250 and started giggling when it pulled the trailer effortlessly in idle (gasser).  Trips have been without issue and the truck tracks straight in bad weather with a full load--bikes, teenagers, wife, tons of crap.

Just my 2 cents

 

[Ryan F]

Lots of great discussion on weights, towing, and trailer size (with wind factor) that limits your comfortable towing length.  Towing a large travel trailer (perhaps anything over 30' or so) could really pull your truck side to side on windy days, making for a pretty harrowing ride.  Can your truck do it on paper?  Probably.  Will you enjoy the towing experience?  Likely not.  Think "white knuckles" all the way.

We're looking at a travel trailer with an overall length of 30' 2" and a GVWR of 7600 pounds. How do you think my truck would handle that on a windy day?

 

[viceprice]

How much does your truck alone weigh?  As I mentioned, our TV weighs about 6600 lbs. It is 2WD extended cab with a full 8 ft bed with cap - it is 20 ft long bumper to bumper. The longer wheel base is a plus. I bet your 4x4 would be close in weight. I do not have as much experience in the RV world as the others who have responded though I plenty of  experience pulling heavy construction trailers and equipment behind dump trucks. When both our TV and TT are loaded, they are each about 50% of the total weight. That seems like a decent balance. I would not want the TT to weigh much more than the TV. There are a lot of big campers on the road that are pulled by HD pickups that are heavier that the TV by 1000s of pounds. I am sure that the fact many of these are FWers , they are more stable in the wind but still outweigh the TV, a factor when it comes to braking/stopping. This would be a bigger concern for me.

I think the key to your set up would be not overloading your truck's GVWR and CCC, using a quality WD anti-sway hitch (I like ours - Husky Centerline), make sure you have a quality brake controller, properly distribute your weight being mindful of amount of fresh water, grey and black water and driving a prudent speed. You do not need to haul with full tanks - some fresh water is nice for a few flushes while on the road but you do not need to haul 40 gallons at 8+ lbs/gal. Some of this also depends on how you plan to use your set-up. Are you planning on a lot of long distance? A lot of dry camping? I would give it a try, you don't sound completely out of bounds and unsafe. You will know soon enough how it handles.  I felt I needed to be more aware of being passed by the semis than the wind experienced while driving. You will feel the "push away", the "suck in" and the "push away" again as one approaches and passes you.

 

[COHauler]

We are looking to purchase our first travel trailer.  We have 2 children (ages 2 and 6) and are looking at bunkhouse layouts. My truck is a 2017 GMC Sierra 1500, 6.2L engine, and the max tow package. After some initial research, we've been looking at trailers in the 28-32 ft range, and 5000-6500 (maybe 7000 at most) dry weight range. Is this length/weight combo too much trailer or will it be ok?  Will also be getting a weight distribution hitch. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Hey Ryan. Glad you got the 6.2L, I test drove a buddies and 17' GMC 1500 and they run pretty well.

So here is my take on this since I was in your shoes not long ago. I have always owned diesels until 13' and decided to buy a Tundra. For what it is worth to you, it was a decent daily driver, weekend warrior and tow rig.

I figured the Keystone Outback 280RS we have would be an easy tow since it was in the weight limits of my truck. Rewind to last year, we took a three week trip around CO and NM. I have never been so tired from towing in my life, especially in anything more than no wind conditions or mountains.

Not sure where you live or plan on towing mostly, but if you are in the flat lands and have a good LDH and set up properly, I'm sure you would be fine with 24-27' trailer.

Now if you are in high wind, hill/mountain ridden terrain, I would stick to a 24'.

If you live in CO, I have a deal for you or any member on this forum. I have a 28' camper you can try out with whatever tow rig you want to test out. Hell, if you want to test out a 1 ton GMC diesel...I'm game.

Personally, I purchased to much trailer, and if I had the opportunity to tow a similar trailer with my old truck I would have purchased something smaller. We don't spend a lot of time inside the camper. We hit the mountains and take in Colorado. Some people like hookups, and we don't mind dry camping for a few days. Hind sight is always 20/20, and had I known we would be back in a 1 ton diesel, a toy hauler or 5ver would have been purchased.

 

[Ryan F]

We live in southwestern Ohio. Mostly flat, but some areas have hills/mountains. It can get pretty windy here, even on flat land. Thank you so much for the detailed response. Like you said, I don't want to be thinking afterward that we bought too much trailer. When you say 24-27' are you meaning the trailer itself (the model number) or the overall including the tongue?  The ones we've looked at have been 24-27' trailer length, and 28-30' overall.

 

[COHauler]

You should be fine with a 24' camper body. Check around Ryan, there are some pretty awesome people out in the RV community that will let you test out a trailer or like load for nothing more than having a beer after the test is done. I have learned a ton from my other RV'n friends and try not to make the same mistakes they have. This in turn has saved me a lot of money.

I like our 28' camper Outback 280RS, and they make one in a 23' without the kitchen slide that is pretty user friendly. However, our deciding factory was my 16' equipment trailer and Rock Crawler that tipped the scales over 8500 lbs (with gear...pretty close to 9K) and that maxed out my Tundra and had no reserve. I like having a bit of reserve (15-20%).

This is our camper specs from the factory. I have added a few things that have added to the GVWR.. https://www.rvusa.com/rv-guide/2013-keystone-outback-toy-hauler-floorplan-280rs-tr13901

 

[RVRAC]

You need a bigger truck or a smaller TT.  I had the same truck with a 26 ft., that was it's limit. Family safety is must to enjoy the experience.