all weather trailer newby

[ol murphy]

My wife and I are a pair of gray-heads out in Arizona for the past 20 years with
kids on the East Coast. One of our children decided to have one of their own,  due
mid-January, and we don't travel by air with our diabetic Chihuahua mix, Remmy.
Neither do we like to share our bed with anyone besides Remmy, so bedbugs in
hotels are out. We've been looking for an 'all seasons' trailer for our small F-150
3.7L flex-fuel engine to drag back east. Thinking of a Nash 17K, but its weight
might push our envelope with not much to spare for the long haul. This will be our
first RV trip cuz we like doing things the hard way and opposite of "normal".
Any thoughts or alternatives to the Nash? (besides checking into Bellevue, since
were headed in that direction).
ol murphy

 

[glen54737]

You will want to know more about your truck to know if you want to get that trailer. It's gvwr is 7000 that is the weight you need to consider against the tow rating of the truck.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

That trailer probably too much for the truck, but need more detailed info to be sure.  What F150 year, cab style, trim level and rear axle ratio (3.55 or 3.73)?  Those models are rated to tow only anywhere from 5500 lbs to 6700 lbs, and that's with just one person onboard.

The fully loaded Nash 17K (GVWR) is 7000 lbs and that's way too much. Even if you expect to be less than fully loaded (risky thinking), you will be hard-pressed to keep it down low enough to be safe & comfortable.  If your F150 is one of the lower rated 5500 lbs variants, it will be nigh impossible.
You are very probably going to need to upgrade the truck somewhat.  There are F150's that will handle that size trailer nicely, even some of the other V6 models like the 3.5L GTDI. You don't need a big brute - just one configured to do some hauling. Check out the Ford towing guides at https://www.fleet.ford.com/towing-guides/

 

[BruceinFL]

Check out the Lance trailers. New ones ain't cheap and used are hard to find but they are well built and "4 seasons".

 

[LarryL60]

We are avid lovers of the Forest River R-Pod!! We would highly suggest them to anyone. The only downside for some is the crawl-over bed. The quarters are a bit tight, but if you are going to be traveling a lot and spending time with family then you really shouldn't have a problem.

As for "all weather" trailers - I have always been told that none of them are truly all year round campers. I am not sure who to believe. I think if things are insulated properly and not left to sit for too long than you would be OK.

If you have any questions about the R-Pods, feel free to message me. My wife and I owned one for several years!

 

[UTTransplant]

Our daughter decided to have her baby in January in Iowa. Sigh. We took our well equipped Outdoors RV trailer. They are made in the northwest for tough conditions. Ours was a 27RKS which is too big for your truck, but they have 21 and 24? units that might work. While we were parked in my daughter?s driveway we had lows in the single digits and highs in the 20s pretty much the entire time, we kept the furnace on 65 and blew through propane, but the bottle were easy to change every 3-4 days. We had one water line freeze, but no damage (thank goodness for PEX piping). That one line was a design defect that was routed outside the heated envelope a few inches, and the error was corrected the next year according to ORV. Note that hardy trailers cost more than the lightweights without the same insulation and design. ORV units along with Nash, Lance, and Northwoods all cost considerably more than an Indiana built equivalent. However if you want to camp in the cold, they might be worth it. BTW, we ended up in her driveway because the nearest RV park open in January and February was 60 miles away! You might want to start looking for all-year parks now. It doesn?t do much good to have a solid trailer but no place to park it.

After that experience, my daughter thoughtfully is having child #2 in May. We told her that was much nicer!

 

[Koodog]

I'd stick with the Nash and get a bigger truck.
Northwoods, and OutdoorsRV are solid 4 season units.
A little more spendy and heavy, which is why they are 4 season.