Looking to upgrade my travel trailer

[OldMarine]

with a 3.92 rear differential on your truck, you will be in the neighborhood of #11,000 pound tow rating, if you have the 3.21 you will be in the #8000 pound range..(I have a 2019 RAM 1500 with the 3.21). Take the 8K pound range for our example. 8K#, minus 1300 pounds you can put in the truck, leaves you 6700 pounds of pulling, take the weight of the trailer,(say it's 5500 pounds), add whatever gear and water you load, and the tongue weight, and you are probably right at max towing,(6700), if you only have 2 in the truck, and say 250 pounds of gear, you might only be carrying 600# in the truck, which means that's 700 more pounds you can pull. These are general numbers. you should look up the exact specs for your truck.

 

[steveblonde]

with a 3.92 rear differential on your truck, you will be in the neighborhood of #11,000 pound tow rating, if you have the 3.21 you will be in the #8000 pound range..(I have a 2019 RAM 1500 with the 3.21). Take the 8K pound range for our example. 8K#, minus 1300 pounds you can put in the truck, leaves you 6700 pounds of pulling, take the weight of the trailer,(say it's 5500 pounds), add whatever gear and water you load, and the tongue weight, and you are probably right at max towing,(6700), if you only have 2 in the truck, and say 250 pounds of gear, you might only be carrying 600# in the truck, which means that's 700 more pounds you can pull. These are general numbers. you should look up the exact specs for your truck.

Mandie did She did a while ago, all the correct numbers for her rig were posted last week

 

[Mandie]

Welcome to the forum. You have found a great place to get your information. About the slide, you are going to find pros & cons to having a slide. I can't imagine having that many people and not taking advantage of having more space. Yes, there is going to potentially be some maintenance, but that is true with EVERYTHING on the trailer. There could be leaks from the vents, or under a window, even in new ones. There have been just as many people who have not had issues with slides as there are that have. Take time to look at trailers with an open mind.
Keep on researching, asking questions, read and look around. That way if you have to work with a dealer, you will be able to lead the conversation and have the knowledge to tell them what you want. The general experience is that most salespeople don't know as much as the customer does.
Good luck & let us know how it goes.

Thank you so much! I have learned a lot in just two days and it is really helping me as I continue to read and research. Everyone has been so welcoming and willing to help me make appropriate choices especially regarding my truck. Once we find our trailer I definitely will let you all know!

 

[Mandie]

Back to the "go look around" theme...
The reason for doing a lot of window-shopping on the sales lot is to get an idea of what appeals to you and what you can get in the size (length & weight) trailer you can tow. And afford. Don't take your checkbook with you, but build a list of likes (and dislikes) and come back here to discuss them, e.g. slides or not, bath location & style, kitchen space & cabinets, etc. There are a zillion possibilities and they all involve tradeoffs in space, comfort, cost, and often maintenance too. We will keep offering advice and you can keep testing that with visits to sales lots to see with your own eyes what we are talking about.

Great advice! We are heading to the sales lot this Saturday to look again with a new lens and all we have learned here!

 

[steveblonde]

Enjoy looking it can be a lot of fun, just dont sign on the bottom line until you have seen everything . There are often subtle differences between units features and benefits. Also take a million pictures with your phone so you can review them all

 

[Carbonation]

We're glad to help! And yes as Steve explained, the 1323# numbers is crucial to understand payload / cargo carrying capacity (CCC) for handling tongue weight and cargo in the truck, i.e. how much the truck can "hold".

The other figure is your towing capacity, i.e. how much the truck can "pull" in forward motion. That info probably isn't on a sticker but can be looked up in Ram documentation or the Trailer Life Towing Guides (easily found on Google). The guides are sorted by year, then look up your make, model, and options...

Hello!
I’m looking to upgrade my current Jayco that sleeps 5 to a trailer that sleeps 8. I’m feeling overwhelmed in my search and thought I would find an RV community where I can seek advice from experienced RVers. I plan to use the trailer during the summer months to vacation with my teenage kids so won’t be used all year long. I was also wondering if there were any travel trailers that sleep 8 that don’t have a slide out. Any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated!
Mandie

Good luck in your search. It's already been stated, you can review floorplans on line, but sleeping 8 comfortably, she will be a pretty big girl. I've seen rear bunk floorplans where 4 can be comfy in one room, and the parents have another BR. I've seen bunkhouses and lofts in one floorplan that would get you your 8 if the children are still young and small.
But I believe if you head down that road, you'll be beyond what your truck can handle.
Don't overlook a custom build. I had one done recently, and the price was very attractive compared to what's on dealers lots, and I got exactly what I wanted. I don't know all forum rules yet so don't want to give specific info if not allowed. PM if you want a contact.

 

[Jeff in Ferndale Wa]

Hello!
I’m looking to upgrade my current Jayco that sleeps 5 to a trailer that sleeps 8. I’m feeling overwhelmed in my search and thought I would find an RV community where I can seek advice from experienced RVers. I plan to use the trailer during the summer months to vacation with my teenage kids so won’t be used all year long. I was also wondering if there were any travel trailers that sleep 8 that don’t have a slide out. Any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated!
Mandie

Springdale makes a bunkhouse model with no slide that sleeps 8, but gross weight (7510) is too much for your TV. I owned an earlier version of the same model for 8 years.

Springdale Comfort Travel Trailers - Model 260BH Floorplan

Look inside the 260BH Springdale and review the specifications, standards and options that come with this model Comfort Travel Trailers. See MSRP and 360 degree layouts

www.keystonerv.com

Have your considered a tent for your teenagers?
There are a lot of nice tents out there that are easy to set up and they might like sleeping separate from the parents. Many campgrounds will allow a tent on the same site as an RV.