stevie
New member
We are retiring early. Spending our children's inheritance. I ordered a 2013 Ford SCrew 6.5 bed, 5.0 V8 with a 3.73 rear end. My payload is 2330 and my tow is 9200. We have looked at RV's and travel trailers on and off for about 3 years. Its getting a bit more serious now that we will be retired and trip time is no longer a constraint.
We go on monthly fall, winter and early spring clam digs at Longbeach, Wa. It rains regularly and usually stays above the low 40"s. Campground has power and water and propane is delivered. June thru August we will have a boat along for fishing.
Most trips I expect 2 -5 including my daughters new baby in the trailer. Housemouse says a slide out is a must so we have room for the playpen.
Possible trips with 8 adults and children.
The number of models and floorplans is staggering. I live near Seattle so within 40 minutes there are a ton of RV dealers. And we have a show in Tacoma in March. Will be bringing pens and clipboards to keep notes. It is so hard to remember which one had what.
So far we have looked at Jayco, Passport, Cougar, and Raineer. Leaning towards Jayco but nothing is set in stone. I have towed a lot of boats big and small but not a travel trailer. Looking to keep my trailer weight under 7000 lbs.
So my questions would include
How reliable are the slideouts. Since they are unsupported, is there a weight rating on who can sit there? I have some really big friends.
Some of the waste water tanks get down to 22.5 gallons? Seems small? Average seems to be around 30. I don't want to park the trailer and then every few days tow it to a dump station. Our campground has grey water only dump in the sites.
Construction? Aluminum framing or wood? Are the lightweight trailers structurally as sound as the heavier ones?
Fiberglass or aluminum siding?
Who makes trailers designed for winter camping? They may all say that but I am still learning this stuff.