New member with, you guessed it, a towing/trailer dilemma!

[dtotheweed]

Hi all, long time lurker, first time poster. Quick background-I'm 35 y/o, married with three (and probably soon to be four) kiddos aged 8 and under. Live just north of Indianapolis. We are super active as a family, and do a lot of hiking, fishing, and mountain biking together.

I've got a 2010 Ram 1500, crew cab 4x4, 5.7 hemi w/ the 545RFE slushbox (not the newer 8 spd). 3.55 rear, 8400 lb max towing capacity, brake controller, and yellow stickered at 1303 lb payload. Not an ideal TV, but as Sublime would say, it's what I got-only 65k mi on it and it's basically paid off.

I grew up both tent camping and trailer camping, and while we tent camp with our fam now, would love to have a TT. Based on all of my math and being cognizant of tongue weight, the two ideal rigs for me might be something like the Coachmen Apex Nano 208BHS and the KZ Escape 231BH (the 231BH *might* be pushing it on length) at this point. The double sized bunks are a must for me with 3-4 kids. Knowing I'll max out payload before I approach towing capacity, based on my math, these would be at the top end of wise 1/2 ton towing capabilities.

My main question-we are not "hang out in the trailer" types. I look at a TT as a comfortable place to sleep and cook, and an "emergency" place for the whole fam to hang out in case of inclement weather. Will not have a television in the unit and would remove it if it came standard. Additionally, my 8 year is opposed to sleeping in a camper and has already stated his intention to "rough it" and sleep in a tent outside , so long term we may bring a tent for 1-2 kids and rotate in/out of the TT for fun. However, I've been by RV dealers over the past year and a half and am immediately steered towards 29 ft total length, 7500lb GVWR slideout double-size bunk models, and am told repeatedly by salesmen that anything smaller "and we'll be tripping over ourselves inside." Outside of the fact that the above trailer mathematically is out of my towing range anyways, I have a "make it work" mentality and am really trying to stay as small as possible. Is anyone else out there towing a 27/25 ft total length or smaller TT with a family of five or six, and making it work? I'm a pretty strategic decision maker, and think this is a workable TT situation for us, but would love to hear some others' stories that have followed a similar path. Thanks in advance!

 

[ibeb]

I have a 29' TT, 6k dry and about 7.5k loaded, that I pulled for two seasons with my 2019 F150, 3.5eb, 3.55 gears, about 1700 payload. We are a family of 8, now down to 3 kids at home and have the same mentality of what the trailer is to be used for as it sounds you do. The "full" size bunks would be ok now, but suck when kids get older. Ours has a back room with a double set of single bunks and with all girls left at home, gives them a door to shut and room to stand, etc when changing. The slide does give so much more room to move inside, plus we used the dinette bed and pullout sofa for the boys when they went.

Back to the truck. My rig had a 12.3k tow rating, but I was maxed at payload with just passengers, wdh and tongue weight. I did all the upgrades I could try - E rated tires, air bags, tow mirrors, etc - and while the truck would do it and pull up hills just fine, it was not a comfortable drive for me on the cross state/Mt pass trips or if the wind was going crazy.

I ended up trading rigs this winter to an F350 with just shy of 3700 payload. Looking forward to trips this coming summer.

I know it doesn't answer your question, just trying to give more info. When I was TT shopping, I made the mistake of only looking at the weight I could pull, not payload rate, and when the wife saw the TT with back room she was done looking.

Erik

 

[dtotheweed]

I have a 29' TT, 6k dry and about 7.5k loaded, that I pulled for two seasons with my 2019 F150, 3.5eb, 3.55 gears, about 1700 payload. We are a family of 8, now down to 3 kids at home and have the same mentality of what the trailer is to be used for as it sounds you do. The "full" size bunks would be ok now, but suck when kids get older. Ours has a back room with a double set of single bunks and with all girls left at home, gives them a door to shut and room to stand, etc when changing. The slide does give so much more room to move inside, plus we used the dinette bed and pullout sofa for the boys when they went.

Back to the truck. My rig had a 12.3k tow rating, but I was maxed at payload with just passengers, wdh and tongue weight. I did all the upgrades I could try - E rated tires, air bags, tow mirrors, etc - and while the truck would do it and pull up hills just fine, it was not a comfortable drive for me on the cross state/Mt pass trips or if the wind was going crazy.

I ended up trading rigs this winter to an F350 with just shy of 3700 payload. Looking forward to trips this coming summer.

I know it doesn't answer your question, just trying to give more info. When I was TT shopping, I made the mistake of only looking at the weight I could pull, not payload rate, and when the wife saw the TT with back room she was done looking.

Erik

Thanks for the insight Erik. I would be very much happy with a 3/4 or 1 ton rig too! We may get there eventually, but it's not in the cards for right now. I'm appreciative of the confirmation that the 29' trailer was a bit dicey for the half ton in your experience. And your comment re: the privacy of room to change for the kids is a good point and something I hadn't considered, especially as the kids get older.

 

[ibeb]

Thanks for the insight Erik. I would be very much happy with a 3/4 or 1 ton rig too! We may get there eventually, but it's not in the cards for right now. I'm appreciative of the confirmation that the 29' trailer was a bit dicey for the half ton in your experience. And your comment re: the privacy of room to change for the kids is a good point and something I hadn't considered, especially as the kids get older.

Glad to help. I bought my F150 with max tow and all, looking to potentially get a TT about what you are looking at, 25' with about 27/28' tip to tail. Like I said, once the boss saw the TT with the back room and I stupidly listened to the salesman that said it would be just fine, you can pull 12k, it was over - 29' and almost 33' tip to tail.

I got lucky that my F150 was close to paid off as I gave up my paid for Jeep when I got it and the truck market was insane at the time due to COVID. I got what I paid for my F150 almost 2 years prior and a decent deal on the F350 that I ordered. Now, it's a different story, can still get good money for your rig, but new is stupid and there are some dealers asking over MSRP just because they have the rigs and can.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Several years ago I met a family of 6 touring the entire USA in 24 ft class C motorhome, so I guess anything is possible with the right attitude. A tent for the kids is very popular - we see them wherever the campground allows - and very practical too. And the more you live outside, the less important the trailer size is. That said, you still need space for clothing (clean & dirty) & food & gear. Toys (er, recreational equipment!) too. A smaller trailer generally means less storage, small fridge, little food prep space, limited fresh & waste water tanks, etc. Often the burden of dealing with these every day shortcomings falls on the wife, who is often the one most impacted while trying to care for the kids. Make sure she is onboard with all this.

Only you can decide when the various limitations collectively reach the point where the experience is no longer rewarding.