dtotheweed
New member
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!
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!