Recommendations for Quad Bunk TT

[Andrey]

Hi all!

Newbie here. We are a family of 4 looking for our first TT for camping (no snow activities) with room for our young children to grow.  We like the floorplans that have a sofa, dinette, separate room with 3-4 bunk beds and outdoor kitchen. We are considering:
- Jayco Jay Feather 29QB (love the pack n play door and shower, concerned about length)
- Keystone Bullet 287qbswe (like the dinette vs U-shape dinette and shower)
- Shadow Cruiser 280qbs (like the dinette and that it's the shortest of the bunch)

We will be towing with a Dodge RAM 2500 Cummins Diesel

My questions are:
1) What's your recommendation/reviews for any of the models? Is one better than another? Any to flat out avoid? Any other models you suggest looking into?
2) If you have any of these models (or similiar) with the separate bunk bed room, what do you like best and least?
3) There is about a 3' length difference between the shortest and longest model. Is it a significant length difference, will it be a lot harder to drive?
4) Do you think a 2nd door is needed for trailers in this length range?

Thanks in advance for your feedback and suggestions, really a appreciate it! It's a big investment and we are excited to get our RV family adventures started!

 

[Macrosill]

I have 3 kids and moved from a Jayco JayFlight 27BH to a Forest River Wildwood 31KQBTS.  We absolutely love the layout!  I recommend it.   

 

[Frank B]

I can't answer all of those, but our 30-foot arctic fox 30U is around the same dimensions. It took me awhile to get used to it, as it was about 7 feet longer than our previous one. However, I now have no difficulty with it. If you will be staying in state or provincial parks, 30 feet is about as big as you want to go, with 25 being even better. If you will be staying in RV parks, then no problem.


Our unit has two doors, but honestly, we don't use the front one at all. The two doors in our unit are a fire escape security measure. Just check the fire escape access in the rear of the trailer where the kids will be in the bunks. Have them practice getting out of there. They will love doing that, as it usually means climbing out of a special fire escape window.


I notice that the difference between empty weight, and loaded weight, is only about 1,100 lb. That doesn't leave you a lot of weight for cargo, water, propane, and so on.  By comparison, the difference on ours is about 2900 lb.

 

[RVMommaTo6]

My advice is to put more stock in the features you want vs the brand name. Decide what your non-negotiable details are, like an outdoor kitchen, and go from there.
I had a quad bunk, a Wildwood with two bunks on each side and a wardrobe between them against the back, that I loved until I got my current BH which is a Springdale. It's a triple bunk with a 4th bed, a trundle, in the back bedroom that pulls out from under the bottom bunk. The beds are bigger, twin sized vs those single sized bunks. I love it because all the kids fit back there without having to use the dinette or the sofa bed. It has an entertainment center and the set up allows for room to fit lots of kids. We do a ton of entertaining, so when the weather doesn't cooperate or the bugs get bad, we go inside and the kids can go watch a movie or play games in the back while the adults play cards and stuff out in the living area.
It also has a second door out the bathroom. That's a huge asset for our family for a number of reasons that may or may not apply to your family. For us, we use our TT all winter, we keep it parked at the bottom of the hill at a local ski resort. So we keep our skis in the shower. We can keep the door open handing in skis and equipment with the bathroom door closed so it doesn't let all our heat out. It's also a nice option in the spring when things are muddy, we can come into the bathroom and take off muddy or dirty stuff, or wet and sandy in the summer, and contain the mess to the bathroom. Once everyone is in, it's a breeze to clean up, just sweep it outside. We use our main door 90% of the time, but it's real nice to have that second one and I wouldn't want to go without it now that we're used to it.
Good luck! The best part is making memories, so whatever you end up with, love it and cherish your time with the kids!

 

[Andrey]

Thank you all for your feedback, it's all very helpful!

Frank - great point about the fire escape and having the kids practice going out the window!

How do state parks measure the length of trailer?  For the models we are looking at the total length (tip of hitch to rear bumper) is just under 33' but the length of the trailer shell itself is 28'. Will be still fall within the 30' category?

 

[Frank B]

I am not aware of anyone actually measuring your unit to see if you qualify. It is more for your benefit in determining if you can get it in and out or not. I saw one poor fellow get stuck on a turn between some trees with a big motorhome towing an almost as big trailer. You also need to be able to get the unit in to a spot and not have it obstruct the road.


If I have doubts, I leave my unit where it is out of the way of others, and then walk the loop to determine if I want to try it or not. I had our 23 footer into a state park that said 18 feet was max. However, the park was mostly empty, and I was able to park the truck in another unoccupied site without bothering anyone.

 

[grashley]

First, the most important factor is FLOOR PLAN!!  This includes the must have items.  Second most important is FLOOR PLAN!  All brands make some great TT, some real lemons and lots of acceptable ones.  All the same model on the same assembly line.

Why buy new??  Save some serious money on a gently used late model used camper.  There is a very good chance that you will see campers (while camping) with features you did not know were available and floor plans you like better.  Kids will grow and need bigger bunks and more space.  Used campers will have all the factory issues resolved, and you can go camping instead of making trips back to the dealer for warranty service.

The 2500 truck should be fine for towing any of those campers.

 

[juice00000]

I just sold my Shadow Cruiser 280qbs. I had no real problems with it to speak of. Your kids will outgrow those bunks early on in their teens. It is also very hard for an adult to sleep in them, if you were to bring along an extra. Not much room in the kitchen/living area if you are stuck in on rainy days or just relaxing, and the seating is not very comfortable at that. The tub/shower is tight for adults to use, DH always had to use the CG's for lack of headroom.

 

[blw2]

I'm late to the discussion maybe, but I'll comment
I spent a long time looking at similar models before getting our class C, so I can't speak directly as experienced with any of these models, but most of the features are universal
For what it's worth, the main reason I moved away form these plans was my truck's tow capacity.... and not a lot of options available...only a 3/4 ton or greater crew cab (or a few half tons maybe, but not all)....not a problem you have now...and the fact that with three kids it's not overly comfortable on long road trips...and there's a lack of anything available in the way of a 3/4 ton suburban

First, I agree that what is most important is which one feels right to you.  Go in with the family to one at a show or at a dealer, and hang out for a few minutes.  You'll probably know almost right away which one you like.  not a lot of difference between brands...they all use the same major components (fridge, water heater, stove, etc..).  I spotted subtle differences in quality of build when I was shopping around but nothing significant within a given price point.

suggest two lists...
must have
& would be nice
and allow things to float....

example, I had outdoor kitchen on my must have but eventually floated it to the no way list.  In my opinion, it's much more versatile to have a portable stove or grill for use on the picnic table, or where ever... You might find yourself on a sloped site where when the trailer is level the outside kitchen is too high or too low to use.  Also, I found it to be an occasional use thing that is taking up valuable space 100% of the time

I loved the bunk house plans with three bunks and a sofabed.  Seemed like a wonderful haven for kids to sleep and to play on a rainy day.  That dinette in the keystone might even be better than a sofa, for playing games and such...but I'm not sure.

I loved the plans that had the big door back there for loading bikes or other stuff for travel....but I never had one so not sure how well they really work out.

3ft length difference... you'll never know it on the road but maybe when trying to back into a tight site..just maybe...since your truck is already long...but a lot depends on the geometry...axle location, truck wheelbase, etc...

I like the second door as a fire escape much better than an escape window.  I saw some with a door into the bathroom which might be nice to minimize tracked in dirt with the kids...  but then a door is one more thing to have problems with... and it takes up wall space that could be cabinetry or storage or something else...

U-shaped dinette...you either like them or you don't.  I love them but my DW hates them. that radius corner makes it much more comfortable to sit in sideways but you loose table space

other random comments about the floor plans
the neo-angle shower in the jayco is nicer, as is (I think) the toilet layout
not sure I like the L shaped bunk layout in the jayco
none of these plans have much kitchen counter space, and therefore probably not much cabinet space either.
I like the angled sink than they way the keystone's sink is
the passthrough storage on the keystone would be nice.

 

[johnsonjared]

Several of those were on our shopping list. We got a 3 year old Keystone Passport GT 3320BH. It's enormous (36'10") but with 5 kids, that was the goal. The Passport GT is aluminum framed so its quite light for its length. Two of the bunks are normal twin dimensions, the third is a 28" flip up and there's a foam futon thing under it.

Floorplan and weight are the big concerns, like everyone else said. We're using an SUV not a pickup, so weight was more important because these are not rated as high as trucks.