Deciding on a travel trailer

[bncn92 0]

 Looking for input on   travel trailers. We have stayed at  the FW many  times and have always rented but now are considering  to purchase one of our own.  Weight under 9000# and prefer larger living area vs bunk house. Thanks!

 

[ImDownWithDisney 342]

Buy used. Your first rv is never the right rv. Plus buying used can save you the heartache of the 1st year of problems that most rv's have. 

[Humphrey Bear…Rob 42]

42 minutes ago, ImDownWithDisney said:

Buy used. Your first rv is never the right rv. Plus buying used can save you the heartache of the 1st year of problems that most rv's have. 

Amen!    Suggest Jayco or KZ, but dealer support is always important. If you can buy from an individual and know the history of  it (always covered, stored inside, etc) it helps. 

In a used RV hopefully any factory issues have been fixed and the original buyer is taking the 30-50% depreciation hit...NOT YOU.

Any RV over 3 years old will probably need new tires (they aren't always new when they get put on!)

Finally - no matter what you are thinking about - do your research. There are forums for about every brand.  That said - just be aware that the folks that are unhappy will scream louder than the folks that really like their units.  ALL RV's have issues, so don't get too freaked out by some of the complaints.  

Get on the roof and look for any rips, tears, new patches.  Look under seat cushions and in storage places for mold or discolored wood.  If you find any of these STAY AWAY.  New RV's can leak too...but a 3-5 year old will show more damage.    Good Luck and Hope you  find what you are looking for!

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

I agree with the comments above.

Have fun with the search!  No matter what you get... get out there, use it and make some memories!!  Enjoy :) 

[keith_h 420]

You didn't mention what you are planning to tow with but most people do not realize that the published towing capacity for their truck is a lot less in reality. Most tow vehicles run out of payload capacity before they exceed the other weights but any one being exceeded means the trailer is too heavy for the TV. Keep in mind that more options means less payload. More than one person has ended up with a TT heavier than their TV can handle safely and had to look for something bigger to pull with. That gets expensive.  Also dry weights are not useful for determining if your tow vehicle can handle the trailer. It is not uncommon for a TT to carry 1000 lbs or more of stuff once every thing is loaded and installed

To determine the payload capacity available to carry the trailer tongue you need to find the payload sticker on the driver side door pillar. It will usually say something to the effect of "The maximum weight of all passengers and cargo cannot exceed nnnn lbs". From this weight subtract the weight of all passengers, luggage/cargo, owner addons and 100 lbs for the weight distributing hitch.  The result is the payload capacity you have available to carry the tongue weight of the trailer.  Take this number and divide by .13 (13%) and it will give you an estimate of the maximum loaded trailer weight your TV can pull. Tongue weights will run between 10% and 15% of trailer weight with the most common range being 12% - 14%. This is why I use 13% as a rule of thumb. I also run 15% when looking for a worst case scenario. You can manage tongue weight to some degree by how you load the trailer but is is a pain and requires weighing every time you shift stuff around. It can also cause stability problems if you get too much in the back of the trailer.  This is for a bumper pull TT. A 5th wheel will use a pin weight that is typically 20% - 25% of the loaded trailer weight. Most 5th wheels are too heavy for a 1/2 ton truck in both payload and axle capacity.

After the payload you need to verify you are not over the Gross Combined Weight Rating. The GCWR is the combined weight of the trailer and TV. It is the  combined weight of the loaded vehicle and loaded trailer. You also need to verify that you are not exceeding the weight rating of the hitch receiver. There should be a sticker on the receiver listing its maximum weights. Lastly is the Gross Axle Weight Rating. This includes all of the weight on top of and behind the axle. The only really good way to get these numbers is to weigh the fully loaded TT and TV at a truck scale with the WDH hooked up. You also want to use the scale to weigh the fully loaded TV with no trailer and with the trailer but WDH disconnected. These will let you determine solid numbers for available payload and see that your WDH is set up correctly in addition to verifying other weight capacities aren't exceeded.

All off this should be in your owners manual as well. Also keep in mind that most RV sales people will tell you that you can tow whatever it is you are looking at whether it is safe to do so or not. Good luck.

 

[Humphrey Bear…Rob 42]

38 minutes ago, keith_h said:

You didn't mention what you are planning to tow with but most people do not realize that the published towing capacity for their truck is a lot less in reality.  

 

Great Advice!   And to Keith's point it's not only what CAN you tow, but what CAN you STOP!!!

[Grumpy and Grandma 740]

4 minutes ago, Humphrey Bear…Rob said:

but what CAN you STOP!!!

The trailer brakes take care of that....

[bncn92 0]

12 hours ago, keith_h said:

You didn't mention what you are planning to tow with but most people do not realize that the published towing capacity for their truck is a lot less in reality. Most tow vehicles run out of payload capacity before they exceed the other weights but any one being exceeded means the trailer is too heavy for the TV. Keep in mind that more options means less payload. More than one person has ended up with a TT heavier than their TV can handle safely and had to look for something bigger to pull with. That gets expensive.  Also dry weights are not useful for determining if your tow vehicle can handle the trailer. It is not uncommon for a TT to carry 1000 lbs or more of stuff once every thing is loaded and installed

To determine the payload capacity available to carry the trailer tongue you need to find the payload sticker on the driver side door pillar. It will usually say something to the effect of "The maximum weight of all passengers and cargo cannot exceed nnnn lbs". From this weight subtract the weight of all passengers, luggage/cargo, owner addons and 100 lbs for the weight distributing hitch.  The result is the payload capacity you have available to carry the tongue weight of the trailer.  Take this number and divide by .13 (13%) and it will give you an estimate of the maximum loaded trailer weight your TV can pull. Tongue weights will run between 10% and 15% of trailer weight with the most common range being 12% - 14%. This is why I use 13% as a rule of thumb. I also run 15% when looking for a worst case scenario. You can manage tongue weight to some degree by how you load the trailer but is is a pain and requires weighing every time you shift stuff around. It can also cause stability problems if you get too much in the back of the trailer.  This is for a bumper pull TT. A 5th wheel will use a pin weight that is typically 20% - 25% of the loaded trailer weight. Most 5th wheels are too heavy for a 1/2 ton truck in both payload and axle capacity.

After the payload you need to verify you are not over the Gross Combined Weight Rating. The GCWR is the combined weight of the trailer and TV. It is the  combined weight of the loaded vehicle and loaded trailer. You also need to verify that you are not exceeding the weight rating of the hitch receiver. There should be a sticker on the receiver listing its maximum weights. Lastly is the Gross Axle Weight Rating. This includes all of the weight on top of and behind the axle. The only really good way to get these numbers is to weigh the fully loaded TT and TV at a truck scale with the WDH hooked up. You also want to use the scale to weigh the fully loaded TV with no trailer and with the trailer but WDH disconnected. These will let you determine solid numbers for available payload and see that your WDH is set up correctly in addition to verifying other weight capacities aren't exceeded.

All off this should be in your owners manual as well. Also keep in mind that most RV sales people will tell you that you can tow whatever it is you are looking at whether it is safe to do so or not. Good luck.

This is very helpful ! Towing with F150 eco boost 

 

[keith_h 420]

There will be a lot of variation with payload values across the F-150 line. A good place for F-150 info is at f150forum.com. They have a towing section where lots of folks can answer questions or help with figuring out maximum weights. If you browse the towing section you should see a number of "Can I tow this" or "How much can I tow" type threads with examples and the math worked out. A word of warning. Some of the folks there are of the mind you have to weigh everything every time you go out. At the other extreme there are some who refuse to weigh or even worry about their trucks capacity. I'm of the mind that you can do the calculations based on the truck's stickers and knowing weights of passengers/cargo/etc. I then would weigh it after getting everything set up and loaded to verify the hitch setup and that I didn't put in too much stuff. I would also reweigh if I made a major modification like adding a bike rack or luggage box. Other than that I find we are pretty stable as to what we put in or take out of the trailer so see no need to worry about the weight of extra clothing or food for a longer trip.

Here is a link to the towing section: https://www.f150forum.com/f82/