Has anyone ever had buyers remorse as far as their travel trailer length? Is there a length that you get to where it really should be considered a "seasonal only" rig, lol? In the real world, is there much difference between 28 vs. 30 vs. 32 vs. 35 when it comes to towing it? How about finding worthy campsites?
I just want to try and avoid the predicament of setting up camp and thinking "Whoa! We went way overboard with this 34' TT!" Or "Crap! We should have went with the 32-34' instead of our little 26-28'!"
This would be our first TT and we have 3 kids (8, 5, 1) so we need it to be roomy, but not huge I don't think. While ideally, 3 separate beds/bunks would be nice, I have seen plenty very nice double bottom (boys could sleep in) and single top (daughter could sleep in) and if it comes to the point where emotions are high, lol, and it isn't going to work out that night to share, a couch or dinette can be made up. Not the end of the world, we're coming from tent camping for petes sake . Some of the 34-36' TT's have spectacular floor plans and bunkrooms and 2-3 large slides, but sometimes I wonder if that is just simply too much.
We do love state parks and I would say 7 times out of 10, that's where we are camping. Is anyone from MN (IA/WI too) and bring their 30 ft. + out with no problems? I don't want to feel like I'm forced to "parking lot" camping either if we get a larger rig. How about towing fairly long hauls, is smaller going to be a lot better? We hope to, at the least, do the popular South Dakota/Yellowstone/Grand Canyon trips during the duration of us owning a TT.
Realistically if you like the less popular camp sites stay under about 25 feet. Longer than that and you start loosing sites. Many state and National sites are older and were designed when most people tent camped or trailers were quite small.
Donn,Lorri,Max (The Rescued Lab)
Resident Know It All
Wow this is a hard question to give an answer to. Alot of things depend on other things such as, what are you towing with for one. Yes size does matter on many issues both good and bad lol.
When looking at a TT keep in mind that you need enough room to hold all your camping gear/supplies for 5 people. You want something big enough that if your stuck inside on a rainy weekend, you wont kill each other.
I think this may be a decision you and your wife will have to make. Only you guys know whats big enough or what isn't for your family.
We went from a 25' box with a rear slide & bunks (for a total camping length of 31') to a 32' box. Towing hasn't really been much of an issue at this point. Most of our camping is done at WI State or County Parks too. I haven't encounterd a site yet that we could get into before that we can't now. But I have had to not take some new sites just because of the length...
Outback, KZ, and others make some nice trailers that have a front bunk room with a rear king slide out. What's nice about these trailers is that the towing lenght is cut down because the rear slide is pushed in for traveling.
I was a little leery at first going to a 32' trailer, but so far so good and no regets at this point.
If your tow vehicle is not a limiting factor, I would tend to go larger as opposed to smaller given three children. The bigger units typically have more storage area, counter space, etc that is limited in smaller units. Also, if your trips are longer than weekend outings, the larger unit will keep everyone from being in each others way all the time when everyone is inside.
Setting up/taking down should take about the same time regardless of length, once parked.
35' may be too long to get in sites along with your TV. I find 30' and my TV to be ideal for all the sites I like. Far more important is the floor plan design than length.
rustycopperballs wrote: What is your TV, that is your limiting factor??
No TV yet, just getting a feel for lengths. I'm notorious about posting about our TV situation, you've maybe read about it, lol. We are heading out to the Ford dealership this week and tossing the kids into a new F150 EcoBoost and seeing how it feels. Probably w/ the max tow/payload. Or we are thinking of buying a very used, 10-12 year old Excursion for towing only.
We all have different requirements and Rv styles. Since '85, I had seven trailers. I started with a 33 ft 5th wh, that was a bit premature for what I initially used it for, weekends and vacations with the kids. It was too cumbersome for getting into some of the state parks we liked.
I bought it with the idea that the wife and I would use to full time in eventually. That eventually finally happened and the 33 ft length became ideal.
Another trailer I had was a 37 ft 5th wheel with four sides. I used it for winters in Texas and rarely moved it, prefering seasonal sites instead.
These days, I'm single with two dogs. I only use the trailer for road trips and weekends at state parks, so my latest trailer is a 22 ft funlight with one slide. It's great for my present needs.
The way you use your RV, storage needs and sleeping accomodations, should dictate your size need.
* This post was
edited 05/22/12 09:59pm by Road Phantom *
rustycopperballs wrote: What is your TV, that is your limiting factor??
No TV yet, just getting a feel for lengths. I'm notorious about posting about our TV situation, you've maybe read about it, lol. We are heading out to the Ford dealership this week and tossing the kids into a new F150 EcoBoost and seeing how it feels. Probably w/ the max tow/payload. Or we are thinking of buying a very used, 10-12 year old Excursion for towing only.
With those TV's you don't have a length issue because your going to be restricted to around 28' max, anyway.
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. Some of the 34-36' TT's have spectacular floor plans and bunkrooms and 2-3 large slides, but sometimes I wonder if that is just simply too much. 
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