I am looking to buy a TT within the next few months. I have a family of 5 with three girls ages 9-11. I will be towing this with a Toyota Tundra 5.7lt tow package. The slide out models seem to be the best as far as room. We are looking to buy used and so far we have seen prices ranging from 7000- 26000 I would like to stay around the 10000 mark for our first TT. I'm really hoping this will be a great experince for my girls while they are still young. Is there a particular type or model to stay away from?
All you need is to find one that is large enough to suit your family needs and with a light enough tongue to keep your truck under it's GVWR. Assume tongue weights when fully loaded will run about 15% of the trailers GVWR. Match the trailer loaded tongue weight to the posted payload number from your door post then add the weight of you and your family and all gear carried in the truck. If you're still under the payload number you should be good to go.
Good luck / Skip
2011 F-150 HD Ecoboost 3.5 V6. 2550 payload, 17,100 GCVWR - 2004 F-150 HD (Traded after 80,000 towing miles) 2007 Rockwood 8314SS 34' travel trailer
US Govt survey shows three out of four people make up 75% of the total population
When we started doing our research on what TT to buy, we asked questions here and many people suggested a bunk house with a slide. We are a family of five with three girls 8, 6, and 15 months. We were originally looking at 18ft-24ft mainly because I was worried about towing it, if we would we enjoy it, and I was thinking it was just a place to sleep. We listened to the very kind, wise folks here (for the most part) and ended up buying a Jayco 26BH. I will tell you that pretty much from the first time out, I wish we had bought the same floor plan but with the slide! We could use the extra space in the main area. I see us trading up in the very near future. But other than that we love everything about it, the girls favorite part of course are the bunk beds, they love being back there! We often take additional people with us and while making the dinette and the couch into sleeping space is easy, I can see where it would get extremely old extremely fast!
If you are even considering purchasing a TT then I think you will more than likely enjoy the experience, and so will your girls! So with your first purchase I would say get the most space you can for what your TV can safely pull. I am a bit surprised how easily we got used to pulling our 30ft TT. When we drove it off the lot I was FREAKING out, thinking what have we done! Now I can't wait to get on the road with it, because I know the fun that is ahead!
With whatever model you choose you should spend some time in the TT, not just 5 minutes. Close the door and hang out, do the things you think you would be doing on a regular basis. Mock cook in the kitchen and have your girls run around like you know they will be once it is yours. Act like it is a rainy day and your stuck inside, etc. You also have to think about storage space, in our case that has yet to be a problem.
Your are in the right place to get your questions answered. Good luck finding the right TT for you and your family.
Don't buy green bananas! Do the things you wish you could do, now, don’t wait on them. There just might not be a tomorrow.
You can make the sofa and dinetter into beds that in theory sleep four, it is a pain to do every night and they do not make comfortable sleeping.
Look for a bunk house.
We have a 20 footer - myself, wife, one daughter in the age range you are talking, and a miniature weenie dog. We're just inside the acceptable range of comfort. We have to make the dining area into our daughter's bunk each night and that does become a little of a pain after a while, but we do take into account we're camping. Would recommend something with a few more feet and a second designated sleeping area, if you can swing it. Good luck.
I personally do not get the idea of a slide out. Yes it gives you more room but why are you in the trailer to care?
I have been camping with people with big trailers with slides and tons of room but nobody is ever in there.
When I make the move to a TT I will not be looking at slides. I know there isn't too many issues with them but there are issues and with the extra weight and cost I think a person really needs to sit down and think how often are we going to be sitting in here staring at each other wishing for more space.
I think when people are shopping they see the extra space and go wow, this is awesome and then they get hooked. Kids don't care about the extra space.
If it is raining go do something, the mall ,a movie, a museum etc. and any CG I have been to they have a big rec center to do tons of stuff anyway.
I've got to disagree - we do 3 season camping, and if I had a dollar for every time I said to myself "pat yourself on the back for buying a model with slide", I'd have the $$ saved up already to buy our next trailer. When it's cold and/or raining and you're stuck inside, that extra room is very handy, and we don't always want to trek out of the campsite in the inclement weather to find a diversion, espcially with a dog. And kids do care about space, especially if they are close in age to each other and you've got one or more of each!
I don't want to be the guy sitting under my awning shivering and cursing the fact that I didn't get the slide.
Jayco 2008 26L behind a 2005 'Burb out of the Great White North, eh!
1 DW, 1 DD, 1 DS, 1 SD (shedding dog)
4 x T125's, 300W solar, Yamaha 2000IS
phemens wrote: I've got to disagree - we do 3 season camping, and if I had a dollar for every time I said to myself "pat yourself on the back for buying a model with slide", I'd have the $$ saved up already to buy our next trailer. When it's cold and/or raining and you're stuck inside, that extra room is very handy, and we don't always want to trek out of the campsite in the inclement weather to find a diversion, espcially with a dog. And kids do care about space, especially if they are close in age to each other and you've got one or more of each!
I don't want to be the guy sitting under my awning shivering and cursing the fact that I didn't get the slide.
most people are not like you.
One should rethink 3 season camping if you 'need' to stay inside a trailer because of the temperature. Even with a slide it is still a shoebox.
and I still will say kids do not care about space. It isn't something kids think about
Welcome to the forum!
Add me to the "has to have a slide" camp. Mostly it's DW & me, sometimes our daughter and her husband join us. But even if it's the two of us it can get tight in a hurry on a rainy day.
As far as brands, I'm partial to Jayco and Forest River. I'm not impressed with Thor or Cruiser. Just my opinion.
Do some research on what to look for when inspecting a used rv. A lot of it revolves around looking for signs of water leaks and damage, making sure all the systems work, and the age / condition of the tires.
2013 North Trail 21FBS
2012 F-150 XLT Ecoboost ("EcoBeast") scab
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