wife and i went to rv show at fairgrounds tonight, found a few TT's we liked a lot. i have no experience with these though, and don't really know what to look for or what questions to ask of dealers. the models we liked today were the Zinger Z1 301B, the Grey Wolf 28BH, and the Wildwood 26TBSS. basically looking for a floorplan with bunkhouse in back for the kids, and something in the 26-28 foot range (?)
TV is a 2008 Toyota Tundra 5.7L Double Cab
any input is much appreciated
Welcome aboard.
IMHO you are being somewhat optimistic on your trailers.
But to prove me wrong you need to load it up like you are going camping and get to the scales. That means full of gas, the whole family, everything. Once you have a real scaled weight you can look up your GCWR. Subtract your scaled weight from your GCWR and you will know how much weight you can safely tow. Remember terms like "dry" or "shipping" are false terms and mean nothing. Instead use the trailers GVWR and add that to your trucks scaled weight. Now, are you under the trucks GCWR or over?
Since you are a first time buyer, I would strongly suggest you start looking used. Yea, I know that new smell and everything, but once you haul that trailer off the lot you instantly loose about 25% of your investment. So what if after a couple of trips you hate the RV experience and try to sell that "new" trailer. You could be out a lot of money. When buying a used unit someone else has already taken the hugh new hit.
Donn,Lorri,Max (The Rescued Lab)
Resident Know It All
You have a nice tow rig. That is a really nice truck.
For about a 23 footer.
Those big trailers look great.........PARKED !
If you want to get some use out of your trailer think in terms of the minimum length you can work with.
Do Not buy new.
Most of these folks are on their 4th RV.
It takes some practice to figure out what works best.
It is OK to go to the trailer shows and gather knowledge.
But buy your first one used.
They are all fine trailers from reputable manufacturers. Pick the one that suits your family best.
I have the Grey Wolf 28bh and it has been a good TT for us. The bathroom sink being outside of the toilette/shower room works well for my wife and two daughters. One can be in the shower while someone else is at the sink. I didn't like the look of it, but it has worked out really well.
TT's are full of compromises and make sure you compare all the little details in the spec sheets.
Depending on the size of your family you might want to check out the Grey Wolf 29BH.
We just bought a new 32' Skyline Mountainview. We wanted the length for our growing family and wanted bunks so we didn't have to fold down the table or sofa every night before bed. I'm new to the travel trailer thing, but I think we made a good choice. We had been shopping for quite a while. We looked at a lot of used trailers and couldn't justify the minimal savings for a TT that was 4+ years old (3-4 thousand at best) so we bought new. It may have been a mistake but right now I think we made the right decision. Ask me in a year and I may have a different opinion.
You truck is more than capable of towing those trailers with the right hitch setup IMO. Have you done much towing of long trailers (25+ feet) before. I'm new to travel trailer camping, but not new to towing long trailers so I felt perfectly comfortable getting the 32'. Just my $.02.
All I can add is that it literally took me a year to decide what to buy. I must have looked at over 100 different trailers, new and used. I went to two different shows, went to several dealers and spent hours getting in, sitting down, imagining camping in there on a rainy day....getting out, crawling around under them looking at how they are built, etc, etc.
And I spent endless hours reading camping forums on the internet, and finally after a year, I had a pretty clear idea of what I wanted.
And it's so true....don't believe all the hype the sales folks try to feed you. Remember of course, their first, last and only concern is getting you to buy something. And they will say just about anything to get that done.
Good luck with it, it really is a fun hobby/pastime, but you really do need to do your homework first.
I will add if you buy used, you can save some money. Some people get a steal, some just get a deal, and others really get a bad deal because of water damage. If you get used there is a good chance nothing has been maintained. So a 5 year old trailer could need a $1000 in neglected maintenance, including tires and batteries. To get it in shape will take a lot of hours and education from these forums, what to caulk, what kind of caulk, what can I use on my rubber roof, what are my options on batteries. It is a lot to consider, but if you go through the process, do it your self, you can get real satisfaction in knowing your trailer is better than new, and you know everything about it.
good luck, brooks
You'll hear folks say "purchase your second trailer 1st" so we skipped the smaller used trailer and went for the 30' new trailer. Couldn't be happier. Check out the North Trail 28BRS (that's what we purchased for our family of five). Two access doors, bunks in the rear, slide and nice queen size bed up front. It took me about ten months to purchase our trailer. We towed it with a 2007 Ford Expedition but decided to upgrade to our Dodge Ram 2500. Should tow much better in the Rockies this summer. The Expedition towed okay on flat land but I'm excited to tow with the Cummins diesel. The trailer is nice. I recommend it.
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