Trailer Advice

[cedric]

I'm looking to buy a camper trailer by spring, I know many of you have trailers so I thought I would solicit some advice before I buy something.

Currently considering something from 20-25' in length, no 5th wheels. Want a queen bed on one end and kiddie bunks on the other end. I will be towing it with a 1/2 ton Chev, so hoping to keep it fairly light.

Tell me what features are great to have, which ones you wished you had, which ones you don't like, etc. All advice appreciated. Thanks!

[marshalllaw]

I have a tent trailer.

Pro's
light
Did an leaf over axle mod for clearance. I can get this thing in deep.
awesome to unzip all the windows and have a nice breeze flow though when taking a nap.
has water/stove/heater enough storage.

Con's
No lock. I don't feel that secure leaving anything of value in it.
after -8c is pushing it with the heater.
bit of a pain to set up, but not bad.
no toliet. Not sure if this is good or bad. not sure i would want to take a dump in my trailer. can anyone pipe up regarding this? issues with smell? Hard to dump/clean?

[Dakota_c69]

Can't help with the best features, but I am looking forward to the RV show coming up:

http://www.rvda-alberta.org/content/rv-shows

I do have a tip though. Some RV salespeople always quote you the unloaded weight of their trailers when you ask if your truck can safely pull a certain RV. It is recommended you consider the GVWR of the RV. Last year we almost bought a trailer that when considering the tow limits of our truck we could only tow the trailer without water...

[Jonny5]

I would pay close attention to the amount of windows that are in the unit(more the better) and the amount of storage(more the better).

[Braap791]

Whatever you do make sure if you have a slideout (s) or any new fangled trinket always opt for the extra warranty. Remember not all trailers are built equal. Its a miricle that some of them even leave the factory floor and get past the dealers PDI. Also whatever you look at come home and google trailer problems and reviews for the make and model it definately helped us make our decision easier. If you get anything with an A/C unit make sure you have a generator big enough to power said unit. Most need a 2400-3000 to power the unit properly. Try to get a low wattage toaster and coffee maker if those are things that you may use. You can use a 1000 to power both of those. Best of luck in the search!

[bikingagain]

For me, with two kids, I will always get a trailer with a slide. Also after checking the reviews on the trailer. Check in Montana for a dealer with the same trailer to compare prices. Good insulation with a higher R value is also a plus. My 2 cents. O ya, love the U shape dinette too, way more room.

[cedric]

Lots of good advice here, keep it coming guys. This is all helpful stuff.

[giantjoe]

I agree with Mike. If you have children you need a slide. I hate the bathrooms. Too small. Especially the showers.

[RJHenry]

I agree with Mike. If you have children you need a slide. I hate the bathrooms. Too small. Especially the showers.

Too small? For you? Surely you jest!

Seriously:
1) Jonny 5 is bang on, so is bikingagain.
2) If you get a slide, look for one that has windows in the all three faces of the slide - much nicer feel of openness when it is open.
3) To Braap791's point, a wise friend likes to say there are three grades of trailer - S%!t, S%!ttier, and S%!ittiest. These are not cars or houses and are not built to the same quality, so watch out for flimsy stuff unless you are buying a top quality unit. At the snack bracket most folks run in the woods, plainer and simpler is better.

To give a long story that hopefully illustrates interesting trade-offs... here is our experience. We have had two 27' travel trailers, both built by forest river, both half ton towable, both with a queen up front. Differences were:
* first one was a bunk unit laid out as you describe without a slide, had a separate bedroom up front and you could walk around both sides of the queen size bed - consumed ~8' of trailer length. bunks were at the back on one side, the lower one flipped up and the compartment was accessed from the outside through a "bike door". bathroom in the other back corner.
Pros of this layout - very luxurious sleeping for adults, separate beds for the kids, lots of storage in the bike door and in the "basement" across the front under the bed. Grey and Black Water was at the back and VERY easy to access for dumping.
Cons for this layout - the kitchen was across from the dinette and the jackknife couch was beside the kitchen - so the kitchen and couch were offset in the length of the trailer, so either you all sat at the four seat dinette, or you were "disjointed" - very useless for visiting. Worse yet, whenever you went forth or back you bumped into anyone standing in the kitchen or sitting on the couch. The bathroom was tight, and the dump plumbing was VERY low. We actually flipped axles, and that helped - but make sure to respect the camber of the axles if you do that.

* second (current) one is a toy hauler with a slide. Queen bed is sideways at the front, is a little shorter than standard, has a wall on both sides and we crawl in from the foot. Dinette is in the slide across from the kithcen, and is U shaped. Bathroom is full width of the trailer behind the kitchen and ahead of the garage, which is 9' long. One queen bed that powers up to the ceiling in the garage.
Pros of this layout - ROOM FOR MOTORCYCLES. Dinette and kitchen are adjacent, and when open there is room to pass, and walk, and deal with your sludge. Bathroom is palatial, and has an entrance from the garage and the front - so kids are separated from grown ups by two doors!! Also, table is fixed to slide floor so dinette and kitchen aer usable if you pull over for lunch without opening the slide.
Cons of this layout - less storage, sleeps six instead of eight, kids share a bed (which we have partitioned with a storage solution, but won't work forever), Queen bed is more utilitarian, and the sani-dump connection and valves are way under the trailer in front of the axles. Second electric bed is available - someday maybe!

Other considerations:
1) Identify what kind of camper you intend to be - hanging out inside a lot, or just cooking and sleeping, etc. - and let that guide your feature weightings. Remember that eventually it will rain and you will all be inside together at the same time!
2) Always get two batteries, preferably 6 Volts in series.
3) I strongly recommend the power tongue for use with an equalizer hitch - negotiate hard to get that thrown in!!
4) new trailers seem to come with 20 pound propane tanks - that's crazy! - demand 30 pounders.
5) Axles are key - standard axles are 3500 pound, which limits total GVWR to about 7700 pounds... some models come with 4400 pound axles, which bumps you up 1800 pounds in GVWR!! Note this GVWR may put quite a strain on your Chevy ;-)
6) ovens are optional - most are used rarely at best.
7) aluminum frame / hardwall is more money than "stick and tin", but it is lighter and stronger and should give a bit better resale.

Good Luck!
RJH

[kawasakijockey]

would agree with most of RJH.

decide what kind of camping ur gonna do first!!!
flip the axels is a must for random camping.
consider your tanks as well.i can go out for a week with my unit and not fill the black,grey or run out of water.others i camp with run out in two days and have to bring extra water hauled in.
we have a hybrid trailer (hard wall trailer with pop out tent ends) things i love about this unit...
massive storage-its 23' of trailer and with the beds out its 32' so you actually have 23' of usable trailer.
super light
big tanks
awesome on hot days as you can unzip the ends and get a breeze (good for naps when down with the 26 0z flu)

cons-
colder than a regular trailer-we go thru more propane to heat it at night for sure (that being said its warmer for winter camping as we leave the beds up and its extra insulation)
extra set up and tear down time
its not a toy hauler!!! with 2 kids and a wife who rides i haul 4 bikes and a trailer. it was easy when the kids had little bikes but now the oldest is getting a 125 this year and i cant fit them all in the box...so i need to get a sled deck and put em up there. which will leave extra room under the deck for more storage. much easier with a toy hauler.
never had an issue ever with toilet but we always dump at end of weekend and throw a bag of ice down the chute every now and then while driving to wash the walls really good

just my thoughts

oh and we use our over almost every trip too...

good luck

[Braap791]

I forgot to add this. 2 6v batteries are always better than 2 12Vs. Battery world usually has a decent deal on 2 6v trojans. 30Lb propane tanks are great for coldnights and rv fridges can run approx 2000.00 installed (learned that with our first unit we purchased used with no extended warranty) . Be sure to go poke around at the RV show next weekend than you wont have to spend your weekend driving to different dealers!

[Dakota_c69]

consider your tanks as well.i can go out for a week with my unit and not fill the black,grey or run out of water.others i camp with run out in two days and have to bring extra water hauled in.

How big are your tanks??

[dirtyboy]

There is a lot of good input here.

I like using the oven a lot in my rig. Frozen pizza, french fries, frozen dinners, quiche, muffins and even a roast some times. When the weather gets a little in-climate it sure is nice to cook inside. Keeps the girls busy doing stuff sometimes too (aka blueberry muffins when in season)

But then again I'm not really a microwave guy and don't like having to fire up the generator to run it.

[MtnBlue]

There is a lot of good input here.

I like using the oven a lot in my rig. Frozen pizza, french fries, frozen dinners, quiche, muffins and even a roast some times. When the weather gets a little in-climate it sure is nice to cook inside. Keeps the girls busy doing stuff sometimes too (aka blueberry muffins when in season)

But then again I'm not really a microwave guy and don't like having to fire up the generator to run it.

I'm coming over to your trailer for dinner

[cedric]

Thanks again for all the replies, I'm learning lots here. I'll probably start looking at used trailers, to try to get a bit more bang for the buck, so with that said...

• What are some common problems to look out for on a few year old trailer?
• Any advice regarding which brands seem to hold up better than others?
• Obviously newer is better, but is there a certain age where these things start falling apart?