How to Buy a Travel Trailer
|
First Thing- How Much Can Your Truck Tow
Or, how much truck do I need. We have an article here on How Much Weight Can My Truck Tow
We recommend reading this for full details.
Next Thing- How Much Space Do We Need
Some of this is set in stone, because, if you have 4 people, you need 4 beds and enough room for
everyone to move around and store their luggage.
At this point, you'll start making cuts. Not family members but; can we live with a smaller trailer?
Can we let the kids sleep outside? These are things you need to negotiate.
Bumper Pull verses 5th Wheel
Fifth wheels are more stable but towing is still towing and can be
more dangerous than driving a motorhome. The smaller the better when it comes to towing.
No matter how massive your truck, towing is always more nerve racking that driving a motorhome.
You can get more living space with a 5th wheel for the same length because of the over hang on the
truck bed. Like 14 feet more. 5th wheels are a littder to attach but not much. The greatest benefit
with a trailer over a motorhome is that you can unhook and you've got a small vehicle tour the sites.
This might be the only reason to motivate you to buy a trailer.
Consider the Length of Your Travel Trailer
Just because your truck might tow 10,000
pounds, you might want to reconsider towing a 34 foot trailer. Size is always an issue with campgrounds. Some can only
support rigs up to 30 feet combined length. If your truck takes up 20 feet, you're only left with 15 feet for a trailer.
You might want to look at this list:
Here are the averages:
12 feet combined lengths fit in every National Park Service campground in the United States.
19 feet combined lengths fit in 98% of campgrounds
25 feet combined lengths fit in 93% of campgrounds
29 feet combined lengths fit in 84% of campgrounds
32 feet combined lengths fit in 81% of campgrounds
35 feet combined lengths fit in 73% of campgrounds
37 feet combined lengths fit in 60% of campgrounds
40 feet combined lengths fit in 53% of campgrounds
41 feet combined lengths fit in 7% of campgrounds
Which Brand is Better
The truth is: they're all built the same way and they all use the same appliances. There are 2 water heater makers. Attwood and Suburban.
They are both good. There are 2 makers os RV fridges. Norcold and Dometic. They are both good.
With more expensive rigs you'll get: More real wood, better upholstery,
more bells and whistles, and maybe a better built frame. Otherwise, they're all built the same way.
Aluminum verses fiberglass exteriors. I personally prefer aluminum over fiberglass because: fiberglass fades much quicker,
I've had fiberglass RV's leak quicker. Especially aluminum frame RV's.
|
|
|
