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Old 03-21-2017, 01:16 PM   #1
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Feedback from large families in trailers < 30'

First post on the forum, but I have been searching and reading treads for a while I have found the answers to many of my questions. My family of 6 (4 kids under 8yrs old) are looking into getting a light weight travel trailer and believe we have it narrowed down to the White Hawk 25BHS.

The largest challenge we have is with a family of 6 it is hard to find a tow vehicle that will haul everyone (plus a friend or 2) and tow a larger trailer. Right now we have a 2017 Expedition (with HD tow package). So, based on the payload numbers we are limited to ~800 tongue weight max which puts a trailer no more than ~7k lbs.

Question:
- Do any of the families here with 3+ kids have any recommendations or feedback about camping in a floor plan similar to the 25BHS.
- Do you find alternative layouts work much better?
- Did you end up upgrading after a few years as the kids grew? (tow vehicle + larger trailer?

Thanks so much in advance.

Eric
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Old 03-21-2017, 02:45 PM   #2
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We only have the 2 kiddos, but had a 34' travel trailer much like the Jayco 32BHDS. Ours was a Sprinter. The rear 1/3 of the trailer was bunk room.

We quickly found the kids did not like sitting in the bunk area away from the "action" in the living area. Living area only had a loveseat and the booth dinette. Not very comfortable seating on a rainy day for those not in the love seat. This only got worse as the kids got bigger and started to bring a friend or two.

We upgraded to the 355MBQS we have now (kids are 10 and 7). Bunk room for the kids, but it doesn't take up so much of the trailer. (Although the trailer is pretty big at almost 40' same overall length when hitched as our TT.)

Rear living with couch and loveseat. Comfortable seating for 5 and pretty comfortable seating for more if we use the table chairs (Free Standing Table, no dinette.)

Before the kids, we had a small TT with no slides. Was fine for my wife and I just starting out.

Is this your first trailer? Just asking. It may be worth it to rent a class C for a weekend to try the space out. 6 folks, even though 4 are kids is a lot of bodies in a 25-27 foot trailer. Not to mention if they bring a friend or two, and as they grow. It is great until you have a couple of rainy days in a row. Cabin fever sets in pretty quick.

We tow with a Crew Cab truck. Seating for 5. Usually the 4 of us and the dog.

When friends come, it is for more local trips, usually within an hour of home, and we have the friends parents drop them off and pickup at the campground, or only 1 kid gets to bring a friend at a time.

I know I am not exactly answering your question with the specific model camper you listed, but I wish someone had given us this type stuff to think about. We might have gone straight to the larger 5th wheel instead of the larger TT when we did.

Hope this helps.
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Old 03-21-2017, 03:19 PM   #3
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I had 3 kids with my 38' Bighorn 3800BH (Bunkhouse). Although I never brought less than 5 kids with me because the cousins would always want to come with. This caused a problem with the TV as it was only 5 passengers. To solve this, my wife would follow in our van to our destination...that sucked. One option was to swap to a bumper pull of some sort and get a diesel excursion or something, but that went out the window when we fostered 4 more and now have 7 kids and a total of 9 people. There was no bumper pull that I would put up with that could sleep 9+ and still be somewhat functional. Hence the Super C was purchased. I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend that if you have 4+ kids that you upgrade to something that you can drive and they can all sit in while you drive. Major benefits are no more bathroom stops, they can snack at the table and not make a huge freaking mess in the back seat of your car, TV or other entertainment options available, and lots of room for all the junk they want to bring...toys, clothes, etc. It is nice having a car at your destination so I got a 20' trailer to bring our expedition (sold the truck with the 5th and bought a cheap 06 expo) along with us.
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Old 03-21-2017, 03:21 PM   #4
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We have a 26BHS. Looks the same as 25, but w/o the outside kitchen. 3 kids 6-14. We've been camping for 2 years. Few issues with the layout:
1) getting sheets on the bunk beds is a pain. just hard to get on with the one little opening and the mattress squeezed in there. Buy oversize sheets and just wrap it under the mattress.
2) bunk beds get hot. no ventilation outside the one small opening. buy some fans with spring clamps and an extension cord to get air flowing in there
3) bathroom door, entrance to bunk beds and the sink all in the same place. big congestion point and starts tempers flying after a long day with showers, brushing teeth, trying to get in bed.
4) no good place to change, all the areas are small. I picked up tension rod and some black out curtains to try out this year. the bathroom and the bedroom are just too small to get changed in. Always hitting my head on something trying to get my pants on.

We spend most of our time outside. When it rains we all have fun at the table playing card games. If you think you'll be inside often, cooking or hanging out you'll need more room. Perhaps its good there's not much room, it forces everyone outside..

If we had to do it over, I would have picked a trailer that had a larger bathroom and a room /w door for the kids. We're looking at something like the below, but of course that would mean significant cost increase and needing a new truck which is not on the radar.
295bhok
377rlbh

This was our first trailer and I didn't want to spend too much to make sure it was fun for our family. Now that I know we will keep on going, I wish I had one of the above. I bet they will most likely have some issue too though. Grass is always greener...
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Old 03-21-2017, 03:22 PM   #5
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Thanks for the feedback. We have rented 30' motor homes from Cruise America for several 1 to 2.5 week long trips. These trips were fantastic with the family even though there wasn't a lot of space and the holding tanks were pretty small. These rentals had no slide outs and just the dinette and couch for sitting when inside the RV.

While we enjoyed the RV time with 6 people in pretty cramped living space (we were outside most of the time), having 4 kids crammed into a Crew Cab seems like a recipe for disaster especially since we plan long trips. I would have to design separators to put between the kids .
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Old 03-21-2017, 04:33 PM   #6
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E,

Welcome and congrats on looking at a new rig!!!

As for your tv, and being limited to ~800lbs tw, a 7000lbs loaded tt should have 12-15% tw for a safe stable tow. This does vary from trailer to trailer, but at 800lbs that is only ~11-1/2%. That rig may be fine with that tw %, or it may like more. So try to keep that in mind as well. And the "brochure" dry hitch/tongue weights (tw) do not include the weight of a battery or propane tanks on the tongue. Those add ~120lbs for 2-20lb tanks and a battery, or ~160lbs for 2-30lb tanks and a battery. And don't forget to factor in the weight of the wdh!!!

For the Expy, there is a good thread currently going about towing a Jayco JayFlight BHBE (the 28 BHBE) with a '15 Expy. In that thread it is outlined all the shortcomings of a 1500/150 based tow vehicle, in addition to just the payload.

The hard part of shopping for a tt when having kids and a tv already, is that the kids will only continue to grow. Weighing more which means less payload, possibly needing more room. With 4 kids plus the desire to be able to bring a friend or two (or three), maybe a large, 2500/250+ van would be a better choice. Would eliminate the possible need for a chase vehicle.

Wish I could give some insight of having a larger family and a 30' or less tt, but we are only a family of 4. Did start with a ~25' (total length) tt, then a 28 BHS (30' oal), niw the 32 BHDS (~35'8" oal).

Good luck in your adventure!!!
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Old 03-21-2017, 06:15 PM   #7
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Sounds almost like a small Scout troop - OH! Ergo - risking HUGH criticism, get a good 20 x 20 canvas wall tent, 6 (or more for guests) cots, appropriate sleeping bags, efficient and sufficient cooking station and gear, a decent small cargo trailer to haul all the foregoing and other real camping gear (lanterns, etc.) and go for it. Also recommend some good foul-weather gear. Bet you could outfit the crew (troop?) admirably for less than 25% of what a large enough TT or 5er would cost and you wouldn't have to worry about a larger TV. I know, I know - but later, when appropriate or necessary, you could think about RVing rather than camping.
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Old 03-21-2017, 06:17 PM   #8
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My brother is in your boat! 4 girls, 1 very large dog. Currently they have a PU. Its kinda funny to watch them get the camper ready each night, because they have to convert everything over. When the weather is bad, they are all hanging out in our HTT.

A light weight option my brother has been looking at is the X23F. It has three tent ends, a slide out, good storage, it seams to be a nice mix of space and will keep the tongue weight down. downside for many people are the small size of the tanks.

Happy Trails
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Old 03-22-2017, 12:35 AM   #9
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Jeff1963 - I think that could be a good option when everyone gets older and can help out. After taking the rental RV on the past 2-3 trips, I really don't want to go back to setting up camp for 6. Always ends up one of us is setting up camp while the other is chasing kids. With the RV we pulled in, set up a few items and had more time as a family.

need-a-vacation: Thanks for the towing info. I keep updating my spreadsheet to make sure I can fit the trailer we are looking at and I know I will have to play a careful loading game to make sure I stay in the limits of my tow vehicle. The GM 2500 Durmax van was on my shortlist for TV. The cost was so high with 4x4 conversion and re-outfitted using seats with headrests (still have no idea why they outfit a van for families without headrests). I even could not find a 6.0 with a decent price tag.
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Old 03-22-2017, 04:35 AM   #10
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I still say it is too bad Ford didn't keep building the Excursion. That would have been great for families with 4 kids or more.
We have 3 kids but Mother in Law likes to go along at times so a pickup is out.
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Old 03-22-2017, 05:43 AM   #11
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A couple of years ago, another member had the same dilemma. Someone suggested a full-size van (like an E-350). You may be able to find a well taken-care-of used one at a pretty reasonable price. With 2-3 rows of bench seats and a huge towing capacity/payload, it might be the perfect TV for your family and their friends. Sometimes, you have to think outside the truck bed!

Hope this helps.
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Old 03-22-2017, 06:04 AM   #12
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I remember reading somewhere that there is a company that is making the Excursion. Basically, you buy an F250/350 and they will build the Excursion. Don't know how much $$? I'll have to see if I can find it...

Found it: http://www.customautosbytim.com/options.html
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Old 03-24-2017, 08:26 PM   #13
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Thank you everyone for the feedback and advice. It looks like we are going to sign some papers tomorrow to start the process to pick up a White Hawk 25BHS. Should be a lot of fun times ahead for the family and I'm sure I will be back online asking for a lot more questions once we start camping.

Eric
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Old 03-24-2017, 09:41 PM   #14
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Congrats!
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Old 03-25-2017, 05:22 AM   #15
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Awesome, congrats!!!
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Old 03-25-2017, 01:40 PM   #16
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Just a thought but with that many kids you may want to get the awning add a room. When I had a smaller RV and too many kids in it at once, that made all the difference on rainy days.
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Old 04-11-2017, 07:23 PM   #17
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And the trailer is home. I had a ProPride hitch installed and pulled it home with the Expedition. It pulled with no problems at all even the 7 mile long San Mateo Bridge was easy going.

We will be taking it to Santa Cruz this weekend to try it out and figure out everything.
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Old 04-11-2017, 08:11 PM   #18
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Nice rig, Mr. Benson!

As I just spotted this thread and was curious about towing with a Ford van, I had to go take a look at Ford vans. Pretty much forget an E350 as they are going the way of dinosaurs and newspapers. But this has some interesting reading:

http://www.ford.com/services/assets/...nsit&year=2017

And, if you want to see one:

Cars for Sale: New 2017 Ford Transit 350 148" Medium Roof Wagon for sale in Issaquah, WA 98027: Van Details - 451111052 - Autotrader

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Old 04-11-2017, 08:24 PM   #19
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Mruff,

The van looks like it could have great potential, but unless I am reading the details incorrectly the maximum possible GCVR is 13,500. Even though the payload is great the towing capacity is no where near high enough to pull a bigger trailer.

Eric
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Old 04-12-2017, 07:00 PM   #20
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From what I have read, there isn't much comparison between the Econolines and the Transits in regards to towing. The econolines had some good capacities, the newer vans not so much.
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