Too big?

[jkochmit1]

too big??? that's what she said!!!......sorry that was juvenile.

[bucko]

My wife and I camped in tents for many, many years. As we got older, our backs began to suffer on the cots, no matter how many pads or air mattresses we tried out. So we addtened our first RV show at the local mall. Angel trumpets blared, and singing could be heard. We say a nice Jayco featherlite 16 footer that was easily towed by our Ford Ranger (now however replaced by an F150).

This nice TT is the perfect size for the two of us. We have it setup in about 15 to 20 minutes, and provies us with a nice comfy inclosure.

One drawback is that we would like to have a golfcart at some of the larger sites we stay at. This TT is not suited for a tandum trailer hitch, so either I put one in the bed of the truck (nope), or I switch over to a class C type rig.

[vtdanokim]

Originally Posted by Caryl

I am currently shopping for a used 16ft TT that I can tow all over the country. I currently OWN a 28ft TT that I love but it is way too big to use for the kind of traveling I now want to do since I have retired. I also own a small pop-up but it too small. It has no bathroom and does not lend itself to "dry-camping" while traveling.

SO, I am buying one and selling two.

Life is short trade in the one you have for the one you want!

Caryl

We wanted to avoid 2-footitis when we bought our first boat so we bought a 25.5 foot boat. We sold that after 4 years and bought an 18.5' boat...

We bought a 16.5' travel trailer 2 years ago, and due to the sheer amount of time involved in set up and tear down (this was not a hybrid or a pop up) by myself as my DW tried to wrangle our 2 toddlers, we sold that and just put a deposit on a 33 foot Whitehawk 29sqb. Slightly more than 2-footitis i guess.. I hope we don't do the same thing with this new to us TT as we did with our first boat.

[RoyBraddy]

IT all depends what one wants to do I reckon. There is two kinds of RV'ers One being RV CAMPERs and the other being RV TRAVELERS.

We are RV CAMPERs abd really love to camp off the power grid back in the woods somewhere maybe behind some Forest Road somewhere...

My OFF-ROAD POPUP trailer is around 17-feet long and has a 12-foot box with pull out tent beds on each end.

This is what we like to do with our setup...


With our beefed up battery setup we can stay out at least 12-14 days which is when our battery bank needs to be charged to a FULL CHARGE state which takes around 12 hours or so to do with smart mode charging.

Our smaller trailer has all the modern appliances and does not cost a arm and leg to pull with our F150 truck and maintain. Gas mileage is great pulling POPUP trailer which has almost zero wind resistance going behind the wake oif the truck.

If we was interested in being a RV TRAVELER than we would probably want the biggest thing out there. You would want to move your house with you it seems...
I can't imagine how much a big RV TRAILER would cost to operate. One would have to have alot of money on hand to cover any and all of what is required to operate and maintain such an RV. If you gots the money than more power to you haha...

I can pull my trailer to Gatlinburg TN Smoky Mtns on one tank of gas from Northern Neck Virginia and can even pull through a McDonalds on the way haha... The only expenses I have is Insurance and maybe two new tires every three - four years or so. Mt trailer is setup for OFF ROAD camping and will go anywhere my 4WD truck will pull it too.

It is just the way we want to camp. We came up from the Tent Camping Days back in the 1960s thru 2008 and finally put some wheels under the camper.

This is our lifestyle of camping...

Roy and Carolyn

[Bassdogs]

Just beginning week 6 of our trip to the Gulf in our White Hawk 30dsre. Just 2 of us and this unit is perfect. Lots of living space and the fireplace has come in handy for cold mornings. Size is what you need and that is based on a lot of things. One size doesn't fit all.

[NW Cat Owner]

Interesting thread. As you can see from my signature, I'm not an owner (yet). I'm thinking a smaller 5th wheel (something like the 27.5RKDS or 26.5RLS) behind a not-so huge truck. I'm hoping it's enough room for myself and hubby (when he comes along, which won't be all the time). I would love one of the Premiers, but that's out of our price range (esp since we'd need to purchase a bigger truck than we really need for every day driving).

I do not travel light! So, we'll see.

[northmeck0255]

Although we have the smallest of the Eagle fivers, we have discovered that sometimes it is "too big" for the state and national park campgrounds we like. We are looking hard at downsizing. It's sad that the smaller trailers don't have the same features and style as the larger Eagles. That's why we're also looking at Airstreams in the 25-27 foot range.

[David472]

We started with a Jayflight 22FB TT (no slide). Enjoyed that for 2 years and for stays of one week or less, it was great. Next we got the itch to get into longer stays and snowbirding. For this we primarily wanted 2 swivel chairs and a bit more interior room, but still wanted to fit into spots like State and Provincial parks. We looked a long time at smaller 5ers, and mid-sized TT's. We nixed the 5er's because their exterior height would cause problems with low hanging branches. Many of the TT were about 5 feet too long for our liking. We chose the 26RLS Jayflight because it has the swivel chairs and the overall length is 30 feet (smallest we could find and has one slide). Since getting this one, we've said to ourselves many times, we have one that's just right for us.

[northmeck0255]

You're exactly right about the height of the fifth wheel being an issue for smaller sites. The slides are another. Rarely has length alone been an issue.

[Hattie]

For those of you desiring to RV-camp at a California State Park, here are the measurement limitations: http://www.parks.ca.gov/RVlength/

[namusmc65]

Another thing to consider on the 5th wheelers is the steps! Much higher off the ground and the bedroom is usually up 3 steps also. I never thought that would be a problem. I was really concerned about the wife getting up and down those steps. I know, for you younger folks, that is not a problem. However, as you get up into the 70's and even 80's, it definitely becomes a problem. I have cautioned and cautioned the wife about getting up and down the steps and holding on to the hand rail. Even bought her a step stool. So far, she hasn't fallen once in a year and a half of ownership. However, the smart one(me) has twice now nose dived out the door onto the ground! This last time was this past weekend at a KOA in full view of half the park! I thought there must have been 5 911 calls before I could get off the ground. Fortunately, just very embarrassed and quite a few bruises(including ego). Beginning to wonder if I need to get a unit closer to the ground!

[NW Cat Owner]

Originally Posted by namusmc65

Another thing to consider on the 5th wheelers is the steps! Much higher off the ground (snip) However, the smart one(me) has twice now nose dived out the door onto the ground!(snip)

Sounds like *you* need the step stool! HA! Did you slip off the steps, forget to use the handrail or ??

Glad everything is okay, but your bruised ego. And just think of the stories you gave others watching you. "Did you see what the guy in #43 just did? Holy Cow, I'll never do anything like that."

[bumbles75]

We went to two RV shows recently. I didn't see a single one I'd trade for ours.

[Paintinfool3]

We did that for 5 years then came the second to last dealer at the show last year and we now have the new jayco .... You never know when a floor plan will hit you but it took a long time for us to find something we liked enough to pull the trigger on

[Idahoboy]

Started looking at a 26 footer with a single slide the. The family looked at a 32 with2 slides with bunks ended with bigger yet a 33rlds triple slide. We have 2 fold out couchs so kids sleep there then fold up in the morning. they kids wanted room so that's what they got. They were ok with the extra step to put away. I love all the room my trailer has.

[Idahoboy]

Mine is the jay flight version or the eagle 338rets. But my 3rd slide just opens up the bathroom and bedroom but does not move the bed. I love the eagle but just could not pay the extra $

[blderman]

I had a 2005 Skyline Weekender 30' TT. My wife and I thought we needed the extra space but ended up hating it. We primarily dry camp and it was consistently too long for a lot of the forest roads, it wouldn't fit next to our house so we had to park it offsite and in high winds I was not comfortable with how much sway the length caused. After that we decided 24' was our cap, hence why we have a 23MBH on order. We figure we spent almost 20yrs tent camping, anything is a step up from that.

[Murff]

From a 30 toot Komfort to a 21 foot KZ Jag and now a White Hawk 20 MRB. With the 20MRB floorplan and Murphy bed, this one seems the largest inside and under 6000 pounds if we max the load.

Murff

[KYCAMPER]

For length limits do campgrounds mean hitch to end or camper box size? I've never been asked/measured at the campgrounds only when making reservations.

[mike837go]

3-foot-itis hit us.


The 18' I bought 6 years ago didn't survive the winter. So we looked at 20' units. None had all the amenities we wanted.


But this 23-footer called to me. It had all the equipment I wanted and an excellent floor plan.


It is significantly heavier, but towing it dry helps al whole lot! Plus a WDH is in process.