"Discerning" (discerning2003c5z)
08/30/2018 at 16:24 • Filed to: None
0
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"Discerning" (discerning2003c5z)
08/30/2018 at 16:24 • Filed to: None | 0
| 18 |
Does anyone have any wheeling or ownership experience with an RV and/or travel trailer?
My family has decided we want some means of mobile living. The goal is to have something we could drive to destinations over t he weekend and occasionally use to do long drives during vacation periods. I love driving long distances and we both dislike hotels in general.
But I’m not entirely sure where to even begin. My gut tells me to go with a truck and trailer combo - but that’s likely heavily influenced by my desire to have more vehicles in general. I would love to add a unicorn like a gas 2500hd with the nv4500 to the stable.
We wouldn’t be going with something massive. Just enough room for myself, my fiance, and our two dogs.
Any experiences/feedback would be greatly appreciated.
HammerheadFistpunch
> Discerning
08/30/2018 at 16:35 |
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Truck with slide.
Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero
> Discerning
08/30/2018 at 16:44 |
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i know nibby has a pull behind, as do a few other oppos but im not sure if any have motorhomes
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Discerning
> Discerning
08/30/2018 at 16:46 |
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Do you have any experience with one?
They look kinda cramped in pictures and images of the old school trashy ones come to mind.
I think ideally it would be a 1 ton truck chassis with a dedicated camper, but those are pricey and uncommon. Instead they use the Express van chassis, which is painfully dated and not very safe. Alternatively, you have the Ford offering and their junky V10.
That’s why I’m thinking truck plus trailer is ideal. The truck and trailer are less expensive than combined and I get to pick the pulling vehicle I feel is most appropriate.
But with the trailer, it is a much longer and more tricky vehicle.
I guess what I’m saying is: A slide in theory could work if they are actually nice inside.
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Discerning
> HammerheadFistpunch
08/30/2018 at 16:47 |
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Do you have any experience with one?
They look kinda cramped in pictures and images of the old school trashy ones come to mind.
I think ideally it would be a 1 ton truck chassis with a dedicated camper, but those are pricey and uncommon. Instead they use the Express van chassis, which is painfully dated and not very safe. Alternatively, you have the Ford offering and their junky V10.
That’s why I’m thinking truck plus trailer is ideal. The truck and trailer are less expensive than combined and I get to pick the pulling vehicle I feel is most appropriate.
But with the trailer, it is a much longer and more tricky vehicle.
I guess what I’m saying is: A slide in theory could work if they are actually nice inside.
I-have-to-many-sports-cars-according-to-my-wife
> Discerning
08/30/2018 at 16:49 |
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I have a teardrop camper with the attachable tent that I tow with my miata. It works great for me and the wife , but I don’ t think it would work so great with dogs.
deekster_caddy
> Discerning
08/30/2018 at 16:51 |
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I bought a used travel trailer a few years back, took it on a long cross country trip and then sold it for more than I paid for it ;) It was really nice to be able to detach and just use our truck for local trips. I know people who have an RV with slideouts, they are really really nice. They tow a small suv behind their motorhome and use the little truck when the RV is parked.
Both situations work, but in my experiences RVs tend to have much higher maintenance costs.
TheRealBicycleBuck
> Discerning
08/30/2018 at 16:53 |
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I lived in a 35' travel trailer with my mom for about two years. It was cramped, but we made it. It helped that it had a separate bedroom (mom’s) and a fold-out couch in the living room for me. It was also a good way to teach a kid that he should make his bed every morning. :)
OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars
> Discerning
08/30/2018 at 16:53 |
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The truck/trailer combo is my favorite. Being able to setup, drop, and drive to around is a much better setup then an RV where you have to tow an extra vehicle . My parents have a 25 foot hybrid ad love it, but trailers are like boats. Expensive. Th ey are also built fairly cheaply so there is usually always something wrong with it. RVs are basically trailers with an engine so even more expensive. I would try to stick around a 30'-35' trailer as that is the most(and probably more then the most) many older campgrounds can handle. They weren’t designed for the truck pulled mega mansions you see now .
Urambo Tauro
> Discerning
08/30/2018 at 17:00 |
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I’m partial towards travel-trailers, particularly the “bumper pull” type. 5th wheels do pull nice going forward, but bumper pulls give you a lot more flexibility, especially during reverse maneuvers.
Either way, trailers are a lot more maintenance-friendly than motorhomes. At least on the chassis side of things, anyway.
shop-teacher
> Discerning
08/30/2018 at 17:08 |
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I’ve done some travel trailering, and while I’ve never owned an RV, I think the trailer is the way to go. That way you have a truck to drive around at your destination, plus you’re doing maintenance on a normal vehicle that gets driven around, rather than the rarely used RV.
You planning to buy new or used? The reason they're so cheap used, is if they aren't meticulously maintained, the fall apart unbelievably quickly. Even if they are maintained well, they very much have a shelf life. Unless we're talking Airstream quality, they don't last.
RutRut
> Discerning
08/30/2018 at 17:09 |
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Recently got rid of a 24' travel trailer, typically used as my wife, myself and one dog. Used it for some longer trips, travel through more remote areas and two years as a seasonal. Non-bunk house hurts your resale some but is way nicer if you have two people and want to stay under 30'. We bought a 1 year old model for 13.5 and sold it for $200 less than we owed on it 3 years later. I wouldn’t do an RV personally unless you also were bringing a tow vehicle, and were cool with much higher maintenance costs. Going fairly new, with no slide I think the only maintenance/repair I did in 3 years was a leaking plastic fitting on the back of the toilet.
vicali
> Discerning
08/30/2018 at 17:12 |
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We had a Westfalia for almost ten years;
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Cons; If you want to go somewhere while camping you need to pack it all up. More than 2 people and it gets pretty tight on space. Add kids and it’s a no go.
Our rig now - 19ft Hideout ;
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When we retire and the kids are not coming with us anymore I t hink we’ll be in a C class, m y i n l a w s have a RoadTrek and it is pretty awesome;
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HammerheadFistpunch
> Discerning
08/30/2018 at 17:55 |
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My only experiences with campers have been pop ups, I have one now, but your use case sounds like it fits the bill for a slide in, but if space is of paramount importance a tow behind might make sense...even then a tow behind of any decent size is going to require a 3/4 or better truck if you plan to use it a lot.
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Discerning
> HammerheadFistpunch
08/30/2018 at 19:00 |
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The plan is to get a 3/4 or 1 ton - gas preferably . Likely a Silverado or Sierra with the 6.0 LQ4 in 4wd and if at all possible, the 5 speed NV4500.
nermal
> Discerning
08/30/2018 at 21:17 |
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I have a truck and a toy hauler trailer
.
If you’re going to be taking longer trips, get a diesel truck. The extra weight of the truck will handle the trailer better, and the more powerful
engine will make the driving experience much less stressful
. Plus, when you need fuel you can go through the big truck pumps, which is much easier.
For the trailer, they’re almost all built in Indiana by people that were rejected by auto manufacturers for being too drunk, doing too many drugs, or being too stupid. In the same manner, most people working in RV dealers have been fired from a car dealer, a cell phone store, and the post office. Everything about the manufacturing and sales model sucks, especially the people, so be prepared for that up front.
Try to stay on the smaller side with the trailer, as the bigger you get, the less places there are that you can take it. Avoid private campgrounds in favor of state parks if you can. Most of the state parks
I’ve been to
are ~$30 / night for a site with electricity.
Get one with the largest water tanks you can. Usually the tank that holds shower and sink water fills the fastest. A low-flow shower head helps here, as does being quick in the shower.
Finally, budget a few hundred $$$ for accessories. Water hoses & filters, poo tank treatment, wheel chocks, etc, it
adds up quick
ly
.
adamftw
> Discerning
08/31/2018 at 06:35 |
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With a 6.0 be ready for 6-7 MPG max loaded.
oldmxer
> Discerning
08/31/2018 at 10:42 |
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we have a nice little 15 foot trailer with full bath, can be pulled with smaller v8, easy to hook up. we then have the pickup to drive. used to have 35 foot 5th wheel with slide out, for us it was more trouble than it was worth, and cross winds were making it so nerve wracking to pull. if i had the dough i would get a bumper pull “toy hauler” so we could load stuff to play with during vacation. motor homes are great for enjoying the trip but so much involved with pulling a car to drive. if you have enough money for a motorhome, a lot of folks are renting them now because it’s cheaper in the long run, dont have to worry about parking it somewhere or depreciation.
‘
Longtime Lurker
> Discerning
09/01/2018 at 11:46 |
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Modern slide-ins are very nice. I suggest going to an RV dealer to check out the different sizes and then compare that to some of the travel trailers they have. The you can decide how big of a truck you'll need.