Opinions on Travel Trailer size/weight

[jayro88]

Okay, So we are thinking about getting a travel trailer for family vacations (5 of us) and I wanted to get your thoughts on what weight/length trailer I should limit it to. The tow vehicle would be as follows:
1988 E250 Clubwagon. NA 7.3 IDI, c6 w/3.54 gears, brake controller, auxillary trans cooler.

I would be planning on a weight dist. hitch and an anti sway set up. The person I purchased it from said he pulled his 7000lbs dry trailer with no issues. That could put me looking in the 27-30 ft range depending on design/weight.

So what are your thoughts?

Jeremy

 

[Shadetreemechanic]

You will be fine with what you are thinking about.

 

[argve]

yep the 30ft range will work just fine behind a van.

 

[spg]

I would suggest using a Reese WD Hitch with the Dual Cam sway control setup. It is well worth the investment. PM me and I can give you more info.

 

[RLDSL]

If you havent already bought anything, you might want to rethink size. That bumper pull is going to be a ***** to back in at a lot of campgrounds and 30 would even put you overlength for a lot of government campgrounds you wont be able to get into near the spots that a 5th wheel can of teh same size. You really might want to scale that back to the 26 ft and under range if you actually plan on camping with the thing .
Ive got a 28 ft 5er ( well its more like 30 now with the new coupler setup on it ) but I for dang sure wouldnt want to be dragging that length off the bumper, 3/4 of the places Ive been in Ive had to jacknife the rig to get inand you cant do that with a bumper pull. If you only stop at these fancy new rv resorts that cost more per night to park than it costs for a 5 star hotel, then its not an issue, but then, why bother spending the cash on the trailer?

 

[Russ]

we have a 27' TT with one slide out for the 3 of us. I wouldn't go any smaller with 5. Bunkhouse is a nice option, but kids over 12 out grow them quickly. Go look around at dealers to find a floor plan you like, then cruise CL and the want adds, for a used one. Good Luck

 

[gaazuremach1]

Your set up will be fine for a 30' as long as you use weight distribution and sway control. I have a 39' Travel Trailer (not fifth wheel) with 2 slide outs that weighs over 10000 lbs with our gear plus I put my golf car in my bed and 4 to 6 people plus 2 dogs and my truck in the signature has no problem pulling it with the idi. Yes it is a little long but there has not been a campground that I haven't been able to get a site in. You want to be comfortable when you travel because it is your home away from home so don't settle. We originally settled on a 30' SunnyBrook Light weight that only weighed 4400 lbs empty but it had no slides and was a little cramped for 2 adults 4 kids and 2 dogs. So we bought the 39 footer. I originally was going to get a 5'er but I would have to get a toy hauler to carry the Golf Cart as well and by the time I looked at 5er toy haulers with slides they were way to heavy and expensive so we went with the travel trailer. Just trying to give you some ideas.

 

[RLDSL]

I went back and did some more checking and the national park campgrounds are generally around a 27 ft limit. They wont come out and shoot you, but chances of getting anything much bigger through most of those places is somewhere between slim and none.
I spent over 3 months out on the road with the young'uns travelling all over teh western US and we stayed on teh cheap, those state and US campsites are teh way to go but they are low frills and not made for mega rigs. Most of the private campgrounds will fit big trailers without a fuss, but Ive even been in a few of those where I could barely get in ( and I have about 1.5 million miles behind the wheel of a big truck, so being able to manuver a trailer is not the issue ) . Comfort is nice, but in a lot of places, the parks that have spaces big enough to handle the large trailers cost more per night than a NICE motel, in the same location, at which point , you have to step back and think REAL hard about why you are getting the trailer