First time trailer buyer

[carl07230]

Looking at buying my very first travel trailer. No longer than 24" and it will not be loaded to the gills with gunk. Just you basic stuff for the weekend or a 4 day trip with me and girlfriend. Is it adviseable to install airbags? If so which kind. Any other advice greatly accepted and neede. LOL

 

[mrtrombley]

Personally, I think you will be fine just the way you are. I just bought a 25' Toy Hauler TT. It will weigh about 6300 lbs empty and 9200 lbs fully loaded. Yours should be pretty similar and not weigh any more. Tongue weight on mine will be about 1200 lbs, get a weight distributing hitch and you will be ok. You will hardly know it is behind you! Just don't try to go tooooo fast and get it fishtailing. That has actually never happened to me. See what others have to say.

 

[rluft]

Don't think you'll need any air bags to support the load. Might need better shocks, I really like my Rancho 9000 adjustable shocks. Makes a big difference in ride quality when pulling a trailer.

 

[JLandry]

My 25' Arctic Fox TT has a hitch weight of about 800 pounds and my truck settles maybe 1" at most over the rear axle, with or without the weight distributing hitch in place.



In short, you won't need air bags with such a small TT. These Dodge trucks are pretty stiff.



Now put a big camper in the bed and that's a whole different story.



Have fun trailer shopping,



John L.

 

[Grizzly]

I believe you have received good advice about the truck, now what about the trailer?



Consider a small 5th wheel. They tow better and far more stable. With that said whether you decide on a TT or a 5th wheel consider a brand with construction quality and not one that will start falling apart on you on your first trip. There are some very good quality RV out there for a reasonable price. One was mentioned on a earlier post. Check out the brand on the RV Consumer Group, which is the RV bible that every RV Dealer goes by.



I have a copy of the RVCG and am willing to check on any brand for you. My copy rates TT and 5th wheels for 1990 to 2010 models. The ratings are from 0 to 5 stars.



Good luck, george

 

[mrtrombley]

Grizzly, the one I just bought is a Work and Play. I understood they are a pretty solid unit, that's why I went with it. What is your opinion from the info you have. I got a 2011 25ULA Toy Hauler. Pick it up tomorrow, will use it for my trip to May Madness.

 

[RAton]

If you feel the need to have airbags I went with Timbrens. They are nice because they never touch your suspension until there is a load on the truck so your ride is not altered. Also 4 bolts and 20 minutes and they are installed. I've towed a 32' TT for the last 4 years and have never had a problem, the truck rides nice and is level.

 

[AABEN]

IF you want to give up your truck bed go with a fifth wheel. I had a tow behind and went with a fifth wheel now I have very little bed room with a 100gal tank and tool box.

 

[Wertles]

I had an estimated 1300 pound pin weight on my 5er and never felt the need for air bags. It wasn't until the pin weight increased to 3500 pounds that I put the air bags and tire upgrade in. I do have the 3500 springs though. I had timbreens on my last truck and they worked great except when you had just enough weight to have them make contact with the axle. It rode like a dump truck. However, fully loaded or fully empty was great. There is a little of empty ride comfort sacrifice with the air bags although not really enough to care about.

If you don't already have a brake controller, I'd put a vote in for the max brake. I've had multiple ones in the past and the last one was a Prodigy P3. I just installed the max brake a month ago and wish I had listened years ago to the others that preach about how well it works.

 

[Grizzly]

Grizzly, the one I just bought is a Work and Play. I understood they are a pretty solid unit, that's why I went with it. What is your opinion from the info you have. I got a 2011 25ULA Toy Hauler. Pick it up tomorrow, will use it for my trip to May Madness.

I did say on post #5 that my RVCG go up to 2010. I do not have ratings for 2011. That model of Work and Play, model #25ULA, must have started this year because I don't show it listed for 2010. The closest I have in the 2010 ratings is model # WPT20LX which is 25' and rated 2. 5 stars. All Work and Play are rated 2. 5 stars out of a possible 5 stars. It's made by Forest River, which is not considered a quality manufacture. On the other hand you are not paying a quality trailer price. It's made for vacationing use, which is typically not more than two weeks. Like the old saying, you get what you pay for and perhaps this is all the trailer you need at this time.



Here's a little summery about Forest River RV Manufacture coded from RVCG;



Forest River is another of those huge conglomerates that manufactures everything from high-line diesel coaches to folding campers, manufactured homes, cargo trailers, and even boats.

Pete Liegl, formerly of Cobra Industries, founded Forest River in Elkhart, Indiana in 1996 with his purchase of assets from bankrupt Cobra Industries from which he was "fired" in 1994. Rapid diversification followed, with independently-managed divisions springing up all over the US.

Forest River's strength has always been in towables and remains so. (They were #2 in trailer sales in 2008, bested only by Thor's Keystone RV). Although the company maintains a stable of motorhomes that ranges from top-of-the-line diesels to entry-level class C's, real success in the motorized sector has eluded them. In 2005, Forest River was purchased by Warren Buffet's gigantic Berkshire-Hathaway corporation, with Pete Liegl remaining at the helm. In 2008, Liegl forged a buyout deal with Coachmen RV (with Buffet's approval, of course). What goes around comes around. Liegl got his start at Coachmen.



george

 

[macdaddy]

I'd put air bags on any 3/4 ton truck, regardless of the trailer.



Mac

 

[mrtrombley]

Grizzly, thanks for the info. Mine is a small one, I got what I considered a good deal on it. Just wanted something with bathroom facilities and a bed to sleep on, etc, as well as room for 1 or 2 bikes. It will make a good "weekender". Anxious to try it out this month. 6000 miles in 3 weeks will tell me how its going to hold up!!

 

[Grizzly]

Grizzly, thanks for the info. Mine is a small one, I got what I considered a good deal on it. Just wanted something with bathroom facilities and a bed to sleep on, etc, as well as room for 1 or 2 bikes. It will make a good "weekender". Anxious to try it out this month. 6000 miles in 3 weeks will tell me how its going to hold up!!

Where are you going with it and how rough are the roads?



With our first 5th wheel, a 29' 1988 Holiday Rambler Alumilite, we took our first trip to Alaska, which was an 11K mile round trip. I had big time problems with the running gear. I had to replace both axles, all four tires and all the bushings on the trailer. Four years ago we made another trip to Alaska with my 05 Dodge and my 98 11'-3" Lance truck camper, now sold. Also an 11K miles round trip, but we drove through much rougher terrain on the Top of the World Hwy to Dawson City in the Yukon. No problems at all with the truck nor the camper. It's nice not to have extra axles and tires. Now we have a much stouter 5th wheel, 27' Arctic Fox so we can make the trip again as soon as my wife retires. Two months in an 11'-3" camper, plus an extended cab-over, got a little claustrophobic.



george

 

[mrtrombley]

Heading to May Madness in Pahrump, NV. All Highway, but will parallel the Interstates on State roads where possible. Already been on the Interstates, would like to see some of the local scenery.

Sorry, didn't mean to hi-jack this thread but will report afterward on how the TT pulls and how it holds up for this trip. Picking it up tomorrow.

 

[JLitton]

You will not need airbags for a camper that size. I will also second the Maxbrake recomendation.

 

[carl07230]

Thanks for all the info. Espeacially on the brake contollers. Might start another post about them. Cannot go with a fith-wheel. Do not like the stairs.

 

[Wertles]

No need to start another thread a out brake controllers. You'll only hear about the Max Brake. It is more expensive ~350. 00 compared to the Prodigy P3 ~160. 00. The P3 is probably the most popular inertia brake controller. I was quite happy with mine for a year until i took the advice from TDR and replaced it since I will be towing a heavier unit. I've only used the Max Brake a couple of times so far but there really is no comparison between the two units in my opinion.

 

[AMink]

If you can, go with Grizzly's advice and look at the higher end models. Nothing is more annoying than trouble shooting while on a trip. My dad said it best: "YOU are the RV industry's quality control". Go through that thing with a fine tooth comb before you take delivery. Make sure the screws go where they're supposed to. Make sure all the windows are installed correctly. And on and on.

 

[Grizzly]

Good advice from AMink. Do a search on TDR for a list of things to check out on a new trailer before you sign the dotted line.



carl07230, TT also have steps. If you're referring to the steps to the bathroom/bedroom, my 5th wheel has one step to the bath area and one to the bedroom.

 

[GaryCarter]

Another good place to research is here:

Trailer Life Magazine Open Roads Forum



Might want to consider used, as well. Won't take such a huge depreciation hit when you trade, and most people don't get the RV they want the first time. It's only after you've spent time with it you find out what you REALLY like and don't.



If you go new, there are also wholesale dealers for some brands. Markup runs around 30-40% say insiders. Last new TT I drove a thousand miles to a low margin dealer to pick it up, but I saved about 30% compared to the local dealer for the same brand.