Travel Trailer Recommendations

[bishopju]

Hello,
I am looking into purchasing a travel trailer sometime this year. I am a first time pick up owner and this will be my first trailer and have my head spinning from all the payload/towing ratings, different types of hitches, etc! I was just hoping some kind souls with experience might be able to make some recommendations on what trailers/set ups have worked for them. I would like to stay within my payload rating if possible.

I have a 2019 4x4 Laramie Crew Cab, Payload rating 1492 lbs, Towing 11,391 lbs. I don't have the trailer brake controller installed but will do so before I purchase a trailer. Sounds to me like I will exceed my payload rating before ever getting close to the towing limit.

Some info about our situation in case it helps:
Will be traveling with myself, fiancé and 2 dogs. I am 230 lbs, fiancé is 130 lbs, the 2 dogs are about 240 lbs. So that knocks off 600 lbs off the bat leaving 892 lbs for tongue weight, hitch, and gear/supplies. I think I would get a weight distribution hitch like the one offered by equalizer.

I am a complete rookie on this so I apologize if I am missing any key info, but if I am please let me know and I will try and provide it! And if the correct answer is that I should have bought a 3/4 ton, then so be it

 

[bishopju]

I forgot to mention I live in the foothills of the Cascades so I will need to tow in the mountains is unavoidable.

 

[Zeronet]

Bishop,
I’ve got a similar payload (1479) and travel with the wife and a small dog. Usually about 200Lbs other cargo in the truck. We have stayed within all weight limits over a couple visits to the CAT Scales while on our journeys. See my signature for details on the truck and what we tow.

It all works pretty well for us. We’ve gone a little over 4000 miles with this combination. No complaints.

 

[bishopju]

Bishop,
I’ve got a similar payload (1479) and travel with the wife and a small dog. Usually about 200Lbs other cargo in the truck. We have stayed within all weight limits over a couple visits to the CAT Scales while on our journeys. See my signature for details on the truck and what we tow.

It all works pretty well for us. We’ve gone a little over 4000 miles with this combination. No complaints.

Thanks Zeronet, I have been looking at some Forest Rivers and that one looks like a nice floor plan!

 

[jermball623]

I would just keep an eye on your tongue weights for what you're thinking about buying. I've got a Forest ariver Cherokee 264dbh. Not too heavy but my tongue weight including the hitch is probably close to 1k. I'm still good on payload and try to load most of the stuff we take in our rear storage since it's a big area anyway.

 

[Clayinfla]

With 892 in payload left, if you want to stay inside your limits you should be looking at trailers with a GVWR of 7k or less. If you plan for 10% (recommended minimum) that is 700 pounds plus your hitch. Many will tell you 15%. As you correctly pointed out, your truck will max out on payload well short of tow limits. We are a little over 10% and our only store is forward. We have Flagstaff Microlite 21 FBRS. Our trailer is 5692 GVWR and tongue weight is right at 600 pounds. Hope that helps. oh, add 20 pounds for when that fiancée become wife!

 

[Jako]

With 892 in payload left, if you want to stay inside your limits you should be looking at trailers with a GVWR of 7k or less. If you plan for 10% (recommended minimum) that is 700 pounds plus your hitch. Many will tell you 15%. As you correctly pointed out, your truck will max out on payload well short of tow limits. We are a little over 10% and our only store is forward. We have Flagstaff Microlite 21 FBRS. Our trailer is 5692 GVWR and tongue weight is right at 600 pounds. Hope that helps. oh, add 20 pounds for when that fiancée become wife!

Is that 20 lbs. for first year? Do you have a formula per year, per child?

 

[Bay Area RAM]

I’m an experienced driver with a travel trailer and thousands of miles under my belt.... my Jayco is around 8200lbs loaded with at least 1100 lbs tongue weight some of which is offset by a good WD hitch. I wouldn’t go any bigger than that, the truck will do it just fine but it’s on the cusp of being comfortable and safe in my opinion. Anything bigger and you should move up to a 3/4 ton truck..... of course a brake controller is a must. Additionally mine is 32’ in length, again , pushing the limits of comfortable size. All of this is manageable with simply reducing highway speeds and increasing following distances.

 

[NRCHAD]

I pull a 2020 Keystone Bullet 287QBS tha'ts right at 34 feet long and +/- 6000lbs dry. I've pulled it numerous times through the smaller mountains of the lower Appalachian Mtns. with zero issues whatsoever. Drive slow, take your time, invest in a good WD hitch , and you'll be good to go.

 

[Richard320]

....
add 20 pounds for when that fiancée become wife!

One of my friends likes to say that putting a ring on a woman's finger is like pulling the ripcord on a life raft.

 

[Jako]

One of my friends likes to say that putting a ring on a woman's finger is like pulling the ripcord on a life raft.

3 rings = engagement ring, wedding ring than the suffering

 

[runamuck]

I have similar truck and pull a freedom express 246RKS..28' long and around 6000# when towing. my truck only has 1324# cargo cap. so I pack light. I set cruise for 68-70 and get 8.5-10 depending on the terrain. these trucks pull great and have very good brakes. I use a WDH and put a little more air in rear tires when towing. go to cat scale and get exact numbers.

 

[raven_DT]

With 892 in payload left, if you want to stay inside your limits you should be looking at trailers with a GVWR of 7k or less. If you plan for 10% (recommended minimum) that is 700 pounds plus your hitch. Many will tell you 15%. As you correctly pointed out, your truck will max out on payload well short of tow limits. We are a little over 10% and our only store is forward. We have Flagstaff Microlite 21 FBRS. Our trailer is 5692 GVWR and tongue weight is right at 600 pounds. Hope that helps. oh, add 20 pounds for when that fiancée become wife!

I liked your comment before I read your last sentence. Once I read your last sentence I immediately looked over my shoulder, feeling a sense of impending doom...

 

[raven_DT]

We pull a Flagstaff Micro lite 25BRDS, hitch weight is right at 800#, weight ~6200# loaded, 26ft. We use a Equalizer WDH which works very well. Truck pulls the TT very well thru the Appalachian mountains, ~8.5mpg. We bought the TT after the truck so we were very deliberate in making sure that we not only stayed under payload rating but had some margin to boot. DO NOT BUY a TT that you will be limited to only towing local because it's too large to safely tow on the highways/interstates. There are too many stories of unscrupulous RV dealers selling TT to people that didnt understand the capability of their truck. You can ofter find these TT for sale (cheap) after a season or two. Camping at various locations around the county is part of what makes camping so fun, imo. Take you time to research (look like you are) and enjoy the process of looking at all the different RV models. One last thing never use the empty weight numbers for the TT, always use the loaded values to be more realistic.

 

[Coopers_Dad]

My TT is 10K lbs 34' in length we pulled it across New York and PA to the Maryland shore last year. No real issues other than getting short of fuel at one point and when it got REALLY windy on the way back the traction control on the truck kept freaking out. Our previous trailer was 29' in length and if it had a bunk slide it would have still worked for us.
As for hitches, love the Equalizer, zero complaints 5 seasons of use. Blue Ox, I really disliked the cam chain combo and the sway control wasn't as good. I purchased a Hensley for this season, hopefully the last I'll ever buy.

Pull what your comfortable with, make sure you test pull the trailer. My purchase was dependant on how I felt after a 1hr pull if I didn't feel comfortable, I wasn't buying it. Look at renting one for a week or two. RVezy.com lets you rent from owners so you can try out different floor plans and how things pull before you put your money on the table.