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RV-Dreams.com Home -> RV-Dreams Community Forum -> Buying An RV -> Hi-Lo or TT for full-time use?
Post Info TOPIC: Hi-Lo or TT for full-time use?
Sushidog


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Hi-Lo or TT for full-time use?
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My DW and I went looking at some TT's yesterday. We'd really like to get a 27t Hi-Lo so we can get 12-13 mpg towing it with a 1/2 ton as others have reported on the Hi-Lo board. This would allow us to be more mobile, as I expect gas prices to rise to over $5 /gallon range during my retirement years. If I could find one a couple years old in excellent shape for under $20k I'd buy it as soon as our house sells, as that's our tentative budget. Being members of a $10/night camp club, this would be our ideal solution as we could move it more often and more affordably than a full height TT.

If I can't find this my second choice in a TT is either a Forest River Wildwood (Salem) LE 30QBSS or a Crossroads Zinger ZT29DB. Both of these entry level rigs have tongue and groove plywood floors, insulated, enclosed bottoms and offer over 4,000lbs CCC and plenty of storage space. Of course this comes at the expense of fuel mileage as they require a 3/4 ton TV. If we went this way, we'd be moving at most monthly or seasonally depending on our budget.

We don't own a truck now. We tow our little Aliner with a Chevy Cobalt, so we'd be selecting a used truck (either a HD 1/2 ton or 3/4 ton once we'd chosen the trailer) in the $10k range.

We're both super excited about the change in lifestyle and can't wait till our S&B sells.  I've lived in a smaller TT during my college years, and my DW is an experienced small apartment dweller, so we know what to expect living in close quarters. Surprisingly, my DW is steering me towards the smaller rigs, valuing mobility over square footage. ;)

BTW, we're looking for a TT rather than a 5er so we can use the truck bed for carrying a couple small motorcycles, generator, tools, gas, etc.


Having much more experience in this regard than us, what do you guys think? Given our circumstances, what would you do? Thanks in advance for the thoughtful reply.

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NorCal Dan


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Everybody has there own opinion of what is acceptable for full-time living. If you're ok with the small size and little storage space then I don't see a problem. If you plan to do a lot of traveling then gas mileage would be a consideration as I agree the fuel prices are bound to go up again someday.

Anyways, just wanted to say Hi and welcome to the forum. There are lot's of experienced folks in here and I'm sure they will share their thoughts on your questions.

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bjoyce


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We know a single woman with multiple dogs traveling about 8 months of the year in a Hi-Lo and she loves it. They are well built.

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Sushidog


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Thanks for the reply.

bjoyce wrote:

We know a single woman with multiple dogs traveling about 8 months of the year in a Hi-Lo and she loves it. They are well built.





 I looked at the other pop-ups on the market and the Hi-Lo seemed the best choice in this genre for full-timing. Being Aliner owners, we naturally looked at the big Chalet's with the dormers. Not only were they pricey for their size, but I think we would have claustrophobia living in one for more than a couple months. 

We also considered the Trailmanor, but after physically touring them they seemed too flimsy and difficult to set-up for what we were looking for. The CCC was far too low for full-time use too. While the king sized bed was nice, it was so high that you needed a step stool to enter and exit it. I can envision my DW or myself crawling out of bed at 1:00 in the morning, missing the step-stool and falling  - breaking God knows what at our age, much less when we get a little older. No, a walk around bed is a must.

The overall quality and sturdiness of it's construction, the speed and ease at which pops-up and the relative light weight of the Hi-Lo Towlite models pointed to this as our only choice for a FT PUP. Unfortunately, the model with the most CCC, the 27T can only hold about 2,000lbs. Since we figure that we'll actually need about 1,000lbs more that this, that leaves the balance of the load in the TV - not an ideal situation.

I wonder if heavier duty running gear could be installed, to increase its CCC (as this is usually the limiting factor) or would the added load overstress the chassis? Since it's GVWR is 6,500lbs another 1,000 lbs more would still put it in within the towing capacity of many newer 1/2 ton pickups.



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1999 National Tropical Class A gasser

Toad - 2.4l Chevy Cobalt SS with 400k miles and counting.
subra1228


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Hi,

First and most importantly, you need to buy whatever works best for you guys - if a Hi/Lo works for you, great! If a TT works for you, great!  Given that, we are trying fulltiming/part-timing (still deciding) witha 28' TT called Spree - made by KZRV.  We pull it with an F-150 - Sprees are made for the 1/2 ton market, so this worked best fir us given we already had the F-150, and I just wanted to mention the Spree since it is lightweight & may meet your needs.

Good luck with your decision & Happy Travels!
Suzanne
www.campingandtravels.com


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Happy Travels!

Suzanne & Brad
Sushidog


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subra1228 wrote:

Hi,

First and most importantly, you need to buy whatever works best for you guys - if a Hi/Lo works for you, great! If a TT works for you, great!  Given that, we are trying fulltiming/part-timing (still deciding) witha 28' TT called Spree - made by KZRV.  We pull it with an F-150 - Sprees are made for the 1/2 ton market, so this worked best fir us given we already had the F-150, and I just wanted to mention the Spree since it is lightweight & may meet your needs.

Good luck with your decision & Happy Travels!
Suzanne
www.campingandtravels.com




Thanks for the suggestion. Coincidentally, my DW and I went to Berryland RV yesterday. The one TT my DW said that she liked out of all those we looked at was the KZ 289KS, with it's slide out rear king bed. It is much lower than the bed in the Trailmanor, making it easier to enter and exit. The only thing that concerned me was it's low CCC of about 1,500 lbs.  Is the Spree's low CCC a problem for you?  What model do you have? What kind of mileage do you get towing her with an F-150?

Sorry for all the questions.  confused.gif

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1999 National Tropical Class A gasser

Toad - 2.4l Chevy Cobalt SS with 400k miles and counting.
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