Intro/Looking For Biggest, Heaviest, TT for FT RVing. The Heavier the Better! - RV-Dreams Community Forum

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Intro/Looking For Biggest, Heaviest, TT for FT RVing. The Heavier the Better!

mododge5500 · RV-Dreams Community Member

Hi,

My name is Murray and my wife and I are going to go on the road full time early 2014. We are looking for a TT that ideally has a king bed and large holding tanks. No toy haulers (vetoed by the wife). We have looked at the 32' Northwoods Artic Fox and the JT359 Journeyer Open Range. I like the size and room of the OR, however, I have read several negative comments on various forums. I am not concerned with the weight as I have a Dodge 5500 4WD with 6.7 Cummins diesel, 4:88 rear, 6 speed auto, jakebrake,etc. It is rated conservatively @ 30,000 lbs. GCVW. It is 198" wheelbase equipped with an 11' Knapehide Utility Service body. I tow a 37' Kraftsman 20K (two 10K Dexter oil bath axles) flatbed trailer commercially and it tows this 20K trailer like a dream when fully loaded although mileage sucks @ 7.5 MPG. I have an industrial 2 5/16" ball hitch with a heavy duty load distributing/sway control system.

From what I can determine most of the axle/undercarriage systems on these large TT's are not great. I plan on changing out the axles, springs, hubs, tires, and rims as soon as I get the TT and selling them back to the dealer or on EBAY. I will install Dexter 8K oil bath axles, springs, disc brake hubs, aluminum rims, and 17.5" tires. This should end any undercarriage issues. I am looking for something with a real good frame. I will probably also change out the tongue hitch part as well for a 20K rated one. After all, it is the same thing just thicker metal that won't break. I understand that manufacturers do not want to make these changes for a lot of reasons and that if you really want something "your way" sometimes you just have to do it yourself! What I am looking for is something really well built that is really 4 seasons and can handle the road trip to Northern Alaska. I do not want a 5'er as I don't want to give up my utility body storage. What would be ideal would be a 5'er body with a ball hitch and the big OR is the closest thing I have seen to that. You would be surprised as how much you can store in these truck utility bodies. You can usually fix anything if you have the right tools and parts with you.

I like the size, storage room, and price of the OR, but the frame looks like it is undersized and it looks like the access to perform any welding repairs on it would be problematic. I am not real concerned with the frills, I just want a big TT that can stay together on rough roads as I plan on boondocking whenever I can. I have been towing trailers for 40 years and have found that larger bearings, axles, brakes, and tires eliminate a whole lot of towing problems. I would appreciate all input even if you think I am a crazy and that this idea is total overkill, it is just the way I am! Thanks, and please don't worry about hurting my feelings with your comments!

SnowGypsy · RV-Dreams Family Member

Excel just started building travel trailers in the last couple of years and New Horizons used to manufacture travel trailers but the owner has changed so I don't what the situation is with that now. Outdoor RV has some 4 season units and Bigfoot might be another to look at. Lance started making a travel trailer that is 4 season also. We have found it is better to go with a quality unit that is used rather than a less expensive newer model. We live by that and haven't regretted it.

mododge5500 · RV-Dreams Community Member

Thanks for the info. on the other mfgs. I am aware of the possible leaking of the oil bath axles. This is usually caused by overtightening the plastic cup distorting the O'Ring seal or from changing the wheel and letting the inside of the wheel rim come into contact with the plastic cap when changing the tire. I always carry spare caps, O'Rings, the center rubber plugs, and axle oil just in case. They are cheap and good insurance. You will also want to carry the 6 point socket that fits the cap. I have several heavy duty equipment trailers with these same type hubs and have never had any problems with them. I also carry a laser temperature gun with me and shoot the tires and hubs at every stop to check for overheating and oil level in the hubs. You always know the status vs. grease packs that you can't see.

Jack Mayer · RV-Dreams Family Member

New Horizons will still build you a custom travel trailer. And it will be HEAVY. :)

Bill and Linda · RV-Dreams Family Member

Jack Mayer wrote:
New Horizons will still build you a custom travel trailer. And it will be HEAVY. :)

X2 Oh Yes. It will be beautiful, rugged, outstanding, have every amenity you can list, and weigh enough to need an HDT to pull it

Check them out if shose are your goals.

NWescapee · RV-Dreams Family Member

We had an Outdoors RV Mfg (Wind River 32RKS) before we bought the 5'ver. We thought it was a little too small for FT'ing but we are both working full time while on the road and needed enough room and weight carrying capacity for all the work "stuff" as well as the rest of life. When comparing TT's it had some of the best storage capacity and certainly larger outside openings on the compartments than many we looked at, also had more closest and bathroom storage space than many of the same size. We did find that it was pretty well insulated when we were in Eastern WA in early spring and the temps dipped well below freezing and the AC unit worked great that following summer when we were again in Eastern WA in 100+ temps. We saw a few at an RV show this past spring and we really liked the new interiors even more than the one we had. We had a good experience with our unit, just wanted something a little larger for FT.

TheHarveys · RV-Dreams Family Member

Murray,
With all the work you already plan to do on a given travel trailer, maybe, if you love their floor plans, you should just buy the Open Road of your choice and then, in addition to all the other fixes, go ahead and weld/bolt on your own frame enhancements. You sound like a guy who could figure out what was needed to really strengthen the frame and you probably have the tools to do the job :-{)

mododge5500 · RV-Dreams Community Member

Thank you all for your input. I have checked in with some of the recommended Mfgs. and found that they will indeed build me exactaly what I would like, however, the custom manufacturing pricing is high and i understand that. In fact, it seems to be about 40% to 70% higher than if you just bought a production model. I am now leaning towards getting a production model and modifying it myself. I have the facility, equipment, and the time available to me and I feel like I can do the mods for a lot less. So far it looks like the Open Road Journeyer is the best size for me to start with. I need to get more information on their steel frame and how they connect the aluminum structural wall framing to it. I don't want to end up with a trailer that has stress weld cracks in the frame. It seems like there are a lot of RVers that do a lot of modifications to their trailers to get them where they want them and I guess that I will be one of them soon!

SnowGypsy · RV-Dreams Family Member

One thing that I find helps is going to the owner's forum of that particular manufacturer and looking at what issues they are having. I was not able to locate the link to the Open Road owner's forum but I know they have one since I was there a couple of months ago. Does someone here have that link? I worked at one of the high dollar manufacturers but we have always had entry level trailers but our intention was not to full-time in them. Personally, for most people, a mid-level priced RV works out just fine or that at least, that is what we have seen. Having been involved with RVing/camping for over 30 years, we have seen and heard a lot and ALL trailers seem to have issues, some minor and some major. I am sure that I don't need to tell you that if you alter the trailer, you will probably be voiding your warranty.

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

I think John had a wrong name in his last post. His first post stated an interest in Open Range, not Open Road. As for the owner's forum for Open Range, it is at openrangeowners dot com.

Terry