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RV-Dreams.com Home -> RV-Dreams Community Forum -> Buying An RV -> Towables with four season viability
Post Info TOPIC: Towables with four season viability
Phyl


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Towables with four season viability
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I just signed up a few days ago and introduced myself.  We're still working through which type of RV will best suit our needs.  As I said in my introduction, I'm leaning to a tow behind.  I've kind of reconciled the "lose the roof over your heads for repairs" consideration since a few people have pointed out that even travel trailers have to go in for service occasionally.  I'm still leaning toward a tow behind, though, because we already own a great F250 with 7.3 diesel.  Only 155K miles on it and runs great.  Pulls our current 25' camping trailer wherever we want to go - though it's semi-permanently parked on our deeded lot in an rv resort currently.

As we're researching which brands will be best for our travel plans, we are looking hard at the few brands that do a pretty good job of providing four seasons viability.  While we don't anticipate spending January in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan or in Presque Isle, Maine, (those locations are for summer) our deeded lot is in the North GA mountains and it does get cold with some snow.  These trailers also seem to be more well constructed which means to me they will last longer and I hope to get something that will take us 15 or so years.

Back to tow vehicles - We're seeing that most of these travel trailers and 5th wheels have dry weights between 8500 and 12000 lbs.  My husband wants to keep the dry weight to less than 8000 lbs and I certainly agree with him that we don't want to overtax the truck.  So when it comes down to deciding whether to keep the tow vehicle or upgrade to something else, I would like some extra opinions.  Are there lighter weight trailers that will provide four seasons and 15 plus years of full-time use?  If not, should we be looking at F450s?  Which engine?

Any info, especially real life experience, is appreciated.

Thanks,

Phyl



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Phyl
NWescapee


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A couple of brands to check out: Artic Fox, Outdoors RV Mfg and Nash. I think they all have 4 season units, our previous TT was a Wind River by Outdoors RV Mfg, camped in cold weather in Western WA and super hot summers in Eastern WA and it worked well for us, just wanted something bigger for FT with more cargo / storage capacity.

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FT - July 2013

 

2010 38TKSB3 DRV Mobile Suites

2012 Ford F450

 

Dale and Ruth Travelling with Tazzy Kat!

 

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Sushidog


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Keystone has a couple Sprinter wide body models you might want to consider. Though I don't think they use the term 4-season in their literature (as this is a subjective standard depending on whether you are living year round in Florida or Alaska) they do come standard with an upgraded insulation package rated from zero degrees F to 100 degrees F.

The Sprinter 278BHS model and the 331RLS come to mind. But 15yrs of FT use is a lot to ask for any travel trailer, let along a lighter weight model. A lot depends on how much you travel, maintenance, etc. - only time will tell.

Chip

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kb0zke


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Welcome, Phyl. This is the place to ask your questions. You will get lots of good advice here.

"Back to tow vehicles - We're seeing that most of these travel trailers and 5th wheels have dry weights between 8500 and 12000 lbs. My husband wants to keep the dry weight to less than 8000 lbs and I certainly agree with him that we don't want to overtax the truck." The dry weight is the weight of the trailer as it left the factory, with NOTHING in it. The number you ought to be looking at is GROSS weight, which is the most the trailer should weigh. The difference between the two weights is the weight of the stuff you can safely put in the trailer.

Your truck has a set of numbers, too. You may need a dealer's help to get some of them, and you will need to go to a scales for one. That one is the weight of the truck as it is ready to go down the road, with full fuel, people, dogs, tools, etc. Whatever will be in the truck when you are towing should be there. Go to a scale and weigh the truck that way. The difference between what the truck weighs and the truck's gross weight is how much weight can be added in the form of tongue or pin weight. The third number is the GROSS COMBINED WEIGHT. That's the total weight of truck and trailer. Subtract the weight of the truck (scale weight) from that number and the difference is the maximum the trailer can weigh.

As for 15+ years of use, go look at 15+ year old examples of some of the brands you are considering. If a brand hasn't been around that long, look at some of their earliest production. That will give you an idea of what your coach will be like at that age. I suspect, though, that you will trade it long before then. For one thing, your needs will probably change some during that time, and you will want your coach to match those needs.

Now, one brand to look at: Airstream. You won't buy a new one for anywhere close to what a new one of the other brands sell for, but check out the 15-year-old ones on airforums.com. That will give you a good idea of what a 15-year-old high quality coach ought to look like.

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David, kb0zke

1993 Foretravel U300 40'

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