Introduction/Towing Help needed

From what I've seen, in a trailer that's a decent size for a Tundra, you can either have a table or a sofa. If you get both, you get into a trailer that's a bit longer and heavier than what you're looking for.

Our 2018 Coachmen Freedom Express 25SE meets most of those criteria except no sofa. However, it has a U-dinette with a free standing table so we figured we could even just toss the table outside if we wanted to use the dinette like a sofa. It also has both a "pantry" and a coat closet.

The only trouble with the new ones is that they changed the layout at some point between 2018 and 2022. In the new ones, you actually get a couch but you give up the coat closet to get it. Or you can get the same layout as we have but it's 500 lbs heavier for some reason.

 

That is what I was trying to say as well. I think last night was an eye opener because as we were looking, my wife said, "Wow, I didn't expect to see this type of scenario". She knows what she wants, but I think when she saw how it plays out it struck her. She likes the U shape dinette of the old one but also the sofa. I think I used the sofa four times...maybe. Usually we sat at the table, or I was outside or fishing. So to me, I would rather do without the sofa and get the private bedroom.

 

I commend you for being so thorough on this. A recommendation people throw around is to pick your 2 (or 3 given the Freedom Express discussed above) and rent one for a weekend each. It'll be a few hundred bucks, but you'll have 100% confidence in all trade space decisions.

 

I was thinking I wanted a Murphy bed for the added couch but, in hindsight, the separate bedroom is nice since we can get ready for bed without waking the kids and then I can get up with them and let the wife sleep a bit longer.

 

We had floated that idea as well. I will talk with her more about it to make sure she likes it.

 

This is what I was thinking as well. Sometimes, when camping, I get up around 5ish to go fishing and I don't want to wake the kids up. Thanks.

 

That's what we like about the 2250rk, it has a door from master bedroom and another at the kitchen,granddaughter sleeps on the sofa and I can get up and outside without waking her up and grandma can sleep in also.

 

Just looked at the specs on the 23bhe very close to what I have in the 2250rk, you will get to the 7000lb max weight easily if you have kids who require a lot of stuff.I only travel with 5 gallons fresh nothing in the Grey and 1 gallon in the black tank for emergencies and can kiss 6850 pretty easy. I do have a tongue weight scale and 750 to 780 is about perfect for my set up. The 2250rk is nose heavy so my passthrough only stores lighter items.

 

@19PlatinumCrew Thank you for the information. The double door would be nice, but it was beyond our budget.

As much as I would love to get into the GD 23BHE, it is going to be about $4K over the payout for buying new and right now, taking a loan out is not high on our list. We have no debt (which I am so thankful for) but I want to be wise as well. I could get into serious expense if I am not careful.

As for the weights, my kids do not travel with much. Just their suitcases, a couple of IPads, a few DVD's for when we are settling in for the night, and some things to play outside with (usually fishing poles, or games). But I do only add a little bit of water and that is only in the fresh. Not sure if I should add any to the black tank as this concept is a little new to me based on your statement. Wonder if I should.

 

I usually just throw a gallon in to let it slosh around,know it sounds funny but try not to #2 in the toilet if we can help it.camper is going on 5 years and still smells new.We were fortunate and found a 6 month old unit that a couple bought but decided that it was too long. They used it for 1 trip,saved me 10k over new,deals are out there just gotta be patient.

 

When I was researching, I found a couple of good FSBO (For Sale By Owners) sites. One site was National RV and the other was Pop's RV. You can see units for sale by owners all over America. We looked at a unit about 1.2 years old in GA and another 8 months old in South Carolina. RV trader is where I spent most of my time researching prices until I stopped by our local GD dealer and asked them to beat the SC quote, which they did for even more $$.

We ended up with the updated 2250RK model known as the 23LDE. We lost the fireplace and hidden TV, but gained a dinette table. We looked at the 21BHE unit, but we didn't have a need for bunks. We even thought about getting rid of the lower bunk and turning it into a storage place. In the end, we found our model to work out better for the two of us and a dog.

I think the 21BHE or 23BHE may be a perfect fit if you are looking at GD. The Winnebago Minnie's make a 21-23' bunk unit as well. Not sure about other bunk units since it was not high on our list.

 

@KingsAustin,

Thank you for your statements. I will look up National RV and Pop's RV.

Some updates on the camper.

We are going to have to knock off GD from our list because price is just out of reach for us at this time. I still love it and would love to get into it, but right now it is beyond us.

We did go to look at a few campers this last weekend (left on Friday and got back on Saturday), and to say it was disappointing is an understatement.

The one we thought for sure we would get was a Dutchman Kodiak SE. It was in price range, weight range, and had all the features we wanted.

Started the talks of payment, and they even knocked off an extra $1K! So even more in our price....

Until they decided to add on their shipping rates (even though it was in their lot already), their service fees, process fees, inspection fees, handling fees, paperwork fees, paper fees, and probably added their breathing fees to it for all I know.

Shot it from $23K to $30K! That was before the price of the WDH and Sway Bar!!!!! No thanks.

We told him that we would not be paying for all of that and got up to walk away and he immediately offered to take another $2K off. Still too high. From there it was just one disappointing visit after another.

I was told several times that we were being unrealistic. Yet searching RVtrader, I found exactly what we were looking at for the price we needed.

The insurance is paying $25K if we buy new. $19K if used. So I hate to leave money on the table.

I am now looking through PA, NJ, OH, TN, VA, NC, SC, FL.

Since I am dropping the GD, I found one I had never heard of before. It is called a Riverside Intrepid. I am looking at these because I can get them closer to my price range (maybe do some negotiation) and get it for the right price.

But I have never heard of them. How is the quality against say a Dutchman or Keystone, or even a GD? The specific one I am looking at one of these two:

https://goriversiderv.com/xplorer-240bhx/

https://goriversiderv.com/intrepid-240bhi/

Anyone have one, thoughts, issues you have found?

Thanks again for all the advice.

 

Why would this matter? Shouldn't insurance just give you the money for the value of your previous trailer and then you do what you want with it? You could even choose not to buy another trailer if you want.

 

@Cpl_Punishment ,

It has something to do with limitations and riders.

If I took the payout, they would just give me the money. That would be the $20K minus our deductable.

But I have a rider that will pay up to 120% of valuation of loss. In this case, the limit on the main insurance was the $20K. But because a new trailer of my exact model is more expensive to replace, they will pay over the $20K limit. Hence the higher valuation.

I am not an insurance salesman, so I am giving the best knowledge I have, LOL.

 

Just trying to understand as I hadn't heard of those types of clauses before, though I admittedly don't know much about insurance.

 

Kinda like GAP insurance, but for trailers? I’m guessing the used trailer market is harder to predict/measure like the used car market and NADA/KBB so you pay a little extra to get additional reimbursement for a new trailer in the event of a loss? I’m just guessing here… Does seem odd that an insurance underwriter would approve that since they won’t let you insure your Huffy bicycle for a million dollars.

 

Not sure. I was told it was a rider. If that is a gap insurance, then...maybe?

But either way, it worked out for us. My wife found the camper she absolutely loves. It is a Forest River Surveyor Legend. Going to pick it up on Sat in NJ, and we only pay about $600 out of pocket for everything, minus tax in our state.

It is not what I wanted, but it makes her happy, so, biting my lip and carrying on.

 

Smart man.. I’m sure it will work in your favor.

 

Sorry for the delay. I was going to mention the FR Surveyor as an option. We actually looked at one of the units, but the sales lady appeared like we were bothering her with the walk through and questions so we bailed. This make was on our top 5. If I can mention, I would highly suggest an independent inspection of the unit before you purchase. Our inspector found about 4 things that we would have drove off with had it not been inspected. Hope it all works out.

 

@KingsAustin

No worries. As you can tell, I am delayed as well in responding. Sorry to hear you had issues with your sales. I had to walk away from several as well.

We did pick up our Surveyor, and the company we went with was amazing to work with.

We bought the trailer in southern NJ (https://www.crossroadstrailers.com/). Again, they were fantastic to work with. Had everything done over the phone and email so when I went up there, I was given a few hours to walk through everything, check it out, then do the official walk through, and testing of everything. They went through the hitch, features, and we then finished all paperwork.

I did find a couple of things and am waiting for them to send me the replacement parts. My wife absolutely loves the camper, and so, we are going to be using it hard this year. Going as far south as NC (about an hour or so west of Charlotte). We are going to go as far North West as OH, and as far north as Maine.

Since it has the solar power, we are also looking at doing some boondocking, so something else that opens up more doors for us.

Here is a follow up question. I know around 3000 RPM, we get top power out of the 5.7.

Cruising I am sitting around 2100-2400 RPM's in 6th gear.

Then going up hills I hit around 3000 RPM's.

What would be a good consistent RPM to hit or goal to hit in traveling? I know I am way under weight, but I want to make sure I am not running weird. I do have the transmission cooler, and the Tow/Haul mode on. Should I run it in S mode or regular D mode?

This would help me to know what I am looking for as being normal in pulling (normal being different for each one, I am sure). But If I am hitting avg. numbers, I know there will be less concern that I am over stretching my engine at this point.

Thanks.

 

If you're towing anything over 3000#, run it in tow haul mode in S4. Some will run S5 on flat ground if you're on a long haul. S4 keeps the torque converter locked to keep trans temps down.

 

This makes me think that I am pushing it hard then. I run in D6 and if I am less than 2500 RPM's I was looking at being good.

I will try that next camping trip. Lord willing, we will be going about two hours away or so.

ETA: What RPM will I be hitting with this? I am thinking it will slow my speed to around 65 MPH which will put me around that 2K RPM's? That won't hurt on the gas mileage. Going to NJ I was getting around 19 MPG. Coming back....Happy to get 10.4 .

 

RPM isn't the overall goal, although as you alluded to, more power above 2500 rpm with this motor. I typically don't tow above 65 mph for safety reasons, my rpm in S4 at 60mph is mid 2000's if I remember right.

 

That is with your Keystone 29URL?

Would you say the same for something that is under 5K lbs Unloaded? That is running it at 60 MPH? When I was coming back from NJ, I was hitting 70ish. Maybe I am going too fast.

 

Your new rig is under 5k? When I clicked the link it was 5500# dry.

 

Yes, sorry. I thought I updated this.

We did get one sub 5K.

It is this one: https://forestriverinc.com/rvs/surveyor-legend/19BHLE/6104.

 

That’s a great floor plan and weight! Probably get away with S5 and Tow/Haul. Probably safer at 65mph

 

Thank you. I wanted the bigger one, but my wife fell in love with this one and so I want her to be happy.

While this doesn't have what I wanted, it does have several features that are a step up from what we did have:

1. Solar power with inverter and charger
2. Better build quality compared to the Wildwood we had.
3. More room in the master bed (which is not a murphy bed).
4. More storage and better under storage than before.
5. Built in radio system.
6. A T.V. antenna that can pick up local channels (not sure if I am going to use it much as we also put a Roku stick on our T.V.).
7. Higher ground clearance
8. Motorized Jack
9. Better propane tank cover
10. Dual water heaters (electric and gas).

So I have several things about it I like better, so I am a mixed feeling with it. The biggest thing is my family loves it and my wife is willing to go boondocking whereas she was not wanting to before.

I will try the 65 in S5 with Tow/Haul mode. When I can I will report what my RPM's, and my MPG is.

As for the MPG, no, I am not going to ask about how to improve it (I have read enough threads on here to know that we count it my smiles per gallon instead) and I just enjoy the drive and going.

As a side note (and one that I know I won't be able to afford) I tried to talk my wife into an overlander camper...








so I have a Surveyor Legend.

 

I pull this roughly 35’ long from hitch to rear with a wdh. Trailer weight empty is around 6500 lbs.truck is 2012 double cab with the 4.6l engine. Comes with tow package, trd 4x4 and a 2.5” lift up front and 1” rear. And 33” E tires. Towels just fine for me as far as length of trailer goes. Very stable and even with the smaller v8 it’s still in my comfort zone of towing. I am family of 4. I’m sure my truck is always overloaded on payload even when towing. It’s all in what you are comfortable towing.