My first experience vacationing in a travel trailer

So, my wife and I have been cooped up in the house all year. I have been working from home since February and we really haven't been able to get out like we used to (restaurants, movies, etc.). In July, we were talking about ways that we could get away. We thought about short trips to local tourist attractions, but that meant staying in a hotel and possibly being around lots of people. Then, we started seeing TV commercials from the local RV dealers and the lightbulb turned on.... rent a travel trailer and go camping... perfect

This idea also checked off two more boxes. Since I have been working at home all year, I haven't taken any vacation days and they have been adding up. The company that I work for does not allow the complete roll-over of PTO at the end of the year, so you must use it or lose it. Also, my wife an I haven't taken a vacation just for ourselves since our honeymoon. We figured that this would be a great way to spend some time together.

I started to research local RV rental companies and found one with good reviews near our house: American Adventure
I was initially looking at the 26' Jayco Jay Flight. It has bunks, a dinette, a sofa, and a queen bed with a dry weight of 4600 pounds. All loaded, I would still be under my payload. (See my post on my payload).
However, the previous renters of that trailer took it to Louisiana at about the time a hurricane hit that state. They hit some road debris and busted one of the axles. Fortunately, the rental company had recently purchased a new, similar trailer. So, we got a 24' Gulf Stream Kingsport. It is a little smaller than the Jayco and it didn't have the sofa. However, it was a 2021 model and had only been used for 2 days by the previous renter.

OK... so we got the trailer, but where to go? My next door neighbor has an F350 and a 37 foot, 12,000 pound palace-on-wheels that he rolls up with all the time. So, I figured that he could recommend an RV park. He did and highly recommended Gulf Waters RV Park in Port Aransas. It is a little pricier than many other RV parks, but it is really nice and it is right on the ocean. Also, we wanted an easy experience for our first time and they were great to work with.

In August, we scheduled everything for October 2nd to October 8th. We wanted to skip the summer heat and the hurricanes that were battering the gulf coast. It was a long time to wait, but it gave us time to prepare. My wife and I are both ultra planners so we went all in with the planning. I watched a ton of "RV-101" and "How-To RV" videos. We made lists of the things that we knew we would need and of the things that we might need. I created a spread sheet that included our itinerary, item preparation, food, attractions, route, and videos. I didn't want to leave anything to chance. I wanted everything to go smoothly and have a relaxing vacation.

I gathered my electric drills, wrenches, sockets, spot light, air pump, ice chest, tire chalks, tool bag, shop vac, coax, water filter, water regulator, and 2, 5 gallon fuel cans. At first, I though that I could make the 280 mile trip on a single tank of gas. If I got 10 mpg, that should be easy, right? Well, I read a lot of posts on this site and it looked like most were getting 7-8 mpg when towing travel trailers. So, I was not leaving that to chance....


We used large plastic bins to put all our dry food and misc supplies in. We also had to provide our own bedding and we brought along all our drinks. We planned to not cook while on the trip and decided to bring a lot of prepared items that just needed to be microwaved. We also decided to get take-out from the local restaurants for dinner.


In my research, I found that tow mirrors are a must. So, I purchased a pair of snap-on mirrors from Amazon. They were only $50 and worked well enough.






I was concerned about how much sag there would be with the trailer hooked up so I took a before pic:


Here I am at the rental company with the trailer hooked up. The rear dropped about 2". My truck has an extra leaf, CB shackles, Icon shocks, TRD rear sway bar, and 34" E rated tires (which I filled to 42 psi). All of that should hopefully manage the load better than stock. maybe?


Here I am at home with the trailer all loaded up (all our gear went into the trailer). The front is a little higher than the rear since the rear dropped a little more with all the gear. I had asked for a weight distribution hitch from the rental company, but they only offered an "anti-sway version" of a WDH hitch... and they didn't have any available for rent. They insisted that I didn't need anti-sway for this trailer because the truck was heavy enough. However, I was more concerned about actual weight distribution than sway.


The trailer weight is about 4100 pounds. With all my stuff, I was probably at 4600 pounds and I am sure that the tongue weight was under 600 pounds.


I chose to stay on the major interstates for the trip down to Port Aransas. This made the trip a little longer (280 miles), but I think interstates are easier to travel on than country roads and highways. We went down I35, I410, and I37 from Georgetown through Austin, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, and to Port Aransas.


Half way between San Antonio and Corpus Christi we stopped at the rest stop. We definitely had to add fuel as I was not getting 10mpg. I am glad that I brought along the extra 10 gallons of fuel. On I35, I410, and the first part of I37, I kept the speed between 55-65 mph. There was medium traffic, some of construction, and narrow lanes in many places. However, once we got out of San Antonio on I37, the highway opened up and I was able to cruise at a constant 70 mph with passing speeds of 75 mph. I kept the transmission in S4 and used the tow/haul mode throughout the entire trip.


Here we are at the RV park. With the stop, we made it in 5 hours. The RV rental company was about 20 miles away from my house so I was not at a full tank of gas when starting the trip. We drove 324 miles and burned 36.9 gallons of gas for an mpg of 8.8. I guess that is not too shabby for my setup. On the way back, however, there was not an ethonal free gas station so I filled up with 93 octane instead and burned 38 gallons of gas for an mpg of 7.8.


On I37, there was a butterfly explosion. How the hell am I going to get all these guts off my truck?




Now it is time to unhook the trailer and set it up. With all the research that I have done at this point, I am all theory and no practice. So I had a couple of learning moments
It turns out (at least on this trailer) that the power tongue jack only runs off of the truck battery and not off of the trailer battery. I had disconnected the wire harness from the truck and plugged in the trailer's power cable thinking that I could operate the jack. Uhh... nope... I thought that the power on the RV site was not working so I called one of the maintenance guys from the RV park. Well, we quickly figured that one out


I have towed many times before, but the latch on this trailer operates a little differently than I was used to. This position does not mean that the ball latch is free:


yeah... so you actually have to lift up and then slide the latch back. Then the ball latch is free. I lifted the back of my truck up 8" before I realized that


An electric drill with a 3/4" socket makes quick work of the stabilizer jacks.


Plugged in the trailer power cable to the surge protector to the shore box, screwed in the water hose to the water filter to the water regulator, and plugged in the coax.


Got the septic line connected. The RV rental company had left the black tank gate open. So when I went to screw the end cap off, I got splashed with a nice surprise. Yes, I closed the gate before taking off the end cap, but there is still 2-3" of pipe between the two.


Trailer connections all hooked up.


So here is our camp site.






Now on to the interior setup. The first thing is the AC.


Apparently, this unit is BOTH the AC and the heater. There is no wall thermostat in the trailer. We were not totally clear on its' operation and we had turned the heat on by mistake. It did not take long before we realized that error and figured out how to properly operate the AC


A view of the dinette and bunks.


A view of the kitchen. We were not planning on using the stove so we sat our home toaster on it. My wife has to have coffee in the morning so we brought along the Keurig.


At the RV rental company, they said that the propane was on and that the frig should cool during the trip. Well, it didn't and the "check" light was on and there was a constant beeping. Even after I plugged in the shore power, the frig did not switch over to electric and start cooling. I tried all the button combinations, but the frig would not turn on. I thought that these refrigerators could operate on propane OR electricity.


So then I switched on the water heater. After an hour, there was not any hot water... not even luke warm water; even with the electricity. I looked back at the panel and noticed that the "FLT" light was on. WTF is that? I thought that the water heater could operate on propane OR electricity.


After some debugging, I found that the propane tanks were turned off. Well, I turned them on an wouldn't you know it... both the water heater and refrigerator started working. So, in this trailer, they require both propane AND electricity. From everything that I have read and watched, that just doesn't seam right. Oh well... they are working now....


It took overnight for the frig and freezer to cool, about 30 minutes for the AC to cool the trailer, and an hour or so for the water heater to pump out scalding hot water.
Sensor 2 is the freezer, sensor 1 is the frig, and the indoor.. well... you get it...


We setup our bedding.
I was concerned about space for my CPAP machine. Because of the wardrobe closet, I wasn't sure that the hose would reach. Well it does, yay


We used the upper bunk for storage. We had all the plastic bins, bags, and other containers to store.


We used the bottom bunk for the ice chest, our drinks, and as the dog bed. With it just being my wife and myself, I thought that the bunks would not be that useful. But now, I could not see renting or owning a trailer without them.


We got all setup and then relaxed at the dinette. Lacy climbed up on the wheel well hump under the dinette and rested her head on my leg. She did great in the truck, but she was pooped


In a few minutes, she totally crashed


I think this trailer is a lower end trailer and that showed in the fit and finish of the construction. I think this trailer is around $18k new. Here, the trimming on the edge of the lower bunk doesn't even match up.


The wall mount for the TV is pulling away from the wall.


This is the top of the cabinet above the refrigerator. The corner is chipped and there should not be a gap in between those 2 pieces.


One of the drawers has chip.


And I don't know who the hell they had cutting this piece, but WTF?


Also, as I was sitting at the dinette, the seat collapsed from under me. I pulled up the thin piece of paneling that was covering the seat only to find this construction. The seat is made up of 1x1 pieces of wood held together by staples. Seriously!?! All we could do was wedge a roll of paper towels under it to support us (that was my wife's idea ). And it is not like we are fluffy people. I am 225 and my wife is 1xx. I would expect a seat to support 2 adults.


Looking at the outside of the trailer, I really expected the doors to the storage compartments to be larger. This is the rear compartment. I could only get one shoulder inside to reach in. I could not reach the items in the back.




This is the front compartment. The door was large enough for me to climb in.


But the fit and finish of the construction was poor and there were gaps from the storage compartment into the trailer and around the bed. This is where the septic hoses were kept. It was a good thing that we were the first renters to use those septic hoses.
Ohh.. and that tool bag could not fit past the door into the rear storage compartment.


There were only 4 windows on this trailer. 2 had a typical slide window and 2 had these levers. These felt more like emergency exits and I chose not to open them. I didn't know if they would easily close again so I left them closed. It would have been nice to open all the windows and get more of the ocean breeze.


It had a small tub/shower. It was large enough to stand in and rotate in place. It worked.


The shower head had a shut off valve. However, that valve leaked so the head kept dripping water. With only 6 gallons of hot water, I really wanted the water to stop flowing.


Wow.... so... these toilets are small. It is so uncomfortable to have your junk smashed up against the edge of the bowl when you are taking a dump.
Also, the water/flapper operation stopped working after a couple of days. Normally, there are 3 positions. Off, Water flow/Flap closed, Water flow/Flap open. Well, now, there is Off and Water flow/Flap open. We could not add water to the bowl before using it.


It is a good thing that the RV park has a restroom. I used that instead


The RV park is really nice. I highly recommend it. They have an activity center where they hold all sorts of community events (pre-covid).


Several ponds, tons of palm trees, and little park areas.


And room for your monster class A motorhomes. Here are 3, 40+ foot motorhomes in a row. I don't know how all these people can afford these rigs. My wife and I had the smallest unit in the whole park. Most everyone else had either a monster class A, a giant fifth wheel trailer, or a large travel trailer. I mean, the least you can spend for a fifth wheel and a truck to tow it is going to be $100k. Many of these rigs looks to be upwards for $150-$200k.


Here is a closer view of one.


What is really cool about this RV park is the beach access. In the back of the park, there is a bridge that takes you to the beach.










And everyone rides around in these little golf carts. You can take them on the bridge and drive on the beach. Hell, you can even drive your truck on the beach. There are so many access points.


On one of the days, there were a pair of motorized paragliders flying around. You can just see it off in the distance.








My wife and I went exploring one of the days and we found one of the beach access points. So, we drove on the beach for a while


Each morning, I got up with the sunrise and went for a walk. My wife likes to sleep in so it was just me and the dog.








Normally, Lacy leaves the birds alone, but she was crazy for this crane. She wanted to chase/attack it.


These are all over the beach. What are they? They are gelatinous piles of jiggly goo.


So, here are some pictures of Lacy. She absolutely loves the beach; hates the water, but loves the beach. Here she just got back from a walk and she is hot and pooped.




Lacy is a rescue and, over the years, I have worked very hard with her to build her confidence, but, sometimes, a noise will send her into a fearful state. Here, the toaster popped up and she hid under the dinette.


She ended up just staying there for a while.


She finally relaxed and fell asleep.


Over the week, we took so many naps. I guess I had to catch up on my sleep Well, Lacy is always next to the bed when I sleep.


And again, she always has to be close to me.


And asleep again


Here is a short video of her checking out the beach
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3W4BjE2yu0&feature=youtu.be


Our meal plans were to eat breakfast and lunch with the food that we brought and to get take-out for dinners. Well, we found a pizza joint that delivers right to your unit in the RV park. Woohoo!! oohh... and I heard from a reputable source that carbs and calories don't count when you are on vacation. So, we ordered from this place 3 nights in a row




On one of the days, we went exploring in Corpus Christi. We found ourselves near the Aquarium and the USS Lexington. They offer tours of the carrier, but we were not able to go because we had the dog. We are planning to come back at some point (without the dog) to do those things.




The worst part of the trip were the mosquitos. The population was thick and they were everywhere. We had so many outdoor plans, but we chose to stay inside the trailer to avoid them. We did use bug bands and other bug deterrents, but they didn't care. Here is the back of my leg on day 2. I think I had 10 bites at that time.





We had fun on this vacation, but it was a lot of work. I suppose if you own an RV, it would be easier. And, the more often that you go, the easier it is to plan the trip and setup the RV. we had to do everything from scratch and it was our first time. I suppose we were over prepared too. We brought so much with us because we just didn't know what might be needed. We also brought house sized items rather than RV sized items. For example the toaster and coffee maker.

The trip was also a bit pricey. The cost to rent the travel trailer was about $1500 for the week. This included the rental cost, taxes, state fees, cleaning, prep, pet fees, etc.. The cost of the RV park was $415 for the week. And we probably spent another $500 on food, gear, fuel, and misc items. All totaled, it was about $2500 for the week.

It was an adventure and I got to spend some nice time with my wife. So, it was worth it.


But would we do it again? Not with that trailer. Here are the things that we learned by renting.

• We thought that the trailer was too narrow. We were constantly bumping into each other. A slide out would solve that.
• We thought that the length was a bit too small. However, with the Tundra, I am not sure there is much we can do about that. When you start getting into 26 to 28 foot trailers, the tongue weight goes way up.
• The TV needs to be across from where you sit. The TV was above the dinette so we had to sit on the same side. Fine, but a little cramped. Also, if the inward person wants to get up, the other person has to as well.
• The bed is very uncomfortable. I know that there are trailers that come with residential mattresses.
• There were not enough windows in the trailer and there was not a window on either side of the bed. This made us run the AC over night since we could not get an adequate cross breeze.
• The AC is LOUD. This was a non-ducted AC unit. I don't know if ducted units make a difference or if this is just the nature of the beast. Or maybe there are higher quality AC units that are quieter?
• The doors to the storage compartments were small. This made access challenging.
• The trailer was very low quality. Things were breaking on its' first week of usage.
• This trailer did not have many of the features that many other trailers have. For example, there was not a black tank flush, there are not easy lube axles, there was not an oven, there was only a 2 burner cooktop that did not have an auto light, the frig and water heater could not run on electricity alone, etc.

Some comments about towing this trailer:
On the way to the RV park, it was very easy to tow. The weight of the trailer did not seam to be an issue at all and I did not notice any sway. When a wind gust would hit, however, I could feel it pull the truck back. No loss of control, but you could really feel it.
However, on the way home, I had a much harder time when I got up past the San Antonio area. I felt like the truck was really being pushed around and I was really fighting for control. I didn't feel any sway from the trailer, it just felt like I had to constantly correct the steering. I had to slow down to 55 mph to feel confident. Once I got back up to the Austin area, the control got better, but I still kept the speed down. Could this be due to the lack of a weight distribution hitch and the front end being pulled up too much? I am thinking that I had less weight in the back of the trailer and the tongue weight went up.

Thanks for looking

 

Sounds like a pretty good time, and some learning along the way. Glad you guys had a good time. Thank you for sharing!

Things I've learned and comments:

• Travel trailer construction at it's finest will never match residential, and so you generally need to be kind of handy for a travel trailer to last.
• The Tundra will never pull a large camper, and even a short one with a slide out is going to be pretty heavy for it. You have to decide if it's worth downgrading your truck to upgrade your camper.
• That TV mount looks like it was installed by the rental place, and poorly at that. Not even flush mount screws, so it's not a surprise that it was coming out of the wall. They probably didn't make sure to get good mount points for it in the first place.
• The behavior you described for the trip home sounds like the trailer was tail heavy. If the rear is overloaded they get belligerent and make you drive slower to maintain control. Shifting weight forward would be your best bet to resolve this. Quick video that demonstrates how badly it can affect stability.

https://youtu.be/4jk9H5AB4lM

 

Looked like a great time. Thanks for sharing.
That clear gooey thing is a jelly fish and they bite.

 

We have some family friends with a 38’ 5th wheel trailer that we go camping with sometimes. The past few times we declined the invite. Because honestly, for the same reasons, it’s just too much work and my 6’2 200 lb self never could get a good nights sleep. Andddd I too have broke a seat in it just from sitting lol. Taking showers and a shit was miserable too. Sorry....it’s just not for me. I rather spend my money at a nice resort if I’m going on a “vacation”.

 

Good write up. Looks like it was a fun trip. Lacy is a seriously cute pup btw. Give her a belly rub for me.

Can't say I'd ever want to own a travel trailer, for many of the reasons you listed. In order to address alot of the issues you mention, the price goes up astronomically. They can be very comfortable and convenient though, especially for extended road trips where you only spend a night or two in onr place. Just be prepared to pay for it I guess.

You can't get a trailer into the places I go so I guess it's a moot point for me anyways. I'm a wall tent and wood stove in the remote backcountry kind of guy anyways. Staying in a rustic cabin with wood heat and an outhouse in the back is the lap of luxury in my books.

 

Good ole port a!

I stop at that same pizza place every time in that next of the woods as well, so good.

looks like a great time was had by all. Thanks for sharing!

 

Hmmm... I have seen that video before and I hear what you are saying. I don't know... I had less weight in the rear of the trailer going home than I did going to the rv park. It felt more like the front end wasn't tracking well rather than the back end kicking out.

 

My parents in law make fun of the people they hear in campgrounds using drills to put their jacks down.

My grandparents' trailer has a "safety feature" wherein you need both propane and battery to run the fridge. There's a solenoid valve in the gas line that will close if you're running the fridge on propane and the battery goes dead (for example, if they leave their trailer at our lake lot where there's no power all summer) and then the fridge will go out.

 

My friends with travel trailers recommend against moving around too much when you're camping with one. The fuel costs tend to make it unattractive.

 

That makes sense.

 

Glad that you had a good time, but hope that the troubles you had don't discourage you, owning your own trailer is a great way to get out and gets better with experience. The one you had sounds like it was just a POS. Yes, trailers are built for light weight and suffer a bit compared to residential but some are better than others. Your high cost will also go down owning compared to renting. We started with a rental and had a similar experience with problems, but enjoyed it enough to look into buying.
I found a (at the time) 25', 2.5 year old, dual slide Coachmen that was much better quality than our rental. I talked myself into it for $11k and have had 3 years of fun with it so far. It is so much easier now that I know more and we have it loaded with everything we need (we also over packed with our rental). Now it's quicker and easier to just set out for a couple of days.
BTW, I have no idea what was up with that trailer, but yes, fridge and water heater should work with either gas or electric. I typically bring mine home from the storage lot a day before we set out and plug it in to cool the fridge. I do not turn the gas on until I unplug it to drive and it then switches to gas. Same with the water heater. We typically boondock so no power unless the generator is running.

 

Great and long write up but love it. I’ve towed a few toy haulers with my 07, it even has the tow package. I hate it. Mileage goes to about 7-8 mpgs at 55mphs, while my buddies are going 80+ with their diesels. I love my truck but hate hauling anything. I’d rather hit the trails with the 4X on

 

Ah, I see. Not sure then. Hard to tell these things when not present.

 

Real talk

 

Serious problems require frank, direct discussions. Also, those RV toilets suck. First thing I did when I got my trailer was install an RV chair height, residential sized, elongated porcelain shitter.

 

My biggest gripe was the flush door thingy chopping my massive deuce in half before it completely fell down the drain

 

Thanks for sharing, look forward to be able to do that with the family rather sooner than later.

There's people doing 28' and 30' with the Tundra, but from what I've read, 24' max 26' is the way to go, mostly due to payload.

Most likely a WDH would've helped the Tundra handle it better.

Definitely mosquitoes are my biggest fear of camping, not for me, but for the wife and the kids.

Cheers!

 

I have a 26 foot travel trailer and use it a lot and can address most of your points.

When we go camping we spend all of our time outside unless it is raining. Camper basically for sleeping only. Dinette and stove are hardly ever used. Will use the microwave from time to time but not often. We have no tv, but everyone has devices. Use the dinette mostly during travel when stopping at rest stops and to play games on when it rains. I use bug spray with deet in it and usually have no bites. I spray my legs constantly, that is where they like to bit the most. Our preference is to cook on the fire, but many times weather says no, or can only get wet wood (they currently have a lot of rules about not transporting firewood). We use a blackstone 17" griddle for most outside cooking.

We try to go when the AC is not really needed, but some times nights are to humid or neighbors are to loud. Ours is ducted and is quieter and does a better job then the ductless. We had rented some rv's (curise america) before buying our trailer and they had the ductless.

• You get 7 mpg when maintain speed. If you find a good spot on the gas and basically hold your foot there and let the speed drift (faster down hill and slows up hill) you get 10 mpg while towing.
• The trailer is not wired correctly. The hot wire in the towing harness needs to be connected to the trailer battery, not to the jack. This trailers battery is not being charged while driving which could lead to a dead battery. Dead battery = no break-away braking. Jack and towing harness both need to be wired to the trailer battery.
• The fridge is a propane fridge and the electric part is an assist. Fridge will take days to get cold on those 12 volt thermo-electric plates alone. Electric is there so you use less propane. Propane gets it cold in about 2 hours.
• I only switch on the hot water before washing dishes then turn it off after, gives me warm water. The hot water heater is propane only, electric only is for the controls.
• The construction on these trailers is crap, but most things can be fixed, not on a rental though. On a brand new trailer will find construction debris all over the place, they don't even bother to vacuum when they are being built. We got ours used from a third party. Some trailers are built well but you pay a lot for those. These trailers have a roof that lasts 10 years so need to look at them through the lens that they will last 10 years.
• There is a 'tv backer' mounting spot, basically a 2x4 sideways in which you can screw the tv bracket to. But tv brackets are larger than a 2x4. I have a home made bracket on mine which holds our folding bar stool chair.
• The sewage hose should be in the bumper, grosses me out to think yours had it stored inside the trailer. All of that stuff is either inside the bumper or strapped to it.
• The awning windows are actually good. Can open them in the rain and leave them open while not in use. Our trailer has more windows than yours did.
• Never took shower in our trailer (it is basically a storage closet), have always used the campground showers. Also never crapped in the crapper, just number 1 (prior owners also followed this rule).
• First thing we did when we got ours was to remove the mattress and replace it with an Ikea mattress. Had to extend the bed platform by 6 inches for it to fit. Cant sleep on a short RV mattress. Also added 3 inches of foam to the bunks for the kids.

We leave most things in our trailer except food and clothes. When we leave need to only pack food, clothes in the trailer. The back of the truck has things that need to go into the house like puppy prison, scooters and popup shelter. We normally go to state parks, find the nicest people there. Sites usually only have electric, is rare to find water/sewage hookups. Private campgrounds have better amenities but most also have full time residents. They are friendly but always kind of feel like you are intruding.

Your first trip went better than mine, on my first trip I took a right turn to sharp and popped the trailer tire (brand new) on a curb. Actually bent the rim, tire itself was fine but it was flat none the same. My kids remind me of this often. We were very late arriving after using the trucks tire changing tools on the trailer. We got there and set up. Not to long later it started pouring rain. Got a game out and started to play. The air conditioner started dripping water, put a bowl under that (did not have a bucket). Then checked the slide out, it was leaking as well. Instead of pulling it in I used a dinner plate to catch the drip 1 inch off the ground. When we decided to go to bed I pulled the slide out in which brought in what seemed to be buckets of water (the wet roof is now inside). After bringing it in it stopped leaking.

When got home found the ac has a foam gasket that stops the water, needed to tighten the bolts about 2 turns each. Also found out that slide outs leak after being 3 years old. Can spend a lot of money to replace all the seals or put an awning over the slideout. We opted for the awning (installed it myself) which has kept it dry since. We pull the slide out in half way when it rains so water will run off instead of pool.

But we like the trailer, like being outdoors and meeting lots of friendly people.

 

Could it be that since the back of the trailer was lighter on your way back, the front of it was heavier, hence the tongue weight also increased, making the front of the truck "lift" more, therefore feeling more "loose"?

 

Great write up thank you for sharing!

 

I think it would take some pretty severe changes in weight distribution for the front end to feel loose with that camper. You'd have to have so much weight on the rear that the squat would be extreme. A shift of a few hundred pounds wouldn't do that, I don't think. If it did, then loading a thousand pounds of stuff in the bed would have the same result, but I've not seen anyone posting those kinds of experiences. Just the way my brain is seeing it, and I could be wrong.

 

right, that is what i was thinking too.

 

Gotcha! Very valid points.

Was just an idea I had on the probable cause, that and increased winds could be the culprits. Again, just my thoughts.

 

Right. We are all just spit-balling here. It's hard to say exactly what it is when we weren't able to witness it or feel it first hand. All good possibilities, though. The big thing that would make me doubt the weight is that reducing speed seemed to solve it. Having a light front end would be less pronounced, but still very much an issue at slower speeds.

 

I agree. I enjoyed reading this post! Thanks for sharing.

 

I have made this trip several times, I too used to live in Georgetown, until my recent move into Austin. Fuel mileage is the same, not to bad headed there, really bad coming home. Not sure why, it just happens that way.

Like also mentioned, we rarely spend time in our camper, and prefer to be outdoors.

Our current set up, actually headed to Port A, spring break 2020!! (pre air-bags)

 

OP, given your experience this might sound like gloating, but it is not. I just want you to know there is a way to do this with it being a great pleasure without all the troubles that you had. We had once rented a camper for a local excursion 5 years ago and it was not great and tuned me off. It was not as bad as yours, but I couldn't say that I enjoyed it.

This summer we bought a used travel trailer for a planned trip 2.5 week trip through the southwest to places my wife and I had never been. We became empty-nesters and new grandparents on the same day. Dropped our youngest daughter off at college the same day our oldest had our first grandchild.

First, we purchased a used 2007 Trailmanor 2027. it is a hard-sided pop-up that weighs only about 3,500 lbs dry, and probably about 4,200 loaded. But it expands from 20 feet to 27 feet when open to have a queen size bed, a living room, a full bathroom and a full kitchen. It has very little wind resistance in towing position and takes about 10-15 minutes to set up and break down. We took it on a couple short weekend trips in August and early September to test everything out.

Fortunately, everything in it, the A/C, the heater, the oven and stove worked great. I was able to identify and repair some leaks in the shower and water tank before we left. So we headed west on I-20 from Augusta and took it through 15 states for 5,656 total miles and it performed fantastic. With the anti-sway WDH, the Tundra averaged about 13.3 for the total trip. Going 80mph on I-70 in Utah, felt like I was dumping fuel on the highway at about 10.5 mph. Heading north on route 89 in northern Arizona from Flagstaff to Page, it averaged almost 17mph towing at 60-65 mph. Tracked fantastic. Some pics below folded in the parking lot at Horseshoe bend and open in Granby, Colorado.

 

I think you're severely underestimating what those things cost. When I was shopping for our trailer I glanced at the busses, and they go up well over half a million. CAD, but still. Insane. And there doesn't appear to be any upper limit It's probably for rich people who retire and sell their house - basically a fancy home on wheels.

We finally got our 30' trailer last fall and we've been loving it. Perfect for two adults and 3 kids. Am writing this sitting in it in a provincial park, while it's -28C outside. Furnace works

I wish I had a gas fridge. We've got an electric one and I'll have to spend thousands on lithium batteries to power it on long summer trips. Gas was not an option for my model.

 

Which model is that?

 

Grand Design Transcend 247BH

By the way: I pulled it without weight distribution for a couple of trips because my previous two trailers were smaler and didn't need it. Then decided to get it. Made a huge difference for something this size (nearing the Sequoia's tow capacity). No sway control or fancy backup options, just plain bars and chains.