Help Needed! evaluating a trailer I found

[OTW]

Okay, I finally had time to read Melissa's extremely and highly informative rundown on what looks like the real story on towing capabilities and there is a LOT to think about. And Judy and others have brought up really great points. Yes, one of the first things I'm going to want to see is where the heck the dump caps are because that's something I've heard can be "under and around" which would drive me nuts. So that's on my list.

As to size of trailer, I think there's some magic cut-off point where in campgrounds you'd be able to go into the wooded sites OR beyond that size, you'd have to go into more of the parking lot style lineup. Does anyone know what that length is, or is it actually an issue other than now-and-then.

Lots to think about, but after reading all these thoughts, I'm going to try to step it down a notch (thanks July and look just the same, but maybe with a tad more reserve.

[Colliemom]

A trailer of almost any length can be parked in campgrounds. The majority of those I see here in Michigan are in the 26-28 foot range. We have back in sites in our state parks and some pull throughs as well. Private campgrounds usually have a mix of both as well. Now the state forest or national forest campgrounds might be a different story. Most are back ins here. I worked in a state park for 16 years and have watched people with all kinds of rigs back into the sites. Once in a while somebody had a long rig, a tree was in the way, so they went to opposite way on the campground road and got themselves in that way. But 99% of the time, you shouldn't have any problem. I've also seen some people just pull into the site forward and then back themselves out when they are ready to leave, but there have been problems with that too. It depends on the individual campground. If it has narrow roads and small sites where people have to park the vehicles in front of the site or their vehicles close to the road, then sometimes i can get tight when somebody tries to back into a site across from that one. But that doesn't matter whether you are pulling a trailer or driving a motorhome at that point.

Now as to the truck. if you can find a good used truck with the right towing specs and it's in good shape without a lot of miles, I would go for it. If you decide down the road, a trailer is not your thing, you can always resell it. Or keep it and just drive it around for you main vehicle. A lot of us women up here in northern Michigan drive trucks. I like the higher off the road view, the knowledge that I am surrounded by a steel box in an accident and the ability to drive the winter roads here. Haven't owned a car in almost 40 years. I contemplated getting a MH, but decided I don't want to have to maintain two vehicles and have one sitting there doing nothing for 6 months of the year. Plus MI is raising their license plates fees which will be expensive to buy two every year. Our trailers have permanent one time purchase plates, so once we buy the trailer and the plate, we are done. So it made sense for me to have a trailer instead.

So, more food for thought. I'm sure your brain is probably more than busy right now thinking all this over. Melissa did a great job explaining stuff, and the others who chimed in as well. Good luck on your decision. Once you look over that trailer, that will help too. Too bad there isn't a forum sister someplace out your way who could go with you.

[OTW]

That's a good question. In the world of trucks, what is "a lot of miles ?" I know with a Honda car or minivan, a hundred thousand miles is nowhere near the end game but with some other cars that's a lot for its expected lifetime. So that's one question.

I followed the suggestion of someone on the forum to mock up a journal entry and picture it. I did that this morning and several questions come to mind. I keep seeing mentions that 200 miles in a day is a travel day in an RV. In a car, I'm used to thinking 300+ miles per day . Why the difference? How many hours on the road in an RV like a fair size trailer or class A would 200 miles normally take?

Another question – – if you are traveling from point A to point B and not sightseeing on the way, say you want to stop at a Walmart or other boondock "just overnighter" place. I've seen trailer listings showing two way fridge which is electric or propane . Do you turn on your propane while stopped and then off again for travel? If so, what keeps it running while you are underway? I'm assuming it's not common to drive with your propane on but I don't know. It didn't used to be or so I remember being told.

And then I was also wondering something else. If you are pretty much done with driving for the day and it's mid to late afternoon, so you would like to read or get out of the motorhome , do you find a local park somewhere where you can hang out until it starts getting dark? Or what?

Many questions . LOL.

[Azusateach]

Lots of things to consider, aren't there?

Having pulled trailers of some sort most of my RVing life (we now have a 31' Class A), All I can say is that you can't compare car driving to RV driving, except for maybe a smaller Class B. You've got a LOT of rig you're managing, and it takes a real different kind of concentration.

Instead of thinking in terms of miles, I think in terms of time. Maybe that's a California thing. But doing most of the driving, I don't like to go more than about 4 hours. That said, if I'm feeling good I've been known to go considerably longer.

In some states, particularly California, you have towing speed restrictions. We can only go 55mph on the freeways, so your mileage is decreased. The upside of slowing down is that it takes the pressure off to keep up with the Joneses.

The whole "driving with propane on" is an individual decision. We do. With the heat we have in the summer, our fridge just wouldn't stay cold enough & take too long to cool down if we didn't run with it on. We've used the generator in the motorhome when it's hot, so the fridge runs on electricity at that time.

I once had a RV repair guy say that RV fridges are meant to run on propane while on the road. That's how they're built. But that doesn't mean that it's the best way to run. Again, it's a personal preference.

Once you get your rig you'll figure out what's best for you. Keep asking those questions!

Laura

[JudyJB]

I have left my refrigerator on while driving or parked for over four-and-a half years. I know some people do not recommend it, but having it switch automatically from 110 to propane is one of the things that makes an RV so easy--and you have enough other things than to remember to turn a refrigerator off and on all the time! Nearly all have an "auto" switch which causes it to automatically switch from electricity when available or to propane when not plugged in.

And as far as the miles go, Laura is right that driving either a motorhome or a trailer requires a different level of concentration than you are used to in driving your car. RVs are much more sensitive to the wind and also to a big truck passing you, so you need to keep your hands on the steering wheel and keep your eyes out for road hazards, etc. Just settle down into that far right "truck" lane and take it easy. You will be safer and your gas mileage better.

Also, the point is to enjoy the drive. (You will no longer be on vacation, remember, so you will have extra time.) For one thing, you want to leave enough time to stop at someplace you didn't know was there. For example, I remember driving past a strange-looking oversized teepee on a freeway. I stopped at the next rest area to fix something to eat and use my bathroom. I went inside for a map and find out about local things. Turned out that that strange teepee was the visitor center for a buffalo jump. (Where the native Americans stampeded buffalo over a small cliff for eons so they would die from the fall.) The jump was an archeological dig and the teepee was made of peeled logs and intricately made.

Also, I do my grocery shopping during drives between campsites. One advantage of driving my RV is that I can put my cold and frozen groceries away in that operating refrigerator in the parking lot!

With all of this, frankly, that 200 mile drive can take me 6-8 hours, and I am really tired after that "short" drive!

[Acadianmom]

I am someone that seems to do a lot of messing around on a trip so I feel lucky if I average 50 miles an hour. I use to travel longer distances and many times drove 500 miles. Now if I drive 500 miles I am worn out and every day after that make fewer miles. I try not to drive over 65 on an interstate in my motorhome and am perfectly happy to go 55 on the side roads. I think trailer tires are only rated to go 65. I have seen many people pulling trailers going a lot faster than that. I think some of them are the ones that have wrecks.

My motorhome is only 23' but I can really feel a cross wind. It's like trying to control a big box in the wind. I don't even have to see an 18 wheeler coming up behind me, I can feel it. They block the wind as they pass and then the wind hits you again. You really have to pay attention to the traffic all the time.

I am one of the ones that would never drive with my propane on. You will find people in both camps, either on or off. I would either put blue ice or freeze a jug of water to put in my refrigerator while traveling. If I had something that I was worried about getting too warm I would just put it in the freezer for the day. If you don't keep opening the refrigerator it will stay cold. Now my refrigerator is electric only so don't have a choice. I have thought about running it on an inverter but I don't know about amps and watts and all that electric stuff. I don't know what size inverter I would need. If I ever want to boondocks I will have to use an ice chest.

Martha

[Cudedog]

This is a really interesting thread!

Thanks, ladies!

Another thought, since you are familiar with camping in a mini-van, is to just go with a full-size cargo van. That's what I did. Link to my DIY van conversion, below.

I am I guess what one might call a "minimalist" when it comes to the RV route. Thought I would state that up front. Why? Because one of the reasons for exploring RV options, is that I love to visit volcanoes. There are literally hundreds of them, major, minor, extinct, dormant and active - in the Cascade mountain range, that runs from Northern California to British Columbia.

Now, volcanoes tend to be away from populated areas (but not always - if you want to curl your hair, do a Google Earth of Mt. Vesuvius in Italy. The surrounding towns meander up it's slopes. And Vesuvius is an active volcano), so when I went to visit a volcano, I wanted to have someplace to "stay". There are often campgrounds fairly near to volcanoes (Medicine Lake Volcano in Northern California has a nice campground on it's northeast shoulder). To drive around the (mostly) unpaved roads surrounding the Cascade volcanoes would be difficult, if not impossible, with a MH or a TT.

When I was trying to make up my mind, I was asking myself all of the questions that you are asking (good ones, too!) about the pros and cons of MH/TT.

I was also reading this forum, like you are, and (at the time, a few years back) there were a lot of posts from various forum sisters who had purchased an older MH or TT. All had stories to tell about their "money pit". Expensive to purchase, expensive to maintain, expensive to drive, REALLY expensive to repair - and, at the time, these sisters were repairing their MH or TT A LOT.

I worried about a breakdown somewhere out in the back of beyond when traveling by myself.

This got me going down the van road.

Another reason COST: I decided I wanted to purchase new, which I did (a brand-new cargo van can be had at a fraction of the price of even a well-used MH). I purchased it in October 2012, it was a new 2011 still lingering on the lot, and the dealer wanted it $gone$. $$$ASAP$$$ I was happy to oblige, with nearly 1/3 knocked off the original sticker price.

New, to me, means no immediate mechanical worries, and probably not until far in the future - because I will know the history of it's problems and it's maintenance - and I maintain this van well (an aside - a cargo van does not require nearly as frequent oil changes and such as does a car - How do I know? It is stated in the van's owner's manual).

It doesn't require to be $"stored"$ somewhere, when not in use - I just park it in my home's driveway. It looks like a cargo van, so few realize it is a camper.

I jump in it every few weeks to take it for groceries or a quick trip to the mountains. It is there, in my driveway, ready to go at any time. Plus, it is not so good to leave a TT or MH "just parked" for extended periods of time.

One the road, it gets around 20 mpg, it is easy to drive (a bit more attention needed than a car - mainly because my van doesn't have side windows - but not that much).

Easy to drive (high off the ground, lots of visibility - like a pickup - it is a 3/4 ton chassis), easy to park (will fit in any standard parking stall) easy to back up, relatively inexpensive to maintain, has towing capacity of 9000# (should I ever decide to tow - not too likely at this point) on the road or off. Just your basic oil changes, and a set of new tires thus far.

I have not been able to travel with it as much as I had hoped (more travel coming soon!) so it currently has 21,000 +/- worry-free miles on the odometer.

As a minimalist, my converted cargo van (link below) works really well for me. As a minimalist, I wanted to be more "stealthy", so did not want to put any holes in the body work. I just run a heavy duty, industrial type (this is important - your usual Home Depot extension cord will not do the job running a heater or A/C) through a partially rolled-down front window. Yes, even in the wintertime. Yes, even when it is raining - I roll down the window, put the extension cord where it needs to be, roll the window back up to where it is just open a crack (to accomodate the extension cord) then put a large, clear plastic bag (that I carry just for this purpose) over the entire door, then shut the door on the plastic bag. Keeps the rain out!

1. With a cargo van, when I get there, I am "there". Turn off the ignition, plug in, and I am done. No backing up, unhooking, chocking tires, leveling, set-up, fussing around. Nada.

2. For refrigeration, I have a 2-way Dometic refrigerator/freezer (12 volt DC/110 AC) - it will run off my cigarette lighter or off an AC outlet -one can either set it as a refrigerator or as a freezer, but not both at the same time. It looks like, and is the size of a large-ish ice chest. I also have a Coleman ice chest that I have modified by adding about 1" of styrofoam-panel insulation, top, bottom, sides. With the extra insulation the ice chest keeps my "ice blocks" frozen for at least 5 days (in hot weather). I have about 1/2 dozen of the extra-large "ice blocks", some kind of goo sealed in hard plastic that freezes. I start out with freezing solid all of these in my home freezer before I hit the road. At the start of my trip, I put half in the Dometic (set to "freezer") and half in the ice chest. If I stop for several days, again, even in hot weather, the ice chest stays cold for at least 5 days. When I get back on the road, I swap the cold ones from the Dometic with those in the ice chest, and the Dometic will re-freeze them as I drive down the road. Or, if I have plug-ins, I just plug in the Dometic.

3. For A/C (the Cascades can be HOT in the summertime - I stayed at the Medicine Lake Volcano in September, and the outside temp was 105) I have a small, house type A/C unit installed behind the side door of my van. When the A/C is running I leave the door open, so the unit can exhaust the heat to the outside. A/C is a necessity, not only for me but because I travel with my Staffordshire Bull Terrier. Overheated dogs tend to die. This is a bit difficult to explain, check out my van link below for photos.

4. But I do also travel when it is cold. For heat, I have a DeLonghi oil-filled "bathroom" heater:

https://www.amazon.com/DeLonghi-TRN0812T-Portable-Oil-Filled-Programmable/dp/B000G1CXZI

I chose this for several reasons: it is small, rather squat compared to other oil-filled heaters, it never gets really hot (thus low fire danger) - when it is full on, one can still put one's hand on it and not get burned. The specs say nothing within 3' to the front of it and nothing 3' above it, and keep things away from the sides. Perfect for a van. It won't heat up the inside of the van instantly, but it does a fine job of keeping the van warm (the insulation I installed in the van walls helps quite a bit on this too). I found out how well it works when camping a few years ago in January. When I woke up in the morning, I was a bit too warm - checking the inside thermometer it read a toasty seventy degrees (F). Then I went outside to check the second thermometer I had left on the campground table. I was (to say the least) astonished to see that this outside thermometer read a frosty thirteen degrees (F)!

5. For potty, I have a nice top-of-the-line Thetford porta potty (originally recommended by ladies on this forum), for emergencies and sudden middle-of-the-nighters. It is easy to use, and easy to dump and to clean. Don't use it all the time, but it is nice to have it there when I need it.

6. For bathing, I either use campground showers or "solar bag" showers when out in the boonies:

https://www.amazon.com/Coleman-2000014865-5-Gallon-Solar-Shower/dp/B0009PUT20/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1484415167&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=Coleman+solar+shower

This can work well for solar showers, or hot water for dishes. Or, with the hot water, I just take a "sponge bath" inside my van.

7. For cooking, I use your basic Coleman propane stove:

https://www.amazon.com/Coleman-2000020953NP-Triton-Propane-Stove/dp/B00VTJGWNU/ref=sr_1_2?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1484415340&sr=1-2&keywords=Coleman+stove

The only downside is that I can't stand up in it - I can walk around inside, but have to move bent over.

Overall, the good far outweighs the bad.

Questions or comments? Please ask. Happy to oblige.

Thanks.

Anne

[BirdbyBird]

Anne, Kathy and I met a women at the Brown County, Indiana GTG last September that had full-timed for a number of years in a large rig, had left the road for seven years to babysit grandchildren and was just getting ready to head back out with....you guessed it a large white cargo van she had purchased and equipped her self from the ground up. She had had solar panels placed on top of racks that reminded me of the racks that you see on the roof of painter's vans. It was a compact and well planned set up for her and her cat. Definitely no waisted space. Having full-timed before she definitely understood what she needed. She was a great example of a minimalist and did remind me of you and your rig. We each get to define what is "enough", particularly when budgets are not all equal.....but dreams and passions for getting out on the road are.

[Queen]

We'd go in a cargo van in a heartbeat, all set up just the way we want... but for two people it's more cramped than we'd care for at this stage of our lives.

[Colliemom]

As the others have said, how many miles you drive a day depends on where you are driving, interstate vs. two lanes, the weather and things to see along the road. Speed is also of importance as trailer tries are generally rated to 60 mph. max. and you don't want to drive more than that. As Martha said, others will and I have seen them too, swaying down the road and wonder why the lose control later. It also depends on how early you start out and how late you want to drive. The other factor that can play into it too, is where the campgrounds are. When I took my first solo trip out west two summers ago, I used the Allstays Camp and RV app for my IPad that a lot of the ladies on here use, to see where campground were along my route. I also due to the nature of some of the places like Yellowstone being busy, made reservations way in advance of my trip, but I also made them ahead of myself from one day to the next sometimes. If the campgrounds happened to be x number of miles up the road and the next one way too far past that, sometimes I stopped earlier. My intent was to drive about 200 miles a day, but since I was traveling I-90, I was making good time, so wound up doing about 300 a day. But I did do a mix of two lanes too. You want to stop by mid afternoon, so that you can get your campsite, hook up to electric or whatever and take some time to relax, fix your evening meal etc. I walk the campground after I get settled in. Gives me some fresh air after being on the road and my dogs exercise after being in the truck most of the day. And if you are the sociable type, you will sometimes wind up meeting the neighbors or something and sit and chat the evening away or the scenery is spectacular so you sit out and enjoy it. I never stayed in Walmarts or other places, as I am just not comfortable doing that alone. A lot of ladies do, but it's just me.

I have thought of doing the van route too, but i would have to leave it outside all the time and with our winters, it's too hard to drive them around up here, so nixed that idea. And it might be a little too cramped with two large dogs and myself.

[OTW]

Interesting stuff, great answers! Fun side discussions too, so thanks for all that!!

Okay, I looked at it. 26-ft. is a LOT of trailer. However, I absolutely love it, and a plan is unfolding. (Bear in mind I'm new to the forum but have been thinking about this for a long time, albeit without "a plan" defined which is why I've been somewhat all over the place.) So now my questions are:

1. I've heard of seasonal campgrounds having a rule against accepting trailer that are over 10 years old. This one looks new, but it's a 2006. How common is that rule? Would I have a big problem with that in a nice park (just your guess)?

2. In the world of RVing, is a 26-foot trailer too big to do partial cross-country RVing with reasonably easily? I mean, obviously not minimalist, but do people use trailers as big as 26 ft. for RVing? I think so, just wanted to confirm, because it looked awfully big.

3. Setting aside a truck for a moment, can a van pull it? Figure on the full 7K pounds of the trailer's GVWR would be met, even though best intentions otherwise. (Just to be safe because that could easily happen if living in it FT.) If so, what kind of van and specs? How many mpg would such a van as that get if not pulling the trailer? And also, if pulling the trailer?

4. It has a rubber roof. Aluminum siding. Those are things that don't care if you have no stains on your carpets. Are those features any particular issue generally?

Thanks in advance for any answers to those questions. And to all who shined a LOT of perspective on why driving 200 miles per day is typical. I now get the idea! When I had the Winnie Class A (28 ft. as I recall) way back when, we just did little weekend trips but I do remember truck passings. But that was a single vehicle. Wondering how much worse the vacuum would be on a pulled trailer of almost the same length. Yes, driving would be slow and cautious, not cruisy but focused. So yes, probably 200-250 miles a day would be about it. (Good descriptions in the answers people posted, thanks for that!)

[Redetotry]

OTW you asked "Setting aside a truck for a moment, can a van pull it? Figure on the full 7K pounds of the trailer's GVWR would be met, even though best intentions otherwise. (Just to be safe because that could easily happen if living in it FT.) If so, what kind of van and specs? How many mpg would such a van as that get if not pulling the trailer? And also, if pulling the trailer"

Go back to Melissa's post, I think she said you need a van or truck that will pull 10,000 pounds either a E250 or E350. While reading yours posts, you state that you have a back problem and very little upper body strength but you feel you can improve that. I'm not sure how old you are but you might want to see how you do at building upper body strength and if you can stay committed to the exercises before you go into a hitch set up. I find as I age it is harder to build strength and if you were able to quickly build up your strength several years ago, it might take you a bit longer now. Could you find someone who has a hitch and watch how much effort/strength it takes, ideally try it yourself.

You also asked about MPG, I think a lot of that depends on how you drive, if you are driving hills, drive too fast or against the wind etc. all will be variables.

[OTW]

Ah! Thanks Redetotry, I thought she'd said a truck or SUV. My error.

As for back problem and very little upper body strength, I'm sure about the back being weak (or strengthened) by how much I use it over a few weeks. If I sit at my computer or wheel or whatever--3 weeks of nothing but that and I'm a blob not worth beans. If I'm tearing around, getting physical stuff done, it takes very little time to spiff up. I think I'd be able to deal with the hitch cranking. Might take me a little longer than when I had my horse trailer 8 years ago or hitched up my 3500-lb. pop-up 12 years ago, but I'd get it done. (I wouldn't be above sobbing loudly and groaning with the highest of drama if there was a guy in the site across the way watching, however... just in case he wanted to offer to do it for me (oh such a bad mommie, baaaaaaad mommie!) But I publish a bi-monthly and I do my own deliveries which means hauling 30-35 lb. cartons through heavy double glass doors (3 days of it, 6 hours each), hoisting them onto high counters. As for age, I'm 74.

Yup, there are variables in mileage for sure given hills, mountains, etc or significant winds. I was thinking of a general "in city/highway" guestimate for a van that beefy.

[Carolinagal]

I think the info on TT's and tow vehicle has been covered by wiser ladies on the subject.

I wanted to add my two cents on driving time. 16 years ago when I first started traveling alone in my 21ft class C, it was nothing to drive500 miles or more a day. But then I was usually on my way to visit family too. Now, I do the miles I choose. Age increase of 16 years I'm not really up to doing the 500 mile days and I set no limits so miles covered on a long trip vary.

What you're driving, how long you've driven and used to it and your age and how you choose to travel, back roads or interstates all go into factoring your daily miles. Interstate driving I find more tiring but then others have a preference for it. So miles driven a day has no set agenda, it's your own choice and abilities, no competition here.

My two cents I felt compelled to add. enjoy yourself whatever you RV in or wherever you go and however long you take to get there !!!!
CArol

[Redetotry]

Sounds as though you are fairly active and able to lift. You might however want to look at my post about 'Moving the body correctly', I included a video that is really good for neck and shoulders. They are very easy to do. Also if you are looking a rv's online note the prices are very inflated and I've found they immediately reduce the asking price by at least 20%. The one I bought was listed for I think $34,000 and I paid $28,000 and had I been a better negotiator could probably have paid less. The class B's do maintain their value very well. I see my year and model listed for as much as I paid for it several years ago. I have no idea what it actually would sell for but it looks new inside.