Travel Trailer Size Experiences & Recommendations?

[Wrench]

I have a arctic fox 26x and it is great. Heavy, but great. Lots of room, killer insulation, big tanks and built like a tank. I did 70 miles in low range with it last year and it's been everywhere in north Idaho.

I've had a Lance camper with a slide and it was nice, but very tall and way over priced for what you get.

 

[lifeisgoodsteve]

I have a 27ft Outdoors RV (ORV) and I absolutely love mine. It is much larger of a rig that I thought I would ever buy but its been great. We mostly camp in the NF random sites and dry campgrounds which is where my ORV comes in. They are built to drive up/down the not so great roads and with LED lights, larger fresh water tanks/grey and black tanks, solar panels you can stay out for a while with a minimum amount of generator use.

Yes, the ORV looks sweet. There was one that looked super nice for livability and really too luxurious to feel I'm camping, the 250RKS I think, but the overall length is about 31.5' so a touch longer than preferred. They seem to have 20+g larger fresh water and notably larger grey water too so it's very tempting.

Really appreciate the actual experiences guys. Certainly sounds like for my uses 21-26ft livable would work, and the Northwood (Nash/AFox) or ORV with their bigger tanks and insulation would fit the bill.

I certainly can park further down the mountain and truck on in, which is really the plan as I don't expect to get to every trailhead with this. Just want a beautiful setting to work in that's remote and not always around a full campground of trailers/tents/folks, as I'll get some of those in anyways to dump and fill etc..

Think I'm set for the range of size and features...now just need to rent out my house for a few months to city-slickers who would love a country home to escape to. Trying to have this be a big win-win-win that includes great hunting flexibility in the Rockies.

Cheers!

 

[X-file]

I see that you are in California. I would check out the dealerships that are in Oregon. Since all of the north woods products are manufactured there I would suspect you’d be able to find the best deal. Ours is an ORV 20bd back country edition. The others we looked at that fit the same idea were the Nash 23d with the slide and the artic fix 22g. We found that the floor plan on the 22g and the ORV were great non slide options which also gave us more options on where to park it. They are all great products and I would find a floor plan in each that you like and then work the best deal you can.


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[Elk97]

Great advice to look at the Outdoors RV and Northwood (Arctic Fox & Nash). We've had our Nash 17K into places that we really shouldn't have, but it made it there and back no problem, (duct tape all the cabinets, fridge, doors, etc closed) put anything loose on the floor cause that's where it's going to end up anyway. Ground clearance is always a concern towing a trailer of any kind, the longer it overhangs the rear axle the more likely it will be to get hung up going through dips, creeks, etc. 10 ply tires are your friend.

 

[Wrench]

The thing I REALLY like about my AF is how it is so easy on propane. I spend 15 days in it in October and use 7 gals of propane.

My last rig would do that in a weekend.

 

[El Gavilan]

I have used 5th wheel toy haulers for the last 10 years with good success. My first one was a 30’ that I flipped the axels on and it worked great. Toy haulers are built with heavy duty frames, large water and waste water tanks and come with 2 large propane tanks as well. My old one was a Forest River Sierra that had 100 gallons of water and could haul 2 atv’s . My new one is a 34.5’ Vortex that holds 160 gallons of water, has a king size bed, solar power, all the fancy bells and whistles, and it came with the axels flipped! You can haul anything that will fit in the back and 5th wheels tow really nice.


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[KBC]

Get something with an outdoor shower and park it somewhere that isn't a pain to haul 20Gal of water to and you can shower forever without filling the grey water tank.

Me and 2 dogs? I'm getting the smallest trailer I can fit a bed, outdoor shower, propane fridge and heater in. Then beef things up.

 

[Underpar]

I see that you are in California. I would check out the dealerships that are in Oregon. Since all of the north woods products are manufactured there I would suspect you’d be able to find the best deal. Ours is an ORV 20bd back country edition. The others we looked at that fit the same idea were the Nash 23d with the slide and the artic fix 22g. We found that the floor plan on the 22g and the ORV were great non slide options which also gave us more options on where to park it. They are all great products and I would find a floor plan in each that you like and then work the best deal you can.


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If you are interested in an ORV, swing by the RV Center in Cordelia and check out some of the models. Then shop for a used one out of state and pick it up on your way to Montana. Should be able to save a decent amount of money that way.

 

[11boo]

Is that 20' total or 20' as they are advertised? For example, most of the ones advertised as 18ft do not include the tongue, which adds another 3-4'.

Yeah the 20’ is pretty much just the camper. Add in tongue and spare tire on back, 4 more feet.

 

[lifeisgoodsteve]

If you are interested in an ORV, swing by the RV Center in Cordelia and check out some of the models. Then shop for a used one out of state and pick it up on your way to Montana. Should be able to save a decent amount of money that way.

Thanks, I saw they have a lot of new ORV as well as a couple used ones in Cordelia, which is very close to me. You read my mind as Montana has 0% sales tax, as well as Oregon.

 

[Silveroddo]

We've run all over the west with a 26' 5th wheel, mainly staying in national forest and state park camp grounds, but also boondocking. Its not a hardcore offroad set up but I hardly ever find a place I can't get it into. We've been running it for 4 seasons and finally outgrew it, I tried to find a bunkhouse in the same length but ended up having to go to a 29' 5th wheel. 5th wheels aren't for everyone but I've had good luck with them and tend to favor the floor plans a little more. Also I've probably owned 10 fifth wheels (from 25-36') 2 bumper hitch campers and a 21' motor home. Out of all of them the little 26' has been my favorite.

 

[Snyd]

We went through this about 7 years ago. I wanted smallish but a bed, couch, table, dual axles, 50gal water. We ended up with an ORV Backcountry 18f. The box is about 19. Weighs 3850 dry. 5500GVW. Great ground clearance and is holding together fine. We've hauled it all over AK and from here down the Alcan to IN, AZ, WA and all point in between. I've been able to get it in some pretty tight spots. The 6.4 Hemi 2500 hauls it with the Griz in the back like a walk in the park. Used to pull it with my 88 Chevy Van with slightly built/strong 350, TH400, 3.73 gears. But I couldn't haul the wheeler!

 

[Blockcaver]

I did a lot of debating this subject 6-8 years ago. I “settled” for a new Northernlite 4-season cab-over truck camper built in Kelowna, BC. Over the 6 years of ownership, living in it for 5 weeks to up to 5 months the year we built our new house, I’ve been very happy with the camper.

Plus side:
- no turn around issues like a trailer
- easy to find a parking place to sleep when traveling
- big Propane refrigerator/freezer (6 cf) is equal to a 150 quart cooler, but no ice needed. I can cut up and store a boned and packaged Coues buck in the freezer in mine.
- electric jacks make taking the camper off a quick easy job
- solar power keeps the twin 6-volt batteries topped up in AZ most days...but you still need a Honda generator for the dark cold days where you run the furnace a fair bit. Also for the microwave. In BC in November I need the generator all the time.
- I back country camp and use the outside shower. 40 gallons of water in the fresh water tank/water heater lasts me a long time.
- 40 pounds of propane lasts me 8-11 days in AZ and I fill when I used one bottle, I.e. I could go 16 -22 days before running out. Note that I usually shut the furnace off at night, but use the water heater, refrigerator and stove/oven like a house.
- screened and shaded thermal windows and 4 roof vents makes sunlight and temperature regulation easy. The power fan is nice at times.
- Queen bed is great
- structurally I have had no issues with my unit and it came with a 6-yr warranty in this regard.
- leaks are not an issue on mine but certainly can be on campers/trailers.

Cons:
- putting the camper on is tricky if you haven’t done it much. Takes some jocking to get the alignment correct, but doable every time!
- you need the max payload capacity on a one ton single rear wheel truck for my Northernlite as they are anything but “lite”. A dually is not a good rig to drive on bad roads, both ice and snow or rougher logging, back country stuff. Be cautious here and understand what your truck can haul before buying a truck camper. That said, I bought my camper first, then ordered the truck I needed, max payload 1 ton single rear wheels in my case. That has worked out well.
- There are plenty of grown in roads I can’t take the camper down as it is 8’ wide and 11’ tall on the truck. AC would add a foot of height but I don’t have it. Plus it would require a larger than 2,000 watt generator to run which won’t fit in the generator box.
- in cold weather, moisture management from cooking and living in it is a consideration. Probably would help if I ran the heat all night, but that would require the generator to run if the furnace is cycling regularly all night. The batteries won’t handle the furnace cycles all night on my rig.

PM a number if you want to chat more. Good luck!

 

[lifeisgoodsteve]

We went through this about 7 years ago. I wanted smallish but a bed, couch, table, dual axles, 50gal water. We ended up with an ORV Backcountry 18f. The box is about 19. Weighs 3850 dry. 5500GVW. Great ground clearance and is holding together fine. We've hauled it all over AK and from here down the Alcan to IN, AZ, WA and all point in between. I've been able to get it in some pretty tight spots.

There’s An Outdoors 18DB used that I’m seriously considering which has I think a similar floor plan as your F, as I do want the couch for longer stays in there. Looks like a very efficient design

without the slide does it feel cramped after a while?

They mentioned condensation on the access door in the bedroom. Have you had that issue?

Like the smaller size for access but just uncertain how it’ll feel after a while.

PS- really tempted to drive it up to Alaska. How trailer friendly are the roads? Any cell reception So I can justify it by working remotely?

 

[Mosby]

I used to have a 19 foot for hunting and sold it years ago. I have been in the market for another. I am probably going to sell my fishing boat next year and buy one.

For me, I have settled on a things that I think are important for me in a travel trailer for hunting and fishing FWIW:

- no more than 17 to 19 foot for 1-2 people. Easier and cheaper to tow and park. Going up mountain passes and back roads out west is a bitch with a large trailer.
- insulated. Some have an "arctic" package.
- minimum appliances that drain batteries. No microwave or oven for example. That also increases storage for canned goods and other stuff.
- Solar hook up.
- Outdoor shower.
- larger tires and increased axle height. Some have off road package.
- some type of shower and toilet.
- no slides. Slides break and get stuck.
- I like fiberglass trailers.

Other upgrades I will probably do: Maxxfan if it doesn't come with one. Add larger and better batteries.
Switch out tires that come with it. Bug covers over vents.

I don't need a lot of room in a trailer. I don't take a lot of people with me hunting and I don't spend a lot of time inside when I am hunting or fishing. I want it primarily for comfortable sleeping and get out of the weather and bugs when needed. IMO a trailer replaces a tent not a home.

Right now, the Escape made in BC seems to be the ideal trailer for what I want and have to spend but I am still working on it.

 

[Blockcaver]

Cell reception was almost non-existent once I get north of HW 16 in BC (the EW road through Prince George, Smitherrs, Terrace, etc). On the Alaskan Highway there was just some in Watson Lake and Whitehorse in the Yukon as I remember...maybe more now, (this was a few years ago). Alaska was sparse except around the cities as well, but again I have dated info.

The Alaskan Highway is rough in the spring with some parts not paved. I drove up on a brown bear hunt in late May and am glad I wasn't pulling a trailer. It took over $20 in quarters to wash the mud off my truck in Fairbanks when I got there.... 1/4" thick fine mud on the truck that dries like concrete! And by the time I went home on June 10 or so the roads were already getting repaired from the frost coming out damage and the gravel sections were graded and quite a bit better. So don't rush up in the spring unless you go before the frost comes out and its cold yet., which makes for crappy camping and sight seeing.

 

[CO-AJ]

SO many factors to consider. Budget is key, ground clearance, suspension design, etc... For an off grid back in the woods hunting application I would recommend either the Northwood Arctic Fox or ORV as mentioned by X-File. Tons of ground clearance, tons of tank capacity, pretty much all are generator ready, and the chassis are custom designed for each trailer. I would say the Northwood and ORV are just about the best built trailers on the market. They are a bit heavier but that is due to 4 season livability and construction process. I went with Northwood and the total length of mine is just over 27' which includes ball to bumper. Lastly, while the above trailers are strong enough to pull into some back woods areas, it is nice enough to take to a state park and live in luxury.

 

[Snyd]

There’s An Outdoors 18DB used that I’m seriously considering which has I think a similar floor plan as your F, as I do want the couch for longer stays in there. Looks like a very efficient design

without the slide does it feel cramped after a while?

They mentioned condensation on the access door in the bedroom. Have you had that issue?

Like the smaller size for access but just uncertain how it’ll feel after a while.

PS- really tempted to drive it up to Alaska. How trailer friendly are the roads? Any cell reception So I can justify it by working remotely?

Plenty of room for the wifey and I. We did a 2 month road trip from here in AK down through Canada made a loop and then back up. The road in the Yukon is rough but we had no problems. Cell service is AK along the road system has a few dead spots. I don't know about Canada. We didn't have a cell to use there.

Condensation can be an issue in any TT. One thing I wish ours had is the "4 Season" package which included dual pane windows.

Have fun!

 

[lifeisgoodsteve]

Thanks all for sharing your real experiences and insights. Pulled the trigger last week on a 2014 Outdoors RV 250RDSW. It's certainly longer than I'd get if just a hunting rig, but it's the perfect space for living in (it seems so far) for 1-3 months during hunting season in the Rockies.

Getting to test it out right away as my truck grenaded the fuel pump in the Arizona desert, so I'm "camping" in Kingman, AZ while parts are shipped and a massive mechanical job is done to replace the entire fuel system (pump, rails, injectors, lines, clean gas tank, etc, etc, et$$$).

First couple nights I enjoyed the scenic beauty outside the Kingman Chevy Dealership.

As painful as it is, life is still good!

Thanks

 

[rayporter]

bummer

well at least you got a home on wheels and no livestock.

may chevy have mercy