New Member - 2012 Armada pulling Coachmen 320BHDS

[Hornswoggle]

and the hits keep coming

[TURBS]

Originally Posted by Hornswoggle

and the hits keep coming

Sorry man !
I truly feel for ya !

[Hornswoggle]

I am just kidding

I need to start my search over. Looking for a bunkhouse...
- Prefer Fiberglass
- Would love (2) slide outs (living qtrs and bunk area)
- Would like storage near the entrance (cabinet door next to the front door)
- Not sure I can find that under 6,500 lbs.

Any suggestions?

[Triguy]

I'm glad to read you're looking anew I'm sure you'll get a bunch of ideas.
Out of curiosity, how many people are in your family, do you plan to tow with the Armada and what kind of camping (dry, boondock, nice CG, etc)?

[Hornswoggle]

We are a family of 5, but we want to bring friends once in a while. I think we will target nice CGs until we learn the roaps. The goal is to hit the Dells, Door County and maybe Branson, MO this summer.

I got tired of putting work first and my kids are growing fast. Time to get focued on what is important and I thought buying a camper was the way to go!

[Dave_Monica]

Originally Posted by Hornswoggle

I took some time to pull the numbers together and sent them to the dealer...

2012 Nissan Armada:
· The GVW of my Armada is 5,922 lbs and the GVWR is 7,300 lbs
o The total passenger capacity on the driver’s door says 1,378 lbs
o My estimated passenger weight is 500 lbs (2 adults, 3 kids, 1 dog)
· The estimated GVW of my Armada “loaded” is 6,422 lbs


· The GCWR for my Armada is 15,100 lbs. If I take the GCWR (minus) GVW of my vehicle, I am left with a maximum trailer weight of 8,678. If that is the case, I am at my limit with the 320BHDS.
o Dry weight of the trailer is ~7,700 lbs
o Add ~ 1,000 lbs for propane, batteries, WDH, and gear
o ~ weight of trailer ready to camp is 8,700 lbs

· Tow vehicle maximum loaded trailer weight rating = 9,000
· Tow vehicle maximum tongue weight rating = 900

Seems like a risky choice...

I'm glad that you're seeing the risk in terms of payload and towing capacity but don't forget about the camper length verses the wheelbase of the tow vehicle. This combo is out in never, neverland as far what's recommended.

Dave

[Cajun Po-Boy]

Originally Posted by Hornswoggle

I am just kidding

I need to start my search over. Looking for a bunkhouse...
- Prefer Fiberglass
- Would love (2) slide outs (living qtrs and bunk area)
- Would like storage near the entrance (cabinet door next to the front door)
- Not sure I can find that under 6,500 lbs.

Any suggestions?

2 slide BH under 6500lbs will be tough...I did see the Surveyor, single slide triple bunk, comes in around 5500lbs...maybe 26-28'L, you might want to check out...keep the search going!

[Gizmo0706]

Originally Posted by Hornswoggle

I am just kidding

I need to start my search over. Looking for a bunkhouse...
- Prefer Fiberglass
- Would love (2) slide outs (living qtrs and bunk area)
- Would like storage near the entrance (cabinet door next to the front door)
- Not sure I can find that under 6,500 lbs.

Any suggestions?

Have you considered the 292BHDS in the same Coachmen freedom lineup? It has one big slide but I doubt you will find a double slide unit in your weight range.
The specs on the 292BHDS
hitch weight 740
Base weight 5492
GVWR (not 100% sure, around 6800)

It is still pretty long, but that doesn't seem to be a concern for you at this time.

[Hornswoggle]

Any thoughts on the Palomino SolAire 307QBDSK? It comes in under 6K lbs and has a hitch weight of 834 lbs.

[Dave_Monica]

That camper may be closer to 7200 lb ready to camp and a tongue weight of 936 lb (13% of loaded weight) and will still be too much for the available payload of your TV. That camper is 34' long and shouldn't be considered to be towed by anything shorter than a SC or CC shortbox pickup. I don't think you understand that a long camper and short wheelbase tow vehicle can be a 'white knuckle' experience in terms of sway.

Dave

[Hornswoggle]

Then the Coach 292 might be our next best option or the Keystone 31BH.

[Cajun Po-Boy]

Originally Posted by Dave_Monica

That camper may be closer to 7200 lb ready to camp and a tongue weight of 936 lb (13% of loaded weight) and will still be too much for the available payload of your TV. That camper is 34' long and shouldn't be considered to be towed by anything shorter than a SC or CC shortbox pickup. I don't think you understand that a long camper and short wheelbase tow vehicle can be a 'white knuckle' experience in terms of sway.

Dave

X2

When we had a 32' bunkhouse TT (38.5'L hitch to bumper) & towing with a 3/4 ton crewcab truck, some headwinds/crosswinds/semis were sometimes challenging to control the billboard like camper I was towing.

I can not even imagine trying to to that same length or little shorter than this with a SUV...will not be pleasant unless I'm driving down the block and parking it!

[MtnGuy]

1 thing I didn't see yet in all of the discussions is the Armada receiver hitch ratings.

Many times, a receiver hitch will have a maximum weight distributing load rating of 10% of the maximum tow rating. In the case here, that might be a 900 lb. weight distributing maximum. There should be sticker on the hitch stating a maximum weight carrying, and a maximum weight distributing rating. Those figures should not be exceeded. A trailer with a listed tongue weight of 700 lbs. might be over 900 lbs. when ready to camp.

[Hornswoggle]

There is a sticker on the hitch of my Armada that says it is rated for 10,000 pounds and 1,000 pound hitch weight. However, the manual and all my other research says that I should not tow more than 9000 pounds and should not exceed 900 pound tongue weight.

The good news is I was able to take information that all of you provided me last night and show my wife the math, which has her also convinced that the 320 we were looking at would be a risky proposition.


I have her looking at the coachman 292 BH and the Keystone Premier 31 BH. They are a little long, But they both weigh under 6400 pounds and have a low hitch weight

[hockeytownmom]

Are those dry weights?

[hockeytownmom]

I'm having a hard time envisioning a small SUV towing something so big.

I'm looking at the Coachmen and it looks like the GVWR is somewhere around 6798lbs and the dry tongue weight is 740lbs.

On a side note to anyone who can answer, why does the Armada have higher tow rating than my Suburban? Is it because my truck is heavier and deducts from the tow capacity?

[MtnGuy]

Originally Posted by Hornswoggle

There is a sticker on the hitch of my Armada that says it is rated for 10,000 pounds and 1,000 pound hitch weight. However, the manual and all my other research says that I should not tow more than 9000 pounds and should not exceed 900 pound tongue weight.

That is good thing when the hitch is rated for more than the tow rating of the vehicle.

[Hornswoggle]

I don't know why, but the length seems to be less of a concern for me than the weight. I realize that I don't have the longest wheelbase, but the Armada is a beast. I have 3 kids and a dog, so I need to space a bunkhouse provides and I have not found a bunkhouse that fits our needs/wants that is less than 30'.

The length that they list is tip to tail and the camper itself seems to be 29' for the coachmen and 31' for the keystone. I know, I know...I want my cake and I want to eat it too

I live in Illinois and it is flat here as well as where we plan to take this toy (MO, WI, IN)

[Gizmo0706]

[QUOTE=

On a side note to anyone who can answer, why does the Armada have higher tow rating than my Suburban? Is it because my truck is heavier and deducts from the tow capacity?[/QUOTE]

I had a Gmc Yukon XL and it weighed about the same as our Sequoia so I don't think weight is the problem. I don't know about the Armada but the Sequoia is pretty stout and pulls MUCH better than my GMC ever did. As for the difference in tow ratings, I would say the Armada has more power, more gears, and a better rear axle ratio. I went from a 7200# tow rating on the GMC to a 9600# rating on the Toyota. Then after I bought my trailer I found that Toyota adopted the SAE tow standards and lowered the rating to 7200#
You can't win, just buy a dually diesel and pull a pop-up and everyone should be happy!

[hockeytownmom]

I'd love a diesel dually, already did the pop up, grew out of it and can't fit all my kids in truck. :-/ We have 7 people in a 3 bed hybrid - it works, but we're in love with a 5er.