family of 7

[PaPaMooseP]

Hi folks I have been helping my son look at campers. He has 5 kids,and would like to find one.That dosent put 1 or more of the kids on the sofa and or dinette in the living area. Anyone have any suggestions?Any help would greatly help Thank you

[crunchman12001]

Originally Posted by PaPaMooseP

Hi folks I have been helping my son look at campers. He has 5 kids,and would like to find one.That dosent put 1 or more of the kids on the sofa and or dinette in the living area. Anyone have any suggestions?Any help would greatly help Thank you

What is he using for a TV? (tow vehicle)
He'll need to look at a very large / heavy bunk house model...
Entry level or big bucks?

[elchilero53]

You are looking at something with a rear bunk room and that means a big long trailer or a 5th wheel trailer. With that many kids someone will have to sleep in the galley. What if one decides to bring a friend along? What tow vehicle are you planning to use (or currently use)? I'm guessing a Suburban-style SUV? Or does his wife plan to follow in the family car with some of the kids?

I would shop around. Any RV shows nearby? That is the best place to look at options and floor plans.

[Wobbles]

Originally Posted by PaPaMooseP

Hi folks I have been helping my son look at campers. He has 5 kids,and would like to find one.That dosent put 1 or more of the kids on the sofa and or dinette in the living area. Anyone have any suggestions?Any help would greatly help Thank you

That is a tuff requirement. If price is also a requirement, I would step back and evaluate the possibility of "stacking the kids like cord wood". I do not say this to be smart but depending on the ages, are a couple old enough to sleep in a tent and retreat to the camper when the weather requires it? I think that sheer numbers will cause you to give up the sofa at the least. I had a 2015 Grey Wolf 26BH that slept nine. Three bunks, in reality two bunks with a pad on the floor under the bottom bunk that was considered the third. The tables when used for sleeping can handle one or two six year old kids, no bigger.

Safe Travels...

[ependydad]

We have friends with 6 girls. They're in a long bunkhouse travel trailer. But they only have sleeping arrangements for 4 in the bunkhouse.

My fifth wheel could possibly do it. It has 2 bunks on one side, a bunk on the other, and a queen-size sleeper sofa. It has dual opposing slides in the bunkhouse. I think a couple of campers of like mine had a trundle bed back there for extra room.

But basically- a bunkhouse model camper OR throw some out to a tent. We have friends who do just that in all but the hottest of hot nights.

[SuicideSaints]

I've seen 35-38 foot TTs with a rear bunk room that has 4 beds. If some of the kids are small enough to double up that's doable but that's going to be one long TT. I can't remember the names but maybe the dfsb or qbs in the names.

[Yeti]

There are several manfacturers that have the same basic floorplan as our Rockwood 8312ss travel trailer that might work for you. Like others said it will depend on the TV and if a couple of them can double up. Otherwise some will be on the fold out sofa.

[Ida Ratherbe Camping]

Our Salem will sleep ten. Has a bunkhouse with a full size bed on bottom and two twins for upper. How big are kids.

[rsdata]

on the lower end price range a Roo or Shamrock hybrid with 3 tip out queen sized bunk ends plus a dinette or sofa bed and doubling up might be a consideration... this small sized trailer gives lots of sleeping space.

These max out about 7,000 pounds gross and 23 feet so can be pulled with a 1/2 ton pickup or large SUV.

Make sure you factor in his tow vehicle limitations like Payload and tongue weight when looking for a trailer. MANY posts here from people that bought TOO much trailer for their TV (tow vehicle).

[jeffnick]

My RV sleeps 7, and it floats - can you pull skiers with your camper? She's 28X8 - no slideouts.

[PaPaMooseP]

Thank you folks.TV will be decided with the trailer.The DW will be following in the car.Ages are 15,11,8 and twin 6 yr olds

[johnw32]

I have a Tracer 285 Air by Prime Time which will sleep 5 in the bunk room/house. Sleep 2 in bunks on the left, 1 across the back on top then 2 sleep-n-play cubes that fold out underneath the back bunk. I believe Coachman Apex line has something with a similar layout. A queen bed up front for the parents and still have a sleeper sofa for when guests come along. The Tracer 305 would give a little more room by adding a slide in the bunk room, but still has 3 bunks and 2 cubes.

[DouglasReid]

Originally Posted by ependydad

We have friends with 6 girls. They're in a long bunkhouse travel trailer. But they only have sleeping arrangements for 4 in the bunkhouse.

My fifth wheel could possibly do it. It has 2 bunks on one side, a bunk on the other, and a queen-size sleeper sofa. It has dual opposing slides in the bunkhouse. I think a couple of campers of like mine had a trundle bed back there for extra room.

But basically- a bunkhouse model camper OR throw some out to a tent. We have friends who do just that in all but the hottest of hot nights.

That sounds like the most sensible solution I have read. It allows for a modest size camper towable with the Suburban, etc. It also provides sleeping room most for the kids outside.

[TheWolfPaq82]

We purchased the Cherokee 304BS this year as we always take the grandkids (2) with one due at any time now. Dual opposing slides in the back (3 slides total), two jack knife sofa's and a bunk above each one. With slides out, the back room is roughly 8' x 14' and lots of cabinets. The G-kids have all their toys, clothes...even a play table and it's still roomy enough for 4 more adults. It's big...36' and has a capacity of 11,060 lbs fully loaded (3200 lbs) of gear. We're no where near that weight, but I did get a 2014 GMC 2500HD diesel to pull it.

[DouglasReid]

Originally Posted by TheWolfPaq82

We purchased the Cherokee 304BS this year as we always take the grandkids (2) with one due at any time now. Dual opposing slides in the back (3 slides total), two jack knife sofa's and a bunk above each one. With slides out, the back room is roughly 8' x 14' and lots of cabinets. The G-kids have all their toys, clothes...even a play table and it's still roomy enough for 4 more adults. It's big...36' and has a capacity of 11,060 lbs fully loaded (3200 lbs) of gear. We're no where near that weight, but I did get a 2014 GMC 2500HD diesel to pull it.

Congratulations on your new camper and truck (EXCELLENT choice!). Have you had a Duramax before? There is a forum, Duramaxforum.com that has a wealth of information and some VERY helpful members on it to assist you in maintaining and repairing that vehicle if you are interested.

[Oaklevel]

Personally I recommend a toyhauler with a loft. Our toyhauler will sleep 10 easily it is 36 foot long fifth wheel. The price for a Puma Unleashed is in the low 30s for a similar model.

The toy room has two queen beds that retract into the overhead, the loft is one queen bed, the main table lowers into one queen size bed, and of course the bedroom has one queen bed. Total 5 queen size beds.

[DouglasReid]

Originally Posted by Oaklevel

Personally I recommend a toyhauler with a loft. Our toyhauler will sleep 10 easily it is 36 foot long fifth wheel. The price for a Puma Unleashed is in the low 30s for a similar model.

The toy room has two queen beds that retract into the overhead, the loft is one queen bed, the main table lowers into one queen size bed, and of course the bedroom has one queen bed. Total 5 queen size beds.

ANOTHER EXCELLENT idea!

[ependydad]

A toy hauler is a great idea- you could even ditch the beds and simply put bunk beds back there to sleep everyone.

[The_Rhino]

Originally Posted by johnw32

I have a Tracer 285 Air by Prime Time which will sleep 5 in the bunk room/house. Sleep 2 in bunks on the left, 1 across the back on top then 2 sleep-n-play cubes that fold out underneath the back bunk. I believe Coachman Apex line has something with a similar layout. A queen bed up front for the parents and still have a sleeper sofa for when guests come along. The Tracer 305 would give a little more room by adding a slide in the bunk room, but still has 3 bunks and 2 cubes.

We have the 2-slide PT Tracer 3150 & I like that the kids have their own slide-out bunk room... With slide-out it's roomie enough for 4 kids to sleep on beds & 2 more to sleep on inflatable mattress. Plus they have plenty of space to change clothes w/door closed. The dinette & jackknife sofa/sleeper sofa provide additional sleeping areas but they must be converted to beds every night & the sleeper is difficult to walk-around at night...

For a large family I recommend getting an older 3/4 Excursion SUV or 1 ton van. Anything less will not have enough payload to handle the weight of the passengers plus the 1000-1200 lb. tongue weight of a 8000 lb. TT.

Forget getting a 5er or TT that requires a diesel 1 ton pickup because they would always need to drive a 2nd vehicle which is not desirable for longer trips... It might sound acceptable at first, but my DW would not enjoy having to drive separately every camping trip... Our trips have gotten longer & longer every year... Last trip we logged almost 2,500 miles...

[fedexflyer]

I have 5 kids as well. We went wth the class A. I pulled out the dinette and put in a second sleeper sofa in its place. More room to sit comfortably under way and with a jack knife sleeper on the opposite side I sleep 7 comfortably. For meals that require it, we store a fold out table between the two sofas and just place it in front of the sofa, voila, we have a dinette.
Been all over the country including Alaska with this configuration, over 37,000 miles so far and everyone's happy.
If you're set on a TT, you can make a similar configuration change based on your needs. Good luck!