What is the perfect travel trailer length?

[GFD47]

National Parks often limit to 26' so if you plan to visit a lot of them think about that issue. We have a 28' and there are lots of NP spaces we cannot fit into. That said, most NP's have a few longer sites but you have to be quick on the draw to reserve any NP site, and even quicker to reserve a long one.
After owning a 22' we got tired of always putting the bed up and down, not being able to nap during the daytime, and getting the whole bathroom wet when we showered. Our criteria were: bedroom with a door that closes, separate shower stall, decent kitchen counter space without having to cover the sinks, and a rear kitchen because DW doesn't like her work space being part of the general traffic pattern. Given those requirements our 2015 Wildcat Maxx 28RKX is perfect for us. We do visit lots of NP's, but the space and floorplan of our 28' overrode the NP site limitations.

[Marc J]

Keep in mind that a tt listed as 25’ is really 22’ plus the hitch. I would think with two kids you would want to be around 28-30 ft. That space gets small on rainy days

[GFD47]

Originally Posted by Marc J

Keep in mind that a tt listed as 25’ is really 22’ plus the hitch. I would think with two kids you would want to be around 28-30 ft. That space gets small on rainy days

That was true of my 1984 Prowler, which was listed as a 24 but had a 22' box. My 2015 FR is listed as a 28 and has a 28' box, 31' overall. I think most newer trailers are listed showing the actual box length.

[MillMitch]

Originally Posted by dm6

I guess my thinking now is that we hopefully won't be inside that much except to sleep. We have a popup now and really just go in it to sleep, wash hands, make lunch, etc. but of course stuff is all over the place since there is no room for anything. If it is raining, we will go in there too and lay down and read or play a game or something, but of course we are all just crammed into the dinette. Even if it rains though, sometimes I just sit underneath the awning. Maybe I am just hoping that it will stay that way where everyone wants to be outside. I suppose with a trailer though, it will open up possibilities of going camping earlier or later in the year when the weather is not as nice so we would be inside more then. So probably if there is only a dinette, it may not be enough since there is no other place to sit, right? Is it useful to have a couch as well (which is why the murphy bed idea sounds good)?

Lots of good advice above, so I'll throw mine in. First, as noted, everybody's priorities are different and are reflected in their RV. We started out tent camping with our 3 kids, then bought a pop up. Old school pop up (I think it was a Nimrod?), basically a low open trailer with a bunk slide on each end, and a large canvas tent that snapped onto the trailer around a large aluminum set of poles that slid into the trailer. Trailer had lift up bench along one side, and we slept 2 kids in bunk and one on floor. Kids hit Jr high/H school and we started vacationing in hotels and condos. Bought our first TT in fall of 2017, but kids are grown and weren't planning on camping with us very often. First priority for me was being able to tow behind my wifes Durango. Being completely clueless about towing specs, I picked a couples camper that was 2100# under my max tow, and lucked out. I'm maxed out, but 80# under my rear axle limit. (I CAT scale every summer to check rear axle). I had to chuckle at your comment above, because your camping experience was different from ours. RAIN. I'll bet half the time we went tent/popup camping it rained and we had to dry everything out when we got home. You will more than likely be looking at bunkhouse models, which will provide different floor plan options. I was used to cooking on a propane stove and didn't want an exterior kitchen because of the interior space lost, but a lot of people love the exterior kitchens w/ stove. Our TT is 28.5' long tip to tail with about 23' of trailer. We've camped almost exclusively at state parks and haven't had an issue getting a spot (electric sites fill up fast though, which is a bigger issue). Traveling with just 2 of us means Payload is less of a consideration, almost everything goes in the TT. I don't haul water or firewood (which isn't legal in most state parks anyway her in MN). With 2 growing kids, you'll need to think about payload. You can probably assume the loaded Tongue will be 125%-150% of the dry tongue weight. Rough guess, but short of CAT scaling it should get you close. My 600# tongue is about 825# loaded, but the WDH pushes about 80# back to the trailer axles, which tends to put me close to my 720# max on the Durango.
Lots of choices, have fun and enjoy the camping.

[NJKris]

Originally Posted by GFD47

That was true of my 1984 Prowler, which was listed as a 24 but had a 22' box. My 2015 FR is listed as a 28 and has a 28' box, 31' overall. I think most newer trailers are listed showing the actual box length.

Not Rockwoods. They specify entire trailer length. Mine is a 20', but box is only about 17.5'

[pgandw]

For us - 1) it has to fit in the garage. Which means overall length just under 21ft, and under 7ft high. 2) Doesn't require a pickup truck to tow it.

Those restrictions limit us pretty severely - which is OK, since going camping to live inside - why? We have a house to live inside of. If we were full timing, that might be different.

DW would prefer a non-folding trailer. But that's the only way to get standing headroom in a trailer 7ft high.

Fred W
2019 Flagstaff T21TBHW A-frame
2008 Hyundai Entourage minivan
camping Colorado and adjacent states one weekend at a time

[Tom 2424]

Another vote here for a 26' with a Murphy Bed. Great use of space, and fairly easy to fold up and lower. It fits our needs perfectly.

We have a long, steep, narrow, winding driveway and the trailer we have is just about all we could manage... Kind of like a video game coming and going.

[RedLdr1]

Originally Posted by ppine

I have owned a lot of RVs. I like 24 feet with a murphy bed.

Hmm, that pretty well describes our RP-192. We've owned everything from pop ups, hybrids, big TT's and Class C motor homes. For just the two of us our R-Pod works just fine.

[mike.t]

Age factor does have something to do with the thought. I'm in my 70s, I can still back in just about anywhere, can go down the highway without scaring the ^%#* out of DW or other motorists, we also want to be comfortable and be able to walk around without saying scuse' me while making breakfast or an afternoon snack. Two TVs are also good. Again though, there is no real answer to this question.

[AlaskaErik]

Originally Posted by ppine

Not everyone likes murphy beds for some reason. It is the only way to get a couch in a trailer under about 26 feet.

Two reasons I won't get a murphy bed.

1. I'm tall and I've never seen a murphy bed that has an 80 inch mattress.

2. RV mattresses were designed by someone who must have previously been an information extraction specialist with a third-world intelligence service. The only way to make one comfortable enough to actually sleep on requires adding a memory foam topper, which means tearing down the bed and storing the topper somewhere else when converting back to a couch.

[ARhappycamper]

Originally Posted by NJKris

Not Rockwoods. They specify entire trailer length. Mine is a 20', but box is only about 17.5'

No. Mine is a 2614 and is over 29' long.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by ppine

There is no perfect RV sums it up, but 24 feet comes close.
Not everyone likes murphy beds for some reason. It is the only way to get a couch in a trailer under about 26 feet.

Our TT is under 26ft and we have a walk-around queen bed and theater recliners with console.
We hate Murphy beds because the sofas they create are uncomfortable.

[flyflotrtim]

Mine! 24 feet, lots of room with the slide out. Perfect for 2 adults or a couple with 2 young kids (or old kids who an sleep outside in a tent). Any longer than 28 feet you become very limited in available Forest Service campsites; we moved to a shorter trailer for this reason.

[dm6]

Well, I finally went out and looked at some trailers yesterday for the first time and am even more confused now! lol. We looked at everything from 20' to 28' and I guess in my mind I imagined just a small 20 footer would be nice because it would be a big step up from the pop up and still be quite small but it really is pretty cramped in there. Then there are some mid 20's (which are actually closer to upper 20's tongue to bumper) and those seemed pretty nice. Even ones without a slideout, if arranged well, seemed pretty roomy. It does seem nice to have a couch in addition to the dinette so 4 people aren't crammed in a dinette if stuck inside due to rain. All of the ones with the murphy beds we saw were not very comfortable and the mattress folded and was thinner. I have not found one locally similar to the 2509s which looks like it may be more comfortable with the one piece mattress. We are both short so length of mattress is not an issue. And then finally the 28 footers, which are about 31' tongue to bumper, featured the dinette and the couch next to it and then I start saying "it's only another foot and a half longer, what's the big deal"? But now I am up over 5 feet longer than originally planning. But is that a big deal? Is that much more limiting or harder to maneuver? Does that require a bigger truck (which I don't have yet anyways)? Ahhhh!! Too many decisions!! Camping is supposed to be fun, not stressful!!

[pgandw]

Originally Posted by dm6

...We looked at everything from 20' to 28' and I guess in my mind I imagined just a small 20 footer would be nice because it would be a big step up from the pop up and still be quite small but it really is pretty cramped in there. Then there are some mid 20's (which are actually closer to upper 20's tongue to bumper) and those seemed pretty nice. Even ones without a slideout, if arranged well, seemed pretty roomy. It does seem nice to have a couch in addition to the dinette so 4 people aren't crammed in a dinette if stuck inside due to rain....And then finally the 28 footers, which are about 31' tongue to bumper, featured the dinette and the couch next to it and then I start saying "it's only another foot and a half longer, what's the big deal"? But now I am up over 5 feet longer than originally planning. But is that a big deal? Is that much more limiting or harder to maneuver?

Yes, you will notice the extra length and height when towing compared to your current pop-up. Especially if you need a bigger tow vehicle. The question that only you can answer, are the gains worth the pain?

A lot is going to depend on your camping style, and what your priorities are. You mentioned 2 kids plus 2 adults. When we had a PUP as the kids turned into teenagers, they specifically requested to sleep in a separate tent, rather than inside with us. That has carried over to our current A-frame - which does have the dinette that converts into one extra bed. When the now grown kids come with us, they will usually use a separate tent.

We have always been outside campers - our preferred camping style. So not having much beyond a dinette and galley plus bed inside is OK with us.

A PUP gives tremendous open and airy living space compared to anything else its length because of the window expanse and the slide-out ends. But PUPs are much more of a pain to set up and take down than anything else besides tents.

We gave up the extra space of the PUP to move to an A-frame. #1 and #2 priorities for us were store in the garage and towed by a minivan. The A-frame met these as well as a PUP did, but gave us much simpler setup and take down. The DW liked the hard sides better, and there are a reasonable amount of windows. But I did miss the extra space provided by the same 12ft box because of the slide out beds.

We moved up to a 14ft box high wall A-frame, with the same TV. The extra 4ft of length (2ft in the box, and 2ft for the front storage compartment) is noticeable towing and maneuvering. I have adapted, but I do miss the ease of towing with the smaller A-frame. I cannot see over the top of the high wall A-frame, and I have to be more careful on turns. The extra air resistance causes the transmission to kick down more often, and gas mileage towing dropped from 17 to 14. Raising the bigger roof requires a working electric lift or fitting a gas strut system.

The gains of the bigger A-frame were outside-accessible storage and inside living. Storage without having to go into the camper every time was/is important to our outside lifestyle. However, if you live inside your camper, inside storage is more important. The high wall sides allow 30" high cabinetry, stove, bigger sink, and a higher microwave - all of which is very nice. The 2ft longer box gave us the option of using the bed as twin beds lengthwise or a king bed across. Most importantly, we have a space for the fixed cassette potty - a necessity for DW to continue camping while she went through 18 months of chemo.

For our particular needs and camping style, we probably have the best option available. If I had a garage tall enough, I would probable consider carefully a small hybrid to gain the space of the slide-out beds without the extra length.

Fred W
2019 Flagstaff T21TBHW A-frame
2008 Hyundai Entourage minivan
camping Colorado and adjacent states one weekend at a time

[jannjim]

for any length...access to the bathroom and fridge is a priority for us when the slides are in...

[chriscowles]

Originally Posted by AlaskaErik

... I've never seen a murphy bed that has an 80 inch mattress. ...

Rockwood's Murphy beds are real queen mattresses, i.e., 60x80. The mattresses are bad but that's not unusual for any travel trailer. We replaced ours with an 8" Zinus memory foam. It works well with the Murphy mechanism and is very comfortable. Others are happy with foam toppers but the important point for you is they're really 80" long.

[chriscowles]

Originally Posted by dm6

... We looked at everything from 20' to 28' and I guess in my mind I imagined just a small 20 footer would be nice because it would be a big step up from the pop up and still be quite small but it really is pretty cramped in there. ...

A possible issue with a smaller trailer is the size of the tanks. Obviously they're limited by the space available under the frame, and GVWR limits, but some are so small as to be almost pointless.

Not everybody needs big tanks so they can boondock for weeks, but do take into consideration how you hope to use the trailer and whether the tank size allows you to do that. Since you have a family, water consumption (and gray/black production) may be higher, as well.

[AlaskaErik]

Originally Posted by chriscowles

A possible issue with a smaller trailer is the size of the tanks. Obviously they're limited by the space available under the frame, and GVWR limits, but some are so small as to be almost pointless.

Not everybody needs big tanks so they can boondock for weeks, but do take into consideration how you hope to use the trailer and whether the tank size allows you to do that. Since you have a family, water consumption (and gray/black production) may be higher, as well.

The one mid-size trailer I've found that has very good fresh water and holding tank capacity is the Keystone Cougar half ton series. While most of their trailers would be a challenge for many half tons, except for one of the 22 footers, the mid-size lineup has a 60 gallon fresh water tank, 76 gallon gray tank and 38 gallon black tank. Tank capacity is one of the first things I look at when checking out trailers. It amazes me how many manufacturers put in tanks that leave you with too little fresh water capacity and/or holding tanks that are way out of proportion to the fresh water tank.

[Underthedog]

Do Facts and Reason actually work for you then, Brother Les?

Originally Posted by Brother Les

30 feet.

(I have one now that is 35feet and some days it is too long, I had one that was 30ft and easier to pull/control/work on). You should get one that has two slide outs (that will always work).




The adage is..... "The one that the wife tells you she wants..."

But.... The wife does not (drive) pull it or work on it when 'things' do not work.... compromise with facts and reason.


get one 'around' 30ft.....


imo