Mission Velveta said:
Am I the only one who bought a 32 foot bunkhouse travel trailer and instantly wanted something smaller? With me, unless there is bad weather, we are always outside. The pain in the ass that a trailer that size is to pull, even with a diesel Super Duty, makes whatever size gains we got not worth it.
I plan on downsizing in the next couple years or buying a 5th wheel at minimum if we stay that size. I couldn't imagine pulling a 32 foot travel trailer with a 1/2 ton pickup. Even with the very best sway and weight distribution setup. That would be extremely unpleasant to pull around small towns or state parks or other cramped roadway situations. Not to mention a windy mountain pass. To each their own though.
We started a few years ago with a 27' bumper pull trailer with 1 slide as our first RV. Didn't want to go bigger (costlier) in case we decided it wasn't for us or we just didn't go enough to justify. But after 3 years, we got tired over stepping on/over our dogs, not having a dinette/table and not really enough room to take grandkids with us for any length of time. We traded up to a 35' (ultra-lite) bumper pull with 2 slides which made a tremendous difference in living space although the bedroom and bathroom are virtually identical to what we started with. Now we have plenty of room in the living area, sleeping room for 5 adults or 4 adults plus 2 kids (without bunks) and we are still pulling it with my wife's Tahoe (max 8500 towing capacity). We have the weight distributing anti-sway setup and I installed air bags inside the coil springs of the Tahoe to offset the tongue weight of the trailer. It's fine on level ground as long as it's not too windy. I wouldn't take it into any serious mountains but we've pulled through the Hill Country and Davis Mountains without any issues. Maneuverability can be an issue in tight spaces as you mentioned but haven't had any big issues so far. You do have to have to be more conscious of that issue before you pull in to gas up, eat at a restaurant or whatever with the trailer in tow.
When we retire in 5 years or so, we'll be trading for a 5th wheel for several reasons and will likely be fulltime RV'ers for a while. The Tahoe will be replaced by a truck (F-250 most likely) within the next year.