Travel Trailers

[Knox GSL]

Looking at all these rigs from a professional standpoint and I wouldn't want to pull anything over 20ft with a swb exp, maybe 24 with an EL. I travel a lot driving tractor trailers and I'm assuming that the camp grounds are a similar rodeo as the truck stops are in the evening with rookie driver's. I see all kinds of questionable things on the road that should never leave the driveway but the DOT doesn't care because there's no money in giving them citations like the big trucks. Another thing is if a rig isn't safe to run 70+ on the highway it really shouldn't be there. I'm not really into the travel trailer thing as my idea of vacation is not keeping up with a truck and trailer. I was reading through this as I'm thinking of getting a 20ish ft boat that's under 6k lbs on the trailer.

 

[B-McD]

Knox - Can you point to any doc where it states the differences between the SWB and EL versions? The difference is miniscule at best and would be clearly published by Ford and others if there were issues. No one with a travel trailer should be running 70+ mph. Not only is it over the speed limit in almost all states for trailers as you obviously know, it is also over the rating of most of the tires on the trailers. Not to mention the exponential drop in MPG at that speed. My 30' trailer pulls great with my SWB and a good WDH, even in cross winds. Now a careless driver with a case of overconfidence, that's another story.

 

[07xln]

Knox - Can you point to any doc where it states the differences between the SWB and EL versions? The difference is miniscule at best and would be clearly published by Ford and others if there were issues. No one with a travel trailer should be running 70+ mph. Not only is it over the speed limit in almost all states for trailers as you obviously know, it is also over the rating of most of the tires on the trailers. Not to mention the exponential drop in MPG at that speed. My 30' trailer pulls great with my SWB and a good WDH, even in cross winds. Now a careless driver with a case of overconfidence, that's another story.

The difference between the two is a foot of wheelbase. I’d hardly call that difference minuscule. The EL just tows things better period.

 

[Knox GSL]

Knox - Can you point to any doc where it states the differences between the SWB and EL versions? The difference is miniscule at best and would be clearly published by Ford and others if there were issues. No one with a travel trailer should be running 70+ mph. Not only is it over the speed limit in almost all states for trailers as you obviously know, it is also over the rating of most of the tires on the trailers. Not to mention the exponential drop in MPG at that speed. My 30' trailer pulls great with my SWB and a good WDH, even in cross winds. Now a careless driver with a case of overconfidence, that's another story.

I think the difference is 17" and the reason I didn't get one as it wouldn't fit inside my garage. I'm not saying you should run 70 just that if it's not smooth at 70 then it shouldn't be on the Rd. I rarely drive over 70 without a trailer because of fuel issues. For the most part people with motorhomes and travel trailers scare the crap out of me. The general group here not so much as most that post here seem to be the type of guys that are safety minded and go a little overboard with "doing it the right way" but most people don't.

 

[B-McD]

The difference between the two is a foot of wheelbase. I’d hardly call that difference minuscule. The EL just tows things better period.

07 - Sorry I wasn't clear - I meant the towing differences between the two wheelbases is not that great. I towed with a F150 Supercrew for the first year I had the trailer and the past two years with the Expedition. Both felt about the same towing with the EcoBoost getting up and rolling faster than the V8. For some reason the Expy just seems to be easier to deal with when backing up the trailer. Just a personal observation.

And as Knox says, most of us have some experience and are careful but I also get passed by guys with trailers and I give them plenty of leeway!!

 

[07xln]

Have to use this trailer

To get my toys over to this trailer

 

[J_82]

That toy hauler is huge. Awesome

 

[ynpmoose]

27' 1999 Sunline Solaris (approx 4500# dry)

 

[J_82]

That’s nice how many does it sleep?

 

[chuck s]

Travel trailers like this typically have one (1) small queen size bed and, perhaps, some very narrow beds for children. In theory the dinettes convert to beds but they're unsatisfactory -- good for guests you don't want back!

If you prefer or are willing to sleep under tentage there are hybrid travel trailers with queen beds on each end like we have. Still have the lil' bathroom, galley, dinette,etc. but the beds are on the ends. My wife insists on this type and claims she sleeps better camping than at home. My 23 foot hybrid opens to about 30 feet once the beds are deployed.

-- Chuck