Greg Parker
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With six of them total and all the stuff that kids would have???
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If you can't extend your living area to the outdoors, I have to ask why you're RV'ing in the first place. I had a manger a couple of years ago ...she, her husband, 17 year-old youngest child and THREE dogs did 2 full years RV'ing around in a relatively tiny 20' trailer (with one pop-out). Their strategy was that wherever they went, they planned on setting-up camp for at least 4 weeks (sometimes 6). They had the screen tent like I mentioned and their youngest son preferred sleeping in a tent outside.
Make no mistake ...if I had to LIVE in a camper with my wife, 4 kids and 2 dogs ...I'd want a 38' 5th wheel. But the world of RV'ing (glamping) is littered with options and flexibility. Aside from thinking about upgrading my camper (to a Lance 2445), I'm also thinking about buying 30-40 acres and having a $9K steel building put on it (pre-plumbed for a kitchen and large bathroom). We'd keep the RV in 1/3rd of the space (40x50 or 40x60) and start building-out more amenities.
I mean heck ...my grandparents toured the entire country (sometimes with us grandkids) in an old '72 Ford F250 with a pretty tiny Born Free pick-up bed camper. Loved every minute of it. It all boils down to attitude, duration of stay, and a willingness to have some of your amenities outside. Personally, when camping / glamping, I'm pretty much only inside the camper if it's over 95F outside, I need to #2 / #3, or I need to go to bed. My kids are a little "softer" than that, but they've come a long way and I'm still working on 'em (my oldest likes to sleep in an enclosed hammock I string-up for him).
This thread actually turned me on to the Lance brand. I hadn't looked at any of their options. The 2455 fits what we need weight wise but obviously we'd like something a little longer with a dedicated couch.
The only problem in finding a trailer that would work for us was the hitch weight. The hitch weight puts us over max payload if it goes over 600lbs and any of the dedicated bunks are like 700 to 750 if not more. From what I understand if we're over payload even a little it could lead to insurance claim problems and even worse I dont want to endanger anyone, least of all my family.
Believe me, if I didn't have to eat 10k by trading in this Expedition, we would be looking at a 5th wheel and a new truck. (We bought this last year before the full time idea came around) Love the Expedition, just wish it had a bit more payload.
Brad ... I really don't think you need to worry about getting all the way up to 800# tongue-weight. Between a well-setup WDH and maybe those better tires I mentioned, I wouldn't hesitate for a minute on that Lance 2455. Nice rig. There are lighter ...and at the same time bigger options; however, I'm really leaning towards upgrading to the Lance because I know I could easily get 20+ years of relatively trouble-free use (kinda like they USE TO make campers).
The other thing ...and I don't know if I mentioned it here, or it was on a different thread ...but there is a very high-end WDH from a company called "ProPride" (the "3P Hitch") that my buddy has and he has nothing but great things to say about it. That bugger is $2400-$2900 depending on your tongue weight, but from what he tells me, his 600# tongue weight feels like nothing on his Durango. Personally, I opted to just get the "cheap" Husky ...which still seems great to me ...but if I pull the trigger on a $40-$50K Lance, I'll probably get one just for the added amount of towing stability and comfort.
Heck...I might have a very slightly used Husky TS (for 800-1000# tongue weight) for sale in the next 45 days!