Looking at getting a camper, nothing big just enough for my small family. Im looking around a 20' trailer. If anyone has any advice that would be great.

Im liking 2 campers right now, R-Pod RP177 178 or 179 and Sonic SN200VML, possibly a Jayco. But i really want one that has a sliding attachment for it being a 20', any extra room i can get would be better.

I would really like to see some pics if anyone has a camper thats around the same thing I'm looking into. Ill be calling tomorrow and find out the financing for it and hopefully get some clue of what I'm looking at for a price range.

 

I'm not familiar with those ones you mentioned so no advice there. But as far as real world pricing goes take whatever the dealer says the list price is and subtract 30% from it, this is your target price, so begin your offers lower than that.
Will most of your camping be at full hookup campgrounds or will you be boon docking with it? If you won't be having hookups then water tank sizes become very important, fresh and grey especially.
When shopping, have the whole family along and move around like you are preparing a meal to get a good feel for the layout and work room. Have everyone sit at the table or dinette like you would for a meal, make sure you all fit and are comfy. Take off your shoes and try out the beds both for comfort and fit. Don't be shy about hopping into the shower to see how usable that space is for you, and give the toilet a test sit to check for usable room there too. Pay close attention to all of the storage space and try to make a list up ahead of time of what will be getting packed for trips, then imagine where and how that gear will go in each trailer. Look in every cabinet and pantry and compare the food and clothes storage space between trailers. Pay close attention to the floors as you walk around in them and avoid units with floors that flex under your weight. All trailers are built with lightweight cheap materials so be prepared for that but don't settle for poor fit and finish.
When all is said and done you want to be comfortable and regret free when out camping so you can truly relax and enjoy the family and the adventures.
Good luck and happy camping!

 

Just make sure it's big enough for your family (present AND future). We tent camped for years till my wife had a bad car accident in '05. This left her with a fused right ankle and multiple breaks. This makes tenting quite a pain for her. We started with a popup camper. It had a 12' box and king beds on each end. It was 25' when opened but no bath/toilet. I'm the only man in our family (wife and two daughters) and I didn't like them having to go across the campground in the middle of the night to go pee. So we upgraded to a travel trailer with a SMALL slide and enjoyed it but it was tight so we sold it and bought what we have now, a Starcraft Autumn Ridge 309BHL (Floorplans | Autumn Ridge | Select Travel Trailers | Starcraft RV). All this being said, make sure you get a unit that is big enough for everyone to move around in and not be on top of each other. Small things like the number and size of windows can matter (natural light). Also everything that WE3ZS said it true. Jayco is usually one of the better made units and so is Starcraft (owned by Jayco) and build quality is something MAJOR to look at. We had a Surveyor by Forest River and I was not impressed by the build quality. We just had too many things coming loose and screws pulling out. Anyway, good luck on shopping and enjoy the camper when you get it. BTW here is a link to "The Camper Thread! Pulling, using, equipment and maintenance!" that has some good information. I have a pic of my setup on p.40. https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l#post14407405

 

i was looking around the camper threads here and just wanted to see what the EX community had to say about it since i own one and will be pulling this thing from HomerAK to Texas so we will be going through the Yukon again and wanted a camper to do that since last time it was horrible with almost 10hr drives between hotels plus iv always wanted a camper no more tents for this guy.

I'm looking for campers around the 22k mark now and have 45 days to find one, thanks for the advice guys.

 

So since I bought 2 campers last year. One was a used Coachman Freedom Express that was turned into tooth picks when I got cut off. The Second one is a Sunset Trial.

As already mentioned make sure you buy big enough! You will find out how fast you run out of room. You do not want to be tripping over each other.

Things to look for:
1) layout- find one that you and your wife like.
2) look at the size of the fresh water, gray and black water tanks
3) look at the battery set up(if you plan on doing stand alone camping with no plug in power this is important)

4)bathroom layout. (my wife wanted a stand alone shower)
5)kitchen setup (cold food storage is important for a long trip)

Now the biggest thing to remember is not to rush into the purchase. Take your time.

Let's look at the tow vehicle.

1) how are the springs on your EX? If they are stock replace them with a minimum of V's up front and B's on the rear. Plenty of threads on that on the forum

2) look at airbags. Amazon has great deals on the setup.
3) rear sway bar- Hellwig if you don't have a stock one. Once again Amazon for the win again.

4) get a quality WD hitch. this is what I have.
5) make sure your factory receiver is in good shape.
6) make sure you have a decent brake controller. I run the top one that Tractor supply sells. It seems that most here like Prodigy products.

 

Once you have picked out the trailer and have made the purchase, you have to figure out how to maximize space.

Setup the trailer in the driveway and spend the weekend in it at the house. Sounds silly, but is worth it. Use it like you would when you would go camping. Get to know it. Figure out what you want to leave in it when not in use. Where you want to put stuff. etc.

Go to the local Family Dollar or any other dollar store around you and look for what you need. You would be amazed how much you can get that is small enough to store in the trailer there. If you buy at an RV/Camper store be ready to pay.

Now once you have the trailer loaded with supplies and your personal effects, find a weight scale for trucks. I use the local garbage dump. They charge a small fee to use it. Check out your total weight with truck and trailer. Then just the trailer. Then back the trailer off the scale with just the tongue on the scale. This will let you know if you have to much tongue weight.

As a rule of thumb the tongue weight should be 10% of total trailer weight. If I am off on that number will someone please correct me. The MAX tongue weight the EX will take safely is 1200Lbs. Ideally you want to stay under that number. Move things around if you are tongue heavy.

After all of that is done, it is time to see how everything acts when driving. I took our camper to an empty parking lot and drove around with it. Backed it up a few times to learn how it acted and how well I could maneuver it.

If your wife has not towed anything like this have her learn in a parking lot also. It sucks being the only one that can drive the EX and trailer.

Lastly have fun with the trailer and build memories with your family!

 

I forgot to touch on pricing.

My experience on buying both used and new is the following.

If you buy used you may be able to get a deal depending on what the dealer is into it for and how long it has sat on their lot. If you buy from a private seller you will get a better price, but could end up with a nightmare if you are not aware of what to look for. If you buy used from a private seller, I would recommend taking it to a well known RV dealer and have it looked over before buying it.

If buying new, do your homework on the RV manufacturer's website. Look at floor plans and SUGGESTED msrp. Then search for pricing in a 200 mile radius. You would be amazed how prices vary. Go tire kicking at a few RV dealers and see how their people treat you. Look for feed back on the dealer. The dealer you choose to use will be your go to when things go bad. The trailer I bought has been in for service a handful of times over the last 5 months. Everything from poor craftsmanship to a roof leak. It took me telling them I was going to start charging them rent on the trailer to get things going.

Back to the pricing. The trailer we bought the MSRP was 40k. I put a 10k payment on it and told them I was not paying over 23k total. Or something close to that. They agreed to it, much to our surprise. My point is that there is room on the asking price on the new units.

Also remember that buying a TT with a full kitchen, bathroom and at least 1 bedroom is a tax deduction.

 

Only the interest on the loan.

If it's paid for, no more deduction.

 

that is cool, my wife will like that

 

Heres a few pics of the one I'm looking at, proly gunna shoot the bullet on it within the next week or so, this is the fully loaded Hood River Edition. These are 20' and I'm also getting the tent attachment for it that goes on the outside. It comes with all sewage and water attachment for full services, solar panel hookup to charge batteries and full propane


















This is just a pic i found of the outside attachment tent that I'm getting with it, i hate mosquitoes and nats so this thing will be a necessity for me

 

I'm doing most of my research on line and they guy at the dealership sent me all the pics of the 2 i was looking at and a couple vids, i will have to do almost everything over the phone and email but when go pick it up is going to be the first time I'm actually going to see it in person, depending on when i can get to the mainland will be when i find out when actually get to see it with work and everything. I know doing almost everything over the phone and email is not the best way to do things but from what i have found on multiple sites these things are going to work out good for me and my family, especially being our first one if not our only one.

 

That is a pretty cool attached tent setup, great option an a smaller trailer like that!
The minimum tongue weight of a tag travel trailer should be 10% of the trailer's total weight, 13% is a good target and even up to 15% is fine on most trailers as long as your receiver and rear axle are not over their ratings. These shouldn't be an issue with the size TT you are looking at, But it is very important to get the hitch weight up to AT LEAST that 10% as too low of a TW % will induce trailer sway, a very bad thing.
CAT scales CAT Scale Locator | CAT Scale are your best bet for getting accurate weights as they have 3 separate pads to weigh the steer, drive and trailer axles. They charge about $9 for the 1st weigh and a buck for each additional pass over the scales, good deal.

 

For your budget you can go with a bigger trailer that the Ex will have no trouble pulling. I'm not a huge fan of those teardrop shaped trailers since you loose a lot of space to the angle of the roofline - especially in a 20'er

 

I would normally agree, that is a nice healthy TT budget he is working with......BUT he seems to be living on an island in Alaska, so not sure how bad they jack up the pricing due to the transport costs to get these units up there, I'm sure that situation also limits the available choices too.

 

In my state; having kitchen, bathroom and separate bedroom, drops the yearly property tax by 5%.