Travel Trailer - Kids - Tacoma

I'm in the camper market for the wife, myself, our 2 young kids (4 and baby) and a small dog. After searching through all the threads I could find over the last few weeks it looks like the majority stay under 22' LG and between 3-4K max dry weight.

So we went and looked at a few different campers around that size in a bunkhouse layout and it is a little tight. My favorite so far in our area (NC) is the KZ Sportsman Classic 181BH. Of course my wife wants something with more space, but I don't feel comfortable towing a 26-28' camper with the Tacoma.

Just looking for feedback from anybody camping in a similar setup with kids. We will always be at campsites and the objective is to be out and about as much as possible... But the kids are young and we will be inside some too. It's a big investment for me banking on us using it a lot, so I want to be sure its going to be enjoyable for all of us... (Wife)

 

Around 2011 my wife pushed me to buy a camper from her brother. 24 foot Gulfstream; bunkhouse, master bedroom, and a table and couch that both folded down to make twin beds. You could sleep 8 people in there, but there was me, my wife, a 6 year old and 1 year old. Far too much camper for us, and when we went camping, there was so much room inside, it was difficult to get people outside to see where we were visiting. Mileage wasn't good, but the biggest hit on my tow vehicle (2wd F150) was brake wear. The farthest I pulled it was to a Jayco dealer to trade it for a 15 foot bunkhouse layout.

Looking at the layout of the KZ 181BH, does this have a slide out where the dinette is? You will want to put the pack & play or whatever device your youngest sleeps in here. Just leave the table at home, eat on a picnic table. Is your 4 year old OK sleeping in a semi enclosed space? Near a window? We didn't have a problem until there was a spider outside a window, fortunately this was just before trading in the Gulfstream, and the Jayco does not have a window on the top bunk.

Nothing wrong with "a little tight." I got tired of dragging a living room around for a year, so I went for something big enough to sleep in. When I wake people up in the morning, there are two places you can go; bathroom and outside. Worst thing about a small camper with one axle: Blow a tire and you are stopped. No limping to the next exit, you're stopped right there.

 

I have a 2013 Winnebago Minnie that I tow with my 2014 Tacoma TRD Sport. It weights in around 3300 lbs and is 19 ft long. The Tacoma tows it fine but you definitely know it's back there. The camper is small but me, the wife, kid and dog fit fine. Like you said, most the time we are out enjoying the lake or the fire.

On a side note, my camper is currently for sale. Wife wants a boat.

 

We have a KZ Sportsmen Classic 16BHT. It's a 2013 model. Bought it new and it has been pretty much trouble free. It's probably a lot lighter than the 181BH, but the height/frontal area are similar. You'll get about 9-10 mpg towing. It's a small camper, but easy to park and set up, and very easy to tow as the whole Sportsmen line is pretty light. They are low to the ground, so you have to be careful on dips and such - like being extra careful going into gas stations. I had to build some ramps so I can get it in and out of my driveway. The 14" trailer tires are rated to 65 mph, so my best advice is to keep your speeds below that. Keep in mind that they are very "low cost" trailers (ours was $9,995 new). But mine seems to be built pretty well, the aluminum roof doesn't leak and the appliances have all worked fine. Ours has a tent bed that is pretty comfortable and the bunks are large enough for an adult. Replacing some minor bits this year, like the electrical cord door and the anode in the water heater. Might need to replace the battery. This is our 5th season with it.

We are a family of 5 (kids now 13, 10, and 8) plus two 30lb rescue dogs. When we all go, it's tight. But we are usually only in there sleeping. The fresh and grey water tanks are small so you have to be careful there. Black water tanks are decent size. We mainly use it as a weekend getaway camper in WV/VA/MD, but we've taken longer trips to WI, IN, IL, OH, MI, PA, KY, and SC in it. I prefer getting full hookups because of the small tanks but rarely use the shower because it's tiny. I have a Good Sam club membership, and usually use their website to plan our trips.

The 181BH looks nice. Not a lot of cargo capacity though (660lbs). The slide out would give you some nice floor space for getting around inside. Ours would be like the 150BH, if there was a tent that folded down from the front side. It's dry weight is 2350, but has the same 3500 lb axle so we can carry more "stuff" with us. Just pack lightly and you'll be fine. If you do buy it, take your time on the walkthrough. I was a first time buyer at Beckeley's in Frederick, MD - great experience. They spent a lot of time with me, showing me how to hook it up, use the brake controller, did a test drive to test the brakes, winterize, where the drains are, how to use the fridge on gas, how to set up the tent, the awning, turn on the water heater, level the camper, you name it. Here's a pic of us towing with our GX460. I haven't towed with my TRD Pro yet, but I have towed it with a Tacoma Limited once.

 

Thanks for the reply. Puts into perspective what I was thinking, we are there to get out and do things not be in the comforts of home. The single axle does worry me though, good point.

Haha, keep the wife happy brother. I like the rig though! Very similar footprint to what I'm looking at.

 

We've got a 182G Rpod. Has the bunks in the rear.. dinette converts into our bed. Definitely cozy..we've got a 9 year old and 3 year old but they love it. We chose this because of the rear 'garage' for cooking, etc.. I mean, you're camping so you should be outside anyway

 

To be honest I didn't even notice the cargo capacity, your right that isn't much. How has your experience with the tent beds been? I like how you get more living space but worried about noise and temperature.

 

Sweet rig, I like that a lot. Unfortunately the wife is a glamper not a camper, bathroom was a requirement. I come from tent camping so the idea of a dry bed exceeds my expectations.

 

That is the same model we are looking at. How does the Tacoma handle pulling the Rpod? Do you add a WDH?

 

The sweetest rig I saw a couple of weeks ago was an Airstream 23' Flying Cloud. It was being pulled by a new SR5 3rd Gen Access Cab from South Carolina by an older retired couple touring around Canada. They were pulled over at a rest stop having lunch and I stopped and said hello and they showed me their rig. It was the coolest trailer I've seen a Taco pull. Money talks though, with Airstream. haha.

 

I'm running a 2003 22' KZ Coyote behind a 2010 DCLB Sport. Supposedly sleeps 8. 3 canvas fold outs, couch, table. We are me, wife, 6, & 3 year old. Works great for us, kids each get their own space and we sleep in the front. The kids when they were really little would sleep in the rear bed and we'd baby gate across the edge between bathroom wall and outside wall. Worked perfectly. I would like the kitchen slide, but that would be more weight. It's 3370 dry I think. We load up pretty good with kayaks and bikes on the truck and go for a couple weeks at a time so have a good amount of gear. I probably push the 6500 payload with people, gear, wind drag, etc. Truck does well with it even in the ADK mountains, but I keep it in 4th and monitor tranny temps.

Buddy of mine has a 19' bunkhouse (behind his 350 looks tiny) and I find that I like all of our beds outside the body for more space inside when we need it. That being said, can get scary if you're in a huge wind/rain storm and branches are coming down.

 

I pulled a 19' kodiak for awhile with my 2014 taco and had no issues. But most people seem to go rpod or with the winnebago minnie/microminnie.

 

The tent is nice, adds a lot of space. Makes you feel like you are still camping. We did get one of those solar reflective blanket things for when we are camping in the sun. It goes on top of the tent, on the outside, and keeps the temp down and keeps it dark in the morning.

If it's cold enough to run the heater, it will get warm in the tent. If it's just my son and I, we won't open the tent if it's too cold.

You'll hear traffic if you're near a busy road, but if the AC is running that really drowns out everything.

 

@agoude I have a 2017 Winnebago Micro Minnie 1700BH. It is 3000lbs dry. I tow it with my 16 TRD OR DCSB. It has a queen bed up front and bunk beds in the back for my kids (8 & 12). It has a dinette, regular bathroom with toilet and a big shower. The bottom bunk folds up for the bike storage (side access door). We purchased it last summer and I have towed it all over the Western US. I avg about 12mpg.

 

We use a Scamp 13 for the 2 of us, but you may want to look at a Casita or Scamp in the 15 to 17 foot range for some room with a bathroom. Still small, easy to tow and park with resale value extremely high plus the older used units hold up really well.

 

Have been wanting one of these travel trailers, but afraid I wouldn't use enough to justify the purchase. Are you guys typically buying used or new?

 

I have a 2016 TRD OR and have looking at this same exact camper. Do you have any pictures of the setup? What weight distro hitch are you running? I assume you are towing in ECT S4?

 

I use an equalizer WDH (square bar style) and a tekonsha wireless RF brake controller. I always use ECT when towing, but do not always use the manual mode. I climb a lot of mountain passes 10,000ft +.

 

OP, our situations sound similar except me 5 years ago with one kid at the time. I made a few purchases and gained some costly experience. I grew up tent camping and didn't need anything more than that for myself.

I do not recommend a compact Travel Trailer, go rent one before you buy one.

Took the wife tent camping, she said if we had a tent trailer she'd want to go more often - next week I bought a really nice 10ft box pop up, no amenities (it's a tent trailer, didn't want a porta potty in that). We had a bear at the door one morning and there is no good way to cool them so wife insisted we upgrade and she required a bathroom.

Bought a Jayco 154BH (Bunk house), kid number 2 showed up around this time as well. They are very tight, we both agreed after taking it out that it was impractical. The bathroom and shower were so small I wasn't using them, wife and kid used them a couple times and cleanout is a total hassle at the end of your trip when you just want to get home. Sink and microwave super tiny, never used the stove or the oven. I hated pulling it (had a 1990 Land Cruiser at the time), parking in our tight driveway sucked. The advantage of it was it's already setup, and it had A/C. I got the impression that these trailers are built and sold for people who think they need everything but haven't owned a trailer yet so they don't realize that the probably don't need half of what is there and it ends up wasting space inside. If you think it is tight now it's only going to get smaller, you said you wanted to keep it for the long haul, kids only grow so stand inside with your wife and kids and then imagine them double in size.

Traded that in for an A-Frame style (Rockwood A122BH). This seems to be the best of both worlds, hard sided, super easy to tow (you can see over the top of it, doesn't pull or push around in wind), no weight distribution hitch required. No bathroom, you said you would be camping in campgrounds so facilities will be available. I have the room to haul all of my stuff from Kayaks to Bikes, wood and camp gear. I have campchef stove/grill box that I bought a 25ft adaptor line that feeds of the trailer's dual propane tanks. Heat and Heat Pump (for A/C) work great. has a fridge for the basics and a larger sink, stove, and microwave than the Jayco. I can run everything off of a Yamaha 2000i (inverter generator, super quiet). It also fits in my garage so I don't even have to winterize it.

Popup = Great, light, cheap, super easy to maneuver, store, and tow. You probably won't be able to sell your wife on it anyway.

Ultralight Travel Trailer = looks great on paper, way to small with all of the hassle of a full size unit and none of the benefits other than cost. I do miss the awning.

A-Frame = Compact, easy to tow. Do not discount this option until you go stand in one. Your wife is going to say it's not going to work because no bathroom but at least what I found is they aren't practical anyway. It does have an external shower to spray off the kids and the dog. At least with the layout I feel like there is more room, we don't use the table ever so it's the bed for the kids to sleep on. When they grow beyond that I'll put them in a tent outside. I can pull into a campsite and be fully setup with a camp chair and a beer faster in this than either the TT or the Popup. I can also carry / transport more stuff because the weight is less than the TT, and the functional space is more (with the open deck and external storage access).

 

http://travellitecampers.com/travel-trailers/travel-lite-falcon/
I own an A-frame camper, but this looks pretty cool.