DGS49
Diamond Member
Anyone here an expert on RV trailering?
I'm a year or so from retirement, and I'm thinking that I want to facilitate three or four 30-45 day road trips around the U.S. and Canada annually, after I pull the plug. I'm not inclined to get a motor home, because it will be too cumbersome to ride around at each destination and I don't want to be bothered with a towed vehicle out back.
Doing a couple hours of research on the Internet, it appears that:
(a) Full-sized "American" pickup trucks are generally considered to be the best tow vehicles, with the Dodge/Ram/Cummins diesel as the (pardon the irony) "Cadillac" of tow vehicles,
(b) 17' seems to be the borderline for the smallest tolerable RV trailers for extended travel, and
(c) The whole experience is probably not as cheap as one would hope, what with RV park fees, lousy fuel economy, tolls, and such.
My personal preference would be to get a Touareg diesel as a tow vehicle, but the towing community seems to consider it nothing more than a novelty, despite its 7,700 factory-rated towing capacity. It seems that wheelbase, track, and maximum tongue weight are significant factors for experienced people, and the Touareg just doesn't cut it in those areas. I do notice however, that the Touareg weighs in excess of 5,500 pounds, which is substantial in anyone's book.
One big question in my mind is whether it is always necessary to "park" overnight in an RV facility. It seems to me that although it will be necessary to plug into an outlet and flush out the plumbing every couple days, it should be possible to stop at, say, a truck stop for the night, more often than not. I assume that a lightweight Honda generator could facilitate nights off The Grid, so to speak. Is this realistic?
To be clear, my intent would be to buy everything used, and I'm figuring less than $20k for a tow vehicle and less than $10k for a trailer.
Any thoughts from experienced people?
I'm a year or so from retirement, and I'm thinking that I want to facilitate three or four 30-45 day road trips around the U.S. and Canada annually, after I pull the plug. I'm not inclined to get a motor home, because it will be too cumbersome to ride around at each destination and I don't want to be bothered with a towed vehicle out back.
Doing a couple hours of research on the Internet, it appears that:
(a) Full-sized "American" pickup trucks are generally considered to be the best tow vehicles, with the Dodge/Ram/Cummins diesel as the (pardon the irony) "Cadillac" of tow vehicles,
(b) 17' seems to be the borderline for the smallest tolerable RV trailers for extended travel, and
(c) The whole experience is probably not as cheap as one would hope, what with RV park fees, lousy fuel economy, tolls, and such.
My personal preference would be to get a Touareg diesel as a tow vehicle, but the towing community seems to consider it nothing more than a novelty, despite its 7,700 factory-rated towing capacity. It seems that wheelbase, track, and maximum tongue weight are significant factors for experienced people, and the Touareg just doesn't cut it in those areas. I do notice however, that the Touareg weighs in excess of 5,500 pounds, which is substantial in anyone's book.
One big question in my mind is whether it is always necessary to "park" overnight in an RV facility. It seems to me that although it will be necessary to plug into an outlet and flush out the plumbing every couple days, it should be possible to stop at, say, a truck stop for the night, more often than not. I assume that a lightweight Honda generator could facilitate nights off The Grid, so to speak. Is this realistic?
To be clear, my intent would be to buy everything used, and I'm figuring less than $20k for a tow vehicle and less than $10k for a trailer.
Any thoughts from experienced people?
