My wife and I are looking at purchasing a bumper pull travel trailer. I am very comfortable with pulling trailers and have a 1/2 ton Ford F150 4WD, but thinking traveling might be easier with a trailer 20-24 ft long. My concern is that a lot of the trailers at this length have murphy beds and my wife and I are concerned with their comfort. Has anyone on the forum had experience with these type of beds (also called jack knife beds, I think)? Also, is there a big difference between pulling a 20 foot bumper pull RV versus a 30 foot?

Every RV bed is horrible. When looking at carrying capacity for the RV deduct 75 pounds since you will be replacing that mattress with an 8 inch foam mattress. Murphy beds surprisingly aren't bad except they tend to take up all of your storage space. That mattress doesn't disappear when folded up, usually it goes into the front storage and takes it all. Storage is SO important for an RV.

There is a HUGE difference between towing a 22-24 footer and towing a 30 footer. One is easy and the other is not. Towing a 30 footer with a F150 would be quite scary and you won't want to go very fast. The truck will pull it fine, it just won't stop fine and winds would be scary as heck. Also 30 footers need 2 A/C's in Texas and that means 50 amp, which is a much heavier load and sometimes harder to find. Lots of portable generators only run 30 amp.

If you want to tow well look at Ember RV and the makers who put suspension on the chassis. Makes a HUGE difference but it isn't cheap.

Thank you for the input!

I'm sure there are some big nice trailers that have nice beds with box springs and quality mattresses, but most of them are just a platform and a mattress.

We have a 30' TT and pull with a Tundra. Like Knoxtom said it isn't fun and we just pull between SA and the coast so it's all flat.

Is it just you and your wife or do you have kids?

It is just me and the wife right now. Our kiddos are adults now. Hopefully grandkids will not be in the too distant future.

Will agree w/knoxtom - huge difference between the two. 30' is too long for a half-ton p/u. Yes, there will be people who will tell you can do it, but that tail is gonna wag the dog, and you don't want that. There is a very good chance that you will be over your weight limits. Any experienced RV'er will tell you the same, but if you do decide to pull a 30', at least get a very good weight-distribution hitch w/sway control. You are gonna need every bit of it when the road gets windy or really curvy. Check your weight limits. The tow capacity of your truck is not the only number you have to be concerned with.

Other reasons to not go so long on your trailer is OAL limitations in certain campgrounds, especially in the west. Also more difficult to heat and cool. Smaller trailers only need a 30amp outlet, which is occasionally all you will find in older campgrounds. A smaller trailer can also be heated with an electrical heater, instead of having to use a bunch of propane. We never use our propane furnace, even when temps are down in the twenties. We just use a Vornado heater, which makes much less noise.

If you haven't purchased a travel trailer in the past, I will recommend that when you are shopping to remove drawers (the RV's - not yours) and access panels and get your head actually inside cabinets and the like. You need to see how the manufacturer assembles the stuff you can't readily see. Also need to see if the pipes that penetrate the floor are sealed correctly. If they are not, and quite often they are not, you will have a huge problem with rats/mice/snakes/wasps/illegal aliens and bears. No one wants bears living in their cabinets. If you can't see these pipe entries, then get under the trailer and look. Also make sure that your black/grey water drains have a decent down-angle, so they drain quickly and easily.

C

Look at the Alliance offerings. We just bought the Valor 31T13 after extensive research.

Do your research. Some of the claims above are not true. For example, we have two A/Cs on 30 amp in a toy hauler.

My brother has a 32' couples coach that has a king sized bed and weighs 6,200lbs dry. Outdoor kitchen with a nice big bathroom.

He easily pulls it with his '22 f150. He's got the tow package and a good WDH set up.

I pull a 34.5' rig that's weighs probably 9k loaded. '21 f150 with max tow package. All within limits.

Does a windy day in the panhandle make it tough? Sure, just slow down and you're fine. Pulled it from DFW to Ouray and back last summer. No issues.

Modern trucks are incredibly capable. With patience, knowledge, and research, you'll be more than equipped to pull something 30'

Need to really ask yourself what you want out of the RV. Do you just want a dry place to sleep or something luxurious. We have a bigger pop up and drug that thing twice to Colorado and once to the smokies. Plenty of space to sleep 5, AC/Heat, and a small bathroom if we need it. We spend most of our time outside so a huge camper not really necessary for us. Pop up works for us because it fits in our garage but when it gives out i am going to look into something like a casita or taxa. I am sure my f150 can tow 9000lb and no issue pulling it to Galveston. Going down mountain passes in CO was bad enough with 3000lb and i cant imagine stress of 9000lb pushing me down a mountain would be like.

Snipes said:

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Need to really ask yourself what you want out of the RV. Do you just want a dry place to sleep or something luxurious. We have a bigger pop up and drug that thing twice to Colorado and once to the smokies. Plenty of space to sleep 5, AC/Heat, and a small bathroom if we need it. We spend most of our time outside so a huge camper not really necessary for us. Pop up works for us because it fits in our garage but when it gives out i am going to look into something like a casita or taxa. I am sure my f150 can tow 9000lb and no issue pulling it to Galveston. Going down mountain passes in CO was bad enough with 3000lb and i cant imagine stress of 9000lb pushing me down a mountain would be like.

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does that pop-up have brakes?

I can say I've never felt too much coming down passes with our rig. Tow mode on these newer trucks helps engine brake considerably and I can keep it under control without riding brakes hardly at all.

Now, I haven't pulled it on the million dollar highway between Durango and Ouray but it's been up and over Raton pass, La Veta pass, Cocheetopah pass, Bobcat pass out of Red River, Cimarron pass outside Montrose, and Cimarron canyon coming out of Eagle's Nest.

Controlling speed and having a good WDH is key. 2 axles also helps.

I also tow a 32' trailer with a half ton. It's a 3.0 Diesel and I have no issues. Light trailer though with an aluminum frame instead of wood. Considering selling it as life is starting to get in the way of time to use it.

Yes my pup has brakes. I didn't have any problems on million dollar highway but monarch pass on 50 sucked. Seemed like 7% grade for miles. My point is sure you can tow bigger trailer with a half ton but stress level will be much higher. If your wife won't go with you unless you have nice trailer with all the amenties then get a bigger one. Going with a smaller one makes things easier and much less stressful with towing.

Snipes said:

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Yes my pup has brakes. I didn't have any problems on million dollar highway but monarch pass on 50 sucked. Seemed like 7% grade for miles. My point is sure you can tow bigger trailer with a half ton but stress level will be much higher. If your wife won't go with you unless you have nice trailer with all the amenties then get a bigger one. Going with a smaller one makes things easier and much less stressful with towing.

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your second point is spot on... 2 weeks in the rig inside a pop-up isn't going to fly.

We also park it in college station for football season and it's our "gameday house". We need amenities.

My wife and I usually tent camp so a small rv with some amenities will definitely be an upgrade!

I don't know what your budget is but the Casita with the fiberglass shell is much more maintenance and leak friendly than others. An Aliner Aframe is another cheaper option that will fit in a garage. I like Taxa Mantis concept but the $40k price tag is bit much to swallow. No matter what you get you can improve the mattress. I just put a 6 inch memory foam mattress in my pup and it's a pretty good sleep. Not as nice as my purple mattress at home but good enough.

All of the beds are horrible. We changed ours out to a Sleep Number RV matress. Best thing we ever did. Allowed us to choose our own setting and it was ok just sitting on the wood frame.

We no longer have our RV so we have it available if anyone wants to upgrade their bed.

What size?

I recommend this video to everyone I talk to looking to buy a trailer....it's the best explanation of the towing capacity numbers I've seen



And yeah, the beds are all garbage....anticipate buying a new mattress

Snipes said:

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I don't know what your budget is but the Casita with the fiberglass shell is much more maintenance and leak friendly than others. An Aliner Aframe is another cheaper option that will fit in a garage. I like Taxa Mantis concept but the $40k price tag is bit much to swallow. No matter what you get you can improve the mattress. I just put a 6 inch memory foam mattress in my pup and it's a pretty good sleep. Not as nice as my purple mattress at home but good enough.

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We have a Casita and love it....about as minimal maintenance as I could have hoped for.

Might be out of your budget but you might consider a van. Wife and I are in our late 60's. We've been backpacker/tent campers since college.

Ground started getting harder and we've both had our hips replaced. Multi-night trips carrying a pack are less fun. We decided we wanted to be able to get into the back country and be happy with day hikes. Also wanted a few more creature comforts than out 2 person backpacking tent.

We spent 5 years looking at everything available. There is no "perfect" rig. You'll eventually find one that meets most of your needs/wants. It's helpful if you can rent or borrow something first.

We purchased a van from a company called Vandoit. Ford Transit. Lifted AWD. It's spartan but we have all the amenities. Checked most of the boxes on our "need to have list".

We can park it in a regular parking space so sightseeing in towns or shopping for groceries, etc is not a hassle. We use it a lot and are out for weeks at a time. It's easy to pack up for quick spur of the moment trips too.

There's an Adventure Van Expo coming up in Austin April 27-28. You might check that out if you're nearby. Lots of options to see there.

kmarkos said:

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My wife and I are looking at purchasing a bumper pull travel trailer. I am very comfortable with pulling trailers and have a 1/2 ton Ford F150 4WD, but thinking traveling might be easier with a trailer 20-24 ft long. My concern is that a lot of the trailers at this length have murphy beds and my wife and I are concerned with their comfort. Has anyone on the forum had experience with these type of beds (also called jack knife beds, I think)? Also, is there a big difference between pulling a 20 foot bumper pull RV versus a 30 foot?

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ours has a murphy bed, it's comfortable as hell. We have an egg crate foam thing on it, and we put the posturepedic mattress from our fold out couch on it (since it's never used).

but yeh, stock mattress with nothing, probably not the most comfortable, but that has nothing to do with being murphy.

Jack knife bed.. never heard that term, usually it's jack knife couch.. that isn't the main bed.

20ft vs 30ft.. yeh there's a difference. that's 50% longer.

knoxtom said:

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Murphy beds surprisingly aren't bad except they tend to take up all of your storage space. That mattress doesn't disappear when folded up, usually it goes into the front storage and takes it all. Storage is SO important for an RV.

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we have a murphy and still have full pass through storage up front. The bed completely disappears when folded as well. This is true for lots of layouts.. don't scare him away with false info.

We actually love it now that we've had it a year. We downsized from a 32 footer.. this is like 25. We determined this is how you get a short trailer but still have a bed, couch, and bunks. It's really the only way. it literally takes 5 seconds to put it up and down. It goes up when we're done laying in bed, and it comes down not long before bed. Has never gone up or down a second time in the day... so far.









Bed shown with stock mattress, not what we swapped it out for.

Quote:

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I pull a 34.5' rig that's weighs probably 9k loaded. '21 f150 with max tow package. All within limits.

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'within limits' lol.
It's not always the weight of the trailer, it's the payload that is often your restraint.

Sure a '21 ford says 14klbs.. but your payload is ~2000lbs. A 9klb trailer, assume that's a 1300lb or more tongue weight (assuming your tanks and batteries are up there). Not a whole lot left over if you have a family of 4 and the dog in there as well.
Hopefully you don't need to load the bed up with bikes, kayaks, fire pit and whatever else.


I prefer to stay about half of what ford tells me I can pull. Powerboost w/max tow is rated at 12,400; payload of 1830lb.
Our keystone is ~5klb loaded, so I have plenty of space to go up and down passes in CO without the white knuckles.

We had a 33 footer that was maybe ~8klb.. That needs a super duty. Pulled that thing denver to OK and it sucked the entire way.

62strat said:

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Quote:

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I pull a 34.5' rig that's weighs probably 9k loaded. '21 f150 with max tow package. All within limits.

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'within limits' lol.
It's not always the weight of the trailer, it's the payload that is often your restraint.

Sure a '21 ford says 14klbs.. but your payload is ~2000lbs. A 9klb trailer, assume that's a 1300lb or more tongue weight (assuming your tanks and batteries are up there). Not a whole lot left over if you have a family of 4 and the dog in there as well.
Hopefully you don't need to load the bed up with bikes, kayaks, fire pit and whatever else.


I prefer to stay about half of what ford tells me I can pull. Powerboost w/max tow is rated at 12,400; payload of 1830lb.
Our keystone is ~5klb loaded, so I have plenty of space to go up and down passes in CO without the white knuckles.

We had a 33 footer that was maybe ~8klb.. That needs a super duty. Pulled that thing denver to OK and it sucked the entire way.

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yup, I've weighed it on CAT scales. I know how to do the math

Also, I've got a ProPride 3P hitch.

I don't carry 4 people and I don't load "kayaks and bikes" in the bed, for those exact reasons.

The only time I've ever really had "white knuckle" is in panhandle winds. But that's dicey with just about anything.

Most of the towing we do is flatland and we planned for that when buying. I seriously considered buying a super duty when I bought my tow vehicle. I felt ultimately it was more truck than I needed for a daily commuter.

The max tow F150 was plenty to go on weekend trips and I planned accordingly for our 2,000+ mile trip last summer. And it went swimmingly.

thanks for assuming though.

ChoppinDs40 said:

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62strat said:

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Quote:

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I pull a 34.5' rig that's weighs probably 9k loaded. '21 f150 with max tow package. All within limits.

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'within limits' lol.
It's not always the weight of the trailer, it's the payload that is often your restraint.

Sure a '21 ford says 14klbs.. but your payload is ~2000lbs. A 9klb trailer, assume that's a 1300lb or more tongue weight (assuming your tanks and batteries are up there). Not a whole lot left over if you have a family of 4 and the dog in there as well.
Hopefully you don't need to load the bed up with bikes, kayaks, fire pit and whatever else.


I prefer to stay about half of what ford tells me I can pull. Powerboost w/max tow is rated at 12,400; payload of 1830lb.
Our keystone is ~5klb loaded, so I have plenty of space to go up and down passes in CO without the white knuckles.

We had a 33 footer that was maybe ~8klb.. That needs a super duty. Pulled that thing denver to OK and it sucked the entire way.

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Also, I've got a ProPride 3P hitch.

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Another 200lbs of your payload you just lost

I pick it up... it doesn't weigh 200 lbs

probably closer to 70.

ChoppinDs40 said:

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I pick it up... it doesn't weigh 200 lbs

probably closer to 70.

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you aren't picking up all the pieces at once.

https://store.propridehitch.com/propride-3p-trailer-sway-control-hitch/
'The total weight of the ProPride 3P hitch is 195 lbs"

That is 195lbs towards your payload. A cat scale isn't going to isolate payload for you (unless you unhooked and put the tongue on the scale)

Just another example of how most pickup drivers can get confused on how to calculate what your truck can tow.

Ok. Not all that hitch goes to payload because some of it is on the trailer.

I know what I'm doing. I've weighed trailer only. Trailer + truck (truck axles only) and truck with no trailer.

ChoppinDs40 said:

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Ok. Not all that hitch goes to payload because some of it is on the trailer.

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lol. Silly me.. nothing on the trailer changes the payload.


You do you.

of course it does but not as much as if it's directly on the suspension.

What's your deal? feel like being trailer weight rating police today?

31 foot 6K trailer with an F-150. Like said previously, pulls fine but is not a lot of fun in the wind. I try and keep our trips within a 2ish hour radius.

Sell me on the RV thing... all I see is towing problems, comfort problems, storage problems...

Seems to me that the money spend on an RV buys you a lot of nights in a comfortable AirBnB.

That's the logical conclusion I always come to, but I have visited people in them at times and it does seem nice.

There aren't VRBOs in national parks. You can't boondock in a house. You can't run and gun hunt public land easily from a house and move to a different unit if you aren't seeing anything. It's your forks, sheets, and toilet. You can keep it packed and ready to go at a moments notice. You aren't beholden to calendar availability. Getting a VRBO when bugging out from a natural disaster isn't easy.

Of course, if the plan is to camp in a camp ground, you're probably on the right track.

All valid points. The math won't work out. Still, we've been able to camp in places with views you won't get at any AirBNB. We can have as much or as little privacy as we want.

There are back ways into many National Parks if you use forest roads. Last year we camped on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The rim was 10 feet from our van. Closest person to us was two miles away. Went to Arches via forest roads. Drove within 3/4's of a mile to Delicate Arch. There were crowds at the arch itself but no one where we parked or on the trail to the arch.


It's our stuff, beds, linens,towels, food, etc. Our schedule. Stay as long or as little as we want.