To those not familiar with travel trailers, or with very little experience with them, the four words “travel trailers for sale” probably means very little. However, for those firmly ensconced in the RV lifestyle, with some serious experience with a travel trailer, those words bring about an almost Pavlovian response.
RVers love their travel trailers, and they love talkin’ about them trailers, by golly!
This article, then, is for the beginner, the novice, the uninitiated and uneducated, the people out there who are interested, perhaps even curious, about travel trailers and the RV lifestyle, but don’t know where to get reliable information about them.
You have arrived at the right place. This, then, is a quick primer about travel trailers, a fast Q & A about the most frequently asked questions, if you will.
And away we go!
What is a travel trailer?
The simplest definition I can come up with is a trailer, towed behind a vehicle, used for recreation. Almost all travel trailers are slept in. Some have kitchens; some do not. Some has bathrooms; some do not. Some have a dinette; some do not. Some have all the amenities of home; some have all the amenities of a tent in the woods.
How large are travel trailers?
Travel trailers range in length from small travel trailers about ten feet upwards to large trailers of forty feet. The most popular lengths are in the 25-30 foot range. The width varies from 6’-12’, give or take, depending upon whether they have slide-outs or not. Average width is right around eight feet. The interior height can be under six feet, or up to around eight feet.
How much do they weigh?
Lightweight tent trailers can be found at around five-hundred pounds. The largest of the large is probably the Jayco Eagle with a travel trailer weight of over eleven-thousand pounds dry weight. Needless to say, you need a serious truck to pull something that heavy.
What do you need to tow a travel trailer?
The answer to this question depends upon the weight of the trailer and the towing capacity of your vehicle. A half-ton pickup truck, like a Ford F-150, can handle probably 50% of the travel trailers for sale on today’s market. To be on the safe side, a one-ton pickup truck, like the Ford F-250, can handle practically any travel trailer you can find. The large SUVs, like the Ford Expedition, can easily tow a trailer weighing nine-thousand pounds, so your options are not limited to trucks. And, if you have a lightweight tent trailer, even many passenger cars can tow those little guys with ease.
A word of caution: make sure your towing vehicle has the towing capacity per the manufacturer’s specifications. Otherwise, you will be looking to replace the transmission and/or rear end of your towing vehicle sooner rather than later.
What can you expect to pay for travel trailers for sale?
With some patience, you can find a used travel trailer for sale for $500 or less. You can also find a used, thirty-footer, one or two years old, for close to $100,000. It all depends on what you are looking for, but rest assured there are travel trailers for sale for very reasonable prices. If it’s an RV life you want, and you have the towing capabilities and a thousand bucks, you can have that RV life very, very soon, and then the quality of your life will improve exponentially as you become part of the RV community.
I have no idea what this ping back means, but thanks I guess.
[…] which could only be towed by one-ton pickup trucks, today there are mini travel trailers, in the travel trailer for sale section of the online newspaper, which can be towed by your average passenger car, many weighing […]
I’m glad you are learning something from these articles, Liz. It took me a long time to figure out what the British meant by a caravan. 🙂
I am learning a lot from reading these articles. I think in the UK we use slightly different terms. Caravans are mobile accommodation, which are towed by cars. Camper vans are small to medium RVs. Mobile homes are the bigger vehicles.