Travel Trailer Options - JT Rubicon

[Sean_Gladiator_JT]

Evaluating trailers with <700lb Hitch Weight and 7000lbs total. These four from Forest River keep me under the limits, however the 273BHXL is very close to cap for hitch weight. How much does that matter? Leaning towards the 240BHXL, seems to give me room for hitch weight and capacity. Will be towing cross state / cross country at times, myself, doggo, daughter seeing all the national parks so will be going through appalachia in the east and rockies in the west. Do I need to look for something even lighter in the 3 or 4k range? Is there an article that talks you through hitch / max weight and what you can place in the trailer and in the bed total wise? Mostly running dry although need to deal with setup / load / teardown at each site. Any advice welcome. Thanks.

Floorplan:	240BHXL : Cruise Lite Travel Trailers	24RLXL : Cruise Lite Travel Trailers	261BHXL : Cruise Lite Travel Trailers	263BHXL : Cruise Lite Travel Trailers
Hitch Weight:	570 lb.	550 lb.	450 lb.	682 lb.
UVW:	5,343 lb.	5,063 lb.	4,818 lb.	5,854 lb.
CCC:	2,227 lb.	2,487 lb.	2,632 lb.	1,828 lb.
Exterior Length:	28' 10"	28' 11"	28' 8"	31' 9"
Exterior Height:	10' 4"	10' 5"	10' 1"	10' 4"
Exterior Width:	96"	96"	96"	96"
Fresh Water:	40.00 gal.	40.00 gal.	40.00 gal.	38.00 gal.
Gray Water:	60.00 gal.	30.00 gal.	30.00 gal.	60.00 gal.
Black Water:	30.00 gal.	40.00 gal.	28.00 gal.	30.00 gal.
Awning Size:	18'	16'	18'	15'

Sponsored

 

[Gruffid]

The tongue weight is counted as payload capacity. So depending on who and what you have in the truck, a lighter tongue weight may be needed to keep you under your payload rating. You can find your individual truck’s gross vehicle weight rating on your drivers side door jam. Your carrying capacity (also called payload capacity) for your truck is also on the drivers side door jam in the tire and loading information. It will say something like “the combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed XXX Kg or XXXX lbs. that’s the number you want to pay attention to.

Hitch weight will go up when you start loading stuff in the trailer. So, let’s say you maxed out your 240BHXL trailer’s CCC at 2,227 lbs, and you made certain to distribute that weight evenly in the trailer. That could add approximately 10% of that weight to your tongue weight - so 220-ish pounds. That puts your tongue weight possibly at 790 lbs (570 empty tongue weight + 10% of 2,227 (=222.7) lbs CCC for the 240BHXL.

Many people here will cite some “insurance liability” issues with going over your rated payload and or gross vehicle weight rating. That’s for you to decide if that’s an issue for you.

I will say that trucks are designed to behave in a predictable manner when kept under their payload and tow ratings. Going over will negatively effect the handling of your truck and trailer.

Good luck and happy camping!

 

[Jaxmax]

I would look light as you can, you are pushing the limits with what you have, you have to also add your passenger and even the weight distributing hitch to your load, those are pretty big with large tanks, I was very anal trying to stay at 3000 lbs, with a walk around queen bed and rear dinette, looked at everything old and new and really like the Gulf Stream Vista Crusier 19ERD 23’ long, we ended up with. They are 7’6” wide which makes it great to see along side and rear of camper and less wind frontage. There are larger up to 23’ models with bump outs and such hovering at the 3900-4300 mark Weight wise. My Mojave tows mine great with all in weight of about 4000 lbs. I would not want to tow much more then 5000 with my Mojave which has Max Tow Springs swapped in. Really think about how big you need they all look small at the dealer but can get to be huge on the highway and going up hills…..Jack

 

[Jaxmax]

Oh yes ,of the ones you are considering go with the 261BHXL you can probably end up at 6000 lbs. and 625 hitch weight if you run with empty tanks mostly and at most water in fresh tank. When towing every pound matters. Damn you are looking at 29-32 foot campers for the two or three of ya….Jack
PS the 261BHXL is much lighter cause of no bump out, bump outs are heavy, also the dry weight includes no options in my case the A/C roof top unit and bumper mounted gas grill added 210 lbs to my weight.

 

[BAT]

I love my Jeep Max Tow but I think if I had any plans to pull anything other than a microlight or small trailer any distance I would have just kept my Ram 1500.

 

[TheLunk]

I did a lot of sorting a couple of years ago, and came up with this Jayco:

https://www.jayco.com/rvs/travel-trailers/2022-jay-flight-slx-8/212qb/

4,235 lbs dry... No slideouts/tipouts help keep the weight down...

My Max Tow pulled it no problem at all, with a brake controller and a weight distribution hitch...

Not sure on what you need for sleeping, but permanent bedding is only the queen in front. But the dinette table drops, and the couch is a jackknife...

Sold it now (divorcing) but If you have any questions let me know...

 

[Sean_Gladiator_JT]

Thanks for the explanation and suggestions. My main issue is being 6-4 (76") - I don't fit well in the 74" queen beds, and want space for my daughter to have her own sleeping area (fairly sold on the bunks) and want to have enough room for a dog crate or two - much easier to crate the dogs and take them with than pay for boarding but need to be able to crate them for 1/2 day for hikes / dinner / museums that are not doggo friendly. The 263 is definitely out and i'm probably pushing it with the others.

I also like this RPod - r-pod RP-202 | Forest River RV - Manufacturer of Travel Trailers - Fifth Wheels - Tent Campers - Motorhomes (forestriverinc.com) but it doesn't give the kiddo much to any of her own space like the bunks would, then again it's just a more comfortable portable room to stay in, not planning on being inside much . Appreciate the advice.

 

[Jcsii]

I second the comment about about width. I went with a smaller trailer to keep the same width as my jeep. Helps a lot with visibility.
I am well under your estimated weight since I tow an Aliner. Even so at it's weight the rubi springs are poor match for towing.

Try and get something with solar and dual batteries if you can. Gives you a lot more options if you can boondock. I almost pulled the trigger on a Geo Pro but wanted a lower profile.

 

[Snake Eyes]

Evaluating trailers with <700lb Hitch Weight and 7000lbs total. These four from Forest River keep me under the limits, however the 273BHXL is very close to cap for hitch weight. How much does that matter? Leaning towards the 240BHXL, seems to give me room for hitch weight and capacity. Will be towing cross state / cross country at times, myself, doggo, daughter seeing all the national parks so will be going through appalachia in the east and rockies in the west. Do I need to look for something even lighter in the 3 or 4k range? Is there an article that talks you through hitch / max weight and what you can place in the trailer and in the bed total wise? Mostly running dry although need to deal with setup / load / teardown at each site. Any advice welcome. Thanks.

Floorplan:	240BHXL : Cruise Lite Travel Trailers	24RLXL : Cruise Lite Travel Trailers	261BHXL : Cruise Lite Travel Trailers	263BHXL : Cruise Lite Travel Trailers
Hitch Weight:	570 lb.	550 lb.	450 lb.	682 lb.
UVW:	5,343 lb.	5,063 lb.	4,818 lb.	5,854 lb.
CCC:	2,227 lb.	2,487 lb.	2,632 lb.	1,828 lb.
Exterior Length:	28' 10"	28' 11"	28' 8"	31' 9"
Exterior Height:	10' 4"	10' 5"	10' 1"	10' 4"
Exterior Width:	96"	96"	96"	96"
Fresh Water:	40.00 gal.	40.00 gal.	40.00 gal.	38.00 gal.
Gray Water:	60.00 gal.	30.00 gal.	30.00 gal.	60.00 gal.
Black Water:	30.00 gal.	40.00 gal.	28.00 gal.	30.00 gal.
Awning Size:	18'	16'	18'	15'

Throw them all out. Too big and you are going to exceed your capacity even though you think you will not. Regardless of whether you accept the liability for yourself, it is not fair to others on the road when all of a sudden that big a** trailer is pushing you down a large grade in the mountains of the west.

My Max Tow can take 7650 and I would not touch any of those. Go lighter and shorter. Be nimble. Especially since you also want to do state parks and you are looking at traveling over the rockies where I have spent most my life. And the rockies? Those trailers will run rickshod over your jeep potentially losing control.

Might I suggest looking at a geo pro? You really should look at something shorter. We have researched just about every trailer under the sun, believe me and there are better ones out there for you to balance.

Take some time and go out on YTube to some good videos about tongue, cargo capacity, etc before you even start to narrow down trailers. Technically the GVWR of the trailer is almost the least important number. The important numbers are tongue, GAWR, GCWR, etc

Sleep at an angle on the bed?

 

[I_Reckn]

I would contact a trailer sales rep and explain to them what you are wanting and what the max load is that the Jeep can handle. Let them come up with models and options that appeal to you. I find that most trailer websites are not always correct on weights, especially if there are options already included.

 

[Blade1668]

I'm for lighter weight and less camper but that's me. Towing and storage of the T.T. less cost, more accessible to more locations with smaller T.T. The need to pull a Mansion on wheels every where? A question is are you planning on going to "just staying in the R.V." or are you going to see the sights? They definitely limit your travel routes and places. I've seen tight places on roads with my 16ft Scamp just due to A.C. on roof that's on E. side of Mississippi River.
But heck I've got a Scamp 16ft I still just normally take off without it even, part of why I go a RTT.

BTW: my JT is a Max-Tow it's easy to hit the max load easy in it. A sad thing is my LJ tows better but wheel base is better on JT for towing.

 

[kevman65]

Go as light as you can. By the time you pack all of your essentials, you're going to be overloaded.

 

[Snake Eyes]

I would contact a trailer sales rep and explain to them what you are wanting and what the max load is that the Jeep can handle. Let them come up with models and options that appeal to you. I find that most trailer websites are not always correct on weights, especially if there are options already included.

Trailer sales reps are terrible and for the most part have never trailered/RV’d and dont know sh**. That is a well known fact among RVers and it has gotten worse during COVID since they hired tons of newbies. Most just want to sell you a trailer and they let people drive off with terrible matches just because the tag says it is under your tow rating (NOT the important number) and the hitch number is fine on the tag…of course forgetting the weight of a full propane tank, battery weight, Sway bar weight, etc.

Before talking to them, go out and learn everything possible about towing and weights, GAWR, tongue, GCWR, cargo impact, payloads, torque, etc.

Forget shopping by only your 7000 tow rating because you will find that the trailer that is correct to tow will almost NEVER come in near that number without exceeding something else. Shopping only by tow rating should never be done.

Even better, find a friend who is a long time RVer and take them with you and talk with them.

 

[AKID_RBM]

I would love to see a light weight trailer that had dual axles and was modular. Pretty much just want a place to sleep, and a shower and toilet for the family. Cooking and sitting can all be done outside under canvas/nylon.

 

[Lonewolf]

I’ll also jump in. I have a 2021 max tow and pull a Forest River 17 foot 9 inch Salem fsx. 3400lbs dry if I recall (give or take) anyways, electronic brake controller and weight dist hitch and it feels solid on the road/ interstate. I was just telling my wife if we ever get another I would not go more than another 1000 pounds or so as I feel it would hamper my ability to go anywhere in any conditions. Basically, at 3400 I’d pull it anywhere. I can feel the difference between the loaded and unloaded camper. Just my experience.

Sponsored