Question to Visa 19RSD owners

[flash828]

Hello,
Still getting ideas of a TT my 5000lbs midsize SUV can tow. The 19RSD should fit this bill. Question for those (with kids) that own it: Do you feel cramped in it?? Do you feel the 19RSD gives a tunnel between front and back because of the bathroom and kitchen. We were in one for a short time at an RV show and I liked it but didn't get a chance to really sit in it long. Our current pop-up is a pretty good size, and like most pup-ups it very open inside (no overhead cabinets). Would love to see a 23 BHS in person, not sure about the weight though.

Thanks for any info!!!

BTW. Kids are 8 and 5.

[brains77396]

We have the 23RBK. G/S ad states it weighs 3502 lbs. After options are added the weight goes to 3779, dry. We normally travel with about 10 gal of water, plus 6 more in the water heater, just call it 20 gal. That is another 160 lbs. Now add all the food, clothes, cooking ware, and other stuff you feel you just have to have and subtract that from your 5,000 lb pull ability. I had a dealer tell me to always stay at 10% or more below your T/V tow ability. You can pull a 23 ft'er, but will be close to the limit. Another big factor will the the terrain you will travel the most. Good = flat. Bad = hills. Worse = mountains.

[flash828]

Thanks brains for the info on your 23. Although I would never plan to load up on water I still feel, like you said, I would be pretty close to a comfortable ride. Most of our travels are on flat/hills. Although a trip through KY/TN border once a year would put us in a good size climb. I think we would be just below 4K with options and our stuff . Not including the weight of kids and wife. We pack lite, wife makes fun of me about how strict I am with weight and our current setup. I one time weighed all our stuff that we put in the pop up and even went to a CAT scale to see how much I was pulling (that was before our two big trips)

Again.. Thanks a lot!!!

[KristinU]

Flash, I think you are smart to be really scrutinizing the weight before you jump in. As someone who had a rig that looked "good on paper", I can say that the family and "stuff" adds up fast. And that the listed tow capacities are often pretty optimistic. Our previous camper was an Aliner hard side PUP, 1500 lbs. ready to camp. We towed with a Hyunda Santa Fe with a 3500 lb. tow capacity for almost 3 years. And the Santee did great much of the time, but when we brought along bikes and kayaks (and their associated racks), she was working so hard up and down the hills of VT and NH. Were we close to our 3500 lbs? No, probably around 2000 lbs. maybe with the bikes, yaks, us, dog, cooler, etc. ...but still just a bit beyond comfortable.

We ended up getting a new tow vehicle, which was in our plan anyway (replacing another older vehicle). We had been looking at the smaller trucks like the Tacoma and Ridgeline, but since at that time we had been noodling on moving up in size, we decided to go with full size truck (Tundra) so we didn't just wind up in the same scenario again with a new trailer.

The 19RSD looks like a great floorplan, and we had looked at that as well, but since we had the capacity we went for the 23BHD.

Best of luck in your decision making! I just wanted to give you my .02 for whatever it is worth :)

[flash828]

Thanks Kristin. Our pop up weighs just over 2500 and we put about an extra 100LBS in SUV. Right now the TV doesn't even know it's back there..but it is a pop up..no huge frontal area.

Since you been in both models and besides your upgraded tow vehicle, did you get 'turned off' by anything in the 19 compared to the 23?

[KristinU]

Ah, when I said "looked at" I should have said "considered", so I don't have a direct comparison. The 19 foot model we looked at before ordering our BHD was the RGU, with the kitchen in back and queen bed in the front...which quite honestly felt exactly the same to me as ours does except the sink and stove are where DS's bunks are at. Since the width is the same, I really feel like the space would very similar in any of the models, the big difference in the RSD being the slightly smaller master bed with the side to side orientation. We had the same size and side to side orientation in our Aliner, so that was something that we were personally comfortable with. Some people don't like crawling over each other if one needs to get up at night and really appreciate the walk-around beds, but for us, that wasn't too big a deal. What drove us to the BHD was the size of the bunks for a growing son (and a friend sometimes), and the amount of storage space - we each have our own little closet plus our overhead cabinets over our bed and over the dinette (plus the bunk ladder that folds into the wall is pretty darn cool!) I do like the L shaped dinette in the RSD better than the standard two sided one that we have in the BHD - it just seems more open to me.

[flash828]

Thanks again! Yeah, we have kings in our pop up so going to the smaller 'side' bed it what worries me the most. Hopefully we'll be able to go see the 19 this weekend but with the heat don't really see spending time in it to get a feel for everything.

...and the kids would love that ladder!

[DonMitsu]

We love ours. Just got back from a 9 day trip through Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas. The weight is what attracted us to it, and the family loves the floor-plan because the kids get their own beds, the wife gets a bathroom with vanity and separate shower, and there wasn't another trailer out there with these amenities at this weight. I don't think I would try and tow it with a vehicle rated less than 5k towing, but I like to be conservative when it comes to towing.

[flash828]

Hey DonMitsu ...Just curious, what's towing your Visa?

[DonMitsu]

Until February we had a 2004 Mitsubishi Montero with a 5000lb tow rating. My wife wanted a new car though and since they don't bring the Montero over anymore we now tow with a Land Rover LR4 (the closest thing we could find to her Montero)

[Marvin]

Don

Did you get your lift kit installed?

Marvin

[DonMitsu]

No lift kit yet. We're going on a weekend trip for labor day weekend and if barring serious dragging I may procrastinate until our next long trip. I still like the idea of low step in height and low center of gravity, but it is hard many places not to drag the hitch and or rear jacks