What Is a Travel Trailer?

Back

April 15, 2019 04:01 PM

Motorhome FAQs

A travel trailer is the most common type of RV and comes in a wide array of different types, styles, and sizes. The wide variety of travel trailers allows for people of different lifestyles to find the right type of travel trailer to suit their needs.

So, What Exactly Are They?

Travel trailers are essentially compact homes that you can tow behind your personal vehicle. Of course, you need to ensure your personal vehicle has the towing capacity to carry the specific travel trailer you choose. For example, your 2-door sports car certainly isn’t going to cut it when it comes to any type of travel trailer. Meanwhile, a sturdy 4-door off-road vehicle offers a much better option when it comes to towing capacity. Basically, if your car, SUV, or truck comes with a trailer hitch option, then it should be able to at least tow one of the smaller travel trailer options.

How Large Are the Travel Trailers?

As said, travel trailers come in a wide range of sizes and styles. With that said, most travel trailers typically range anywhere from 12 feet to 35 feet long. A simple, 12-foot travel trailer allows enough comfortable space for one or two people (most likely a couple). Meanwhile, a 35-foot trailer allows enough space for up to 10 people. It might be a bit of a tight squeeze, but those 10 people will have enough room to sleep comfortably.

A Cheaper Option

Perhaps the primary benefit offered by travel trailers is the fact that they are much less expensive than motorhomes. A cheap travel trailer can be bought for anywhere around $10,000 to $18,000 while a cheap motorhome would go for at least 3 or 4 times as much.

More Convenient

While it will take some time to get used to driving with a big trailer hitched to your vehicle, a travel trailer will also end up allowing you to have greater convenience. This is because you can unhitch your travel trailer at the camping grounds and drive your personal vehicle into the town or city without having to worry about parking a giant motorhome. Of course, you’ll want to ensure that your travel trailer has high-quality locks and security to make sure nothing happens while you leave it at the camping ground. These security measures aren’t aimed purely at thieves, they’re also used to keep pesky raccoons or even bears out of your trailer. Typically, the best precaution to take is to have one person go into town for the supply run and the other person staying back at the trailer. If you’re traveling with the whole family or a large group, you can have two or more people run into town while the rest stay back at the trailer. Also: You’ll want to switch off on who goes into town to get supplies. After all, the person or people who are “watching after the trailer” or more than likely eating the last batch of Twinkies while watching “Days of Our Lives.”

The Different Types

When it comes to travel trailers, you’re going to find there are 3 main types: folding travel trailers (also known as “pop-up campers”), RV travel trailers, and fifth-wheel travel trailers. Each of these options has its own advantages and disadvantages. The folding travel trailers, for instance, are extremely convenient and the most affordable. However, they’re also typically the smallest and offer the least number of amenities. Meanwhile, a regular RV travel trailer is most similar to a motorhome and can sleep up to 8 people. These trailers offer a lot of space and comfort. However: They are more expensive than folding travel trailers and they also require a stronger vehicle that can tow a heavier load. A special trailer hitch is also required for your vehicle so it can control the sway of the trailer while you drive. Last but not least, the fifth-wheel travel trailer. This is typically the largest of the 3 travel trailer options. These can sleep up to 10 people and provide a lot of comfort and luxury when it comes to living and sleeping spaces. The drawbacks: These travel trailers don’t come cheap and they require a large vehicle to haul them. You’re gonna need a sturdy, full-sized pickup truck to haul this rig.

Any Questions?

If you have any further questions, feel free to contact our RV and travel trailer experts here!

What Customers Say

Melissa

California

It was awesome. It was so great. It was so fantastic. We loved the RV. It was so accommodating. It was only three of us: [me] my husband and my son and we had a wonderful time. Thank you for renting to us and we will definitely be renting again.

Chris

California

From Toronto, Canada. We came down to Expedition to pick up an RV for a special surfing vacation for my son here who turned 15 this week. I gotta tell ya, it’s been an awesome experience. We went up the coast to Santa Barabara and down. We had perfect sites of the beach; looking at the ocean. He got a chance to experience surfing the California way – an overall great experience. RV was just the way to go. Made it a beautiful experience for us. The people at Expedition were perfect; helped us out throughout… were very kind and generous and we just had a great vacation because of it. So I recommend anyone whose thinking about it… Definitely call Expedition. You’ll enjoy it and you won’t regret it.

Jean

California

We flew from Europe and rented a motor home from ExpeditionMotorHomes.com. And, it was a fantastic experience from start to end. When we arrived, we had… the staff was very friendly; taught us how to use the motor home. They had videos online you can practice with and look at. And the actual trip, the quality of the motor home was perfect. This was the first time for my family and I and it will not be the last. We will be doing this again and obviously from the same supplier because everything from start to finish was perfect.

Barb D

California

I have rented from this company seven times in the last eight years. They do an amazing job. Most recently, I had errored on my departure date (I should have looked at the contract when they sent it to me!) and when I arrived a day early, they accommodated me. Thank you, Matt, for making a year without Martin easy! I recommend this company to anyone wanting to rent an RV. It’s so much easier than you think.

California

The Expedition Motorhome family took great care of our family. This is our third straight year renting trailers and RV’s from Expedition and we wouldn’t go anywhere else. They are a small shop with big customer service. The RV’s are in great condition on the inside and under the hood. We drive to the Tahoe area from LA every year and they make the long haul with no problems. We camped with other families who rented from other vendors and had nothing but problems. See you next year!

Belen

California

Was the first time we rented and RV and we had a great experience with Expedition Motor Homes. WE travel with the jamboree 23 ft for about 20 days around California and nevada without any problem.Everything worked the way it should. At the office Martin and Ilda where super nice and helpful with us. Definitely we are coming back!

Derek D.

California

We had a great experience with Expedition Motor Homes. My family and I rented an RV for a weekend camping trip, something we had never done before. The staff was extremely helpful and informative, and everything went smoothly. The RV was in great working order, very clean and great looking. We will definitely rent from the again in the future!

California

This was our first rental from Expedition. Everything went smoothly. They had excellent customer service from the beginning to the return. The RV we rented was in great condition, with the exception of a few minor issues. These issues didn’t cause any trouble, and I know they will have them fixed for the next renter. We are already looking forward to our next RV vacation, and we will be sure to use Expedition!

Need Help? Call (818) 225-8239