Current Travel Trailers / RVs you're towing - Reviews and Recommendations!

[Thedude]

Hey everyone,

This thread has been super helpful.

I’m looking at getting my first travel trailer and could really use some advice to make sure I’m staying within safe towing limits—especially around weight and tongue load. As I'm learning more I'm worried the travel trailer I finally settled on might not work.

Trailer I'm considering:

RV: 2022 KZ Connect
Dry Weight: ~5,940 lbs
GVWR: ~7,375 lbs
Tongue Weight: ~650 lbs (dry)

Tow Vehicle:
2024 Rivian R1S Quad-Motor
Max Towing Capacity: 7,700 lbs
Max Tongue Weight: ~770 lbs

I plan to use a Weight Distribution Hitch (WDH), which should help redistribute at least 100 to 200 lbs off the tongue, making the setup safer and more stable.


Here’s the rest of my plan:

The main storage is a large front pass-through, which will hold most of our gear.

I’ll try to place heavy equipment behind the axles during transit to help manage tongue weight.

I’m adding batteries for 1–2 days of boondocking, but will be mindful of their placement (though the front pass-through is the most logical spot).

Tanks will stay mostly empty while towing, and we’ll only carry minimal fresh water when dry camping, though the propane tanks will be used and initially full.

We’ll be traveling with my wife, two teen sons, and a dog, so cargo in the R1S adds up—likely around 750–850 lbs total including gear.


Questions for the group:

Does this setup sound workable within the R1S’s towing and payload limits?

Do you recommend storing more gear in the R1S vs. the trailer to manage tongue weight?

Any WDH models you’d recommend for a setup like this? I'm not concerned with the cost and want to that I'm being safe.

Any tips you’ve learned the hard way when towing near max limits or with a Rivian specifically?

Appreciate any guidance—thanks in advance!

You will exceed the R1S rated capacities but it probably won’t kill you. That trailer will weigh ~6500lbs leaving the factory plus whatever you add (clothes, dishes, beer, etc) with a tongue weight ~850lbs. Add the WDH (50lbs) and the family (850lbs) with a ~1600lb payload and you’re over the limit. Not the end of the world and people do it everyday without even realizing but something to consider.

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[HaveBlue]

I have a TrailManor too. The shower works good. I can mount mine onto the ceiling. It has an on/off switch too. One time I wasn't paying attention and the shower curtain directed the water to the floor between the tub and toilet. Earlier this month we were camping at Carpinteria Campground and found out that tokens for their showers were $2 for 2 minutes. We decided to use our shower the rest of our stay since each site has 30-amp power, water, and sewer hookups. It is a bit cramped in the shower (I'm 5'6") but its doable.

Our shower is setup the same and the 6 gallon electric propane unit supplies plenty of water for a sailor shower. The bath has folding hard walls that make a proper bath feel.

We'll be in Carpintería again in August.

 

[HaveBlue]

Hey everyone,

This thread has been super helpful.

I’m looking at getting my first travel trailer and could really use some advice to make sure I’m staying within safe towing limits—especially around weight and tongue load. As I'm learning more I'm worried the travel trailer I finally settled on might not work.

Trailer I'm considering:

RV: 2022 KZ Connect
Dry Weight: ~5,940 lbs
GVWR: ~7,375 lbs
Tongue Weight: ~650 lbs (dry)

Tow Vehicle:
2024 Rivian R1S Quad-Motor
Max Towing Capacity: 7,700 lbs
Max Tongue Weight: ~770 lbs

I plan to use a Weight Distribution Hitch (WDH), which should help redistribute at least 100 to 200 lbs off the tongue, making the setup safer and more stable.


Here’s the rest of my plan:

The main storage is a large front pass-through, which will hold most of our gear.

I’ll try to place heavy equipment behind the axles during transit to help manage tongue weight.

I’m adding batteries for 1–2 days of boondocking, but will be mindful of their placement (though the front pass-through is the most logical spot).

Tanks will stay mostly empty while towing, and we’ll only carry minimal fresh water when dry camping, though the propane tanks will be used and initially full.

We’ll be traveling with my wife, two teen sons, and a dog, so cargo in the R1S adds up—likely around 750–850 lbs total including gear.


Questions for the group:

Does this setup sound workable within the R1S’s towing and payload limits?

Do you recommend storing more gear in the R1S vs. the trailer to manage tongue weight?

Any WDH models you’d recommend for a setup like this? I'm not concerned with the cost and want to that I'm being safe.

Any tips you’ve learned the hard way when towing near max limits or with a Rivian specifically?

Appreciate any guidance—thanks in advance!

It's going to be a stretch. Personal items add up quick. I put heavy items in the tow vehicle where possible. I often go scuba diving with my kids so our gear goes in the r1. Usually the trailer axles and tires don't have a lot of reserve either.

 

[seabirdie]

Just got back from a 6 week, 6000 mile roadtrip from Maine down to Texas with a bunch of stops along the way. We tow an Rpod 192 with my wife and I and two cats. We averaged 0.92 miles/kWh but a lot of it we were driving 70-75. Which results in ~130 miles 100%-0% and ~90-100 miles of actually usable range with not charging all the way to 100% and pulling into the charger at 10%. Quad Large pack for reference.

 

[ironoman]

Towing a Safari Condo ALTO R1723. We have gone on 3 adventures and have logged about 800 miles. I have been keeping the speed around 55-60mph and have been getting 1.5-1.6miles/kWh. This gives me a range of about 200 miles on a full charge.
Love the truck and the ALTO!

 

[VandalSibs]

Towing a Safari Condo ALTO R1723. We have gone on 3 adventures and have logged about 800 miles. I have been keeping the speed around 55-60mph and have been getting 1.5-1.6miles/kWh. This gives me a range of about 200 miles on a full charge.
Love the truck and the ALTO!

That was the first Alto my wife and I saw, about four years ago now...

Does the pop-up aspect of the roof take away a lot of storage, or is there enough in other places?

 

[ironoman]

I don't think that the pop-up roof takes away from the storage. That said, there is not much storage. The ALTO has the following storage areas:

• underneath compartment on the RHS of the unit for electric cables, jacking and towing items and hose for water
• under the 2 seats in the back that convert to a bed (clothing and some kitchen stuff in totes)
• main kitchen cabinet
• nice size fridge / freezer
• Bunch of shelving in the toilet area
• Small compartment in the front of the trailer behind the kitchen table

As we have only used the trailer for 3 trips we are still working on how to best pack and storage stuff for our trips. We store our hiking gear, camp tables and chairs as well as the dog's stuff in the Rivian.
I was just watching this video to get some storage ideas myself!

 

[QuadMonster]

Hi everyone,

I’ve been following this thread and watching countless YouTube videos, and one thing keeps standing out—it seems like the size and weight of a travel trailer doesn't impact range as much as I originally thought, especially when towing at 60 mph. Most of the range numbers I’m seeing still seem to fall between 0.90 to 1.3 miles per kWh, for sizes the sizes I'm looking at.

I’m currently trying to find the right balance between livability and range, and I’ve narrowed it down to two options:

• 24-foot trailer, 4,800 lbs dry weight
• 30-foot trailer, 5,800 lbs dry weight

I was really hoping that by downsizing and compromising on space, I’d gain around 50 extra miles of range. But based on everything I’m seeing, it looks like wind resistance and speed have a much bigger impact than weight—especially when cruising at 60 mph with little to no traffic.

Am I thinking about this correctly? I’m planning to pull the trigger on the 24-foot trailer this week, but I’m doing one final round of research to make sure I’m setting the right expectations around range.

Thanks in advance for any advice or personal experience you can share! This thread has been incredibly helpful for me as a first-time travel trailer buyer.

For reference: I’m towing with a 2024 Rivian R1S Quad Motor with the Large Pack.

 

[Riviot]

Am I thinking about this correctly?

In my opinion, yes you are. I've been doing the same, debating between a 16' vs 20-23' vs teardrop vs pop-up. From my tracking, the latter 2 have the best efficiency with reduced drag exposure. But you compromise on size and features. With a negligible efficiency difference between a 16' vs larger Airstream, I'm focused on a 20-23' that's newer and won't break the bank.

 

[ironoman]

One thing first off is that weight is less of a concern compared to wind/air resistance when figuring out what kind of range hit you'll get. Boxy-er designs will incur more of a hit. That doesn't mean that weight still isn't a factor, but it's less than you think.

Two, what are your needs? How many do you need to sleep in the trailer? Will you be going to places with power/hookups, or more overland/off-the-grid style camping?

I've been pretty happy with the inTech that we have and readily recommend the brand. I used to be a bit wary of Airstream after hearing about quality drop-offs over the last 10 or so years, but posts in this thread seem to say that things are getting better (or the reports were exaggerated). You're gonna pay a premium for an Airstream for sure, though as it's a brand with a lot of history.

Regarding charging stops - at least for my wife and I, we find that stopping every 125-150 miles to change (what we can pull off with our R1T and Sol Dawn) is a nice break - that's two to two and a half hours straight of driving at 60mph. As a related example, we did a trip last year that started by going from Eastern Washington State to the Oregon Coast. We made our first overnight stop at a state park about 300 miles into the trip, and we did that in about 6 hours. Upon looking back at things, we both agree that we could have done the whole drive to the coast itself in another three hours. Granted, we don't have kids.....

One other thing I like to note is that if you are camping at a place with hook-ups (for at least power), you can most likely charge up there! I think that tends to get forgotten by a lot of people planning trips, as you can't gas up an ICE truck at a campsite....

Anyway, let me know if you have any other questions and I'll do my best to answer them & pass along any advice I have.

For what is worth. We really like our Safari Condo, ALTO R1723. It is definitely more aerodynamic than the InTech Luna and Sol as well as the AirStreams. We have only done a few trips so far but over the 1,500 miles we have travelled the energy usage has averaged 1.5kWh/mile.

One word of advice about "gassing up at the campsite" is that some sites including KOAs do not let you charge. We drove from Springdale, UT to Prescott. AZ about 420 miles and when I arrived at the camp site it said no EV charging. I tried to get a few miles in anyway but the truck would don't charge. Not sure why but the green light on the Rivian adapter didn't light up. when I plugged it in.

 

[Riviot]

Not sure why but the green light on the Rivian adapter didn't light up. when I plugged it in.

TT-30?

 

[ironoman]

TT-30?

Yes it was a TT-30. I also tried the 120v adapter and nothing as well. I plugged the trailer in with a TT-30 and it worked fine.

 

[Riviot]

Yes it was a TT-30. I also tried the 120v adapter and nothing as well. I plugged the trailer in with a TT-30 and it worked fine.

You have to get a specific EV TT-30 adapter, so it puts the ground in the right place, otherwise it won't work right. I learned the hard way lol.

 

[ironoman]

You have to get a specific EV TT-30 adapter, so it puts the ground in the right place, otherwise it won't work right. I learned the hard way lol.

Thanks for the tip! I have used the Rivian NEMA 14-50 at a number of RV parks in the 50amp receptacle without any issues.
I wonder why the 1NEMA 5-15 didn't work.

 

[Riviot]

Thanks for the tip! I have used the Rivian NEMA 14-50 at a number of RV parks in the 50amp receptacle without any issues.
I wonder why the 1NEMA 5-15 didn't work.

That one I can't explain. I ended up going 5-15 and lowered to 10amp, so pulled like molasses but still gave me something.

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