Need some more help fellas. Wife wants something newer

[Luke]

Wife and I have been looking at travel trailers.
Right now I have a 2007 Rockwood Roo 233 Expandable. We have had it for about 5 years and I got it dirt cheap at $2500. It was rough and we have done quite a bit with it like replacing floors, new tires and just cleaned up a lot. It has no slide at all and is pretty cramped inside even for just me and the wife and when the kids go its even worse.
Wife has finally said she wants to get something newer and bigger.....the bigger portion is what I am courious on.

Weight on our Roo is supposed to be around 3400lbs. right now It pulls fine but I am also not pulling it with a stabilizer type hitch as I never got one for it jsut because we always kept it at the lake in storage all the time so we really didnt pull it much of anywhere so never saw the need.
Now with something newer we will be using it more going different places etc.

I have a 2012 F150 3.5L Ecoboost crew cab. Specs online show its towing capabilities at 10,000lbs
My truck does pull the Roo well but I am really trying to figure out on what weight max I could tow with my truck.
With using a stabilizer hitch setup which I will be getting with the new camper.
Should I look for something in the 5000lb weight range? and shoot for half of my towing capability?

We are looking for something in the 26-28 foot range and preferably a bunkhouse with a slide.

[motobuffy]

Ah, the question for which there is no definitive answer. 5000 lbs empty would be a good place to start, BUT, variables come into play.
1. Stuff - water, food, clothing, grill, tools, propane tanks, etc. not just camper stuff, but things in your truck bed and cab (people)
2. Distance and temperature - the longer and hotter the trip(s), the more wear on the truck.
3. Terrain - mountains, twisties, stop and go all create more stress on your truck.
4. Truck - How many miles on the truck? How long do you plan to keep it?

FWIW, I tow a 6500lb empty weight travel trailer with lots of stuff from Va to Austin in 2 long days during the winter months. Also Va to Maine in 1.5 days in August through the Poconos. I would not be comfortable in less than a 3/4 ton diesel. Reason - I expect my truck to give me 200k+ reasonably trouble free miles over a minimum of 10 years. If you trade when the warranty runs out, now that's a different ballgame.

[fly by night]

Have a look at the Jayco brand.

[Luke]

Question isnt really about Camper Brand as I am not really picky there.
My question is the towing capacity and what weight to stay under.

[RFSims]

26'-28' long/ 5,000lbs you will have no trouble pulling with a weight distributing/anti sway hitch such as an E2 or Equalizer 4 point antisway. My rule of thumb trailer size for a 1/2 ton truck comfortable towing experience is 30' max and 6500lb max. Get over that and you will have an occasional white-knuckle experience.

[Luke]

26'-28' long/ 5,000lbs you will have no trouble pulling with a weight distributing/anti sway hitch such as an E2 or Equalizer 4 point antisway. My rule of thumb trailer size for a 1/2 ton truck comfortable towing experience is 30' max and 6500lb max. Get over that and you will have an occasional white-knuckle experience.

That was what I was thinking was about 5k lbs and I think with the right switch and I would be good.

[CJ1]

That was what I was thinking was about 5k lbs and I think with the right switch and I would be good.

A properly loaded 10k trailer with the truck set up correctly and it will tow excellent with no white knuckle experiences. You load a 5k trailer incorrectly with a truck not set up for it and it will be the most dangerous thing on the road. Just food for thought. CJ

[Luke]

We normally dont carry a ton of stuff when we go so I dont think overloading will be an issue.