Deciding between 32FR or 33BD

[Christle]

We are currently considering buying a Sunset Trail 33BD/32FR. We have a 2010 Ford F150 with towing package. We know that we can tow both, but we don't know which one to buy. They both have positives and some negatives. Does anyone have any recommendations or reviews?

[hippy45]

Can't help you with your choice, but it does seem like a lot of trailer for an F150.
Good luck with your decision.

[Tim D]

I am certainly no expert but I have to agree that it does seem like a lot of trailer for F-150. I tow my 25RB with a 1500 Silverado, and while it does tow it okay, I am glad I didn't go any bigger. If I had to tow in really hilly or mountainous terrain it may have issues.

[mark5w]

What package do you have on your F150? In order to do the job your should have max trailer and heavy duty payload. Check out these specs, http://www.ford.com/trucks/f150/specifications/towing/ Ecoboost would be a big plus. good luck. by the way, both rv's look nice but I would prefer the 33BD. I don't like the idea of the bathroom access closer to the bedroom.

[WildWildWest]

Originally Posted by mark5w

What package do you have on your F150? In order to do the job your should have max trailer and heavy duty payload. Check out these specs, http://www.ford.com/trucks/f150/specifications/towing/ Ecoboost would be a big plus. good luck. by the way, both rv's look nice but I would prefer the 33BD. I don't like the idea of the bathroom access closer to the bedroom.

Sorry to go off the OP's original question here, but Mark, it looks like you are way over your load rating for your truck with that Cruiser 335SS Fifth Wheelyou are pulling with your F150 even with max trailer and heavy load package. By the time you add in your passengers and gear in your truck and reasonable loading of your trailer,you have to be at least 2,000pounds over your maxGCWR.

Iam guessing you've never pulled in the mountains. Not wanting to start a row here, but honestly, that's not a safe combination and I don't follow what manufacturers say for max weight as those are under ideal conditions only. Yourtrailer GVWR should never exceed the truck's max towing weight and in most cases it should be 20% lesswitha normalconfiguration ie. not always travelling alone with a completely empty truck.

[mark5w]

Originally Posted by WildWildWest

Sorry to go off the OP's original question here, but Mark, it looks like you are way over your load rating for your truck with that Cruiser 335SS Fifth Wheelyou are pulling with your F150 even with max trailer and heavy load package. By the time you add in your passengers and gear in your truck and reasonable loading of your trailer,you have to be at least 2,000pounds over your maxGCWR.

Iam guessing you've never pulled in the mountains. Not wanting to start a row here, but honestly, that's not a safe combination and I don't follow what manufacturers say for max weight as those are under ideal conditions only. Yourtrailer GVWR should never exceed the truck's max towing weight and in most cases it should be 20% lesswitha normalconfiguration ie. not always travelling alone with a completely empty truck.

CAT scale: GCWR 16400 2 passengers 1 13 lb Westie. loaded trailer, tank of water


Live on top of a mountain, across from Appalacian trail, NO Problem going down or up the 1 mile hill, NO problem towing on back roads, interstates. If you look for my comparison picture of my truck with load and no load there is very little truck drop ( about 2 - 2 1/2 inches.)

[WildWildWest]

Originally Posted by mark5w

CAT scale: GCWR 16400 2 passengers 1 13 lb Westie. loaded trailer, tank of water


Live on top of a mountain, across from Appalacian trail, NO Problem going down or up the 1 mile hill, NO problem towing on back roads, interstates. If you look for my comparison picture of my truck with load and no load there is very little truck drop ( about 2 - 2 1/2 inches.)

That's impressive. No way my wife would load the trailer that far under max. We're probably loaded to 100% of capacitylesssome room for holding tanks and usually carry about half full of fresh water. With tanksempty we are at 11,800 for the trailer with gear loaded. Of course the heavy things are mine - generator, tools, DEF.


Back to the OP, definitely if you have the right 1/2 tontruck is equipped correctly you can handle it, but here is the towing specs for the 2010 F150

http://www.ford.com/assets/pdf/towin...vF150sep09.pdf
IF you have max towing package, you can definitely handle the 32FR or 32BD.



Edited by: WildWildWest

[WildWildWest]

I find floor plan preferences are very personal. If you have done some RVing in the past you should have an idea what you like and don't like. For us the deciding factor between the 335ss and the 345rf was the kitchen storage space. An extra full height kitchen pantry to be exact. Both plans have pros and cons but depending on how you travel will make a big difference. We are usually on the road 4 weeks at a time so we take a lot of supplies that are usually hard to find when we are gone. Therefore storage.

Walk through both a couple of times and sit in every spot and then start figuring out how you use it. Our last travel trailer was great for two or three. But with 4 it wasn't comfortable. If you cook outside a lot, the outdoor kitchen makes sense. If you only BBQ outside, it's not necessary.

I'm sure that doesn't help much but that's why people have a hard time recommending one unit over another to someone else.

[Lloyd]

Originally Posted by Christle

We are currently considering buying a Sunset Trail 33BD/32FR. We have a 2010 Ford F150 with towing package. We know that we can tow both, but we don't know which one to buy. They both have positives and some negatives. Does anyone have any recommendations or reviews?

I agree with Mark. If you have the heavy tow and max payload you should be just fine. You didn't state which engine you had.

We just came back from an outing and I ran across the scale. We had some water, and I hadn't dumped the tanks yet. Our little rig weighed in at--14760# 2 people and 2/3 of a tank of fuel.

[anaro]

lets start with a trailer comparison. the 32fr is about 1 ft shorter than the 33bd. Both are very long trailers and I would not want to tow either without a long wheelbase truck (think long bed, crew cab). The length of either trailer will dictate your camping spots/location. For example a lot of national parks have length limits that even my 30' TT can't fit into. I have been limited in my local state parks because a lot of the nicer waterfront sites can't handle my length but that was a trade off I was willing to make.

Floorplan - the 33bd gives you more counter space (I wish I had an island) and possibly better seating for watching TV????the 32fr is the same as far as kitchen/living and master as my 26bl we just differ in location of bath and you have a room or quad bunks instead of my 2 skinny bunks next to the bath. that said watching TV with your neck cranked sideways isn't fun. DH usually ends up sitting sideways on the sofa with legs up while dd and I curl up on the dinette (sometimes we drop it into a Bed for comfort when watching a movie). I also have zero counterspace for cooking.

now lets talk about the TT weights.The 32fr is 600 lbs lighter dry and only 100 lbs lighter on gvwr giving you more cargo capacity. I'm guessing you are looking at these because you have multiple children. larger family equals more stuff to bring which equals more weight. the cargo capacity of the 33bd is only 1800 lbs. we have 1 small child and have put close to 1700 bs into our trailer. just something to be aware of.

now there are so many different f150 configurations out there so I honestly don't know if you can or can't haul this. just a word of advice don't go off of dry weights or dealer says I can. crunch the numbers yourself. Do so by getting an actual weight of your truck with all passengers, pets, gear that will be in it when towing plus a full tank of gas. Subtract that weight from your trucks gcwr to get your trucks adjusted towing capacity. next take the scaled weight and subtract it from your Trucks gvwr to get your available payload. when you get your weights, weigh your truck with each axle on a separate pad so you also get individual axle weights. this helps for 2 things, 1 you can see hw much room you have for putting weight on the rear axle (think tongue weight) and 2 it can help when adjusting your wdh later.Next understand that since you will never tow an empty or dry trailer you need to look at loaded weights. if this is your first trailer or you have never weighed a previous trailer to know how much you will load into it, then it is simpler and safer to do your calculations using trailer gvwr. The tongue weight will Also never be the fictional dry tongue weight loaded. it should be 13-15% of the loaded TT weight. So for the 32fr you are looking at a potential tongue weight of 1200-1430 lbs. for the 33bd you are looking at a potential tongue weight of 1250-1440 lbs. With a good and properly adjusted wdh approx 20% of that number will be transferred back onto the trailer and only 80% on your truck. this tongue weight must be untracked from your available payload and be less than your max rawr. Also the trailer weight must be less than your adjusted towing capacity. if you are inside all of these numbers then you should be ok. I would get a good wdh with integrated sway control like Reese dual cam or equal-i-zer. A top of the line one like Hensley arrow or pro pride might even be better.

good luck to you and please understand everyone's concern typically comes from their own experience of being outmatched previously (me included).Edited by: anaro

[b727capt]

Here is my $.02. I purchased a 33BD in April and love it. I tow with a 2010 F150 lariat screw longbox, 5.4L 3.55 gears. I installed Firestone Riderite airbags and factory tow mirrors. It tows great with the Equilizer hitch, plenty of power and stopping. After finding out that the ST tires are speed rated to 65 mph, I haven't been exceeding 65 and have not had an issue with sway. Trailer is about 37' from tongue to rear bumper and 58' when towing. It can be challenging getting into some campgrounds, so you have to be sure thesites are adequate. Ican't comment on the other model, but here are some of the featureswe loveabout the 33BD: The island adds counter space and opens the trailer up. The outdoor kitchen is awesome with both a stove and grill. Plenty of storage with the two pantries. The bunkroom is great for the kids. Good luck in your decision and Happy Camping