Opinions on towing a travel trailer with a truck? Thanks.

[Mike]

Hello all,
We'd like to spend more time in the south during the winter, and are looking for a way to do it economically and with two cats along for the ride. We're looking for input/comments/experience/pros and cons of pulling a travel trailer with a large(r) pickup truck. It seems like it might be our only option under the circumstances, as I don't think I could pull anything behind the class B. It would be too much wear and tear on an already stressed to the max chassis, engine, and transmission combo.
Basic Premises: Our target stay would be for at least a month at a time, but two or more wouldn't be beyond possibility. One of our greatest challenges is that we have 2 cats that do not travel well in the confines of a class B RV. The simple issue of where to keep a litter box is almost impossible to deal with. So something larger is probably the only way to go. We're considering selling our B and getting a travel trailer and a mid to large sized truck to pull it to a "destination" and drop it at a campground, and use the truck for day/overnight trips in and around the surrounding area, as well as supply runs. We believe the cats would be OK in anything 20' or longer, as nowadays these travel trailer things look like you could live in them full time, and not even know that you weren't living in a smallish bungalow in the burbs. They seem quite spacious, and some are very well equipped including all weather camping packages.

Disclaimer: We are getting close to the point (after 3.5 years of B-ing) where we feel like we're just about finished with the class B "touring" era of our travels anyway, and we've seen lots of places in and around North America. The B was a great tool for touring, fast, convenient, and economical. That said, we now have a short list of places in the US southwest where we'd like to plant ourselves during the colder months up here. Should we decide that a particular place is becoming too routine, we'd just pick up like you would with any other RV and move to someplace new. It's just a bit different than starting your B, and driving off. You have to hook up the truck/trailer first, then you start the truck and drive off. It does restrict some of the places you can drive, and the type of campsites you can fit into, but that's pretty obvious, and we're prepared to deal with that. Our feeling is, once the tt is parked, the truck becomes the touring vehicle, and that's going to have to serve as the fast, convenient, and economical part of traveling for us, should we proceed with our plans.

So, does anyone have any experience with switching from a B to a TT or vice versa? Any anecdotal info or even 2nd or 3rd party stories, good or bad, or just your considered opinions would be appreciated.
It's not a done deal yet, but it seems like about our only choice, to achieve our goal of spending more time in the warmer weather in winter, and creating a better overall travel situation for us and the cats, both short and long term. Up to now, we've used a local cat sitting service, but it's pricey, and it does limit the length of our stays away.

Thanks in advance, and I hope/expect this thread will get a lot of traffic. We need any and all input to help us to figure this out, and to point out anything we might have missed or misunderstood about trailers, and towing, and fuel economy, and insurance, and braking these things, and maintenance, and ERS, etc., etc.......

As another related question, do any of you belong to Passport America? Apparently they call themselves
the "50% off camping club", and they only charge $44/year to become a member. My cousin pulls a 20' tt and he's staying in Lake Elsinore, CA, at a really nice looking campground, for $15/night with full hookups, with the PA 50% off camping discount.
Thanks again, folks.