Forum Discussion

ouroutdoorfamil's avatar
Feb 16, 2016

Looking at 40ft toy haulers, now how to choose a truck

So I spent last night reading posts about trucks, trailers, do's dont's. My wife and I are new to this, we've talked about getting a trailer for years, but nothing really came of it. This past weekend we actually went to an RV show with the kiddo's and had a blast! Now it's been the only talk all weekend, what model to get, how and what to pull it with, etc.

The "guy" in me wants more than I need to pull it, a big Ford-750, my wife says other blogs say a F-350 will work, then I see the freightliner M2's, heck why not buy a tractor trailer front...???

a lot of things for beginners. I have 4 children, so our truck has to be able to seat 6. I've been looking at the Ford f-450's, but I'm seeking ya'lls experience, am I looking in the wrong place, is the regular dealership the place to go, or should we look at a fleet dealership with commercial options? Will these 40ft'ers fit in the KOA's?

42 Replies

  • First you need to look at the GVWR and the pin weight of the trailer. Then you will need to look closely at the GCWR and payload capacities of the trucks. An F350 dually may well work. But only the numbers all tell for sure.

    For six people you will need a bench front seat. You don't see too many trucks in the higher trim packages with bench seats. So you may have to do some searching if you are looking for all the bells and whistles. Or order what you want.

    Most private RV parks have at least some spaces for a 40 footer. But often not many. And if you are interested in national, state, COE, city, etc parks you can be limited.
  • More information is necessary.
    How much does the rig that you are looking at weigh? Need to know gross weight not dry weight.
    Off hand you will need a medium duty.