Towing Help...(I know another one)

APT wrote:
Reviewing this thread is funny. You need a 3/4 ton. No, wait for the 2015 Ecoboost 2.7L.

There are half tons that can comfortably tow your desired Cougar. You just need to compromise on something. Some of the luxury things in different truck, a 3/4 ton that does not fit in the garage, a lighter RV, etc.

A 2014 max trailer package crew cab 5.5' Lariat will be over 1600 pounds of payload. But they will be hard for a dealer to locate throughout the country and you can only order 2015s. Not all 2015 2.7L Ecoboosts will have 2200 pounds of payload. Its like the 2014 F150 with 4000 pounds of payload. No one has ever seen one! We don't know enough about the 2015 right now to judge. Weight is down, but so are GVWR packages.

Glad my ignorance on the subject is amusing to you. I realize the 2.7 will not work now.I was hoping an ecoboost 3.5 xlt with max tow would.Care to share which 1/2 ton with a standard or short bed would "comfortably" tow it?

Reviewing this thread is funny. You need a 3/4 ton. No, wait for the 2015 Ecoboost 2.7L.

There are half tons that can comfortably tow your desired Cougar. You just need to compromise on something. Some of the luxury things in different truck, a 3/4 ton that does not fit in the garage, a lighter RV, etc.

A 2014 max trailer package crew cab 5.5' Lariat will be over 1600 pounds of payload. But they will be hard for a dealer to locate throughout the country and you can only order 2015s. Not all 2015 2.7L Ecoboosts will have 2200 pounds of payload. Its like the 2014 F150 with 4000 pounds of payload. No one has ever seen one! We don't know enough about the 2015 right now to judge. Weight is down, but so are GVWR packages.

Another thing you don't mention borninblue is your intended use for the camper.
My previous response does not apply if you plan on towing thousands of miles a year, mtns, high altitude, etc. I'd feel more comfortable in a larger truck (not another F150 of any flavor) then.
If you're primarily running around the Midwest and local trips that is a big consideration.
My neighbors in AK just tugged their Keystone something or other, 25' or so TT from The east coast to AK with no issues and said it was comfortable. He is not mechanically inclined or an experienced trailer puller. And they were loaded down since they spent a month in the camper and were moving to AK. 3 kids, dog, everything including the kitchen sink!

2112 wrote:
I don't think you will find a 1/2 ton SCREW that would safely tow that trailer. Most lack payload. There are a few F150 EB SCABs that will but they are hard to find. They are basically a strippo work truck.

You would be going from a Platinum to a lightly optioned XLT or FX2. Mine has close to 2100lb payload but no running boards, NAV, rear camara, sliding rear window, etc. All that adds weight which lowers payload.

Says the guy towing a 5ver with his F150.
What the OP needs to know is that his truck is the same basic truck as the one above. Just has lighter rear leafs and not a Eco Boost.
The F150 is a great 1/2 ton towing platform and the 5.0 is a towing beast for being a small V8.
With decent tires, a wdh on the camper and something to shore up the rear suspension (I'd reccomend Timbrens for ease of install and economical.) a 2011 F150 with 3.55 gears and 5.0 will tow a 8klb TT pretty well.
No, it's not a 1 ton dieesel Dooley but that doesn't mean it's incapable of pulling!
I had the same config truck as the OP except 2wd. Other than soft rear springs which were remedied by adding Timbrens to the rear axle, I towed way more than that truck was rated for, regularly. I'm not reccomending pulling a 14k flat deck all over but that truck did it with relative ease unless the tongue weight got out of hand.

OP, you may want to look at a little lighter trailers, but the one you listed is not out of the question.

I posted this in an F-150 forum and thought it useful in your situation. I am 6'-3" as well and wanted a higher ceiling height. Keep in mind that I just purchased this trailer this year and have old towed it 10 times.



Below is just my experience and not my suggestion since what I am comfortable driving, you might not be comfortable driving and I do not know everything about you...

First, my setup...
I tow a 2010 Keystone Hideout 30BHDS with my 2013 SCREW 4x4 Max Tow (door sticker gives me 1,834 for payload). It has two slides and a bunkhouse, not a large living space. I have not weighed the trailer, but the side sticker tells me the dry weight is 7,260. I would estimate that I travel with between 1,000 and 1,500 pounds worth of stuff in the trailer depending on the length of travel and the location of travel. I use a Blue Ox Sway Pro set up. Max tongue weight of my factory receiver says 1,150 pounds with a W/D hitch. I have added Air Lift Air Bags to the back and E rated tires. Most of my travel involves two lane state roads with a speed limit at or below 55mph, however I do travel the NYS Thruway sometimes at around 67mph. I rarely go more than 200 miles from home, and usually within 50 miles. Purchasing a larger truck was not an option.

Second, my thoughts...
I have zero problems running up to, or exceeding, the limits of my truck. I am not a full-timer and I rarely go so far that I am doing any damage. I believe that it's a truck, it's made to be a truck. Power wise, it has never struggled or lacked for power in any circumstance that I have encountered, but again, I am not climbing the Rockies. Since I am rarely on a wide open highway, crosswinds have never effected me. The few times on the NYS Thruway that have been "windy" have resulted in little action from the trailer at 67mphs, which gives me confidence in the Blue Ox. I can't tell you if they were 10mph winds or 200mph winds. I know that given the varying setup that I drive with (family, no family, wood, no wood, water, no water, etc.) that my traveling weight of the truck fluctuates greatly but the truck has handled fine regardless of the payload, but that is probably a result of the Air Lift. I do know that I have gone over the max tongue weight as well and have considered changing to a Class V hitch. I average around 7-8mph towing, but my trailer has a very large front wall.

Again, take it as you will, just my experience towing a larger trailer with a half-ton truck. My setup is below.

Thanks again, still bouncing ideas around. RV shop by us has the Cougar on 14' closeout for 22,000. From what I have researched that is a really good deal. One thing is for sure, I am very thankful for finding this site. I am waaaay more comfortable making choices now. We went to an RV show last year and thought we could pretty much tow all TT's. Still educating ourselves, but at least we are not complete morons now about the topic.

Remember, "you will want to upgrade"....anyway....

Not trying to talk you out of something....just giving some experience advice. You will have some needs as to what you will have to have. Just don't overshoot yourself in the process. Especially when playing with something as vital as your towing and stopping abilities.

wbwood,

Thanks for the detailed post I appreciate it. I see your point of view from your experience,but whenever I speak with people at campgrounds I keep hearing "you will always want to upgrade your trailer." I really don't want to go from pop-up to small TT and then to one that is adequate.

One of the main reasons for this is my height. I am about 6'03'' and we have looked at 30 plus trailers at various RV lots. I can barley stand in most of them due to the ceiling height. This does not seem like an enjoyable experience even if we are just in it for sleeping and bad weather.

The only trailers I feel comfortable in are the ones with the "dome" type ceiling. When both the wife and I walked though the Cougar it felt great for both of us. I didn't feel all closed in and could see myself enjoying actually being inside. Plus it has the double bed over double set-up, which would allow our children to sleep comfortably when they get older.

Maybe I am going "too big" for our firt TT, I don't know. I just don't want buyers regret and be saying "man I wish we would have went with the Cougar." I understand the towing will not be a picnic. I believe we have settled on purchasing a 2015 F150 ecoboost as the payload will be around 2,000 and plenty of power to tow.

I say that if you are that confused and conerned about it, there is a reason. My opinion is that it's not a good combination. I wouldn't go through putting more money into your truck to pull that trailer. Find a lighter trailer or get a bigger truck. I would opt for the lighter/smaller trailer. As someone mentioned, get something thats in the gross weight of what the dry weight of that trailer is. Don't think you have to get a trailer all decked out. Start small and move up. We started off with a pop up in 2000. There was 3 of us at first, but then we had another child a year later. Still very comfortable. Was something that we could pull with the Explorer we had. Enjoyed many trips in it. In 2010, we decided to get a TT. Didn't have a truck to pull it with. We put the cart in front of the horse, so to speak. We bought the trailer we thought we wanted and needed. We bought a Keystone Sprinter 31BH. Loved it. Had plenty of room. Our one child living at home had her own room with 4 bunks in it. WE just new we needed it because she would have friends coming with us. In the 3 years we had it, not one friend. One time, a couple nieces spent the night with us, but they were already staying in a cabin in the park. They just slept there to be with our daughter. Needless to say, we had to buy an F250 to pull the trailer that had a gross weight of 11k lbs! Dry weight was less than 8k, but we figured we were at the 10k lb range when towing. To get the truck, we had to trade in my wifes mini van. So we traded in a minivan that got around 20mpg in on a truck that got less than 12mpg not towing and around 8mpg towing. The truck hardly got driven. My wife works from home and she would drive it to take our daughter to the bus stop. In the winter the truck would idle with the heater going. The gas guage crept down. In 3 years, we had less than 25,000 miles on the truck. Most of our trips ended up being at the beach 4 hrs away. So we got an idea. Take the TT and store it at a campground at the beach (Myrtle Beach, SC) for the same price we were paying to store it home. We traded in the truck for a new explorer for my wife. Twice the gas mielage of the truck. We would drive it or my little Toyota Yaris commuter car (37mpg). And we did it. It was great. We would make the reservations and the campground would have the TT on site for us when we got there. We set it up and close it up when done. They would come get it and put it back in storage for no additional cost. So then we decided to get a used pop up to take to the mountains, since we are much closer to the mountains. I found one for $2000 and bought it. Got it home and started doing a lot of airing out (people used mothballs in it). Never got the chance to use it when we decided on the Class C. Which we knew was a better fit for us. And something that we were able to figure out over the years of what would be best for us. And I can honestly say that in the year of owning it, it's been the best decision for us. But it took time and figuring out exactly what was a good fit after using it. We never had the towing worries. But I can say its much easier to drive a 31' model class C (about 33' total length) and pull my yaris on a tow dolly, than it was to drive a 20'+ truck with a TT was at 35' (bumper to hitch). Much easier to maneuver and park.

So I say, start smaller than what you think you need or what you can pull. Grow with it over a couple years. Don't worry about what you can do in it. Worry about what you can do outside of it and where you can take it. You will be spending most of your time out of it. You will only be in it at night and maybe bad weather. Our deal breaker was that our bedroom had to be seperate with a door on it from the daughter. We are in our 40's and still enjoy our alone time. lol

30' trailer and 20' truck gets you at 50' really fast. Camping spots and choices of them will be harder to find. We learned that too with the TT.

Haha nice, I would if I could. Back wall goes into the kitchen and old lady wouldn't stand for that!