Can't believe what i heard

Water-Bug wrote:
A lot of 1/2 pickups are rated to safely pull a modern 28 to 30 foot 5er. We don't have the specs of the trailers or tvs for any of the 4 examples mentioned by the OP. Yes, the salesman was misleading but that doesn't mean that the tv is overloaded or that a sales or service manager didn't review the set-ups. A lot of jumping to conclusions here.

That's my understanding as well.

Here's some things to chew on regarding what is really happening in the 1/2 ton pickup world:

- Aren't 1/2 ton pickups nowadays offered with various rear differential ratios? If so, just buy one with low enough differential gearing so as to provide the necessary towing torque.

- Aren't 1/2 ton pickups nowadays offered with trailer towing packages so as to have the extra engine/transmission cooling necessary for towing?

- Isn't the tongue weight of most TTs and 5'ers way less than what 1/2 ton pickups nowadays are rated for in their beds? If so, how is a 1/2 ton pickup "overloaded" by any TT or 5'er tongue weight being placed on it's rear hitch?

- Don't TTs and 5'ers have their own electric braking systems? If so, how is it that a 1/2 ton pickup is not able to handle the "stopping and/or downhill slowing" of a TT's or 5'er's weight?

- From the adds I see on TV, 1/2 ton pickups nowadays have stock or optional monster engines completely capable of towing TTs and 5'ers - especially by ordering one with a low enough rear differential ratio.

IMHO, the main reason for 3/4 ton and 1 ton pickups nowadays is for CARRYING a lot of weight in their beds - not for towing a lot of independently braked loads behind that have tongue weights way less than what the bed of even a 1/2 pickup is capable of.

By the way, the few hundred extra pounds that a 3/4 ton or 1 ton pickup actually weighs over a 1/2 ton pickup in no way gives them any real safety raw mass towing advantage over a 1/2 ton pickup - as compared to the relatively high comparative weight of a TT or 5'er being towed.

However, a 1 ton dually pickup does offer one outstanding safety aspect for towing that a 1/2 or 3/4 ton pickup doesn't offer ... that has nothing to do with a 1 ton pickup's raw weight, or large brakes, or low differential standard ratios, or good cooling, etc.. A dually pickup has an extra wheel in each rear position that provides support for the rear of the truck should one rear tire blow. This allows it to maintain control while coming to a stop when towing a TT or 5'er or anything else. FWIW, a 1/2 ton or 3/4 ton pickup could also have duals offered by the OEM's so as to offer this safety aspect when towing.

P.S. One brand of new 1/2 ton pickup I recently looked at even had true active air suspension in place of springs in the rear (just like some big rigs) so it could be automatically leveled once it was hooked up to a TT or 5'er with their tongue weight.