New Truck Question
New to the boards, I currently have a 2013 Ram 1500 w/3.55, tow capacity is 8700lbs. We are looking at upgrading travel trailers to a Kodiak 30' BH. Dry weight is 7300, loaded is 8900. My Ram...
Forum Discussion
I think it all depends on your setup and where you go...
We picked up our Open Range LT272RLS a couple weeks ago - it's just under 8k lbs (according to the yellow sticker on it), CVWR is 10k, 35' hitch to bumper, 31' box. I have a 2011 F150 Ecoboost Supercrew with Max Tow. They are rare as unicorns but I found one used.
Being our first RV, the dealer set us up with the biggest Equalizer brand hitch they had (I think it says 14k lbs).
People here will tell you I'm a rolling death trap. I've never towed ANYTHING besides a little landscape trailer once. Picked the unit up, went from side streets to the highway for 60 miles. The truck did fine. A little bouncy but at seeds up to 65 it was stable. Yes, I got passed by a lot of stuff - cars, trucks, 18 wheelers. I think the only thing I didn't get passed by was a bus. Pretty stable.
Even when cut off by a tanker truck at 30 MPH and I stabbed the brakes all was calm and just a slow down. No drama.
Took it 10 miles down the highway on the 2nd day to storage. Flags were doing a little dance on the poles (so it was not calm) and there was a tiny, tiny bit of nudgiing, about what I got normally driving the truck in the wind. Again, passed by a bunch of stuff.
The engine was fine - working a bit because it was in the upper 80's, I was running the AC etc. But it was drama free. Even the wife said "doesn't seem to be struggling".
Now I think you have very experienced folks here who tried this with the 1/2 tons of the 60's, 70's, 80's, etc. with surge brakes or crude controllers. Look up the #'s - today's "1/2 ton" has as much payload, power, braking, etc. as an earlier 3/4 ton.
Woud I take this combination cross country? Too early to tell. We've got a few longer trips planned this summer and fall, including one from Central PA to the Outer Banks. Is it a capable and safe combination? I'd say so.
If you're set on a 1/2 ton, the F150 with the correct options beats the pants off the Ram 1500 in just about every towing metric. And even in most non towing metrics too.
We picked up our Open Range LT272RLS a couple weeks ago - it's just under 8k lbs (according to the yellow sticker on it), CVWR is 10k, 35' hitch to bumper, 31' box. I have a 2011 F150 Ecoboost Supercrew with Max Tow. They are rare as unicorns but I found one used.
Being our first RV, the dealer set us up with the biggest Equalizer brand hitch they had (I think it says 14k lbs).
People here will tell you I'm a rolling death trap. I've never towed ANYTHING besides a little landscape trailer once. Picked the unit up, went from side streets to the highway for 60 miles. The truck did fine. A little bouncy but at seeds up to 65 it was stable. Yes, I got passed by a lot of stuff - cars, trucks, 18 wheelers. I think the only thing I didn't get passed by was a bus. Pretty stable.
Even when cut off by a tanker truck at 30 MPH and I stabbed the brakes all was calm and just a slow down. No drama.
Took it 10 miles down the highway on the 2nd day to storage. Flags were doing a little dance on the poles (so it was not calm) and there was a tiny, tiny bit of nudgiing, about what I got normally driving the truck in the wind. Again, passed by a bunch of stuff.
The engine was fine - working a bit because it was in the upper 80's, I was running the AC etc. But it was drama free. Even the wife said "doesn't seem to be struggling".
Now I think you have very experienced folks here who tried this with the 1/2 tons of the 60's, 70's, 80's, etc. with surge brakes or crude controllers. Look up the #'s - today's "1/2 ton" has as much payload, power, braking, etc. as an earlier 3/4 ton.
Woud I take this combination cross country? Too early to tell. We've got a few longer trips planned this summer and fall, including one from Central PA to the Outer Banks. Is it a capable and safe combination? I'd say so.
If you're set on a 1/2 ton, the F150 with the correct options beats the pants off the Ram 1500 in just about every towing metric. And even in most non towing metrics too.
