4ofUs wrote:
Thanks, one good thing is we live in south Florida so most of the driving will be flat, we'll have wind, but not much else!
Is the 8000lb limiting factor on weight safety, or just getting horrible MPG? I mean, I would like to know how much I can safely tow minus all other considerations, and then take efficiency, MPG, and work my way down from there.
The 8000lb is a recommendation due to the horse power and torque of the engine. It's more about how pleasant your towing experience will be. Your truck is actually rated to tow higher weight, but, it would struggle to do it.
I have the same year/make/model/engine/gears. Dry weight on my trailer is 7200 lbs. Loaded weight is a little over 8000. The truck has been getting the job done, for seven years.
If you're looking at travel trailers, there are lot of choices in 7000 lb unloaded weight range. When you load it up (dishes, pots and pans, bedding, camping gear, BBQ, water, groceries, etc) for camping, it will be around 8000 with about 1000 lbs of tongue weight.
My truck likes gas, no matter what I'm doing with it. Unloaded it gets 12 MPG, maybe 12.5 with a tail wind. With the trailer it gets 9 - 10 MPG.
