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kooka7's avatar
kooka7
Explorer
Jul 24, 2014

Help us choose a TT (5 kids + 2 adlts)! TV - 07 Expy Ltd

Hi All,
I hope you are well. (Apologies for the long post, i've included as much info I could think of)...

Hubby and I are at the stage now of exhausting appropriately sized TTs for the family. We have 5 kids, with out eldest 7yrs, then 6 yrs, then 4 yrs, then 3 yrs, then 15 months...

Our TV would be a 2007 Ford Expedition Ltd version, fully loaded if that means anything as far as weight goes?.

I have provided as many specs as I could find in relation to weights etc.... and would dearly love someone to translate for me what is the maximum weight we are able to tow with the expedition. I am slowly coming up-to speed with the lingo but its still all goblidook to me!

In all honesty, I think we may be pushing it with the larger bunkhouse type models but there were a few that we had pinpointed that would suit our needs with a growing family. The main criteria is fitting 5 kids in the rear bunkhouse and hubby is keen on an outdoor kitchen!

There are not alot of RV's so far I have come across that have outdoor kitchens without compromising bunkhouse beds, those that do tend to compromise on a bed in the bunkhouse and some of the quad bunks are out for us as there is no where for no 5 to go...

So the specs on the expy are as follows:

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Manufacturers sticker on rear drivers door
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GVWR:7700LB / 3493kg
Front GAWR - 1610kg
PNBE AV - 3550lb

REAR GAWR - 1928KG
PNBE AR - 4250LB

TYRE SIZE 275X 55R20
RIMS - 20X8.5

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(YELLOW STICKER) TIRE AND LOADING INFORMATION
---------------------------------------------------
The combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed 701kg/1547lbs.

CLASS IV HITCH
MAX GROSS TRLR WT (LB) 9200
MAX TONGUE WT (LB) 920
MAX GROSS TRLR WT (LB) - WEIGHT CARRYING - 6000
MAX TONGUE WT (LB) - WEIGHT CARRYING 600

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I have TWO trailer plugs. I have the option of EITHER a 4 pin rectangular plug, OR, a round plug.

Q/ is the round plug referred to as 7 pin? it has 7 prongs as such??

-----------------------

In the drivers side along the rhs bottom underdash area (where your knee kinda is) I have a small black "BRAKEMAN COMPACT" installed with "REESE" branding. This works, as we have already hooked up a standard U haul type trailer.


I know there are a few questions, but some clarification on tow weight would be super appreciated from those who have the calculations down pat!


As for the models we were looking at, we narrowed things so far down to this type of configuration (again because there is no compromise on having 5 kids at the rear of a bunkhouse):

* 2013 COACHMEN FREEDOM EXPRESS 312BHDS RV
* 2015 Jayco EAGLE 314TSBH
* Keystone 3220BHWE

I know that we also need to factor in the weight of occupants, gear, food etc also....

We would also need to get one of those anti-sway hitch type bars installed. Not sure what brands there are - any suggestions pls?

If there are some folk who could help us out with what we can tow weight wise on the expy we can then be in a better position to determine where we stand and exhaust other options if need to on the TV...

I'm still researching manufacturers and what finishes exterior are suited to the weather in calgary as we would still like to utilise the TT in Autumn as well as the warmer months....


Many thanks for your help,

Cheers,

K7

49 Replies

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  • carringb's avatar
    carringb
    Explorer
    Jul 25, 2014
    You need a 1-ton van with the V10 or diesel.

    Then you can pull one of these: Creekside 31KQBS. No compromise on either the outside kitchen (with 3-way fridge!) or the bunkhouse, which is wide enough to can put an inflatable queen size bed in between the bunks.

    Also being a Nash-family trailer, it means it has a substantial chassis underneath, is 4 seasons rated, and holds 100 gallons of fresh water.
  • kooka7's avatar
    kooka7
    Explorer
    Jul 25, 2014
    OML..... thank YOU so very much to all of you that have replied. I am quite astounded with the replies and have taken on board all the replies and I have sat down with hubby to go over it all. Whilst it's overwhelming to state the least, it has obviously identified that as a family of 7 with the current expy situation - what we require as a family for the next X amount of years .... the expy will fall flat on its proverbial.... so....

    Given that the ideal situation for us would be the likes of this model type of set up... 2015 Jayco EAGLE 314TSBH (perhaps there are other models lighter than this??), or something like it with a diff manufacturer... (again the bunkhouse situation)... is there a 7 seater passenger SUV that has the towing capability for this particular TT model... OR..... not??

    If I need to trade the expy in for something more suitable as a TV whilst still being able to accommodate the school/kindy/church/grocery/outing run that would be ideal, however... if needed to really push the budget could perhaps exhaust the avenue of a smaller truck as a TV (not ideal)..... hubby has his FJ40 that he brought from AU but that will most certainly not haul this TT!!!! ( i call it 'The Anchor"... another story LOL)!!!!

    As a side note, I am from AU.... use to camping in the 45+ celcius aussie stinking hot summers in tents along the river murray since I could walk... lllloooooooooooong time ago.... hubby grew up in edmonton... but we are new to the rv world so again... thanks so much for your advice and suggestions :-D

    we are taking it all on board :-D...

    So I guess in a nut shell...

    pulling this particular TT - 2015 Jayco EAGLE 314TSBH .... is there a
    1. 7 seater vehicle out there that will tow it without compromising weight/cargo capacity, or, if not...
    2. what manufacturer could tow this particular weight of trailer and still have the seating capacity....
    3. If seating capacity for 7 cannot be attained....what manufacturers offer tow weight-ability....

    just trying to think outside the square and I hope I make sense.... basically options are:

    1/ 7 seater to handle the above model
    2. if no 7 seater option... what manufacturer could handle this and what seating cacpacity

    hope it all makes sense...

    thanks so much again for all the help... this is the first forum board I have signed up to... and you have all be wonderful :-D...

    Cheers,
    k7
  • kaydeejay's avatar
    kaydeejay
    Explorer
    Jul 25, 2014
    tkoden wrote:
    ........................On the flats I ran between 70 and 75 mph depending on speed limits outside of CA.
    I hope you upgraded the ST tires as they have a max speed rating of 65mph.
    Otherwise I suggest you are looking for tire trouble.
  • tkoden's avatar
    tkoden
    Explorer
    Jul 24, 2014
    I tow a Keystone 32FB with a 2007 EL Exp. The tongue weight is a bit high but if you pay attention to how you load it you will be fine. I have towed it roughly 6,000 miles in the 7 months that I have owned it and it has towed great. Even in high winds and pulling the Sierra Nevada and Rockies I didn't have any issues with power or feeling unsafe. You won't set a land speed records going up hill but I didn't drop below 50 pulling hills at about 3500 RPM. On the flats I ran between 70 and 75 mph depending on speed limits outside of CA.

    Trailer loaded for a 2 week trip, 4 adults, 1 child, propane full, gas full, and 1/2 tank of water my weights were 3400 front, 4700 rear (500 lbs over), 7700 trailer weight. I did upgrade to 10 ply tires which made a huge difference both with and without the trailer. We pulled it from the California to North Dakota and back and everything worked great.
  • therink's avatar
    therink
    Explorer
    Jul 24, 2014
    You will likely need a TT with gross vehicle weight rating (gvwr) of around 7000 and no more. That will give you a loaded tongue weight of around 900 lbs. I would not go any heavier and I would stick to overall length less than 30 feet. You will have a lot of weight in tow vehicle with 7 passengers and cargo.
    I believe most of the models you described exceed this.
  • PUCampin's avatar
    PUCampin
    Explorer
    Jul 24, 2014
    Greetings and welcome!

    Short answer is you need to look at trailers that are in the 5000lb dry range (around 6200 loaded). Any bigger and you are going to exceed limits starting with payload.

    Here is the long answer

    The weak point for all half ton trucks and SUVs is payload. It has not been a power issue in a long time. Payload as you saw on the yellow sticker is the maximum allowable cargo and passengers. It can vary a lot but most half ton are in the 1200-1700 range. This is the vehicle's GVWR minus it's curb weigh as equipped from the factory. All people and stuff subtract from that.

    That wonderful maximum tow rating of 9000lbs is for a specific type of trailer, a flat deck or boat trailer, which has a tongue weight of 10% the total. The real hard number is the hitch rating. 900lbs with weight distribution. if the tongue weight is 10%, then 900/0.10 = 9000lbs!! See how that works? Problem with RV trailers is they have heavier tongues in order to keep them stable, like 13-15%. So with that same hard hitch number of 900, 900/0.14 = 6429lb!!! WOAH big difference huh? If you hooked up a 9000lb RV trailer with 14% tongue weight, the tongue would weigh in at 1260lbs blowing past that receiver rating! But neither the car dealewr or RV dealer will tell you this!

    Now lets look at payload. You can only use that full 900lbs hitch rating IF your total of people and stuff is less than the diffence. So 1547-900 = 647lbs of people and stuff. With a family of 7 that is not going to be easy. Maybe now but as the kids grow you will get heavier.

    So total up all the people, carseats, diaperbags, strollers etc and subtract from 1547 and this is what you have for hitch weight. Lets say you are around 700lbs for 2 adults 5 kids carseats etc, that leaves 800lbs for hitch. Then divide by 0.14 to get the max loaded trailer you should look at. 800/0.14 = 6050lbs.

    A good general guesstimate for all the stuff people add to a "dry" trailer is 1200-1500lbs. This includes batterie, propane, food, stuff, pots, pans, any options, water, televisions. etc. So pack light and take 6050-1200lbs = 4750lbs dry weight. Or lighter and look for 5000lbs dry. This will get you close to your max numbers but will work. Heavier and you are going to have issues. I have loaded my Expy with ceramic tile to it's limit, it was not too happy. You can find family trailers in the weight range but your options will be limited. As an asside, my 22ft TT weighs 5200lbs full loaded ready to go. It sleeps 7.

    The EL will handle longer trailers ok, your main issue is going to be payload. Half ton SUVs were ment to haul lots of people or lots of stuff, but not necessarily both at the same time.

    Good luck!
  • Campfire_Time's avatar
    Campfire_Time
    Explorer
    Jul 24, 2014
    Welcome to the forum! And thanks for asking about this! Its really important that you stay within ratings to have safe and happy camping experiences.

    Here are the two "gotchas". MAX GROSS TRLR WT (LB) 9200, MAX TONGUE WT (LB) 920. The Jayco has a "dry" tongue weight of over 906. Loaded that will easily top 1200#, well over your 920# limit. Additionally its GVWR is 10,750 which far over your 9200# limit.

    Never look at the dry weights of anything. They are fictional numbers when considering what the real weight weights will be when loaded. Those are the numbers you need to work with. And with 5 growing kids, your cargo is going to weigh a lot. You need to count their weight and the weight of all your stuff and subtract it from the towing capacity of the truck. Then pick our trailer based on that number. Realistically you looking at no more than a 7500# GVWR trailer (or probably a 6500 "dry weight" trailer). I'm not sure you're going to find a kitchen and a bunk house in that weight range.

    All that said, I have knowingly towed close to my rated capacities so I speak from experience. Its doable under the right conditions, that is relatively flat terrain and short distance travel. But you can forget about mountains and anything long distance.

    The ideal trailer doesn't exist. Every one has some compromises. I wish you the best!
  • hddecker's avatar
    hddecker
    Explorer
    Jul 24, 2014
    The combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed 701kg/1547lbs.

    This means that all of the people, dogs, cats, toys, and stuff can't exceed 1547lbs and you have to include the hitch weight.

    You are showing two ratings for your Class IV hitch, you will have to determine how those numbers apply to your vehicle.

    You have you Gross Axel Weight Ratings, you also need your Gross Combine Vehicle Rating for your vehicle.

    Good luck with your search for the perfect fit.
  • jhardin80's avatar
    jhardin80
    Explorer
    Jul 24, 2014
    It looks like you vehicle may tow around 9,000lbs (quick search so I'm not 100%) then you want to deduct about 10-15% of that, so 10% would be about 8,100lbs. If it were me I wouldn't go over that amount and that means the camper is fully loaded with fresh water, all your food, clothes, pots and pans, etc...

    I have a 2010 Ram 1500 that can tow 8500lbs and we have a 2011 Passport Ultra Lite Grand Touring 29' and fully loaded it is 7200lbs so I am close to my limit as well and I can tell that it's a little on the heavy side (that's why I'm getting a Ram 2500 next year)

    The Keystone you have listed, I took a quick look at, and it says it's 7,800lbs dry (nothing in it) so that only leaves you with about 300 lbs of stuff which you won't be able to do. I didn't look at the others though.

    We also have 5 kids and 2 adults and ours sleeps everyone just fine.

    This is just to get you pointed in the right direction. I would definitely look up your exact vehicle's towing capacity just to make sure.

    good luck!

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