New member questions

Tankrat wrote:
Wow, I wasn't really expecting so many judgemental and completely unhelpful/useless comments in a forum like this, I've always heard that the RV'ing community was better than that...

Greene728 wrote:
Not enough truck.

Really? Yeah, you're going to have to explain/justify that comment because as it is you just sound like a jealous Dodge guy who doesn't actually know anything about towing ;)

donn0128 wrote:

Lwiddis wrote:
"but will spend little time actually going down the road so I'm not looking to shell out extra money for things that are really only needed for extended towing periods"

What equipment isn't needed when towing every two weeks for a hundred miles but is needed when towing every day for three hundred miles?

Whether your towing 10 or a thousand miles you still need the exact same stuff. Brake controler, hitch, trailer light/brake wiring.

Perhaps I should've spelled it out a little better, I didn't realize that seasoned RV'ers wouldn't understand the difference between a need and a want when it comes to equipment. What I was getting at is that I'm not interested in spending extra money for things that are only going to improve my comfort while towing because I'm only going to be towing the trailer once every 6 months or so as I move from one contract location to the next. As to your "What equipment isn't needed when towing every two weeks for a hundred miles but is needed when towing every day for three hundred miles?" question...lots of things. I don't NEED an airbag on the pin box or airbags on my truck to tow my trailer a couple hundred miles once every 6 months but if I was towing it a 1,000 miles every month I would probably WANT those items and they would probably be a good investment. I already have the brake controller and trailer wiring, missing the hitch which was my first question...which ironically enough nobody addressed at all.

donn0128 wrote:
So much done to the truck, so little of it any good for pulling. If your going to a fifth wheel, stick with something in the 10,000 pound GVWR range. Any more and you will be one umhappy camper. You do need to remember, toy haulers are probably some of the worst for heating andmcooling. That huge back door makes for lousy insulation.

"So much done to the truck, so little of it any good for pulling." Please explain. The only things not stock are the 'charger and the LSD, yeah, the LSD doesn't help towing really unless you happen to end up on sand or soft ground but it's not hurting my towing and as far as the 'charger goes, if you think that isn't a huge help for towing then you need to share what you're smoking because it's apparently some good stuff. I've been trying to stay in the 8,000-9,000 lb dry weight range when I look even though I know the advertised numbers aren't usually correct, it's someplace to start until I get serious about a unit enough to put it on a scale. The heaviest things I'll be putting in the garage are a W/D, a 400lb motorcycle and a toolbox that weighs around 300 lbs. I travel very light as far as clothing and household items, everything I have in my apartment right now will fit in the back seat and under my tonneau cover. As to toy haulers being the hardest to heat/cool, yeah, that was my first thought when I started looking at them. That's why I'm trying to find one that has an actual wall between the garage and the living area, that should help a little but it's just something I'll have to live with as I need the garage for my bike and toolbox.

Dutchmen Sport & MFL, thank you for your non-judgemental comments.
Dutchmen - I get what you're saying in your sig line and I've done it both ways, much more comfortable being overprepared and never needing it :)
MFL - Good info there and thank you for the tip on GM's having a longer axle center, I'll have to do some measuring in addition to my planned trip to the scale with my truck.

~Lucas

What a lot of people mean by not enough truck is you have a 3/4 ton. I've had 2,200 pounds of rock in the bed of my truck and I wouldn't want to go more than a few miles like that. Hence why I get your comment on not towing very much. My rig is overkill for my toy hauler, but it's because I tow 500 miles in a day 10 times a year.

The limiting factor is your rear springs being 3/4 ton. Your power train is more than adequate for anything. Watch pin weight the most. You can fix this by getting tires that handle a bigger load than stock (mine are upgraded to 3,415 per tire). Air bags help. But you'll most likely be over the legal limit of your GVW no matter what. Most fifth wheel toy hauler have over 3,000 pounds tongue weight.

The best bet is the smallest fifth wheel from shockwave (forest River). With an unloaded tongue weight of 2,200 pounds, I still would not want to tow very far. I'm at 7,700 pounds with family and gear. My GVW is 9,200, so this is 500 pounds over legal weight right off the lot.

http://www.forestriverinc.com/product-details.aspx?LineID=181&Image=5075&ModelID=3583#Main