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Hackney47's avatar
Hackney47
Explorer
May 30, 2017

New to RVing and have a few questions...

So my wife and I are considering full-timing in the near future. We move from state to state every three months and are getting tired of the stress involved in packing, finding a new place, getting there, and unpacking. We will most likely be full-timing with our two kids as well, ages one and four. We have all but decided on the Grand Design 312BHTS I'm just slightly worried about the capabilities of my truck and am completely overwhelmed at trying to figure out all the number and what each acronym mean. I currently have a 2012 F-150 FX4 5.0. I'll post pictures below of the specs of my truck as well as the RV we're looking at. If you're able to help out, and you don't mind, could you please let me know what the important numbers are and how you calculate what you can move? Thank you all in advance! Also, if you have any recommendations or critiques about the 312 BHTS, please feel free to comment!

-Mike




  • Nutinelse2do's avatar
    Nutinelse2do
    Explorer
    May 30, 2017
    wing_zealot wrote:
    You have 955 lbs of tongue weight before you even load one pot or pan in the thing. The payload capacity of the truck is 1263 lbs minus the 955 lbs equals 308 lbs left in available payload.

    Minus you (lets assume 200 lbs) Minus your wife (lets assume 110 lbs)and you now have 308 minus 310 and you're negative 2 on available payload and you haven't even put the kids in the truck or even a pot or pan in the camper.

    Figure tongue weight as 12 percent of the total gross weight of your camper when its fully loaded and ready to roll (that's at least 1500 - 2000 lbs more then when its sitting on the dealers lot). Now add up everything you load in the truck. You, wife, kids, dog, bikes, groceries, firewood, toolbox, strollers, Twinkies, travel mug full of coffee, everything. Add those two numbers together and they should not exceed you payload number (1263 lbs).
    More info


    ^^^^^ This. Might be a good idea to think of getting a bigger truck, so you can get a trailer that will better suit your needs, especially one with more carrying capacity. Full timing, with two children, look in the 3500lb carrying capacity range.
    Good luck with your future endeavors
  • camp-n-family's avatar
    camp-n-family
    Explorer
    May 30, 2017
    Way too much trailer for your truck. You're well into 3/4 ton truck territory with that size and weight trailer, especially if loaded to full time with a family of 4. You need a bigger truck or smaller trailer.
  • kerrlakeRoo's avatar
    kerrlakeRoo
    Explorer
    May 30, 2017
    Normally I'm not a part of the weight police on here, but in this case your at least one weight class and more likely 2 weight classes short of where you should be for that trailer.
    2 choices
    1. smaller trailer
    2. bigger truck
    Not really much else can be said.
    You can hitch it up, and yes you can make it move, but you will be outside every safety and stability parameter out there.
  • DownTheAvenue's avatar
    DownTheAvenue
    Explorer
    May 30, 2017
    Two issues:
    1. Will you have a place that is acceptable to park that trailer for 3 months at a time? In the northern states, it is almost impossible to find a place open in the winter, and living in a RV in the cold climates can be difficult at best and almost impossible at worst. It is not for the faint of heart of a newbie, especially with a family to protect.
    2. That is a lot of trailer for that truck. I would not consider using it except in the flatlands and for shorter distances.
  • wing_zealot's avatar
    wing_zealot
    Explorer
    May 30, 2017
    You have 955 lbs of tongue weight before you even load one pot or pan in the thing. The payload capacity of the truck is 1263 lbs minus the 955 lbs equals 308 lbs left in available payload.

    Minus you (lets assume 200 lbs) Minus your wife (lets assume 110 lbs)and you now have 308 minus 310 and you're negative 2 on available payload and you haven't even put the kids in the truck or even a pot or pan in the camper.

    Figure tongue weight as 12 percent of the total gross weight of your camper when its fully loaded and ready to roll (that's at least 1500 - 2000 lbs more then when its sitting on the dealers lot). Now add up everything you load in the truck. You, wife, kids, dog, bikes, groceries, firewood, toolbox, strollers, Twinkies, travel mug full of coffee, everything. Add those two numbers together and they should not exceed you payload number (1263 lbs).
    More info

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