starting to look at trucks
I'm in no hurry, but looking at used (2016 and up) F150's, looking at eng. size and wondering what would be best a 3.5 Ecoboost or a 5.0 L V8 . to pull a 7000lb trailer (TT) I think I"m leaning t...
Forum Discussion
Pickup truck INHERENT instability is the problem. Not drivetrain (that’s like arguing paint color).
How well it handles, steers & brakes is key to risk reduction. As solo duty is the SINGLE important consideration for tow vehicle spec.
Choose starting here:
1). Lowest COG
2). Independent Front Suspension
3). Rack & Pinion Steering
Most of all, an actual need. Is a pickup used for business? Farmer, rancher, contractor? Otherwise:
A). What is the weight, size & shape of gear which CANNOT be carried in passenger compartment or trailer?
B). Given solo daily-driver configuration, what is the FF/RR weight bias? (Driving around with an empty bed? Wrong vehicle choice).
Pickups increase the chance of a loss-of-control accident. Towing makes that worse. . Pickup rollover is via “trip hazard”: pothole, curb, soft shoulder. Towing Loss-of-Control is via over-correction. . Road hazard & adverse winds: a pair of top-heavy vehicles on inadequate suspension with incorrect hitch rigging (means you don’t much care about your family) is the highest risk configuration.
Today’s conventional travel trailers are worse by design than years before. Slide-outs for fat people have raised floors to 4’ and more. And they’re still on UNACCEPTABLE leaf spring suspensions.
There is no worse towing combination than a pickup & one of these trailers.
Put the money where it’s needed:
a). Antilock disc brakes on the TT
b). Torsion Axle
c). Hensley-patent hitch
Pickups need so many bandaids it’s ridiculous. And still cannot overcome design deficiencies (“Hi, the 1940s want their farm vehicle back”).
As each of you is also unable to correctly set a WDH (saying 92% is too polite) THAT is the topic which should dominate these pages.
That it doesn’t, shows the value of advice on RV forums.
Road-going stability is the game. Pickups don’t have that.
Start with a clean sheet.
(And, no, no ones impressed by you new guys with your ten or twenty years. Quite the opposite)
.
How well it handles, steers & brakes is key to risk reduction. As solo duty is the SINGLE important consideration for tow vehicle spec.
Choose starting here:
1). Lowest COG
2). Independent Front Suspension
3). Rack & Pinion Steering
Most of all, an actual need. Is a pickup used for business? Farmer, rancher, contractor? Otherwise:
A). What is the weight, size & shape of gear which CANNOT be carried in passenger compartment or trailer?
B). Given solo daily-driver configuration, what is the FF/RR weight bias? (Driving around with an empty bed? Wrong vehicle choice).
Pickups increase the chance of a loss-of-control accident. Towing makes that worse. . Pickup rollover is via “trip hazard”: pothole, curb, soft shoulder. Towing Loss-of-Control is via over-correction. . Road hazard & adverse winds: a pair of top-heavy vehicles on inadequate suspension with incorrect hitch rigging (means you don’t much care about your family) is the highest risk configuration.
Today’s conventional travel trailers are worse by design than years before. Slide-outs for fat people have raised floors to 4’ and more. And they’re still on UNACCEPTABLE leaf spring suspensions.
There is no worse towing combination than a pickup & one of these trailers.
Put the money where it’s needed:
a). Antilock disc brakes on the TT
b). Torsion Axle
c). Hensley-patent hitch
Pickups need so many bandaids it’s ridiculous. And still cannot overcome design deficiencies (“Hi, the 1940s want their farm vehicle back”).
As each of you is also unable to correctly set a WDH (saying 92% is too polite) THAT is the topic which should dominate these pages.
That it doesn’t, shows the value of advice on RV forums.
Road-going stability is the game. Pickups don’t have that.
Start with a clean sheet.
(And, no, no ones impressed by you new guys with your ten or twenty years. Quite the opposite)
.
