Travel Trailer Tow Vehicle

The right equipped F150 3.5EB engine will handle the 7600 gvwr trailer just as well as a F250 gas.
Warning about Fords F150 max tow option. It does nothing to increase max payload or max tow ratings..
Ford has several F150 packages from a:

#1. 7850 gvwr...4800 rawr....2500 lb in the bed payloads.

#2. 7600 gvwr...4550 rawr... 2200 lb in the bed payloads

#3. 7050 gvwr...4050 rawr... 1800 lb in the bed payloads

#4. 6800 gvwr...3800 rawr...1500 lb in the bed payloads.

All F150 above can have the max tow option which basically 3.55 gears.... 36 gal tank..... big rear bumper.....integrated brake controller/etc/etc which is a must for towing.

Just choose the right F150 platform for a 7600 gvwr trailer.

You need to look beyond the tow ratings and consider what you plan on carrying in the truck as well. Any of today’s 1/2 ton trucks has the tow rating to handle the tt you are considering. The payload rating will likely be the limiting factor, not the tow rating. Estimate the weight of everything you plan to carry in the truck plus the loaded tongue weight of the trailer then find the truck that has the payload to carry it all.

twodownzero wrote:
Although others here might suggest you will be fine with a 6 cylinder engine, I would strongly recommend against that no matter what any salesman, marketing document, or review online states. Get at least a small V8.

There's a bit more to a tow vehicle engine than the number of cylinders-just ask any Ram owner with a Cummins engine. Talking specifically about 150/1500 series trucks, the 3.5 V6 Ecoboost will run with any V8 in the class.

I know there are those who think you can't have too much truck, but a 7600 GVWR travel trailer is easily handled by a properly optioned and equipped 150/1500 series truck. The Ike Gauntlet tow test that is on this forum demonstrated that well-optioned 150/1500 series pickups easily handled a 9000 lb high profile trailer, each pulling it up a 7% grade at 60 mph with power to spare. My old 7.3 F250 diesel can't do that. Each truck also handled the load with safety and stability going up and down.

camp-n-family wrote:
You need to look beyond the tow ratings and consider what you plan on carrying in the truck as well. Any of today’s 1/2 ton trucks has the tow rating to handle the tt you are considering. The payload rating will likely be the limiting factor, not the tow rating. Estimate the weight of everything you plan to carry in the truck plus the loaded tongue weight of the trailer then find the truck that has the payload to carry it all.

YEP!!! Don't make the mistake I made and only look at towing capacity numbers. You are likely going to take your family and some gear along on your trips and that is going to effect your payload capacity along with the tongue weight of the camper (usually 10-15% of the camper weight). The 250/2500's will get you the extra payload capacity to take everyone and everything plus make towing a much more pleasant experience. You can you usually find a used one at a good price if you are patient.

Rich

willg wrote:
This is surly not the first post like this and probably not the last, but I am a newbie looking at purchasing a Rockwood mini lite 2304s dry wt. 5654, GVW 7660. I have never towed before. Finding the right tow vehicle is down right confusing so i”m looking for some advise from the experts! I don’t feel comfortable taking advice from car and rv sales people. Don’t want to overkill it, but also don’t to want to be underpowered driving in the mountains which will be a minimum of once a year up to the North Carolina mountains (Linville area). I’m assuming a 1/2 ton is sufficient. Looked mainly at the Ford F 150 2.7 and 3.5 EcoBoost engines so far. Thinking the 2.7 is too small. I would like any and all advice on any of the big 3 pickups but mainly advice on the appropriate pickup engine for the weight of the trailer. Thanks

If you drive a lot of unloaded miles, go for the Ecoboost, if you use it primarily for towing, don't bother, go with a 3/4 ton gasser. Towing mpg will be the same, unloaded mileage will be higher with the F150. If you want to save towing mpg, ecoboost will not achieve this, only diesel.

Gman

There's way more to towing than just getting it rolling.

I disagree totally. The 3.5L Ecoboost (twin turbo V6) is more than the equal of Ford's small V8 (the Coyote 5.0L engine). The 3.5L delivers more HP, more Torque, and at a lower RPM, and it doesn't lose nearly as much power when in the 6 to 10k high mountains of the Rockies due to the turbo's.

Obviously, it's personal opinion which engine will last the longest, what with the complexity of the twin turbos, however it's not personal opinion that any small V8 will out perform the twin turbo 3.5L Ecoboost.

twodownzero wrote:
... Although others here might suggest you will be fine with a 6 cylinder engine, I would strongly recommend against that no matter what any salesman, marketing document, or review online states. Get at least a small V8.

A properly equipped F150 or 1500 from the other manufacturers will be sufficient. However, at 7660# and approximately 27' in length, I personally would not want to go much bigger in trailer and stay with a properly equipped 1/2 ton.

If you are looking at F150's with the Ecoboost engines, don't stop until you get to the 3.5L model. The 2.7L would be fine for lighter trailers.

I have what I consider a "properly equipped" TV. It's a 2014 XLT 4x4 with the HDPP & Max Tow. It has 4800# RAWR, 2286# CC, and a 163" wheel base.

Also remember for both HDPP and non HDPP equipped F150's and other 1500's, the higher trim level you go, the less CC you will have. You pay the CC gremlin with the higher trim packages.

I pull a Jayco J Flight 23RB, which is 27.2' long and has a GVWR of 6500#. I would not go much larger than this before moving to a F250 6.2L gasser.

willg wrote:
This is surly not the first post like this and probably not the last, but I am a newbie looking at purchasing a Rockwood mini lite 2304s dry wt. 5654, GVW 7660. I have never towed before. Finding the right tow vehicle is down right confusing so i”m looking for some advise from the experts! I don’t feel comfortable taking advice from car and rv sales people. Don’t want to overkill it, but also don’t to want to be underpowered driving in the mountains which will be a minimum of once a year up to the North Carolina mountains (Linville area). I’m assuming a 1/2 ton is sufficient. Looked mainly at the Ford F 150 2.7 and 3.5 EcoBoost engines so far. Thinking the 2.7 is too small. I would like any and all advice on any of the big 3 pickups but mainly advice on the appropriate pickup engine for the weight of the trailer. Thanks

It amazing that so many people want to buy "just enough truck" to pull their current trailer. Most people go through many different RVs over time. The cost of a 3/4 or one ton is not much different than a 1/2 ton. I agree that buying a larger truck is a "no brainer."

ppine wrote:
It amazing that so many people want to buy "just enough truck" to pull their current trailer. Most people go through many different RVs over time. The cost of a 3/4 or one ton is not much different than a 1/2 ton. I agree that buying a larger truck is a "no brainer."

Not really amazing at all. The larger truck doesn't come with the 3.5 ecoboost and 10 sp transmission. When used as a Daily Driver and a Sometimes tow vehicle, and used within its ratings, this combination is the real "no brainer".