TT Choices ?!?! Coleman vs Solaire vs Venture
My wife and I have now looked at close to 100 different TT's. We have brought our choices down to 3. The Coleman CTU313BH, the SolAire Eclipse 317BHSK and the Venture Sport Trek 320VIK. All seem to...
Forum Discussion
Coleman is made by Dutchmen which is in turn owned by Thor. None of this would make me nervous about Coleman.
I'm with everyone else in the firm belief that these trailers are too much for a 1/2 ton pick-up. It has nothing to do with power, if you are satisfied with the towing performance and characteristics of a gas motor (of which I am) the 5.3 with the 6spd will be plenty adequate. The underpinnings of a 1/2 ton vehicle are the issue. Its the tail wagging the dog. Most any dealer is going to tell you it will be fine. Many have come before you and gone down this same road, you see many people on here commenting that they have been there and done that. I have not seen anyone post yet "we have been towing a similarly spec'd travel trailer for 3 yrs with a similar 1/2 ton truck and are happy with the way it tows". You seem to justify this with keeping your trips in the beginning to between 1 and 4 hrs. I tow a similar spec'd TT with an E350 van, I do not consider anything over an hour a short trip. I consider 4 hrs a very long trip. A light weight vehicle designed for no-load comfort will constantly leave you feeling as though the travel trailer is in control of the truck vs the other way around.
My suggestions in no particular order.
1) Upgrade to a 3/4 or 1-ton vehicle before you get the camper. This may be cost prohibitive. It would be for me.
2) Look at lighter bunk houses. They exist with very similar layouts to what you are considering. Look at Passport as an example. Considerably lighter and available in very similar floor plans. Main difference is curtains in leiu of doors. While this is still going to leave you close to payload capacity, the overall reduction in TT weight pushing this truck around is significant.
3) My favorite option, buy an older 3/4 or 1 ton vehicle dedicated for towing and then get the camper you want instead of the camper the current towing limitations dictate. E350 vans go for cheap as they have a low demand. (3) growing kids are not (3) wide across the back seat of a truck. Going used on the trailer or perhaps to stick and tin new, you could get both a tow vehicle and camper for near the cost of what you are currently considering. When your tow vehicle is also your daily driver, you compromise every day to be able to tow properly a very small percentage of time.
Good luck, with the oldest being (12) already I would not wait any longer to make this happen. The family memories are great.
I'm with everyone else in the firm belief that these trailers are too much for a 1/2 ton pick-up. It has nothing to do with power, if you are satisfied with the towing performance and characteristics of a gas motor (of which I am) the 5.3 with the 6spd will be plenty adequate. The underpinnings of a 1/2 ton vehicle are the issue. Its the tail wagging the dog. Most any dealer is going to tell you it will be fine. Many have come before you and gone down this same road, you see many people on here commenting that they have been there and done that. I have not seen anyone post yet "we have been towing a similarly spec'd travel trailer for 3 yrs with a similar 1/2 ton truck and are happy with the way it tows". You seem to justify this with keeping your trips in the beginning to between 1 and 4 hrs. I tow a similar spec'd TT with an E350 van, I do not consider anything over an hour a short trip. I consider 4 hrs a very long trip. A light weight vehicle designed for no-load comfort will constantly leave you feeling as though the travel trailer is in control of the truck vs the other way around.
My suggestions in no particular order.
1) Upgrade to a 3/4 or 1-ton vehicle before you get the camper. This may be cost prohibitive. It would be for me.
2) Look at lighter bunk houses. They exist with very similar layouts to what you are considering. Look at Passport as an example. Considerably lighter and available in very similar floor plans. Main difference is curtains in leiu of doors. While this is still going to leave you close to payload capacity, the overall reduction in TT weight pushing this truck around is significant.
3) My favorite option, buy an older 3/4 or 1 ton vehicle dedicated for towing and then get the camper you want instead of the camper the current towing limitations dictate. E350 vans go for cheap as they have a low demand. (3) growing kids are not (3) wide across the back seat of a truck. Going used on the trailer or perhaps to stick and tin new, you could get both a tow vehicle and camper for near the cost of what you are currently considering. When your tow vehicle is also your daily driver, you compromise every day to be able to tow properly a very small percentage of time.
Good luck, with the oldest being (12) already I would not wait any longer to make this happen. The family memories are great.
