TT Recommendation Needed

FrankShore wrote:
Look at the Lance 2185 - fits the bill exactly!

Lance 2185

Yes it does - thank you!

Look at the Lance 2185 - fits the bill exactly!

Lance 2185

That hitch weight is for an unloaded trailer and will be much more when you load the trailer with stuff. That figure is not based on reality.
For a basic idea, take 12% of the gross weight of the trailer and use that as tongue weight. For a max, take 15%.

drsteve wrote:


Both. Your Navigator is a people mover. It comes with HT tires rather than stiff sidewalled truck tires. The suspension is plush. It's a Lincoln, so some of the payload capacity has been taken up already with power options, leather seating, and other bells and whistles. None of that is conducive to heavy towing.

Did you look at the door sticker to see what your particular payload is?

The Nav has a wheelbase of 122". A crew cab pickup is almost three feet more than that. Your short WB, softly sprung Nav will be at a disadvantage when that 32 foot trailer decides to wag the dog due to heavy winds, passing trucks, etc.

A note on weight... when the manufacturer says trailer, they do not necessarily mean TRAVEL trailer. Your Nav would haul a farm wagon with 7000 pounds of brick stacked on it, or a big boat, far easier than a TT. Travel trailers have the worst aerodynamics and the largest percentage of tongue weight of any bumper pull trailer. With an HD truck this is not a really big deal. With an SUV, it can be a dealbreaker, especially as you approach the "rated" towing weight.

Thank you - that is helpful. The payload sticker says 1675. We have my wife and I a 3 and 5 year old two 85 lb dogs. Adding up that weight, plus the hitch weight and 150 lbs or so for car seats, random **** and we have about 350 lbs of payload left.

Good poiint on the winds/trucks. That all plays a role and if the one I'm looking at is just too big, then it's just too big. Or I have to make a decision on TV.

deltabravo wrote:

twodownzero wrote:
A 3/4 ton truck will fit fine in your garage. I'm not sure where you got some idea otherwise; it is not taller than what you're already driving.

How would you know what will or won't fit in his garage? Have you been to his house?

Garages have pretty standard dimensions, aka, at least a 7' door.

bjkb1f wrote:

drsteve wrote:



The TT posted by wanderingaimlessly is 32 feet long and easily 7000 lb once it's loaded. I would not even consider something that big behind an SUV.

Is it the length or weight you'd be most concerned with or the combination of the two. I'm still relatively new to towing, so if weight is OK, would the length be something to be concerned with? Harder to control?

Both. Your Navigator is a people mover. It comes with HT tires rather than stiff sidewalled truck tires. The suspension is plush. It's a Lincoln, so some of the payload capacity has been taken up already with power options, leather seating, and other bells and whistles. None of that is conducive to heavy towing.

Did you look at the door sticker to see what your particular payload is?

The Nav has a wheelbase of 122". A crew cab pickup is almost three feet more than that. Your short WB, softly sprung Nav will be at a disadvantage when that 32 foot trailer decides to wag the dog due to heavy winds, passing trucks, etc.

A note on weight... when the manufacturer says trailer, they do not necessarily mean TRAVEL trailer. Your Nav would haul a farm wagon with 7000 pounds of brick stacked on it, or a big boat, far easier than a TT. Travel trailers have the worst aerodynamics and the largest percentage of tongue weight of any bumper pull trailer. With an HD truck this is not a really big deal. With an SUV, it can be a dealbreaker, especially as you approach the "rated" towing weight.

drsteve wrote:



The TT posted by wanderingaimlessly is 32 feet long and easily 7000 lb once it's loaded. I would not even consider something that big behind an SUV.

Is it the length or weight you'd be most concerned with or the combination of the two? I'm still relatively new to towing, so if weight is OK, would the length be something to be concerned with? Harder to control?

I've found one that is 5400 dry with 567 hitch weight. This would leave 350 lbs or so payload to spare in the TV. It is 31 ft long.

We don't fill the tanks and we have about 400 lbs worth of gear, clothes, etc. we take in our current TT.

With tow capacity of 8800 lbs and sufficient payload left over, it seems OK, but again, I'm newer to towing.

twodownzero wrote:
A 3/4 ton truck will fit fine in your garage. I'm not sure where you got some idea otherwise; it is not taller than what you're already driving.

How would you know what will or won't fit in his garage? Have you been to his house?

Look into the Bigfoot 25.

bjkb1f wrote:
Thanks all! Tow vehicle is a Lincoln Navigator with heavy duty tow package, but we still have to be careful for tongue weight. I don’t want to go to a 3/4 ton truck as it would be my daily driver and likely wouldn’t fit in my garage or the parking garage at work.

Looks like the one posted by wanderingaimlessly would be an option. I’ll look at that one closely. As with pretty much everything in life, there will be trade offs.

You need to get something with a solid rear axle if you want to tow a heavy travel trailer.

A 3/4 ton truck will fit fine in your garage. I'm not sure where you got some idea otherwise; it is not taller than what you're already driving.

If you don't want a truck, Ford no longer makes the Excursion but GM has been making the Suburban in some form for dozens of years and it will have a solid rear axle and be rated to tow a heavier trailer.