Just getting started rving

[carwash2]

Hello all, my wife and I are just starting to look into rving. We did have a truck camper years ago so we have camped before. Looking to buy a used TT, 23 to 28 ft range. Plan on some long distance trips. Before we buy a TT we want to upgrade our vehicles. We now have a 2001 Dodge 4x4 1500 with tow package and the 5.9 in it. It has 130000 on it.We want to get a newer Dodge 2500 4x4 to pull with. This will also be my running around vehicle. Are the 2500 reliable for pulling and what kind of gas mileage can we expect while pulling and without pulling with it?


For a TT we're looking for one that has a walk around Queen bed, couch, dinette,and at least one slide. Might be staying in it for a month at a time down south during cold weather here in Ohio.

Thanks for your help.

[kzspree320]

There are a lot of good TT to pick from. If I were staying a month or more at a time I would want about 28'+. The Dodge 2500 is a very good towing vehicle IMHO. I like mine a lot. I like my 6.7 Cummins TD, but it may be overkill depending on the trailer you are looking at. The 5.7 Hemi is also a good motor and would do a good job in the 2500 up to rated limits.

I had a 5.7 Hemi in a Durango and traded it in 2007 when it had almost 100K miles. It had never been in the shop except for normal maintenance. I would expect about 8 mpg towing, 13 in town and maybe 16 on the highway (based on my experience). Good luck.

[Andymon]

We love our Springdale 266. Pull with a 99 F250 Powerstroke and last time out got almost 12 mpg.

[tbred]

Can't comment on a Dodge gasser but for comparison our 2012 f250 6.2 4x4 gasser averages 9 towing, 11 around town and 14 hwy. I would imagine most of the 6 speed newer 3/4 tons would be comparable.

Fwiw, our max tow weight is 12,500 lbs. and payload is 2800 lbs. You would be well within specs to tow the sizes of trailers you are considering.

Just an additional thought, many of the 26-28 foot tt's have a divider between living area and bedroom, going up a couple feet often will get you an actual bedroom with door and all.

[bikendan]

carwash2 wrote:
Are the 2500 reliable for pulling and what kind of gas mileage can we expect while pulling and without pulling with it?

as far as pulling a TT, you'll get the same as everyone else pulling with a gasser, generally 8-10mpg average when towing.

don't know what it would be not towing.

[RoyB]

I like your idea of going for the shorter trailer - I would even say maybe 26-feet would be my maximum length.

You can go anywhere with the these sizes - tow with smaller trucks like the F150 and they will have all the modern appliances in them. This will make you spend more time outside the trailer maybe haha...

I know the move around space in my OFF-RoAD POPUP is pretty small but we don't do without anything we need to have a great time.

My POPUP has another great feature in these high gasoline cost days and that is my F150 truck gets about the same 18-20MPG whether it is pulling my OFF-ROAD POPUP or not. That is a big money saving for trips. One tank gives me 450 miles down the road easy. The POPUPs don't have any wind loading behind the truck and that is what makes them great for gas mileage...

The downside of course everyone seems to want to bring everything they own in their life with them and pay all the extra maintenance, licensing, insurance, and fees to drive their 40-footer plus Diesel Pusher home on wheels. If you can afford that then go for it...

We have a great time in our somewhat small footprint trailer setup and have traveled all over the East Coast and southern states and as far West as Okla in our OFF-RoaD POPUP. We can live off our batteries and do all things we do at regular camp sites with the exception of Air Conditioning and high wattage Microwave use with our OFF-ROAD POPUP and can stay out a couple of weeks with no problems at all... Our off-road camping plan is do all these things we want to do in an one day/night run off the batteries and then recharge our batteries everyday for three hours using smart mode charging techniques.



This works out great for us...
Roy Ken

[bradnailer]

Can't help you with the Dodge question but there are a ton of travel trailers available rigged up the way you describe. Most will be in the 28' to 32' range. Good luck in your search.