Reliable truck+lightweight TT RVing Setup

[otterslide]

I'm looking for some lightweight truck+TT ideas. The TT has to have a toilet and shower, around 18-22ft.
I recently saw a Honda Ridgeline pulling a decently sized Jayco, looked around 20 feet. That seemed interesting, as I want the best gas mileage and the lightest combined weight.

I'm wondering what other lightweight setups there are that have worked well for people. My current car is Toyota Corolla, so I'm a bit leery about jumping to a V8. The Airstream 22 is quite light and looks amazing, but more than I want to spend.

And ideas of reliable lightweight truck/trailer combinations are appreciated. We are two people, both of us are not too tall so a lower ceiling is okay.

[PatJ]

bikendan wrote:

you need to forget about "best gas mileage". all gassers towing a Travel Trailer, will get between 8-10mpg towing. Doesn't matter size or weight, it's the trailer's frontal area that affects fuel mileage.

My personal experience agrees with this.

Simplest and/or most reliable/cheapest to own/maintain would probably be an F150 with the 5.0 or a Chevy 1500 with the 5.3 or 6.0 from the last 15 years of so. Equivalent Expedition or Tahoe/Yukon SUV would be the same.

I admit I have minimal familiarity with the Ford trucks but I am very familiar with the Chevys and I am assuming the Fords are similar/competitive. For Chevy (and I assume Ford) look for one with the factory towing package, which (for Chevy at least) can be easily spotted by the 7-pin plug on the bumper, 2" receiver, and the trans cooler. You can add these things to a vehicle without the towing package but you are a step ahead if you have it to start.

Also for Chevy you can tell the axle gear ratio by looking at the sticker in the glove box with the "RPO code." "GT4" is the code for 3.73 axle ratio for example, which would be desirable for towing a trailer like you are describing. Not sure if Ford has a similar system, I'm sure they do. You can find all the RPO codes with a google search.

[JAC1982]

My neighbors have a Jayco Hummingbird 17RB and they pull it with a GMC Canyon with the mini-diesel. No problems for them. I think the floor plan is nice for a little trailer too.

I think you'll find more benefit in a small truck that is tow capable, than getting an SUV big enough to tow. You could tow a little trailer just fine with say, a Tahoe or a Ford Expedition, but do you want to drive around something that big? This is coming from an Explorer lover... but I sure wouldn't tow a camper with it. You can add a shell to a small truck to maximize the enclosed storage capabilities to be similar to an SUV.

[Crowe]

Any ideas for a good SUV?

Again, "good" is very subjective. I love my Jeep Grand Cherokee and I had one in the past that I loved, but sometimes their quality isn't the best. Conversely, I had a 1995 Ford Explorer with that year being one of the best quality years they had. Mine LITERALLY fell apart piece by piece. Had a 2004 Chevy Tahoe and that was one of my favorite vehicles ever. It wasn't trouble free but few cars are.

I'll swear by the Ford trucks we've had over the years-F150s (multiple), F250, F350 dually. Did we have problems? Yup, we did. Let me tell you a tale of two manufacturers. The dually had a recall for a throttle positioning sensor. We had already left for vacation before it came in the mail. Long story short they busted their butts to get us the part on the road, made sure we had a place to stay and then checked up on us to make sure we were OK. Fast forward to our Gulfstream Endura, which broke down on the Beltway in Maryland late on a Friday afternoon. When I called C Roadside their first question was "Do you own the vehicle" to which I replied "NO I STOLE IT!". After proving I was the owner I was then told "get yourself to a motel, we can't do anything until Monday". I won't repeat what I said then and then decided to call the Maryland State Police. They sent out a retired officer who we followed to a parts store to get what we needed. It was a simple fix of needing radiator fluid because a hose popped off. Chevy refused to help.

I'm sure someone else will pop in who had the opposite happen. What it translates to is it's the luck of the draw. Buy what you are comfortable with and don't worry so much about the "what ifs" unless it's a known bad vehicle.

[otterslide]

Grit dog wrote:
^ By this post alone, it is evident that you're not too familiar with vehicles (like the F150 5.0 is actually about the most troublefree pickup one could buy for the past 8 years, and I'm not even a Ford guy. Tacomas are rare? Small choice of trucks? I could think of probably 15 significantly different offerings in the mid size and 1/2 ton truck classes without thinking very hard.)
You do realize that If talking full size, that SUVs have the same chassis and drivetrain, right? So you're not gaining reliability, you're losing bed space in favor of 3rd row seats. Same with alot of midsize, same components as their truck relatives. From that perspective, they will yank around a small trailer just fine too.
Just buy whatever flavor you like with good towing capacity and then go find a camper that you like.

I did say the F150 with 5L seems like it would be the least troublesome, meaning the most reliable.

It's true I don't know a lot about what's available though. Tacomas used listings are pretty low here. There are some of course, but compared to F150 there are 2-3 times more F150's than Tacomas, so it's easier to find a good one for a better price. Also used Toyotas generally tend to be more heavily used and beat up compared to American cars.

I'm used to buying compact cars where there are hundreds of them all over the place, so it's a lot easier to get something in good condition. Compared to what I'm used to, trucks are rare.. Small market, few trucks, and plenty that weren't maintained well. I wanted to buy private and there are extremely few private listings.

I know some SUV drivetrains are same/similar to trucks, but for example Highlander tows 5000 and Tacoma 6500.

[Grit_dog]

^ By this post alone, it is evident that you're not too familiar with vehicles (like the F150 5.0 is actually about the most troublefree pickup one could buy for the past 8 years, and I'm not even a Ford guy. Tacomas are rare? Small choice of trucks? I could think of probably 15 significantly different offerings in the mid size and 1/2 ton truck classes without thinking very hard.)
You do realize that If talking full size, that SUVs have the same chassis and drivetrain, right? So you're not gaining reliability, you're losing bed space in favor of 3rd row seats. Same with alot of midsize, same components as their truck relatives. From that perspective, they will yank around a small trailer just fine too.
Just buy whatever flavor you like with good towing capacity and then go find a camper that you like.

[otterslide]

Crowe wrote:
Look into one of the 150/1500 with a 3.0 diesel. That will give you the best MPG solo or towing, and be a way better platform than any Honda.

Problem with this is the extra cost of the diesel. It will take a long time to make up the difference with mileage savings.

"Reliable" is very subjective. You can get a lemon at any time. Find a truck within your budget that you are comfortable with. If you are thinking small, don't rule out an SUV-that can give you some possible extra versatility. You don't necessarily need to go to a V8 engine. The Ford F150 with the Ecoboost engine gives decent economy with good power. Someone suggested a pop-up. My only caveat with those (I speak from experience) is that folding the wet tent sides can be a PITA. The upside is they are relatively inexpensive and easy to tow.

Good ideas. I already figured out that diesel is out of the question. Even the Dodge dealer told me to forget about the Ecodiesel because it's too much trouble.. F150 is appealing, it seems like it would be the least troublesome, maybe with the 5L engine. But I've seen so many bad things come from Ford I don't think I can make myself own one. Probably F150 is their best product, but they surely made a lot of other unreliable models.

I think Tacoma would be more reliable, but they're so rare and expensive.

I was just thinking today that I should look at some SUVs since there is such a small choice of trucks I don't have plans of hauling construction materials any time soon.. although that was a great bonus.

Any ideas for a good SUV?

Thanks!

[Grit_dog]

IMO, the best little truck n trailer combo would be a big teardrop type camper like a Rpod and a mid size truck.
Fuel mileage is a cr@p shoot, IMO. Towing is towing and little truck, big truck, going to basically burn the same amount of gas pulling the same load. Even empty, the 1/2 ton trucks don't really do appreciably worse than the baby trucks.
Base it on what you're doing with the truck. City driving, tight parking, occasional towing (not like big X country trips or every weekend all summer), a mid-size seems to be a just right size.
For alot of folks though, the cost of a 1/2 ton and the fuel mileage is not much different than a small truck, so why pay almost the same for considerably less truck?
Questions only the OP can answer as we don't know all his considerations except that he wants a reliable truck that can tow a small TT. That is virtually every "truck" that is on the market today.

[Lwiddis]

At a max 640 pounds of tongue weight and 6400 max trailer, a Toyota Tacoma might work.

[theoldwizard1]

In general, I like eggshell (fiberglass) TT, but they are all so small, except for Oliver.

If you are looking for a lightweight Jayco consider a hybrid.

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

How much money do you have to spend? Are you buying new or used?

[bgum]

There is a clean 19ft Airstream Bambi for $22000 on Airforums classifieds. I am in no way connected wit the seller. I am just pointing out that one can find good used units at reasonable prices. That unit and a Tacoma is a perfect combination.

[J_herb]

Crowe wrote:
Look into one of the 150/1500 with a 3.0 diesel. That will give you the best MPG solo or towing, and be a way better platform than any Honda.

Problem with this is the extra cost of the diesel. It will take a long time to make up the difference with mileage savings.

"Reliable" is very subjective. You can get a lemon at any time. Find a truck within your budget that you are comfortable with. If you are thinking small, don't rule out an SUV-that can give you some possible extra versatility. You don't necessarily need to go to a V8 engine. The Ford F150 with the Ecoboost engine gives decent economy with good power. Someone suggested a pop-up. My only caveat with those (I speak from experience) is that folding the wet tent sides can be a PITA. The upside is they are relatively inexpensive and easy to tow.

Crowe is right on! I have towed our 17'Casita at 3,000 Lbs for over 17 years with mid size trucks and now a GMC van and average from 12 to 14 MPG. Have friends that tow their Casita trailers and like the SUVs and V6 engines.

[Crowe]

Look into one of the 150/1500 with a 3.0 diesel. That will give you the best MPG solo or towing, and be a way better platform than any Honda.

Problem with this is the extra cost of the diesel. It will take a long time to make up the difference with mileage savings.

"Reliable" is very subjective. You can get a lemon at any time. Find a truck within your budget that you are comfortable with. If you are thinking small, don't rule out an SUV-that can give you some possible extra versatility. You don't necessarily need to go to a V8 engine. The Ford F150 with the Ecoboost engine gives decent economy with good power. Someone suggested a pop-up. My only caveat with those (I speak from experience) is that folding the wet tent sides can be a PITA. The upside is they are relatively inexpensive and easy to tow.

[bgum]

We pull a 16 ft Airstream with a Toyota Tacoma. Great combination. I would look at the 19 ft Airstreams with a Tacoma. You should get in the mid teens mpg with that combination. Shop the used units.