Tow vehicle advice

[JimC58]

Hi Folks.New(ish) to campers, my wife & I are looking to buy a Geo pro 19RD. It weighs + or - 4000 lbs loaded. I'm pulling my hair out(whats left) trying to figure out a Tow Vehicle! I know not to max out the TV towing capacity but could (should?) I tow with something like a Chevy Colorado with a max cap of 7000lbs or a Tacoma with a max of 6800 lbs or a Ford Ranger at 7700 lbs? Is the tow cap OK but the actual size of the truck too small? Should I set my sites on something like a Silverado 1500 or an F150? What ever I get I would get a WDH and elec brakes for it. We live in New England so we have to deal with a lot of hills and we'd like to go X-country in the fall of 21. Any advice or suggestions is greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Jim

[cptqueeg]

Width and length of wheelbase plays into the TV choice a bit after payload and towing capacity. Longer and wider is always better for stability particularly towing a single axle trailer. I'd go w a 150/1500 at a minimum. I had an early Nissan Titan and that thing was a beast, comparable to a 250/2500.

[jamesu]

Since you are just starting out, I recommend buying a 1/2 ton p/u at a minimum. Back in the day we (and probably most folks here) started with a small/light trailer but bought a longer, heavier TT within 5 years. That made our tough F-150 way under-powered so we upgraded to the 3/4 ton diesel in my signature...a night & day difference.

Be prepared for fuel sticker shock: when towing my 1/2 ton avg'd 8-9 mpg and 35 mph up our mountain passes; my current 3/4 ton diesel tows at 10-11 mpg and 60 mph up the same mountain.

After a few TT years you will finally find and purchase the "set-up" that makes you happy.

[blt2ski]

ferndaleflyer wrote:
You NEVER have to much truck!

Yep, need one of tandem rear axle 1000hp/200+ft lbs of torque to pull my 1500 lb tent trailer here and beyond!

I personally believe one can have too much truck per say, or too little depending on many circumstances.
Payload is the key, then selecting a drivetrain to meet your needs. Otherwise, you have too much or too little of some part of which make towing a pleasure.

Marty

[ferndaleflyer]

You NEVER have to much truck!

[stevemorris]

definetly a case for a full sized 1500 truck, ford f150, chev 1500, ram 1500
we orefer a big lazy v8 over a hardworking, high revving v6 turbo
as stated before, in two years you will want a bigger trailer especially for that cross country trip! select the truck with that in mindjust for reference, we tow 8000lb(loaded) 26 ft with a ram 1500, hemi 8speed. we traded up from a 24 ft 4500lb towed by a v6 dakota

[mbopp]

My F150 (3.5EB) was my daily driver for 7 years, including while working downtown and parking in a municipal garage. The new F250 isn't driven much since I'm now retired.

[Grit_dog]

^See, different strokes for different folks.
I’d have no issue tugging a 4klb TT around with any of the newer midsize trucks, but I wouldn’t do 30’ and 7klbs with a midsize unless I had to.
OP, factor in, if you can’t decide which truck to get then you also aren’t experienced with towing or trucks in general, and at that, having a full size pickup will offer a greater factor of safety over a midsize. (But your still well within a mid size truck wheelhouse. )

[valhalla360]

Rover_Bill wrote:
Unless you AND your DW are already experienced and comfortable driving a full sized pickup in city traffic and parking it in tight Walmart parking spaces, I highly recommend you consider a mid-sized pickup or large SUV rated for your TT. On vacation, you will spend more days driving to sightseeing and shopping places than towing your TT. When not on vacation, will you park/store the TV along with your TT? No, you will be driving it to work and shopping not towing.

My DW and I have been VERY HAPPY towing our 30ft 7000# TT for more than 30,000 miles in 4 yrs with our Canyon.

Highly recommend the opposite. Yes, you can get by with a compact pickup if spec'd properly but...

When we first got the 4 door long bed 3/4 ton, the misses was concerned about driving it. Within a week, she got over it and it was her preferred vehicle.

OP doesn't need to go to a 3/4 ton truck but 1/2 ton and midsize trucks cost about the same and get similar MPG. Having had midsize and 1/2 ton trucks, driving around town isn't much different.

If you do get a 1/2 ton, make sure to get one of the higher payload options. Often, the payload runs out before the tow rating does with smaller pickups. The 1/2ton will set you up much better if in a couple years you want to move up to a 25-30ft trailer. And being a bit bigger and stronger, will tend to tow better.

[bikendan]

JimC58 wrote:
Hi Folks.New(ish) to campers, my wife & I are looking to buy a Geo pro 19RD. It weighs + or - 4000 lbs loaded. I'm pulling my hair out(whats left) trying to figure out a Tow Vehicle! I know not to max out the TV towing capacity but could (should?) I tow with something like a Chevy Colorado with a max cap of 7000lbs or a Tacoma with a max of 6800 lbs or a Ford Ranger at 7700 lbs? Is the tow cap OK but the actual size of the truck too small? Should I set my sites on something like a Silverado 1500 or an F150? What ever I get I would get a WDH and elec brakes for it. We live in New England so we have to deal with a lot of hills and we'd like to go X-country in the fall of 21. Any advice or suggestions is greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Jim

you need to focus on truck payload and actual loaded tongue weight FIRST. worry about towing capacity SECOND.
single axle trailers, especially one that has the axle set farther back, like the Geo Pro, will have higher tongue weights that comparable tandem axle trailers. the 19FD will easily have a real world tongue weight over 500lbs.
and the trailer comes with electric brakes already. what your tow vehicle will need is a brake CONTROLLER.

[Rover_Bill]

Unless you AND your DW are already experienced and comfortable driving a full sized pickup in city traffic and parking it in tight Walmart parking spaces, I highly recommend you consider a mid-sized pickup or large SUV rated for your TT. On vacation, you will spend more days driving to sightseeing and shopping places than towing your TT. When not on vacation, will you park/store the TV along with your TT? No, you will be driving it to work and shopping not towing.

My DW and I have been VERY HAPPY towing our 30ft 7000# TT for more than 30,000 miles in 4 yrs with our Canyon.

[rexlion]

The mid-size pickups can handle it, with the caveat that you plan on driving about 60 mph (not much faster) most of the time, and in the mountains drive 35-40 mph up the long uphill grades. If you want to run around faster than that (and use more fuel) then the 2.7L turbo F150 or 3L Ram turbodiesel will be more satisfying. Not just stronger engines in the larger pickups, but more cooling capacity and heavier duty transmissions, too. But yes, the mid size pickups can do it if you don't push them hard all the time. Realize that you're dragging a huge sail behind you, and a small increase in highway speed causes a large increase in power consumption. (BTW, non-turbos lose something like 2% of their HP for every 1000' of elevation gain, so turbos have an advantage in the mountains where you need power the most.)

Personally, I would want at least 1000 lbs of listed cargo capacity (CCC). Water is 8.3 lbs/gallon, and you'll have 6 gallons in the water heater. If you fill the fresh tank, that's another 300 lbs. Add in LP, battery, and gear. Be sure to locate and look at the actual-weight sticker (usually inside a cupboard door) of the unit you're thinking of taking possession of, to see what CCC you really have after all options, then add the weight of the other items mentioned above to get a better picture. And all that will be riding on a single pair of tires; check the load capacity of those on the TT.

Not trying to discourage you, but go in with both eyes open and well armed with info.

[tragusa3]

Jim, just get the half ton now. We got our half ton (11,200 pound towing limit) when we were at 3500 pounds loaded. It was a beautiful experience....truly stress free towing. We moved up to 7k pounds after two years and didn't have to change the truck. Saved us many thousands and the hassle of changing. My personal rule is not to exceed 60% of max towing. More margin than most recommend.

I don't know what payload numbers are like between the mids and the half tons? If it buys you a few hundred pounds more (sure it does), that would be very, very nice too.

[ppine]

Are you always going to have a 19 foot trailer? I would at least consider a 1/2 ton pickup.

[Lwiddis]

Any of those smaller trucks will pull that trailer but will they carry you, DW, your stuff, the tongue weight and hitch? Payload issues are more important than “will it pull?”