Do you like towing?

[Whitehall]

We're picking up our new Snow River 245RKS next week. My only previous TT towing experience is with a rental hybrid trailer, and a rental tent trailer. I have a lot of towing experience with a pilot house fishing boat weighing about 7,500 # total.

Being a rental, the hybrid didn't have a WDH and it wasn't really balanced well with my truck at the time, a 2006 Dodge 1500. Didn't brake well and was kind of a pain to tow, especially down CA SR 20 into Fort Bragg. I like towing my boat most of the time, although the surge brakes can be annoying and vertical changes in the pavement such as bridges can be jarring. The F-350 handles it, though, and I really don't miss towing with the Ram 1500.

I can get in the groove and just cruise along at about 62 mph, except I-5 where the pavement is busted up and I watch the bouncy boat in the mirror give the torsion axles a workout. Curvy roads don't bother me too much, as long as they have enough radius and width. The small fuel tank on the F350 SB is in sync with my coffee drinking habit, so we stop every two hours, at least.

At nearly 12' high and about as long as the TT, the boat has gotten me pretty well accustomed to turning wide and looking up. About the only thing I'm not looking forward to is traffic and SoCal drivers when we head that direction. Oh, and the Stockton area on I-5. The whole thing. People drive even worse there than LA.

How about you? Anything that you dread, towing-wise? Do you get in the zone and rack up the miles?

[public_land_hun]

I Really Enjoy Driving And Towing. I Used To Tow A 2 Horse; Horse Trailer, But Now The Only Thing I Tow Is My Little Jayco Swift Slx 145rb Which Tows Like A Dream. In about a year I'll be towing a Rockwood mini lite 2104s 2016 or 17. 24 ft max Is my Comfort zone.

[cekkk]

Myredracer, I think we're all glad you DO have a DW! :B

[myredracer]

Do I like towing? Totally! 🙂

We have a great setup for towing and handling/sway - F250, Bilsteins on the truck, shocks and Dexter equalizers on the trailer and an excellent WDH. Everything is set up and adjusted properly from front end alignment to tire pressure.

I love winding, twisty and up/down roads. The wilder the more fun! Sheer drop-offs alongside a narrow road or steep roads? Bring them on! And I love towing on the interstate, from wide open stretches to busy multi-lane sections with semis on either side.

The thing that does bother me about towing is DW and her GPS. I constantly get reminded when I am 1 mph over a speed limit or up to 65 mph. 😞 I have to do all the driving as she can't due to medical reasons so she has lots of time to play with her GPS. Her latest thing is an app for finding gas stations except she doesn't understand that the app isn't designed for long RVs. :S

If I had the time, enough $$ on the CC and no DW, I'd hook up and head off on a trip with no destination in mind around North America never to return...

[Doug33]

I don't enjoy hooking up and getting ready to tow, but I generally enjoy towing itself. Except when idiots are driving around me. Apparently there are no laws against this... 😉

[rbpru]

I am always surprised by those who feel they must have the some monster tow machine. I will admit I once towed a 6,000 lb. TT with a 200 hp. F-150, simply because it was all I had. I did not take long to figure out that I needed more power if I was to tow more often.

Still it did not ruin my 10 day vacation, cause great angst or change my plans. All it meant was I would have to adapt to the conditions at hand. Top speed on the flat was about 65 mph and hills were at best 50 mph. Since I tow at 55 to 60 this was of little consequence. The biggest issue was the lack of acceleration and the transmission always wanting to down shift.

In the end we opted for a 356 hp. E- boost 4x4 and a similar size TT. As I told the DW, compared to fighting head winds and white cap waves for 5 hrs in a canoe; the underpowered TV was little more than a major inconvenience and a lesson on the merits of a good TV to TT match.

[bguy]

I find it a much better experience since I started using the cruise control while towing. In fact I've come to relish the process and enjoy the different challenges such as adjusting your speed to time a pass and even tight spaces and parking lots.
You can't complain much about traffic since it's usually aggravating no matter if towing or not.

[krobbe]

I dread driving around Chicago. Everything else is an Adventure...

[RVcircus]

I don't like gas stations because they're unpredictable. I just don't let myself get too low on fuel so I don't get stuck navigating a tight lot.

[Samsonsworld]

Construction, heavy traffic and strong winds can take the joy out of towing real fast, at least for me.

[Whitehall]

mtofell1 wrote:
Yep... I can absolutely tell you the difference between love and hate with an experience is having more tow vehicle than you need.

The endless threads of people pushing the limits of their vehicles are not the ones enjoying it. In the end most get by but it's probably not too fun.

Yep. I would be money ahead if I had bought a 2006 Ram 2500 with Cummins instead of a Ram 1500. They were blowing out Big Horns at $19K, with the 2500 being $29K. Those are still one of the best looking rigs on the road, and have really held their value. Ford finally got it right with the 6.7 PSD, but they ain't cheap. I like towing with it.

[fallsrider]

I'm fine with towing. I can't say that I enjoy it, but I don't mind it. I would probably enjoy it more if I had a 3/4 ton TV of some sort. My 'Burb gets the job done, but I wouldn't want any more trailer back there. A used 3/4 ton isn't going to happen any time soon, though.

Wishbone51 said it right...the outbound leg is definitely more fun than the inbound one!

[mtofell1]

Yep... I do enjoy it.

Having towed roughly 10 different combinations of vehicle and RVs I can absolutely tell you the difference between love and hate with an experience is having more tow vehicle than you need.

The endless threads of people pushing the limits of their vehicles are not the ones enjoying it. In the end most get by but it's probably not too fun.

Towing a 7K TT with my old Nissan Titan with P rated tires and a soft read end was a nightmare most of the time. Towing my current 8K TT with a newer 2500 is a dream.

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

Well lets see. If I'm towing I'm either on vacation or racing. Either one is better than going to work.

So yes, I like towing!!! 🙂

[rbpru]

We were not sure we wanted a TT so we rented one. From that we learned a lot; in particular the gas mileage, daily distance and handling. We decided on 25 ft. used Dutchmen Lite and an E-Boost F-150 4x4.

The combo worked out very well for towing. On the plus side we have the power and performance we like, the size is maneuverable in the cities when we hunt down a quilt shop or gun shop, the TT is large enough for us and the dog.

About the only towing negatives are 10 mpg, 55 to 60 mph. and 250 mile days.

It is true that wind, snow and heavy traffic can be a pain at times, but that is true even when you are not towing. We tend to take these things in stride.