Frontal area for travel trailers

The area blocked by your truck doesn't count.

There is an engineering reason the mfg lists this number! I would stay close to that number or you might run in to over heating issues of engine and/or trany.
Also check the sticker weights on the drivers door pillar. You are also limited in total payload, hitch load and trailet wt.

A light popup seems reasonable.

Since you're double the rated specification for the truck I would definitely take it easy on the highway. The sail area of the trailer is like a giant parachute and can easily overheat your transmission.

One drive through the farm lands will show you how much the truck blocks and how much it doesnt by the dead bug pattern.

Another area of drag is the square back of the trailer. Big rigs nowadays run air doors on the back to help alleviate the vacuum and they wouldn't spend the money on it unless it helped.

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Moved from Forum Technical Support

I would think that transmission temps would be your only issue. A long time ago I towed a trailer of similar weight and frontal area with a small pickup with much less power than yours and had no problems or issues with handling, stopping, or overheating. Part of towing with a marginal setup is managing your expectations. It's not going to blast up grades at 70 mph and you need to keep an eye on temperatures, but I did it with 100 hp so you should be able to do it with 150.

Maybe this will help understand this laws of physics...

Take a 4'x3'x3/8" thick plywood (32 sq/ft) and hold it 90* to the wind of, say 10 MPH

Betcha you won't be able to hold it without being pushed around...heck even knocked down

Then do that in a 25 MPH wind and if we tied a rope to the plywood center...we could fly you like t kite...of course given that you do not weigh in at 400 lbs...

Now transfer that thought to your TV pulling a trailer with double that frontal area at 60 MPH...

BenK wrote:
Maybe this will help understand this laws of physics...

Take a 4'x3'x3/8" thick plywood (32 sq/ft) and hold it 90* to the wind of, say 10 MPH

Betcha you won't be able to hold it without being pushed around...heck even knocked down

Then do that in a 25 MPH wind and if we tied a rope to the plywood center...we could fly you like t kite...of course given that you do not weigh in at 400 lbs...

Now transfer that thought to your TV pulling a trailer with double that frontal area at 60 MPH...

I think you meant 4'x8'x3/8".

SOmething to think about...
At 60 mph, adding 3 sq ft of frontal area, needs the same HP increase as adding 1000 lbs of weight driving on a level ground. Adding 30 sq ft, is the same additional HP as around 10000 lbs of weight!
Weight is not the ONLY enemy you have for HP needs.

I've gotten better MPG's pulling an equipment trailer at 18K gcw than I did pulling my TT at 15K lbs. TT had 90sqft total frontal area, ET was less than 60 sq ft. The TT needed the same HP at 60 mph as a 25K rig with 60 sq ft. Hills the additional HP per 1 percent grade was more for the heavier rig, as that is HP that is needed. Wieght in this case is more important number to know for final HP needed to go up said grade.

Marty

Lakama wrote:
Only a pop up would meet this criteria. Any advice?

Yep, buy a pop-up or buy a different truck.