Getting started....tow vehicle recommendations....PLEASE!

[AWbucky]

We are looking at starting the adventure of having a travel trailer!!!! Our plan is to start with the tow vehicle. We are expecting to purchase a TT that is around 23ft. We would like to get a SUV to be our tow vehicle and was wondering if anyone has advice of pros and cons they have encountered. We are looking into the Ford expedition, jeep Cherokee and dodge Durango. We will need to purchase used 2008-2011. Any help would be appreciated!!!

[APT]

I recommend choosing both the TV and TT at the same time. Research the type of TT you like first. I rarely recommend mid-sized SUVs, Durango, Grand Cherokee. Payload and receiver limits are mostly the limitations. You will want enough to handle your family, some gear to keep them occupied while traveling, and trailer tongue weight. Pretty much all half tons offer engines/trans/gears with plenty of power. Not all have 1500+ pounds of payload.

As you shop open the driver's door and locate this sticker. Note what each vehicle has where mine says 2051:



Each vehicle's receiver should have a sticker like this:

[star_2008]

I’m looking at a Dodge Durango to tow next June it will do 7400-8650 mine is 5100 5500 I’m looking at a slt or a limited 3.92 axle I think it will help

[PAThwacker]

CKNSLS wrote:
Well, you should listen to the people on this forum about somethings. If you listened to everything, this is what would happen

Everyone would buy a diesel dually to tow (regardless of what you tow)
No one would buy Ultra Lights (they are junk)
The world would run on Maxxis Tires
1/2 ton trucks can't tow anything


I could go on but I will stop here.

I do have one of those paper machete caulked together tt with gaping holes on the front and side. Sure has held up well in two accidents. I tow with a truck that weighs double the weight of it, and barely has enough power to lug all that pork across the PA interstates.

[CKNSLS]

Well, you should listen to the people on this forum about somethings. If you listened to everything, this is what would happen

Everyone would buy a diesel dually to tow (regardless of what you tow)
No one would buy Ultra Lights (they are junk)
The world would run on Maxxis Tires
1/2 ton trucks can't tow anything


I could go on but I will stop here.

[caranoel]

I'll start by saying I know nothing about cars and trucks. And all this spec talk is a foreign language. But here's what we have learned about towing and tow vehicles: *Listen to the people on this forum.*

Look at all the opinions, and there are many, and determine which ones you think sound safest. There can be no shortcuts when it comes to towing a vehicle.

A dealer at an RV dealership or camper show will tell you "Of course your minivan can tow this 32-foot travel trailer! Just look at the Dry weight!"

They say 80 % GVWR is the max. You need to be well under that. When we went out to South Dakota, we had a trailblazer and a pop-up that was well under weight. Pack all the storage boxes, and add a Thule Roof Box on the truck, four people who like to eat, and four bikes, plus everything that we pretty much owned, and that Trailblazer worked incredibly hard.

Get more tow vehicle than you need.

You need to be able to tow, but more importantly, you need to be able to STOP. Your loved ones in the car need to be safe. And the people on the road deserve to be safe as well.

And definitely get the sway bar. As soon as an 18-wheeler buzzes by you, and your trailer starts swaying back and forth, you'll panic.

[myredracer]

CKNSLS wrote:


I have heard that KZ makes some good products and the quality is better than some others. With that being said, they are not doing any justice by the confusing terms you mentioned with their products. It's the wild west for RV manufacturers. They can say whatever they want because there are no standards. Then when an unsuspecting buyer buys a "1/2 ton towable" that has a gross weight of 10,000 pounds they come on RV.Net and start with the "whoa is me" song. The contracts the RV dealers use are so iron clad one has no recourse except to either sell the new RV at a great loss, or figure a way to buy a different tow vehicle that can handle it, after just making a major capitol investment. It sure isn't pretty. Is it?

I can agree with you on the KZ quality. While there may be a few niggling things inside ours, the fit and finish is better than many others out there, including our last FR product. We really like the layout in ours and is what sold us on it. It's the weight side of things that's wrong. And not just a little wrong. We also partly bought a KZ product because of their seemingly high reputation. But they are doing damage to that by playing the weight game like other manufacturers. I think it will come back to haunt them eventually IMHO. They just don't need to do this if they want to be heads above the others.

[CKNSLS]

PAThwacker wrote:
super light weight should be a 5000lb gvw, paper thin walled, flimsy framed, waste of money. Our 20k woops now close to 40k cars barely stay running for 8 years of abuse. How is the caulked up flimsy paper machete camper going to hold up sitting around 50 weeks over the years?

I couldn't disagree more. I just completed a trip across the USA and I towed my Eclipse Milan 29 foot 5,500 pound travel trailer with my 1/2 ton and I had ZERO issues with my truck and trailer. Not even as much as a flat with ST tires with over 8,000 towed miles. The trailer saw some VERY, VERY nasty weather. It shook violently in Illinois from near tornado winds. In Louisiana it was blinding rain. It saw well below freezing temperatures. It performed flawlessly.

Please educate yourself BEFORE BASHING!

[NWKomfort350]

PAThwacker wrote:
super light weight should be a 5000lb gvw, paper thin walled, flimsy framed, waste of money. Our 20k woops now close to 40k cars barely stay running for 8 years of abuse. How is the caulked up flimsy paper machete camper going to hold up sitting around 50 weeks over the years?

X2

[PAThwacker]

super light weight should be a 5000lb gvw, paper thin walled, flimsy framed, waste of money. Our 20k woops now close to 40k cars barely stay running for 8 years of abuse. How is the caulked up flimsy paper machete camper going to hold up sitting around 50 weeks over the years?

[westend]

Agreed on the mfg's and their weight consciousness, they must be dreaming when stating some of those setups. IMO, most of that kind of foolishness is market driven. The customer is demanding lighter weights to be pulled by the family SUV or commuter truck.
What I see as unconscionable by the mfg.'s, is sacrificing durability and safety to accomplish their goals. A quick search of "Lippert frames" will turn up all sorts of horrors. I got lucky and got into an older rig that has a full box beam. She turned 41 last year and tows as straight as an arrow.

[CKNSLS]

myredracer wrote:
CKNSLS:

KZ labels our 6800 lb GVWR TT "Super Lite" on the back of it. Funny, I can't seem to find the term "Super Lite" on their website. They refer to the entire Spree line of travel trailers as "Light Weight". "Light weight" and "super lite" are interchangeable terms? The Spree model line, which ours is, ranges from 6,000 GVWR to 9,500 GVWR and are all referred to as "light weight".

I assume "ultra lite" and "super lite" are variations of the same definition? Am curious how a travel trailer with 9500 lb GVWR can be called light weight. Or are they trying to say it is light compared to other manufacturer's trailers of the same length?

Even more confusing what KZ is doing is labeling their Durango line of 5th wheel trailers into "Durango 1500" and also "Durango". The "Durango 1500" is now termed "1/2 ton towable". WTH (what the heck)??

The GVWR on these 5-ers ranges from 9225 lbs to 10,800 lbs. If the pin weight is up around 20%, you are looking at a weight of around 2,000 lbs onto the truck. Are they trying to say any 1/2 ton has the payload capacity and/or RGAWR to handle these? Are there any 1/2 tons that really can handle these without overloading it? :? Our F250 wouldn't even be capable of towing one of these "1/2 ton towables." I am very serious, someone needs to explain this. I am just trying to understand this.....

This weight stuff from manufacturers is getting so confusing and annoying and ridicuclous. Maybe some smart lawyer will get onto it one day. It's like a lawsuit waiting to happen.....

I have heard that KZ makes some good products and the quality is better than some others. With that being said, they are not doing any justice by the confusing terms you mentioned with their products. It's the wild west for RV manufacturers. They can say whatever they want because there are no standards. Then when an unsuspecting buyer buys a "1/2 ton towable" that has a gross weight of 10,000 pounds they come on RV.Net and start with the "whoa is me" song. The contracts the RV dealers use are so iron clad one has no recourse except to either sell the new RV at a great loss, or figure a way to buy a different tow vehicle that can handle it, after just making a major capitol investment. It sure isn't pretty. Is it?

[myredracer]

CKNSLS:

KZ labels our 6800 lb GVWR TT "Super Lite" on the back of it. Funny, I can't seem to find the term "Super Lite" on their website. They refer to the entire Spree line of travel trailers as "Light Weight". "Light weight" and "super lite" are interchangeable terms? The Spree model line, which ours is, ranges from 6,000 GVWR to 9,500 GVWR and are all referred to as "light weight".

I assume "ultra lite" and "super lite" are variations of the same definition? Am curious how a travel trailer with 9500 lb GVWR can be called light weight. Or are they trying to say it is light compared to other manufacturer's trailers of the same length?

Even more confusing what KZ is doing is labeling their Durango line of 5th wheel trailers into "Durango 1500" and also "Durango". The "Durango 1500" is now termed "1/2 ton towable". WTH (what the heck)??

The GVWR on these 5-ers ranges from 9225 lbs to 10,800 lbs. If the pin weight is up around 20%, you are looking at a weight of around 2,000 lbs onto the truck. Are they trying to say any 1/2 ton has the payload capacity and/or RGAWR to handle these? Are there any 1/2 tons that really can handle these without overloading it? :? Our F250 wouldn't even be capable of towing one of these "1/2 ton towables." I am very serious, someone needs to explain this. I am just trying to understand this.....

This weight stuff from manufacturers is getting so confusing and annoying and ridicuclous. Maybe some smart lawyer will get onto it one day. It's like a lawsuit waiting to happen.....

[PAThwacker]

We use a 2500 sub to tow a 5000 pound gvw. htt.. sub empty 6300 pounds.
hooked up family of 4, large lab, and gear, the sub scales out a 8000 pounds, while the hybrid scales a 3700lbs. 11700 COMBined

[AWbucky]

Another question....when looking at TTs.....good brands....bad brands????