96bounder wrote:
We recently sold the coach and purchased an 08 Forest River Cherokee 28 a+.DW said this one is not for sale so I do as I'm told
I'm towing with an 01 Ford F150 crew so with an empty trailer weight of 5400 once loaded I'm pushing recommended weights on truck.a Dually is in the future plans but I would like to use the camper for some local outings (less than 50 miles) until funds are available for a heavier truck.
Is there a good hitch on the market that won't break the bank because when I upgrade trucks probably won't use it anyway
Hi 96,
I looked up your camper, and found an on line FR 2007 Cherokee brochure. See here: 2007 FR Cherokee I know that is one year different than your 2008, but could not find the FR catalog on that year.
I did find this dealer site specs on the 08, and what I was looking for matched, so the 07 may still be right. Check the details in case what you have is different but I suspect not. 2008 Cherokee 28A+
Nice floor plan, congrats!
I this situation, using a 01 F150, odds are high you have to use a WD hitch. If the receiver is the OEM original, it is not rated high enough to carry the tongue weight in weight carrying mode. And if by chance, someone upgraded the receiver, the truck rear axle could be in overload with a fully loaded camper and some gear in the truck bed unless you use a WD hitch.
See here what my 05 F350 comes with as standard for a receiver and this is a 1 ton truck. It is only good for 500# of TW in weight carrying mode. Most of the older 3/4 and 1 ton trucks had low weight carrying ratings. Some of the newer larger trucks now have higher ratings
In this case with your F150, you will need the WD hitch.
Now the next part. This camper is 31 feet long. Meaning ball to back bumper of the camper.
With the F150 you are going to want a good anti sway WD hitch. I myself would still use it on an F350.
The dry brochure TW is 580# with a dry GVW of 5,780#, this is 10% dry TW. The max GVWR is 7,580. Heads up, the tongue weight is at the bottom end of a stable towing trailer, and the 31 feet makes it all that more important to get the TW up higher. When you add gear to the camper, it is recommended you get your loaded TW up higher then the bottom end. 13% loaded is a good number, more is better (15%) if the truck and TT can handle it. The floor plan will allow it to be raised without too much work with the front cargo hole and storage under the bed and bedroom. Just watch where the 50 gallon fresh water tank is if you tow with fresh water, in front of the axles (adds TW), behind it (subtracts TW) or best, on top of the axles ( does not affect TW) .
Your loaded TW, could be between 900 to 1,000# depending on what gear is loaded in the front of the camper.
While a dually truck will overcome the shortcomings of the F150 suspension, it too can ride better with a WD hitch, and the 31 foot length can benefit from a good anti sway hitch.
Since you seem to change campers, and still may, I would suggest a Reese trunnion bar WD hitch with the dual cam option. This will give you a good WD hitch and good anti-sway controls. And the Reese trunnion bar hitch has many size WD bars that fit it. So if you change campers, all you need to do is change the WD bars.
While new may be not in your budget, Craig's list has many of these for sale. Here is new hitch, less the tow ball, so you know what a free shipping hitch costs Reese 1,200# trunnion WD hitch with DC (Straight line) on E trailer
Be careful to not get a round bar Reese with the dual cam. They are a good WD hitch, but when the DC is added, it has limited adjustability that the trunnion bar hitch overcomes. If you get the Reese, let us help in how to set up the Reese trunnion bar WD hitch and DC correctly so it does not bind in turns.
You really do not want to be towing that camper without a WD hitch on a 01 F150. Those that have said try it, may not have known all the details of your camper/truck. The suspension of that era truck is nothing like a dually.
Hope this helps
John
