Need help picking out a used truck to tow

[GRRV2015]

We are considering buying our first travel trailer, and I could use some help figuring out the tow vehicle needs.

We are looking at a Keystone Sprinter (278BHS). The overall length is 31'8", weighing 7000 pounds, and 785 at the hitch. The fresh water tank is 81 gallons. As far as gear, we will have 2 adults and 2 kids, with occasionally 2 kids' friends to join. Not sure what all that adds up to, but I'm guessing 1200 to 1500 to be safe. So I suppose we are looking at about 8500 total, maybe a bit less.

We do not have a tow vehicle, and would like to find an used pickup that will work well. If possible, I'd like to keep the budget around $8,000 to $12,000, but since I am new to pulling an RV, I don't want to skimp here, or wind up with something that will be pushing it or worse, be unsafe.

So the main question is for any suggestions on what we should be looking at (F150/1500 or bigger?), 2x4 versus 4x4, maximum reasonable milage for a used truck, etc. I am also wondering whether a shorter truck (standard cab, short bed) would be easier to manuver than a longer truck (new to towing and want to keep it easy to handle). Also, does a hitch sway bar or other hitch equipment make sense for us?

Thanks in advance!

[APT]

3/4 ton. If it is a dedicated tow vehicle, GM 8.1L, Ford V10. Otherwise, try to find a 2007.5+ GM 6.0l/6-spd. Are you open to full sized passenger vans? You can get a 2010-2012 GM van with 6.0L/6-spd, probably 50k miles in your price range compared to at least double miles for a pickup.

[atrinh15]

If you have driven motorhomes in that size than you shouldn't have to bad of a time driving with a TT. Backing up into a spot may take some time but if your going to have it delivered than do plenty of research especially your camping site and how easy it is to get in and out.

TV I would consider a crew cab. but the extra kids will def need a second vehicle no matter what. You live in a snowy state? I would do the 4x4 cuz you never know when you need it but thats just my opinion. I would just go gas considering your not really going to be using this truck as much than you dont have to worry about diesel problems like the last post put about the fords.

It never hurts to get a bigger TV considering the size of trailer your looking at. Be safe not just your family but others.

[pira114]

The only thing I'll add to this discussion is about looking for a used truck.

If you decide to go diesel, you will find a lot of used Ford F250s out there with the 6.0. I would avoid those. 6.3, 7.3 is fine, the 6.0 had issues. Many will say they didn't have any issue with theirs, which is true. But the ones for sale tend to be the ones that had issues. Hedge your bets and stay away.

And if you've never had a diesel before, do some research on what owning a diesel is like. Especially an older one. Then decide if that's really what you want. There are a ton of great reasons to go diesel over gas. But it's a different animal you have to be ready to deal with.

Just my opinion.

[krobbe]

Consider something like this 2500 Suburban ?
It'll handle the tongue weight and have payload left for the family. The 8.1L will tow the weight much easier than a 6.0. My Burb towed over 5000 miles last summer with 3 adults and 4 kids. I can't wait to do it again.

[MackinawMan]

Just something to consider, but if you plan on camping with any frequency at all at different locations (meaning you're not going to leave the TT parked in one spot all the time) then always taking two vehicles might get old...especially if you are going to campgrounds that are not that close to your home.

I would at least consider buying a crew cab truck to haul people comfortably with you. Our trips are usually at LEAST a few hours from home one-way and most are at least double that. We have an F350 with a crew cab and it sits 5 comfortably with 3 sitting in the back (technically we could haul 6 since we have the 60/40 split bench in the front).

Your TT will be comparable to ours (ours being 35' long and 9,000 lbs. when loaded). Even if you don't haul people you are in 3/4 ton territory IMHO. We have a longbed (adds to the weight) with a truck cap (adding to the weight), diesel (heavier than gas), 4x4 (adds to the weight), haul a good deal of extra gear like bikes, a grill, etc. and then the weight of 5 people and the approximately 1300 lbs. of tongue weight all sitting on that suspension, which is why I wanted the 1 ton F350. Remember, anything adding to the weight subtracts from payload capacity.

I would seriously consider a crew cab, at which case you definitely want the 3/4 ton (at minimum).

[Gdetrailer]

GRRV2015 wrote:
Gdetrailer: Thanks for all of that. Believe me, you are singing my tune with the first bit about diving into the deep end. This isn't my idea.

We have been renting for the past 5 years, so we have a pretty good idea about the packing issues, and eliminating anything we do not absolutely need. But our rentals have been motorhomes (24-28 foot), so the tow vehicle and tow capacity is all new, same for parking.

Does the math work better with a 3/4 ton? Or is this F-350HD only territory?

By the way, I plan on leaning heavily on our dealer's delivery service for the first summer, and will be reading and researching heavily before buying a tow vehicle. As well, I am looking for a good RV training/driving school - something like www.rvschool.com (suggestions?).

The lines between sizes (1/2, 3/4, 1 ton) now days are really blurred..

A lot really depends on what model, cab size, bed length, 4x2, 4x4 and any other optional packages the truck may have.. all of that eats into the payload..

Those high tow capacities that folks really like to use are typically based on the bare bones base model with regular cab 4x2 and no options what so ever..

If you found a regular cab F150 XL 4x2 short bed with say Econoboost engine plus with HD package it is possible to get one with a little over 2K of payload.. Unfortunately that isn't going to work for your situation and finding one of those stripped down basic models is nearly impossible..

The trailer you are looking at with the size of cab you will need is at a min of a F250.. But you will need the crew cab and that starts eating into the payload..

For instance, I have a 2013 F250 XLT, super cab 4x2 with 6.2 short bed.. My payload available is 3,414 lbs..

Crew cab is going to drop that capacity as well as 4x4 and if you went with diesel you could end up with a payload around 2K or a bit less.

This is why you really need to find out the payload of the vehicle before buying!

Since you are looking at used with 8K-12K for budget you are going to be looking at some rather older high mileage vehicles for sure. I'm guessing 2000-2006 perhaps if you are lucky.. Trucks hold values pretty well so used ones are not cheap and the ones that are cheap are well worn out.. if you don't "need" 4x4 then include 4x2 in your searches.. You can save some money with 4x2 but they are harder to find since most folks want 4x4.

As far as jumping into to towing, yeah that is a lot of length.. 32ft trailer plus 22ft of truck gets you to 54ft of train to deal with.. This takes some planning for things like getting gas..

[Iraqvet05]

I'll add that I towed my TT (5000 lbs dry) with a 1500 and hated it. The 5.3 seemed under powered with a 4 speed when we hit rolling hills. The 2500HD i a have now has much more handling control over the 1500. If you dedicate it as a TV for summer camping seasons, skip the 4WDs, save some money and get a 2WD.

[Iraqvet05]

You would be better off with an HD model over a standard 2500. How old are the kids? I borrowed an extended cab Silverado once and my kids didn't seem to mind an hour drive in the back seat but an adult or older kid would not want to be in the back seat for an extended period of time. I searched for a few months to find a 2500HD I could pay cash for and drove several before finding an low mileage truck (82K miles when I bought it). Lots of those trucks looked nice on the web but some had heavy frame rust, front ends that needed major work or other major mechanical issues. You will need to be patient or just lucky to find a descent 2500/f250 in that price range.

[GRRV2015]

What about this one?

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?ownerId=68915789&searchRadius=0&listingId=391908282

[GRRV2015]

Gdetrailer: Thanks for all of that. Believe me, you are singing my tune with the first bit about diving into the deep end. This isn't my idea.

We have been renting for the past 5 years, so we have a pretty good idea about the packing issues, and eliminating anything we do not absolutely need. But our rentals have been motorhomes (24-28 foot), so the tow vehicle and tow capacity is all new, same for parking.

Does the math work better with a 3/4 ton? Or is this F-350HD only territory?

By the way, I plan on leaning heavily on our dealer's delivery service for the first summer, and will be reading and researching heavily before buying a tow vehicle. As well, I am looking for a good RV training/driving school - something like www.rvschool.com (suggestions?).

[Gdetrailer]

GRRV2015 wrote:
We are considering buying our first travel trailer, and I could use some help figuring out the tow vehicle needs.

We are looking at a Keystone Sprinter (278BHS). The overall length is 31'8", weighing 7000 pounds, and 785 at the hitch. The fresh water tank is 81 gallons. As far as gear, we will have 2 adults and 2 kids, with occasionally 2 kids' friends to join. Not sure what all that adds up to, but I'm guessing 1200 to 1500 to be safe. So I suppose we are looking at about 8500 total, maybe a bit less.

We do not have a tow vehicle, and would like to find an used pickup that will work well. If possible, I'd like to keep the budget around $8,000 to $12,000, but since I am new to pulling an RV, I don't want to skimp here, or wind up with something that will be pushing it or worse, be unsafe.

So the main question is for any suggestions on what we should be looking at (F150/1500 or bigger?), 2x4 versus 4x4, maximum reasonable milage for a used truck, etc. I am also wondering whether a shorter truck (standard cab, short bed) would be easier to manuver than a longer truck (new to towing and want to keep it easy to handle). Also, does a hitch sway bar or other hitch equipment make sense for us?

Thanks in advance!

Not to be sour grapes but for your first TT that is biting off a lot more than you can chew..

81 gallons of fresh water will add about 650 lbs to the mix.. empty trailer weights are notoriously low to start with so that 7,000 lbs empty is most likely 7,500-7,800 and the tongue is most likely north of 825-850 to start with..

2 adults and 4 children, you will be packing pretty darn heavy also..

I am thinking you are way out of 1/2 ton range.. Pretty hard to find a new 1/2 ton with payload above 1,700 lbs on a dealer lot let along finding a used one for 8K-12K..

Have you ever camped before?

Perhaps before jumping into camping by dumping so much money into it up front you might wish to consider renting for a camping trip..

If you don't listen to anything I post at least do your homework..

Your homework below..

Totally ignore those vehicle towing ratings, Thats right forget about those crazy ratings.. You need to concentrate on the available cargo or payload of the tow vehicle..

On newer vehicles there is a tire loading info sticker which tells you in no uncertain terms the absolute max cargo weight your vehicle can carry..

Older vehicles you may need to weight the vehicle and subtract the empty weight from the GVWR to get the cargo.. Some vehicles will have the empty weight and the GVWR posted on the door post.

Payload is an important number since you, passengers, fuel, anything you put into the back of the vehicle and YES the tongue weight is all considered payload of the tow vehicle.

So as an example say you have typical 1/2 ton truck with crew cab long bed 4x4.. It has a payload of 1,700 lbs.. Manufacturer states 8,200 towing capacity.

You have 2 adults for 300 lbs.

4 younger children for 300 lbs.

Put four bicycles, assorted kids toys, small gen, some lawn chairs for say 150 lbs..

30 gallons of fuel about 230 lbs..

That is 980 lbs of weight.. This leaves you 720 lbs for the trailer tongue..

But wait.. you will need weight distribution hitch.. figure 100 lbs for that you now have 620 lbs left for the tongue..

Now the tongue weight should weigh 10%-15% (ideally you want the upper range of 13%-15% on the tongue for best towing) of the trailer weight so we will now work backwards to find the max trailer weight you can haul..

To figure that out you take to leftover payload and DIVIDE that by .1 for 10% or .15 for 15%

at 10% that would be 6200 lbs LOADED NOT DRY.

at 15% that would be 4133 lbs LOADED NOT DRY..

As you can see, there is no way the example vehicle can tow a 8,200 trailer since you will run out of available payload..

[jmckelvy]

I looked up a 2015 year model. The weights you listed are dry weights. They typically include the weight of only those items that are standard equipment. Options (AC, etc.) weight is not included. Dry means no liquids on board. If you simply fill the fresh water tank that will add over 600 lbs alone. I know you don't have to but you do want some.

The GVWR is a better number to use for determining a tow vehicle. The GVWR of that trailer is almost 9900 lbs.

I have towed trailers in that weight range with a Chevy 2500HD 6.0 and I would not want to attempt to tow that with any half-ton. You will almost certainly exceed the payload rating of any 1500 series truck when fully loaded.

[camp-n-family]

If those are dry weights then you'll be in 3/4 ton territory once loaded up, mostly because of the tongue weight and low payloads of most 1/2t trucks. Keep it empty and travel with the family in another vehicle you might get away with a 1/2t but it won't be fun. Why limit yourself. Get the 3/4 and take what/whom you want with you.

In any case a WD hitch will be a must. Something with built in sway (Equil-i-zer or Reese dual cam etc) would suit best.

[GRRV2015]

Lots of good feedback, thanks. I should have mentioned that the truck will probably not ferry the people, just me, the RV, and gear. Second car for everyone else.