New Travel Trailer

[samsontdog]

HELP My daughter and S I Law recently retired and are looking at new TTs. They found a 2022 29 ft, 2 BR, 7,000 pounds, fully loaded. Forest River brand. He has a diesel short bed. half ton. The price is just over $45K. WOW !! They put a deposit on it and then called me. I have towed thousands of miles, 5th w, TT, Pop Up, you name it in the last 62 yrs. I think it's too much money for the TT, not enough truck to tow it or breaks to stop it. Tell me what you think and I will forward the comments to them. I know what you will say I think Help me out. Also, he has never towed anything other than her Toyota on a trailer from New York to Calf and little cargo trailers

[pbeverly]

FrayJo wrote:
Prices are rapidly falling!

A similar trailer that is 1 or 2 years old would cost half as much!

I am the same way. I do not give my kids advice because if it ends up wrong I don't want that on my shoulders. What I do do is present some things for them to think about. "Did you consider this?" blah blah blah.

I have also learned that a lot of people seeking advice really just want you to confirm what they have already decided. Others don't want to take the time to research and figure things out.

[Lantley]

Turtle n Peeps wrote:

theoldwizard1 wrote:
Prices are dropping fast !

A 1 or 2 year old similar trailer would be 1/2 as much !

^^^ this.

As far as towing, my good friend has a 1/2 ton Chevy diesel and tows his 7K trailer just fine.

As far as brakes. The truck does not stop the trailer; the trailer brakes stop the trailer and the truck brakes stop the truck.

Once you experience disc brakes on your RV trailer you will realize the drum brakes are not stopping the trailer very well.
Disc brakes will stop the trailer drum brakes on the Rv will need the assistance of the truck.

[FrayJo]

Prices are rapidly falling!

A similar trailer that is 1 or 2 years old would cost half as much!

[LadyRVer]

If it were my daughter and hubby, I would leave the trailer purchase to their choice. Their money. If I directed them to another trailer or brand and it had a lot of problems, well, you know the rest of the story. The truck, don't know enough about it, but I towed 7000# with a 2500 gasser and had no problems. I would think a diesel would do a good job. Whether 1/2 ton or 3/4.

Good luck to them and hope y'all can make lots of good camping memories.

[Lwiddis]

Well, Ski,…..I wouldn’t. lol

[Lwiddis]

Gain automatically set is a very common misconception of newbies.

[Grit_dog]

Aaaaand we're well on our way to another chicken little payload discussion!
WoooHooo!

[Skibane]

nickthehunter wrote:
I don't know how anyone here could comment on the price, no one knows anything about the trailer.

Would you pay $45K for any Forest River trailer?

I wouldn't.

[valhalla360]

Durb wrote:
My son has a Laramie Ram with the Ecodiesel. His payload is around 1,100 pounds. Have them watch the numbers closely. He has commented he wouldn't pull a travel trailer with the truck even though he likes the vehicle a lot.

This is the more likely problem. With 1,100lb payload, I can pretty much guarantee he's over his weight limits even if being careful or worse, well below 10% hitch weight.

1/2 ton truck payloads run between 950-2500lb. A 7000lb trailer should have a hitch weight up around 800-1000lb which counts against payload. Payload also include people and gear in the truck.

The OP needs to provide more info than "diesel 1/2ton" to get a good answer.

Get the specific year, make/model, cab type and even better the stickers on the door jam and we can provide better guidance.

PS: The old "truck brakes stop truck/trailer brakes stop trailer" is great in theory but see how fast you can get the truck by itself from 65 to 0 and then repeat with the trailer...in real life, the truck helps stop the trailer even with properly set up trailer brakes.

[klutchdust]

Turtle n Peeps wrote:

theoldwizard1 wrote:
Prices are dropping fast !

A 1 or 2 year old similar trailer would be 1/2 as much !

^^^ this.

As far as towing, my good friend has a 1/2 ton Chevy diesel and tows his 7K trailer just fine.

As far as brakes. The truck does not stop the trailer; the trailer brakes stop the trailer and the truck brakes stop the truck.

What's the tongue weight on that trailer. Your comment on the brakes and who does what is spot on. I have seen many folks towing and when the comments went towards brake settings on their controller they just shrug their shoulders. Maybe they assume it's automatically set.
Hey, your trailer brakes need adjusting, old school if they are drum brakes, spin them and use a screwdriver because you can't find the brake tool.

[Lwiddis]

$45K is a hefty price to try out RVing but I don't think 7,000 pounds too much for his truck.

[Durb]

My son has a Laramie Ram with the Ecodiesel. His payload is around 1,100 pounds. Have them watch the numbers closely. He has commented he wouldn't pull a travel trailer with the truck even though he likes the vehicle a lot.

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

theoldwizard1 wrote:
Prices are dropping fast !

A 1 or 2 year old similar trailer would be 1/2 as much !

^^^ this.

As far as towing, my good friend has a 1/2 ton Chevy diesel and tows his 7K trailer just fine.

As far as brakes. The truck does not stop the trailer; the trailer brakes stop the trailer and the truck brakes stop the truck.

[nickthehunter]

I pull a 7600 lbs trailer with a 1/2 ton - many thousands of miles, No problems at all.
I don't know how anyone here could comment on the price, no one knows anything about the trailer.

[Fisherman]

My son had a 28" TT and towed it twice with his 1/2 ton diesel. No effort pulling or stopping, but the rest was not the most enjoyable trip. Some people just jump into the frying pan without looking to see if the heat is on high. He wouldn't do it again unless he had a 3/4. Maybe a lesson learned.