The dealers do not have crystal balls.

[rbpru]

After reading some of these posts, I find it amazing that people expect the dealers to know what they are going to haul.

The car dealer looked at my F-150 E-boost 4x4 and said the spec. sheet say it will tow 9500 lbs. He has no idea what the max cargo is on any particular truck is, he can guess it will be between 1200 and 1600 lbs. So as far as he knows a 9500 lb. TT with 1150 lbs. of tongue weight is within spec.

What he does not know is I haul a truck cap, dog, canoe etc. or about 600 lbs. plus of stuff in my TV before I add the tongue weight. If I mention that to the dealer they will be glad to sell be an F-250.:W

Likewise the TT dealer. Let’s say, you want a particular trailer, the dealer looks at the spec sheet and gives you the dry weight. He might suggest you will have about 1000 lbs. of gear.

In reality he has seen dozens of happy campers plop a 7000 lb. dry weight TT on the back of a half-ton pick-up and go blissfully on their way. Again the dealer has no way of knowing how much or how balanced your load will be.

The dealer’s job is to show and sell you the product you want. He assumes you know or have a reasonable knowledge of your desired purchase and is not going to grill you with a bunch of questions.

As always it is up to the buyer to understand how he is going to use what he buys. Unfortunately the new comer often lacks the knowledge of all the variable involved in selecting a good TT and TV combination.

[chr_]

seaeagle2 wrote:
When I bought my used F150, I was towing a 18 foot boat, and not intending to tow a TT (I didn't have a crystal ball either). Turns out, my truck doesn't have the tow package so it has a 5000 lb tow capacity. After posting a question on this website and having someone post a link to a trailer that would fit our needs, (under 5000 lbs with an oven, a Chalet Takena 1860 or 1860BH), we started looking to see if something else more readily available would fit the bill. Knowing the 5000 lb limit of our truck, the first thing we would tell the salesman was that our truck would tow 5000 lbs. The responses we got varied from "You need to buy a new truck before you can buy a trailer", to "Ahh, you're good for 7500 easy", "Those ratings have some fudge factor built in". Of 7 different salespeople at different dealers, 2 did actually listen and, say "well, lets look at what we've got that you can tow". So while I agree on the customer doing due diligence to know what they can tow, the average salesman, at least in my experience, doesn't really care......

It's interesting that your 2010 F150 4.6 3V is only rated for 5,000#. My 2009 Explorer Sport Trac 4.6 3V is rated for 6,900#. Must have something to do with overall weight of both rigs? The Sport Trac weighs in around 4,500#.

[rbpru]

When I was looking for a TT I went to an RV show and asked what I had to do to my F-150 to tow a fifth wheel. Two separate dealers told me I would need an F-250.

When I was shopping for a 25 ft. TT, the salesman said there was no way we could pull it with our mini-van; he was pleased that we had an E-Boost F-150.

Yet the fact remains that if I look at the specs for my F-150, they say I can tow 9000 lbs. or so; therefore a 7000 lbs. TT seemed okay. Even the 900 lb. tongue weight did not seem all that bad. I was not until I realized that I have a DW, dog, truck cap, tools and camping stiff plus the tongue weight of another 1000 lbs. of TT goodies to account for, that I realized even a 5000 lb. dry weight TT was going to put me at or a bit over my max cargo and axle limit.

I think it is easy to understand how a new comer can get lost in the enthusiasm of buying a new TT.

[seaeagle2]

When I bought my used F150, I was towing a 18 foot boat, and not intending to tow a TT (I didn't have a crystal ball either). Turns out, my truck doesn't have the tow package so it has a 5000 lb tow capacity. After posting a question on this website and having someone post a link to a trailer that would fit our needs, (under 5000 lbs with an oven, a Chalet Takena 1860 or 1860BH), we started looking to see if something else more readily available would fit the bill. Knowing the 5000 lb limit of our truck, the first thing we would tell the salesman was that our truck would tow 5000 lbs. The responses we got varied from "You need to buy a new truck before you can buy a trailer", to "Ahh, you're good for 7500 easy", "Those ratings have some fudge factor built in". Of 7 different salespeople at different dealers, 2 did actually listen and, say "well, lets look at what we've got that you can tow". So while I agree on the customer doing due diligence to know what they can tow, the average salesman, at least in my experience, doesn't really care......

[westend]

"Yeah, but that true coat......"

[gbopp]

rbpru wrote:
The dealer’s job is to show and sell you the product you want.

I don't know, it often seems the dealers job is to sell you what HE wants you to buy.

[Houston_Remodel]

My local CW dealership is along I-10 which includes a 2 lane feeder / frontage road.

I asked how many times a day folks pull their new Rv's off the lot only to crash them before the red light 1 mile away. His response, "We should keep a tow truck parked on the side of the highway"

Its not all the Salesmans fault.

[DutchmenSport]

When we transitioned from tent camping to pop-up camping, we owned a Chevy Lumina Mini-Van. I new Jack-squat about tow vehicles. When we finally decided on the pop-up we fell in love with, the dealer simply told us, or vehicle was too small to tow it. (He was honest! and I never forgot that). We ended up getting a smaller pop-up, which served us well for 6 years and that Lumina towed without any problems all that time.

We finally traded for a Suburban 1500 when the air-conditioner went out on that Lumina and we could not get the freeon any more, and to convert the air conditioner would have cost as much as a new car! So we traded the Lumina under the original Cash for Clunkers program. They gave us $4000 for the car!

So I learned that day the importance of knowing the limitations of your tow vehicle! And I am still grateful to that RV salesmen for not letting me make a bad mistake.

Ever since then, I've educated myself! Do I have more truck than I need! Yup! But I also have NO issues towing either!

[spoon059]

hohenwald48 wrote:
As a general rule, not listening to the salesman on any product purchase is a pretty good idea. The salesman's job is to make the sale.
...
With all the information available on the internet these days there's no excuse for being an ignorant purchaser of any product.

This...

A salesman isn't there for YOUR best interest, he is there to sell you a product. I research EVERYTHING before I buy it and usually know far more about a product than a salesman. They rarely sell one product long enough to know all the details... let alone the details of a truck that THEY DIDN'T SELL!

[hohenwald48]

As a general rule, not listening to the salesman on any product purchase is a pretty good idea. The salesman's job is to make the sale. Some take their responsibility to the customer a little more serious than others but there is no way to determine if your specific salesman is one of them. Salesmen make a living selling. Educating buyers is not something their employer pays them to do. "Caveat emptor" has always been my motto when making a purchase.

If you purchase more TT than your TV can handle that is ultimately your problem and you can't pass it off to the salesman. Folks should learn more about TT's and TV's than "how much is the note" before making a purchase. It's the owner's responsibility to tow within the limits.

With all the information available on the internet these days there's no excuse for being an ignorant purchaser of any product.

[colliehauler]

I had just the opposite of most, the first question the salesman asked when I was looking at 5er's was (what are you going to pull it with).

[rockhillmanor]

The dealer’s job is to show and sell you the product you want. He assumes you know or have a reasonable knowledge of your desired purchase and is not going to grill you with a bunch of questions.

As always it is up to the buyer to understand how he is going to use what he buys. Unfortunately the new comer often lacks the knowledge of all the variable involved in selecting a good TT and TV combination.

That's all fine and good. BUT it's not the saleman that doesn't grill the customer its the saleman that INSISTS your TV will tow what ever he is showing you. IMHO THOSE salesman should be fired on the spot.

Because those are the setups you see everyday pulling into CG's and driving along side you down the interstate.

I am a 'seasoned RV'er'. I also know what my TV can tow and what it can not tow.

Yet, when I went to look at new TT's the salesman would show me a TT and TELL me that my TV COULD tow it. When I know it most definitely could not.

I told him the weight and length I wanted yet we'd drive across the lot to show me yet another one too heavy and too long. Saying 'your TV can tow this one'.:R

So I can fully see why beginners are sold too much TT for their TV's.

Again salesmen that tell anyone they KNOW your TV can tow one of their TT's should be reported and fired.

Just wish we could get that info 'not to listen to a salesman' when purchasing their first TT out to all beginner RV'ers. Just saying.

[Old-Biscuit]

[skripo]

It's amazing to me that I can walk in to any walmart and look at book to see what wiper fits my car. The dealers simply don't want the information because it would hurt sales a LOT.

[8iron]

rbpru wrote:
After reading some of these posts, I find it amazing that people expect the dealers to know what they are going to haul.

The car dealer looked at my F-150 E-boost 4x4 and said the spec. sheet say it will tow 9500 lbs. He has no idea what the max cargo is on any particular truck is, he can guess it will be between 1200 and 1600 lbs. So as far as he knows a 9500 lb. TT with 1150 lbs. of tongue weight is within spec.

What he does not know is I haul a truck cap, dog, canoe etc. or about 600 lbs. plus of stuff in my TV before I add the tongue weight. If I mention that to the dealer they will be glad to sell be an F-250.:W

Likewise the TT dealer. Let’s say, you want a particular trailer, the dealer looks at the spec sheet and gives you the dry weight. He might suggest you will have about 1000 lbs. of gear.

In reality he has seen dozens of happy campers plop a 7000 lb. dry weight TT on the back of a half-ton pick-up and go blissfully on their way. Again the dealer has no way of knowing how much or how balanced your load will be.

The dealer’s job is to show and sell you the product you want. He assumes you know or have a reasonable knowledge of your desired purchase and is not going to grill you with a bunch of questions.

As always it is up to the buyer to understand how he is going to use what he buys. Unfortunately the new comer often lacks the knowledge of all the variable involved in selecting a good TT and TV combination.

Yes it's up to the buyer to have some knowledge and responsibility in how the vehicle will be used but when a dealer knowingly, or through blind ignorance says "sure you can haul it with a 1/2 ton" that's when people here have issues. If your salesperson is reading off a spec sheet and saying you'll be fine then FIND A NEW SALESPERSON. If they can't be bothered to educate themselves on their product and the extreme variances in capabilities between models they probably will be looking for other employment opportunities soon anyways. End of rant.