Towing a travel trailer with a truck camper?

[texasdiver]

My wife and I are looking for ways to move up from our current popup camper to something more comfortable and all weather. Thing is, we are a family of 5 although the oldest is soon to leave for college so we really need to accommodate 4 for the next few years. My wife has been looking at big bunkhouse style 5th wheels. I'm more enamored with smaller truck campers and smaller fiberglass trailers like the Casita and Scamp, or even and Airstream, but they really aren't set up well for a family.

It occurs to me that the most versatile family camping rig might be a lightweight truck camper space for the kids (or even a large canopy with bed installed) towing a smaller trailer for the parents. When it's just me and my wife we can take one or the other campers, when it is the whole family we can take both.

Our preference is for more wilderness style camping in state and national parks and forest service type campgrounds so the big 5th wheels don't really fit into many of them anyway.

So is anyone else doing this sort of thing? Putting the kids on the truck to sleep and keeping a smaller trailer for the parents? Seems like the key would be to get an absolutely lightweight truck camper to reserve plenty of payload for the tongue weight of the trailer. So I'd probably want a truck camper that was just beds and storage, no heavy cabinetry or kitchen.

Am I on the right track? Any suggestions on models I should look at?

[texasdiver]

twodownzero wrote:
You should not consider any non-dually truck, and should even consider an F450 or 550.

The HUGE difference betweeen an F250 and 350 is payload...and you need to maximize that to be able to tow ANYTHING with a camper on.

Geez....I'm talking about dropping a 900 lb camper onto an F350 SRW truck and pulling a 5000-6000 lb camper with it that has a tongue weight in the 700-800 lb range. Obviously those are dry weights and there will be people and gear but still.... that should be well within the range of any properly equipped 350/3500 SRW truck.

I bet there are a bazillion guys out there towing camping trailers with trucks that have that much weight in gear and fuel on the bed.

[dave17352]

I agree with others, scratch the 250 off the list. With all the bodies and gear for them it will be tight by the time you get your camper and trailer even with a newer 350 3500. My truck in my signature has a 4000 payload. I haul my 11'3 camper at over 3k wet and a 3500 boat with no issues. I also have a 30 inch extension hitch. But I am right at my limits. Remember if you look at chevy's you want to go with a 2011 or newer. That is when they almost doubled their payload.

[twodownzero]

You should not consider any non-dually truck, and should even consider an F450 or 550.

The HUGE difference betweeen an F250 and 350 is payload...and you need to maximize that to be able to tow ANYTHING with a camper on.

[texasdiver]

KD4UPL wrote:
What you want to do will certainly work but you're highly underestimating your weights. I haven't seen any figures on the weight of the family but I would guess you're putting them all in the truck. At an average of 150 pounds a person that's 750 pounds right there. Add in all the gear that will likely be brought along, the TC, the tongue weight, etc. and you will wish you had a 3500 SRW truck at minimum. There's really no reason to buy a 2500 truck.

Right. I haven't really researched all the different brands. I'm kind of partial to Ford based on family history so I know more about them but I'm not fixated on Ford. I would definitely want to outfit any new truck for maximum payload and towing capacity possible with a SRW axle. So camper package, snowplow package, payload package, max tow package, whatever they call it and possibly swap out tires as well. If I bought new most definitely a F350 or equivalent. However my understanding is that there is often very little functional difference between F250 and F350 depending on the model year and package, sometimes as small of a difference as the block between the rear axle and spring. So if I was buying used I would probably spread my search to include properly outfitted F250 trucks just to have more options as there often aren't that many good F350 SRW trucks in the used market.

One way or the other, I'd be buying the most capable SRW truck I could find just to have as much extra capacity as I could buy, especially if the wife eventually decides we need a larger 5th wheel. I expect this is the forum to go back through and read for best advice on outfitting a truck properly.

[KD4UPL]

What you want to do will certainly work but you're highly underestimating your weights. I haven't seen any figures on the weight of the family but I would guess you're putting them all in the truck. At an average of 150 pounds a person that's 750 pounds right there. Add in all the gear that will likely be brought along, the TC, the tongue weight, etc. and you will wish you had a 3500 SRW truck at minimum. There's really no reason to buy a 2500 truck.

[MarkTwain]

texasdiver wrote:
Don't have a tow vehicle yet. Well, actually I'm towing the current popup with either the wife's Highlander or my Sienna. But the Sienna has about 280,000 miles on it and will soon be replaced by a truck. I've been looking at Ford F250 or F350 diesel 4x4 trucks with SRW as I don't want to deal with a dually for my daily vehicle. So that will restrict what kind of 5th wheel or camper/trailer combo I can pull. But just looking around it seems like with a F250 with the camper package and heavy duty tow package I should be way able to put a lightweight popup camper on top like the aluminum 4 wheel model above and then still be able to tow something like a 20' fiberglass camper like perhaps this one: Oliver Legacy Elite II which would give me about 800-900 lbs dry weight for the slid-in camper and about 500 lbs dry tongue weight on the camper which should leave plenty of payload for passengers and gear and maybe also an auxiliary fuel tank.

If your plans are to RV for the for unforeseeable future, go with the F350 Diesel. This will eliminate any concerns about what or how much you can tow more the most part.

[bobndot]

texasdiver, just a thought ,

As you stated , If you are looking for sleeping space only in the truck camper end, what about something like a Belairshell
that would offer you more wiggle room and no hitch extension at the TT end .
You could finish off the truck shell in any way you need it .

[tonymull]

I have a 1 ton SRW Silverado and could easily tow a small travel trailer in addition to my camper. I don't think that would be any heavier than my car hauler with a Prius C and ATV on it, and that works just fine. Keep in mind that my camper is only 2500 loaded and the truck payload is almost 4000.

[_DJ_1]

Boatycall wrote:
A lot of us tow cargo trailers behind our trucks/campers as support rigs, toyboxes, etc, and I personally know of several people who then toss a cot in back for the kids.

Since we don't know what your tow vehicle is, you could take that as an option. And you'd have room for things like quads, Side by Side UTV's, whiskey, whatever... Or in my case, all of the above.

This was my first thought too. And you are at the perfect point to start shopping since you are truckless.

1. Find a slide in camper you and your wife will be comfortable in.

2. Find the truck capable of hauling it. If you are buying new a 1 ton is only a bit more than a 3/4 ton.

Now you have the camper and truck you like and can tow your boat. Get yourself an enclosed cargo trailer and the kids can sleep there. The lists of modifications to the trailer are endless as well as the lists of support gear for your camping trips. I would like to be able to convert mine into a spacious living room for bad weather camping.

[Buzzcut1]

you get a lot of options to choose from if you go F350 SRW and upgrade to 19.5 wheels in terms of camper and tow behnd capability. A 250 will be at its limits (if you follow GAWR) vs the 350

[texasdiver]

Don't have a tow vehicle yet. Well, actually I'm towing the current popup with either the wife's Highlander or my Sienna. But the Sienna has about 280,000 miles on it and will soon be replaced by a truck. I've been looking at Ford F250 or F350 diesel 4x4 trucks with SRW as I don't want to deal with a dually for my daily vehicle. So that will restrict what kind of 5th wheel or camper/trailer combo I can pull. But just looking around it seems like with a F250 with the camper package and heavy duty tow package I should be way able to put a lightweight popup camper on top like the aluminum 4 wheel model above and then still be able to tow something like a 20' fiberglass camper like perhaps this one: Oliver Legacy Elite II which would give me about 800-900 lbs dry weight for the slid-in camper and about 500 lbs dry tongue weight on the camper which should leave plenty of payload for passengers and gear and maybe also an auxiliary fuel tank.

Trying to think about maximum versatility here. The ability to squeeze into small campsites and or tow a boat when I want or tow other gear when not camping with the kids. Seems like a much more versatile approach to family camping than getting a big 5th wheel and being stuck with all or nothing approach to camping. I'm also at the point in my career when I may soon have a lot more time on my hands than my wife who is younger and still in full career mode so there is the possibility of doing some fishing and camping sans wife and hence, sans trailer.

[Boatycall]

A lot of us tow cargo trailers behind our trucks/campers as support rigs, toyboxes, etc, and I personally know of several people who then toss a cot in back for the kids.

Since we don't know what your tow vehicle is, you could take that as an option. And you'd have room for things like quads, Side by Side UTV's, whiskey, whatever... Or in my case, all of the above.

[ticki2]

Depending on the size of campers and your truck there is no reason it can't be done . Lots of folks here towing large trailers for toys or horses even with SRW . It's all about the numbers . I would probably opt for a bigger TC and a smaller TT so it could be left home when the kids don't come , but it's all individual .

[bobndot]

You have a tire rating stamped on your tires. See what your rear tires are rated for . Weigh your rig now and see how much weight is on your rear axle (tires) with the camper on and loaded for a trip.
See if a TT is possible, if not , like already said ....a tent .




if you are looking at small TT's here are a few :

http://www.tab-rv.com/

Coleman makes a 15 ft model http://www.campingworldofbuffalo.com/rvs/trailers/?affiliateid=5366&gclid=CI2Z-dr358UCFQoUHwodBHwAZw

Jayco 15 & 16
http://www.jayco.com/products/travel-trailers/2015-jay-feather-slx/floorplans-and-prices/

[Powerdude]

Yeah, I agree with your, towing a humungous 5th wheel is not my idea of camping.

The trailer behind the truck camper idea is pretty cool, because you could leave the trailer behind, and use it as a base, and still have a "smallish" truck camper on the truck bed.

But, the problem, like others have said, is payload and tongue weight.

An SRW truck would not likely handle the load requirements, depending on the truck camper and the trailer combination. Most likely you'd be in dually territory.

I did see a Lance camper with a Lance trailer in tow, at a show one time. The truck was a dually.