Travel Trailer Tow Vehicle

[willg]

This is surly not the first post like this and probably not the last, but I am a newbie looking at purchasing a Rockwood mini lite 2304s dry wt. 5654, GVW 7660. I have never towed before. Finding the right tow vehicle is down right confusing so i”m looking for some advise from the experts! I don’t feel comfortable taking advice from car and rv sales people. Don’t want to overkill it, but also don’t to want to be underpowered driving in the mountains which will be a minimum of once a year up to the North Carolina mountains (Linville area). I’m assuming a 1/2 ton is sufficient. Looked mainly at the Ford F 150 2.7 and 3.5 EcoBoost engines so far. Thinking the 2.7 is too small. I would like any and all advice on any of the big 3 pickups but mainly advice on the appropriate pickup engine for the weight of the trailer. Thanks

[ken56]

We first got into RVing in 2012 and 6 years later I am on trailer #3. Think about the future because you will eventually either get out of RVing all together OR want a bigger trailer and I will bet on the bigger trailer scenario. We started out with a 24ft. StarCraft then moved up to a 30ft. Coleman and today its a 37 ft. beast Keystone Laredo travel trailer. Had a Chevy Avalanche for the first one then a 1500 for #2 and now its a 2500 GMC. Huge difference in all of them.


All that said, how are you going to use your trailer? Weekends? Hunting camp? See the Nation? Its a big investment for all that is needed and to get into RVing and only use your trailer one weekend a year is not expense justified in my opinion. On the other hand, if you plan on seeing the country and being gone weeks at a time then comfort is a necessity. How many people are going to occupy that small space at one time? Things can get close real fast on a bad weather day. Lots to consider and only you can figure it out.

[ZINGERLITE]

How many of you guys that advocate a 3/4 or 1 ton truck drive your truck daily? If its a dedicated tow vehicle i could agree that bigger is better. If it's a daily driver all year long with a few trips with the camper id say 1/2 ton as long as the numbers match up.

[trailer_newbe]

I have a 3.5 EB F150 as my work truck, now with 54,000 miles. Great vehicle with one major flaw. Spin up those turbos while towing (which they will) and it sucks down gas like a fire hose. Get a 3/4 ton diesel and you’ll be happy.

[TurnThePage]

Jeez Louise! I can't believe this. My trailer is a little north of 6000 and is no issue to tow in the mountains at all. I mean like almost zero extra input required by me. Nearly all of my towing is in the mountains. I wouldn't hesitate to push 8000 lbs if I just had to have that trailer.

On edit, I should point out that I drive a wimpy Ram 1500.

[marcsbigfoot20b]

In my personal opinion if your trailer is at or over about 6000lbs and you only tow on the flats under 3000ft elevation then a properly equipped max tow 1/2 ton should be “ok”.

If you tow in the mountains and over 6K then a 250/2500 or 350/3500 would be the safer option and a more pleasurable drive.

[MitchF150]

twodownzero wrote:

MitchF150 wrote:

old guy wrote:
all I can tell you is a 1/2 ton and a 3/4 is like night and day difference. I used to tow with a 1/2 ton and with the trucks passing you or the wind in general, power, and the truck being able to perform, a 3/4 will not let you down in satisfaction and safety. I would only buy a 1/2 again if all I wanted was to haul a sheet of plywood. I believe in my 3/4 ton that much

Really.... Man I thought I was out of touch with things...

Mitch

I actually agree with this. I wouldn't have a household without a 3/4 or 1 ton pickup truck. Buying a 1/2 ton truck knowing that you're going to be trailering is not well advised. 1/2 ton trucks are designed for people who mostly want a truck, but do not need a truck. While they have become more capable over time, they lack the features that come standard on 3/4 and 1 ton trucks for trailering.

Do 1/2 ton trucks work for trailering? For the right trailer, sure. But can you honestly say you would rather tow 8000 pounds with a max payload package 1/2 ton vs. a random 3/4 ton? The 3/4 ton comes with heavier springs, a full floating rear axle, lower gears, a heavier duty transmission, maybe overload springs, and E rated tires. And that's without specifying any additional options!

To me that's a no-brainer.

I think I was referring more to the his comment about a 1/2 ton "only able to haul a sheet of plywood".

I agree that once you start getting over #8000, that's 250/350 territory..

[TurnThePage]

I'm gonna be the guy that says nearly ANY current half ton will work well. Just make sure you get the tow package. Even the 2.7 Ecoboost will drag that trailer around with no problem. I know the small number scares people but that little engine is a serious work horse. Payload is of course important, and the tongue weight of the trailer, as well as the occupants of the truck count against it.

[troubledwaters]

ppine wrote:
It amazing that so many people want to buy "just enough truck" to pull their current trailer. Most people go through many different RVs over time. The cost of a 3/4 or one ton is not much different than a 1/2 ton. I agree that buying a larger truck is a "no brainer."

Not really amazing at all. The larger truck doesn't come with the 3.5 ecoboost and 10 sp transmission. When used as a Daily Driver and a Sometimes tow vehicle, and used within its ratings, this combination is the real "no brainer".

[ppine]

It amazing that so many people want to buy "just enough truck" to pull their current trailer. Most people go through many different RVs over time. The cost of a 3/4 or one ton is not much different than a 1/2 ton. I agree that buying a larger truck is a "no brainer."

[Atlee]

A properly equipped F150 or 1500 from the other manufacturers will be sufficient. However, at 7660# and approximately 27' in length, I personally would not want to go much bigger in trailer and stay with a properly equipped 1/2 ton.

If you are looking at F150's with the Ecoboost engines, don't stop until you get to the 3.5L model. The 2.7L would be fine for lighter trailers.

I have what I consider a "properly equipped" TV. It's a 2014 XLT 4x4 with the HDPP & Max Tow. It has 4800# RAWR, 2286# CC, and a 163" wheel base.

Also remember for both HDPP and non HDPP equipped F150's and other 1500's, the higher trim level you go, the less CC you will have. You pay the CC gremlin with the higher trim packages.

I pull a Jayco J Flight 23RB, which is 27.2' long and has a GVWR of 6500#. I would not go much larger than this before moving to a F250 6.2L gasser.

willg wrote:
This is surly not the first post like this and probably not the last, but I am a newbie looking at purchasing a Rockwood mini lite 2304s dry wt. 5654, GVW 7660. I have never towed before. Finding the right tow vehicle is down right confusing so i”m looking for some advise from the experts! I don’t feel comfortable taking advice from car and rv sales people. Don’t want to overkill it, but also don’t to want to be underpowered driving in the mountains which will be a minimum of once a year up to the North Carolina mountains (Linville area). I’m assuming a 1/2 ton is sufficient. Looked mainly at the Ford F 150 2.7 and 3.5 EcoBoost engines so far. Thinking the 2.7 is too small. I would like any and all advice on any of the big 3 pickups but mainly advice on the appropriate pickup engine for the weight of the trailer. Thanks

[Atlee]

I disagree totally. The 3.5L Ecoboost (twin turbo V6) is more than the equal of Ford's small V8 (the Coyote 5.0L engine). The 3.5L delivers more HP, more Torque, and at a lower RPM, and it doesn't lose nearly as much power when in the 6 to 10k high mountains of the Rockies due to the turbo's.

Obviously, it's personal opinion which engine will last the longest, what with the complexity of the twin turbos, however it's not personal opinion that any small V8 will out perform the twin turbo 3.5L Ecoboost.

twodownzero wrote:
... Although others here might suggest you will be fine with a 6 cylinder engine, I would strongly recommend against that no matter what any salesman, marketing document, or review online states. Get at least a small V8.

[Gulfcoast]

There's way more to towing than just getting it rolling.

[Grodyman]

willg wrote:
This is surly not the first post like this and probably not the last, but I am a newbie looking at purchasing a Rockwood mini lite 2304s dry wt. 5654, GVW 7660. I have never towed before. Finding the right tow vehicle is down right confusing so i”m looking for some advise from the experts! I don’t feel comfortable taking advice from car and rv sales people. Don’t want to overkill it, but also don’t to want to be underpowered driving in the mountains which will be a minimum of once a year up to the North Carolina mountains (Linville area). I’m assuming a 1/2 ton is sufficient. Looked mainly at the Ford F 150 2.7 and 3.5 EcoBoost engines so far. Thinking the 2.7 is too small. I would like any and all advice on any of the big 3 pickups but mainly advice on the appropriate pickup engine for the weight of the trailer. Thanks

If you drive a lot of unloaded miles, go for the Ecoboost, if you use it primarily for towing, don't bother, go with a 3/4 ton gasser. Towing mpg will be the same, unloaded mileage will be higher with the F150. If you want to save towing mpg, ecoboost will not achieve this, only diesel.

Gman

[DelawareDead]

camp-n-family wrote:
You need to look beyond the tow ratings and consider what you plan on carrying in the truck as well. Any of today’s 1/2 ton trucks has the tow rating to handle the tt you are considering. The payload rating will likely be the limiting factor, not the tow rating. Estimate the weight of everything you plan to carry in the truck plus the loaded tongue weight of the trailer then find the truck that has the payload to carry it all.

YEP!!! Don't make the mistake I made and only look at towing capacity numbers. You are likely going to take your family and some gear along on your trips and that is going to effect your payload capacity along with the tongue weight of the camper (usually 10-15% of the camper weight). The 250/2500's will get you the extra payload capacity to take everyone and everything plus make towing a much more pleasant experience. You can you usually find a used one at a good price if you are patient.

Rich

[rjstractor]

twodownzero wrote:
Although others here might suggest you will be fine with a 6 cylinder engine, I would strongly recommend against that no matter what any salesman, marketing document, or review online states. Get at least a small V8.

There's a bit more to a tow vehicle engine than the number of cylinders-just ask any Ram owner with a Cummins engine. Talking specifically about 150/1500 series trucks, the 3.5 V6 Ecoboost will run with any V8 in the class.

I know there are those who think you can't have too much truck, but a 7600 GVWR travel trailer is easily handled by a properly optioned and equipped 150/1500 series truck. The Ike Gauntlet tow test that is on this forum demonstrated that well-optioned 150/1500 series pickups easily handled a 9000 lb high profile trailer, each pulling it up a 7% grade at 60 mph with power to spare. My old 7.3 F250 diesel can't do that. Each truck also handled the load with safety and stability going up and down.