Mike_Up
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Re: Tent Trailer Set Up Question
scbwr wrote: Have you considered something such as the Winnebago Travato? DW and I have discussed what we would consider when we feel we need to downsize. Just yesterday, I got to see a fellow camper's Travato and it really looks quite nice with a full wet bath in the rear, two twin beds that can convert into a king, nice galley and creative use of tables for use with the two captains' chairs. If I went with that, I'd have one of the nice popup style screen rooms to use (along with the awning on the camper. It's small enough to drive around like a pickup truck and no hitch to worry about. We had tent campers when we started out and I wouldn't want to go back to dealing with bunkends and rain and having to dry them out. Before that, I agree with looking at a smaller travel trailer. Or, look at some of the class B rigs. Good luck in your search, and stay healthy! That Van only has a interior height of 6'3". That's not tall enough for many to stand up comfortably especially with AC, antenna's and such mounted into the roof. My Pop Up is pretty easy to handle. A lot easier than handling the 80 lbs Weight Distributing hitch I needed for my previous 29' bunkhouse TT.656Views0likes0CommentsRe: Tent Trailer Set Up Question
Rick Y wrote: Decades ago we owned a tent trailer and greatly enjoyed using it. Eventually we moved on and finally got a Class C Bigfoot. Lately my wife and I have been thinking about selling the C and returning to a tent trailer. However, we are both approaching 80 and are concerned if the tasking of pulling out the beds and hooking up their supports is still as difficult as we remember. If it is then we are unlikely to go that route. Have they found a new, EASY way to do this? If so which make and model would have the new system? Looking for a high sided model with wet bath. Thanks for any info. No different today except maybe a powered roofs, stab jacks powered by a drill, and powered tongue jack on only the biggest. IMO, pulling out and pushing in beds in no easier and maybe harder with bigger beds. If you're 80 and in good enough health to be camping, maybe a smaller travel trailer like an R-Pod would help you enjoy it even more. The R-Pod campers have great floorplans and I would look at one my myself.656Views0likes0CommentsRe: Trailer length and sway
Durb wrote: Does the wind ever blow in Winnipeg? Since you are buying new gear, I would budget in a Hensley or Pro Pride hitch. This will give you some leeway to get the trailer you want. Bigger is usually better when it comes to trucks. My son has a Laramie 1500 Ecodiesel. Payload is a shade under 1,100#. He doesn't complain about the tow of his 5,000# boat but I know he is overloaded going to the lake. Boats usually have under 10% tongue weight around 5% - 7%, while a travel trailer averages around 13% tongue weight. That's only about 350 lbs tongue weight from that boat. That is pretty light. With a factory brochure weight of 5600 lbs for a light weight 30' travel trailer, you'll have far more. Add about 300 lbs for options on top of base weight, then about 1500 lbs to 2000 lbs for water, food, clothes, and other stuff loaded into the camper. Now that 5600 lbs camper is 7400 lbs. With a 13% tongue weight, you'd have 962 lbs. Quite a bit more than a boat.684Views0likes0CommentsRe: Trailer length and sway
hs4816 wrote: Looking for unbiased advice from experienced towers. Buying both a TV and TT. Will likely be going with a RAM1500 Laramie. No plans to push the limits on payload or towing capacity, but are worried about sway relative to the trucks wheelbase and the trailer length. I’ve seen the “rule of thumb” math formula published, but have also seen people saying it’s an arbitrary **** number. Curious what you all feel would be a comfortable and safe maximum length for a trailer. Thanks! *Edited* First of all if I were to do any travel trailer towing, I wouldn't select a 1500 Ram especially a loaded Laramie Ram. Being they have some of the lowest payload I've ever seen. Worse than many midsize trucks. If I were going to buy a truck and travel trailer, it would be a 1/2 ton F150 or Silverado in a modest trim, not luxury, so that you have good payload. Even better would be a 3/4 ton truck for good payload. I also would upgrade to LT Tires on the 1/2 ton trucks. Preferably to a E Rated tire for stiffer sidewalls. I had BF Goodrich T/A All Terrain KO2s but they were terrible for wet roads. I'd advise against them and choose a different tire as Michelin or Bridgestone. If I were buying a large Travel Trailer, that's heavy and very long, I'd be looking at 3/4 or 1 ton trucks for payload, tow rating and stability. Then again I don't think I'd want to tow over a 32' travel trailer. Going that long I'd start looking at 5th wheels. I have a friend who refuses to tow travel trailers because he said they tow so bad. He only will have 5th wheel campers. But 5th wheels usually require a 3/4 ton truck. A HD Payload package F150 can be optioned for smaller 5th wheel campers. I also used a Blue Ox Sway Pro hitch system. It controlled sway excellent and better than my previous Reese Strait Line System (HP Dual Cam System). You just have to adjust so that you get enough tension on the spring bars or the sway control won't be what it should. The system is very very simple and is pretty much idiot proof as long as you get the spring bar tension that's required for sway control as I said. I used 1000 lbs bars for my previous 29' bunkhouse, the Jayco Jay Flight 26BH.683Views0likes0CommentsRe: Where to store extra Propane tank....unbelievable.
kellem wrote: Never would I disrespect my wife but it amazes me how intelligents doesn't necessarily equate to common sense. Tell me, you just can't teach common sense. Kind of like when someone posts a gripe about a wife on a forum of thousands. Can't image the repercussions if she were to read the thread. :E :S125Views0likes0CommentsRe: Opinion on model of TT
Gdetrailer wrote: I think where the F150 gets close to the F250 in price is when you add the 3.5, Max Tow and the HDPP. On Fords Build and Price section a super crew 6.5 box XLY starts at 43,310. Same config in an F150 is 41,165 for a difference of 2,145. No options added. Now add Max Tow, 3.5 and HDPP @4,400 and the F150 is now 45,565 or 2,255 more than the F250. As far as MSRP prices, when I was shopping, the 2 were very close to the same but F250 barely had any rebates and dealer wouldn't discount much. That leading to the F250 being about $5K more. At the time, I did have the HDPP package factored in. Even with the HDPP and Max Tow, you're still limited by the hitch weight rating compared to a F250. I wouldn't get a really big TT with a 1/2 ton. Or even with a F250, I'd go up to a 5th wheel. My friend won't even consider a TT as he said they tow like ****. He'll only own 5th wheels, no matter how small it is. Glad you were able to get a good price on your truck.399Views0likes0CommentsRe: Opinion on model of TT
Gdetrailer wrote: I know the Eco brings a lot to the table with the turbo but unfortunately adding the Eco option PLUS Max Tow/Payload options you are now at the same price or higher than a nicely equipped F250 with a 6.2.. Hum, not what I found when I went to buy a F250 compared to a F150. The F150 has a lot more mark up and rebates than the F250. Apples to Apples, I was looking at $5,000 more for the F250 with 6.2L. The options where all the same between the 2 trucks. I actually was going to pony up and pay the extra $5000 for a F250 until I found how poor the mileage was on the 6.2L. After talking to many, it seems 15 mpg was the best on the expressway and 10 mpg was what everyone was getting around in town driving. Of course mixed, what I normally drive would would be different and most likely 12 mpg or 13 mgp which is way to bad for a truck I'll be driving 22,000/year. I did go with the Ecoboost later and found excellent mileage, better than I actually read about. I'm getting about 2 to 3 mpg than my 5.0L. I actually thought I'd get worse after reading here. Glad I stuck with the F150 as it turned out to be thousands less, gets much MUCH better fuel economy which saves me hundreds every month, and has much better performance by a huge margin. It's also easier to park and get around tight areas with it's shorter 5.5' bed. Unless I was towing a 32' or over heavy weight TT, I would try to stick with a correctly optioned F150. If I was towing a large trailer consistently or for a job, a F250 for sure over a F150. Glad you were able to get a good price on your F250. Right now I think I push for the 7.3L gasser over the 6.2L gasser though. That seems to be the engine to have. I am talking about a Crew Cab 4WD XLT truck with all the better options. For the 6.2L, the 3.73 gears for decent performance. Maybe a extended, 2WD truck would be different.399Views0likes0CommentsRe: Opinion on model of TT
station71 wrote: ford truck guy..I have actually been to a lot of previous shows and hope to see one the year if the big C settles down. I'm still leaning towards a trailer that's a couple of years old..Let the previous owner deal with the depreciation and repairs hopefully. lynnmor..IT's the 3.5 EcoBoost, with trailer package bringing it to 12700 lbs. And Deb and Ed..Thanks for the link I will have a look. Cheers Al I have a 2019 3.5L Ecoboost Screw 4WD with the Max Tow Package. Are you aware that you must have the 20" wheel option to get the 12,700 lbs, otherwise you are still at the same 10,700 lbs as the Heavy Duty Tow package. Main reason why is that you get a $1000 discount over buying all the options included in the Max Tow Package separately, and on top of that, you get the heavier Duty hitch for the Max Tongue Weight. So you aren't actually paying more, but less for the Max Tow Package. You are actually paying for that 12,700 lbs towing when you get the 20" wheel option. The added tow capacity doesn't come from the wheels, Ford also upgrades the rear axle to a 4050# rating and also changed the steering gear and upgrades the stabilizer bar. The steering wheel will take more turns to turn the same radius, giving you more control and easier steering when it's towing a load. Personally, I didn't know this when I bought my truck as the brochure and owner's manual state 12,700# without the requirement for the 20" Wheel option. Only the ordering guide and website builder's guide mention this which I did confirm. I have 18" wheels and I do not have the 4050# rear axle rating but the standard 3800# rear axle rating. However all this was new for 2018 to give it more towing capcity. The 2017 F150 with the 3800 lbs rated rear axle, had a tow capacity of 11,500#. Don't know why Ford didn't rate the same for the 18" wheel option instead of defaulting back to the lower standard HD tow package rating. Maybe because it's only a difference of 800 lbs. , don't know. However with Travel Trailers and towing with a 1/2 ton truck, they rarely exceed the tow rating but often exceed the payload rating and rear axle rating. So find your hitch rating and don't exceed that. You should stick to campers around 8500 lbs totally loaded or around 6500 lbs dry from the factory OR UNDER to be on the safe side. Most hitch weight when loaded are 13% of the travel trailers total loaded weight but can often go over 15% depending on the trailer. If over 15%, that would limit you to a travel trailer under 6000 lbs if you plan to load it full and full of water. Always go to a weigh station and get your axle weights. Sometimes readjusting your weight distribution hitch several times is needed to get you within your axle ratings and GVWR. If you really want to tow a heavy trailer that over 32' overall, 3/4 ton and 1 ton trucks do a much much better job at towing them. Also consider getting LT tires and getting rid of your P series (Passenger Car) tires, as the added side wall stiffness will help you keep better control of the rig and reduce side to side wallowing of the truck in winds due to the P series tire's weak sidewalls. That's why Ford also offers LT tires as an option when ordering. BTW, my 2019 as seen configured in my signature, has 1831 lbs of payload. My previous 2016 which was configured the same but had a 5.0L, 6 speed transmission, and 3.73 geared 9.75" rear differential was rated at 1890 lbs payload. Both my 2016 and 2019 had 3800 lbs rear axle ratings. If you have a Lariat, Platinum, or King Ranch, your payload will be much lower requiring a smaller and lighter travel trailer than even stated above. Good luck finding a camper.400Views0likes0CommentsRe: Trailer length - does that influence spot availability?
dlgobeavs wrote: Hello All- My family is new to RV camping, and looking to invest in a new or new to us trailer. We are looking at trailers that vary between 30-35 feet in length. My question, is whether a 35' trailer will put us in a length category where we start to find limited spots at a typical campground? I know each campground will vary, but generally, does 35' put us in a category where there are limited spots that will accommodate? If so, what maximum length would you recommend to ensure we have the most choices? Thanks in advance!! Dave Absolutely! I had a 29' travel trailer previous to the Pop Up. It was always limited to the longer sites and even more importantly, the more level sites due to it's long length between the axles and the hitch foot. Shorter campers get the better spots for sure. That's why you usually see the very long 31+ footers in the middle of the park, out in the grass with little tree cover instead of backed up against the tree line or forest. That's the only spots those monsters can fit. Good luck in your choice.599Views0likes0Comments
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