I looking into getting a travel trailer and going around the US. My questions is this. How close to max towing weight do you want to go before it is going to run out the tranny and engine? By that I mean my truck says it can haul 6800. Do I want to stay as far away from that as I can get and that will extend the life of my truck or just say fork it and max it out?

Yes the truck has the towing package. Look in sig for info on truck.

 

Most people will say they are comfortable towing about 75-80% of their tow rating. If I towed more than 5k pounds regularily, I'd look at 3/4 ton trucks.

 

I'm four+ years from retirement and traveling(towing) the US.

My wife wouldn't live, for an extended period, in anything that my F150 could tow.

There is a SuperDuty Diesel Dually in my future.

p.s.
If it was just me, it would be a Ranger pulling a 1500lb Pop-Up.

 

If you're gonna tow anything of any size regularly for lots of miles I would suggest a diesel superduty. Even if you could find a 3 year old rig with 50K miles on it it would be better to tow with than an F-150 for what you're saying. The gas milage will kill you with the gas rig. 7-8mpg versus 12ish+ with the diesel (unless you're towing BIG, then you can get back to the single digits)

If it's a one time thing and then local occasional trips you could probably get away with something like I have. http://www.dutchmen-rv.com/ look at the "lite" versions. But those aren't built to "live" in. If you had a diesel superduty you can get a MUCH nicer trailer. Something like... http://www.pilgrimintl.com/pilgrim/o...7695905717463c

edit: not to mention the diesel will go for a LOT more miles properly maintained than a gas engine.

 

If you set your rig up right you can pull at least up to your tow rating. I do not suscribe to the notion that you need a diesel to tow anything over 5000. I pull a 34' ,three axle avion. It weighs about 9500# fully loaded. The way I have it set up, it is a very safe stable tow. I can tell more about how I have mine set up if anyone is interested. I get between 10 & 12 mpg depending on terrain, wind, etc. A lot of the towing capacity of any truck is directly porportionate to the experience of the driver. If you have no experience I would not recomend a large trailer no matter what tow vehicle you have. As far a longivity, engine will be fine, Put a trans. temp. gauge in and watch the temp carefully. If you need to, put another cooler on.

 

My personal point on the diesel is if you spend 40% or more of your milage towing. A diesel typically holds up better in the long run with that kind of use. Especially if you're putting 20K+ a year on a rig. If you trade in your rig at 100K then it probably won't make much of a difference.

"I get between 10 & 12 mpg" : is this with an f150? If so, what did you do to get that milage. I'm getting 7-9 with 6500ish pounds and a 5.4 3.55ls.

ToStev: Check out www.rv.net , there's people there that do a lot of long hual towing. See what their experiences are.

 

I have a F150 supercrew 4wd 3.73 gears, 5.4 with a tuner. Trans gauge is important. I have to watch it in 100 degree weather. My trailer is very aerodynamic which is a huge help on fuel. It does not feel like it is that heavy. That milage is in relatively flat country. Of course it would not do that in mountains.

 

Don't let blue ghost fool you.
He went through a Wendy's Drive-thru without regard to clearance sign.

 

Well my town has a RV show coming and I will be looking around there. I am a new travel trailer guy. I do own a 16ft boat that I use once in a while but that is about the biggest I ever got on trailers. Any ideas on what would be good for me say a 22ft? with a pop out?

 

I would go with at least a 24 foot travel trailer. I moved up from a 19 foot to a 26 foot and it is about as much as I would want to tow with my F150. The 26 foot weighs 6500 lbs. (actual) and the truck tows it pretty well.

 

What are some good TT makers? I have seen dutchman before.

 

You might want to check out Kz-rv.com they are one of the toprated towable manufactures in the country, they have been number one for over 5 years in a row. I am on my second Sportsmen model made by kz. They are a great company that makes a great product and they stand behind there work. I work for an rv dealer and I have seen a lot of travel trailers in my day. I would stay away from the dutchmen ultra lights, the walls are only made of 1" x 1". Not over built. If you are going to tow it up and down the road you want something that is going to hold up.

Sorry for the long post but I want you to make an educated decision.

1. Check out construction features. You would be better off getting something that is made with wood studs, the reason being most all trailers in your size and weight class are laminated construction, which is styrofoam glued to paneling with aluminum studding around the paremiter only, no studs in the walls.

2. Don't get anything with osb or particle board floors, if you get a leak the flooring will swell. Find something that uses plywood for the flooring, you'll be glad you did.

3. Find out what is used for wood substrate on the roof. Terry and most other fleetwood products use 1/4" osb. If you walk on the roof and don't step on the rafters you will hear the wood cracking under you. Some people will say that you don't need to go on the roof anyhow, but if you don't want your new rv to leak then you need to be on the roof checking the seams for sealant.

Check out this web site, owned by a family they are small but very knowledgable when it comes to rv's. Not in your area, so not trying to sell you something.

www.thervmart.com

 

There's tons of choices. I think the first thing you want to do is set a price range for what you want to spend and move from there to considerations of size and weight. There's some good "light" trailers out there, but you do sacrifice some with those because they are cutting corners on weight. My dutchmen Lite is not real heavy on the construction. I like the layout and functionality, but it's not well insulated and I have had to do a few things to it. For what we paid for it I feel we got a good deal overall. An RV show is a good start to get a feel for what you want.

 

Ok Ok I need a question answered from a ignant young man.

What do all the numbers mean?
Dry weight? GVWR?
I mean give me everything I need to know before I go and shoot myself in the foot by some slick sales guy telling my f150 can do it all.

Or if you can get me a site that has a towing 101 class.

Thanks in advance.
Stephen

 

check out www.rv.net. You'll learn lots there.

Dry weight (I forget the abbreviation for it) is the weight of the trailer by itself, no water or propane. GVWR is the weight the trailer is rated to safely load too, or the maximum weight of the trailer and all stuff loaded into it. Some give a weight for what it would weigh with all the tanks full. I don't remember the abrreviation for that either, but it's the "wet" or weight of the trailer with full tanks. General rule of thumb is you'll add 1000 to 1500 pounds of stuff to a trailer. You can pack light and not bring water, tools, camp wood, gasoline, etc. You'll still add 500 to 800 pounds that way. RV.net has a lot of experienced people in that realm.

Your truck tow weight rating is the base truck plus one 150 pound passenger. The important number is the combined weight rating wich is usually 12,500 to 13K with 97-03 f-150's. I think the 04+ models are a bit higher like 13,500. This the weight of truck, trailer and stuff. If you're over this you're over what the truck was designed to safely tow.

Pay attention to the tongue weights also. The hitch should be stamped with it and the trailer will have a stated tongue weight. Remember loading more stuff into the front of a trailer will increase this. You can counter balance by putting stuff in the rear, but that's a guessing game. A weight distrubution hitch gives you more towing capacity with a hitch than without. I recommend a WD hitch anyway for an f150, even if the trailer is 5000#. It really stabalizes things with travel trailers. A sway bar is good too if you go over 24 feet or so. Again any travel trailer can benefit from a sway but the longer trailers will of course be more susceptable.

read up over at www.rv.net and ask any questions you're not sure of. Take your time and don't be affraid to walk away from a "deal". Talk final numbers with them including hitches, brake controllers, etc. Basically what the price is gonna be out the door with your trailer hooked up to your rig. It never hurts to procure financing ahead of time either. Buying a trailer is kinda like buying a car accept the financing is similar to a home loan. You can deal on numbers like buying a car though. There's usually lots of room to ****er.