I am looking at purchasing one of these: http://www.rvguide.com/specs/keyston...le/290-ct.html

Will my 2008 Lariat Screw with a 5.4 and 3.73's pull this suffieciently or will I put undue strain on the truck? And what about a 2000 Sierra Scab with a 5.3 and 3.73's? Whenever we go anywhere we will probably put most other stuff in one truck and dedicate the other for towing, so other payload shouldn't be an issue. We both have trailer brake controllers in our trucks. I'm pretty new to the towing scene so any positive help will be much appreciated.

Thanks

 

That's just a bit on the heavy side for any 1/2 ton truck.

 

It will pull it fine. Yes it is asking alot of a half ton but I pull that weight in a fifth wheel and my truck is about the same. 06 with 5.4 and 3.73 gears. my father in law also pulls a 30 ft 5th wheel with his identical truck. and he pulls it to florida from michigan every year.

 

Personally, I think it's a bit much for the 5.4.

I have about a quarter million miles as an RV transport driver. I used an F350 dually to deliver RV trailers for the northern Indiana based travel trailer companies including Keystone that you are looking at.

The trailer you're buying has a dry weight of 7500 pounds according to the manufacturer but it's probably closer to 7800 npounds in actual weight. (adding a battery and fuel for the propane tanks and any additions that you added from the dealer)

An absolute rule you should try to stick to is pull only trailers that weigh 20% under the trailer weight rating of your truck. You don't mention whether you have the max tow package or the standard tow package but I would suspect you have one or the other because of the 3.73 gear.

After you load your trailer with the up to 2800 pounds it is rated for, you're going to be pretty well maxed out in any event.

There are a lot of folks who normally tow that much weight with a truck like yours and experience no problems at all. But I would suspect that they tow them on pretty flat ground.

In any event, do not attempt to tow that trailer without a quality weight distributing hitch. Reese Dual Cam, Equalizer, whatever, make sure you use one. If you look at the bottom of the hitch on your truck you will see a sticker that gives you the absolute maximum that you can pull with your truck using that hitch. Here's mine:



My truck is a 2010 F150 Scab with the max tow package. The hitch is rated at only 5,000 pounds and 500 tongue weight unless I use a weight distributing hitch. Then it is rated at 1,150 tongue weight and a trailer weight of 11,500.

The reason that I mention this is a really bad situation can develop if you are ever in an accident and your insurance company has an experienced adjuster. If they know what they are doing and find out you were pulling more weight than your truck and/or hitch was rated for, they can use it as an excuse to deny the claim.

I saw it happen with RV transporters a number of times. They tried to go cheap and ended up paying for the damage to their truck when the trailer ended up on its side taking the truck with it.

Right now, I tow a Jayco 17c that is only 3500 pounds wet weight. I tried pulling it with our Wrangler and that was a waste of time so I bought my F150 with this trailer in mind. That keeps me well below the max trailer weight on the hitch but I also carry a Kawasaki Mule in the bed of the truck (and I am a fat ***) but I am stiil sticking well within my 20% rule.

You can never have "too much" truck but it is entirely possible to be underpowered.

If you're planning on pulling that trailer anywhere near mountains I would strongly suggest that you move up to a superDuty with more power and better yet, a diesel.

 

if your going to do it with either of those trucks, i would go with the ford, the towing capacity is higher on the ford and the outboard shocks make it more stable. plus it probably has more hp/tq

 

brands aside- pull it with the f150. it will handle the load better.

to me, your right on the line of should/shouldn't when it comes to towing weight. it all depends on the type of terrain you will be towing over, distance, and how often.

Your f150 will tow it, but your really going to feel it, and if you have any serious elevation to climb then you should be very concious of your various temperatures in your truck. a WD hitch is a must along with the brake controller you already have.

happy travels

 

We have the distribution bars and the anti-sway bar on it. The gmc pulled it pretty well, haven't tried with the f150 yet. Thanks for all the replies. Ill keep you posted.

 

We should also be looking at stopping these big heavy trailers in an emergency stop. Towing is the easy part.