What is your tow vehicle for a travel trailer?

[kroppe]

I have been thinking about getting into either a popup camper or travel trailer, and I'm not sure what is the best vehicle to do this with. I realize an F250 with 7.3 turbodiesel is more than enough, but I need to keep practicality in mind also (cost, fuel economy, seating for family).

I think a vehicle that can tow 5,000 lbs. is about right, what do you think?

Here are some vehicles I have checked on, using specs from www.edmunds.com. Would like to hear what people think relative to balancing vehicle price/fuel economy and seating.

Chevy Blazer ---------> this is the cheapest of the bunch
Chevy Astro Van
Chevy Tahoe
Dodge Durango
Ford Explorer
Ford Expedition
Ford F150
Ford F250 SD diesel -------> this is the most powerful of the bunch
Toyota 4Runner SR5

[Mike]

It's been my experience that the smaller vehicles (Blazers, Durangos, etc) have enough power for towing, but I like a full-size. They just don't get pushed around by the trailer like the lighter vehicles do.

Remember, when you pull a trailer, you're not going to get very good mileage with a gas motor. I'd say go with a 1/2 ton extended cab truck. But that's just what works best for me.

Mike

[Oct.1]

I’ve got a 2000 Silverado ½ ton with a 5.3. The trailer I tow weighs 4900lbs empty. I am pulling around 5500 when I haul it. The trailer-pulling package on the Silverado with the tow haul package has surprised me. Pulled it from Brighton to Mio twice this year and to Ludington once. I wouldn’t suggest a 5.3 for the Rockies but for a Michigan vacation the truck was superb as far as I’m concerned. Gas mileage cut almost in half. But for a gas engine I expected less.

[ESOX]

Personally, I think the best tow vehicle made is the old Suburban (Yukon XT now??). I have a ratty old Chevy 3/4 ton that is an excellent tow vehicle, and will tow darn near anything I want, but lacks room for kids etc.
The wife has a 2000 Safari AWD that is really good for loading up all the gear, kids etc. and towing my 17'6" aluminum boat, which probably weighs about 2400# with a full gas tank, trailer etc. With the trans in the tow/haul mode it moves right out. Even though it's rated to tow 5000#, I dont think I'd tow much more than 4000# any distance on a regular basis.

[dieguy]

I pull a 25' prowler that weighs 5200 pounds empty and when wieghed loaded was at 6100#, I pull this with a 1999 Yukon. Pulls great and has plenty of room for the family. It was suggested to me by a dealer to find the camping trailer that best fits your budget and needs, then match a tow vehicle that. If going with a travel trailer i would stay away from the smaller vehicles. Ultimately the chevy suburban or the gmc yukon xl i feel would be the best thing for towing with a family, next to a diesel engine. I have just recently made my purchases this year in the spring. Good luck to you.

[Sarge]

As was already said, towing ability is only half the battle. Weight and stability make a major difference when towing a vehicle behind. A windy day can work you to death, not the physical effort of keeping the rig in a straight line, although that is a factor the work comes in the form of stress. The stress of knowing this thing could wag its tail right into a passing truck, or one you are passing.

For the towed vehicle, length and tire size are the biggest factors. The shorter the length and the lower to the smaller the tire diameter, the greater the sway factor is. Almost no one ever buys anti sway equipment for a popup, but it is one of the worst vehicle to start swaying that there is. After any towed vehicle starts, the weight then works against you. So, longer, lighter weight, and larger tire diameter, are the factors that matter to the tower, when looking at campers.

I used to pull a coleman popup with a full sized pickup or a delta 88 (older) and had very little trouble. I now do the 5th wheel and it hauls better at 28 feet and 8000 lbs. than the popup did, even though I never had problems with the popup.

[Ron L]

First off, it really depends on exactly what you're going to tow and how manypeople in your family. Many people at popuptimes.com swear by Astros for many of their applications. For my family and our pop-up, it works great.

You can't only consider trailer weight, you also need to consider GVW, etc. Some ofthe folks at PUT are quite good at the numbers. I'd suggest spending a little time there and looking at what they're doing. FWIW, my brother-in-law tows his 3800# travel trailer behind a C1500. He used to own an Astro and just liked the longer wheelbase of the full size pickup when it came to handling things like sway. YMMV.

[fishinlk]

I've got a 2000 Dakota extended cab 4x4 with a v8, the towing package and the lower gear ratio and it pulls our Coleman Cheyenne like a champ. This past weekend we were in the Alleghany mountains in PA with the both the trailer and the truck loaded and it never worked up a sweat going up the mountain winding roads. The truck is around 4700 lbs empty and the trailer is 2010 lbs empty but I did put a sway control on it for a little re-assurance(probably not needed though).

[POLARBEAR]

i have more miles in reverse towing a trailer than most people have going forward.:D i have towed 16ft tandem trailers for 12 years. i owned a 1981 pop up. i loved having a camper but found it to be allot of work. if you think you want a pop up go rent one for a weekend. see the amount of work it is. everyone that has one has a program for setting it up, some will say it is no big deal others will say buy a travel trailer. this happened to my friend mark. he asked me where i bought my new camper at. (i will not suggest anyone to buy a camper where i did. it was a bad experience.) i am with holding the name of the company, if you want it p.m.me.) he ended up at general trailer and bought a popup. very nice. he used it several times and now has a 31' travel trailer he tows with his 2001 dodge ram 1500 series. he loves the travel trailer. after i gave away my popup i bought a 28' 1969 trailblazer camper. loved it. didnt tow it much but what a improvement from a pop up. when that trailer was gone i decided i needed another. i am 6'7" and found a brand new trailer witha 6'10" ceiling. it is a 34' coachman. new in 97. it has a 12' glide out room and is loaded. this thing is sweet. i towed it with 94 gmc z-71 1/2 ton 4x4 with a 350. not enough truck. but i made it taking my time. i now have a 2001 dodge ram with a turbo cummins diesel. hear me roar. i am not impressed with the fuel mileage. buy a 4 door gas engine truck and rent a couple of trailers to find one you like. insurance on my camper is $520 a year.it covers extra for guns and hunting gear. you need to store it. $30 + a month is average. and then use it and maintain it. it is expensive but allot better than a popup. in my opinion. if you want to hunt or fish at my place kroppe you are welcome to come up and see what it is like if you do not know already. good luck and keep us posted. :) polarbear

[Sarge]

All of the advice was good, but the best was "find out before you fork out" I put quotes around that for emphasis. I know no one actually put it in those words.

Our first camper was a Coleman popup, back when coleman still made them. It was the most camper we could possibly afford, and we loved it. We shopped for several years before buying and were totally tickled with it. We knew what we wanted and got exactly that. I have heard so many horror stories about people getting less than they wanted just to get something. That is a pure waste of money, because if you don't like it you won't use it, or you'll be mad at it. No one likes being mad when they are camping. There are plenty of opportunities for nature itself to make you mad without having it built-in to your equipment. :D

[jimbos43]

I have a 2001 f-350 with the 4:10 gear ratio. What in the world possessed me to stick with the V-8, still baffles me. What a joke for an engine, it can't move itself, let alone try to tow my 30 foot Coachman on the freeway.
DON'T even think about trying to do some major towing with this set-up.
All I move this trailer around a 5 mile radius up north so it's get's me by.

[kroppe]

Thanks for all the suggestions folks. I definitely prefer a travel trailer over a popup, but we'll have to see how things work out.

Polarbear, I looked up the Dodge specs on Edmunds, it looks like a great towing vehicle for the money. How do you like it? Reliability? Problems? Comfortable? How heavy was your buddy's 31 foot trailer? How heavy is your 34' trailer?

Sorry for all the questions but I'm pretty new to this stuff.

[POLARBEAR]

being 6'7" the dodge is comfortable. i like the quad cab i have. a gas engine quad cab with a 8' bed is an excellent truck for the money. when i bought my truck at milosch dodge AT THE END OF THE MONTH they offered me a the same truck i have except no diesel for $25,000 + tax. great deal i thought. i opted for the diesel and i like the diesel. suprisingly quick. tows nice. i am not happy with the mileage. i get about the same as when i towed with my 1994 gmc w/350 gas engine.

my buddies camper is 31' and has a glide out room. (glide out rooms are a must. i love mine.) they do add to the weight. my camper is heavy. i think they said it is around 10,000 loaded.? i am not sure. you can get them allot lighter now. the camper dealer may tell you that your truck can handle it. but you should talk to the truck dealer as well. you need good info on this. in the past few years i have seen 3 or 4 campers demolished on the highway. the wind gets em and pushes the around and when they roll at 65 mph usually all you end up with is a frame and a bunch of debris. i dont want to scare you with that but just instill the fact that it is a huge learning experience.

my buddies camper is 6700lbs empty and 9200lbs gvw.

i think the #s on mine are more like 8000# dry and 9500# loaded

if i can help any more let me know. if you do buy a new camper take someone along for the walk through BEFORE you sign. id be happy to help. these things are mini houses on wheels and are tax right offs as well. just the interest if you finance. but talk to your accountant first.:) polarbear

[Airoh]

I would stick with full size vehicles if you want to tow a trailer. The small 8's offered will get you around Michigan OK. But if you have any thoughts of out of state trips, you won't be happy unless you get at least into the 350 cu. inch(5.7-8 liter). I'm currently using Fords newer small aluminum block 8 cyl. in a four door pickup. I would not want to tow a 5000 lb trailer out of state with it.

[Ron L]

"find out before you fork out"

Amen to that. That's why we picked up the camper we have now. At this point, it's been a total learning experience, but a good one. So far, we've got a fair amount of sweat equity and only around $300 tied up into ours. We've learned the cheap way what we want and what we don't want in a camper and we've learned a bit of how a camper is made and how to fix things. We've used it a half dozen times now so it's more than paid for itself.

For example, the two most important lessons are that we've learned so far is that a dinette that folds into a bed right in front of one of the slide-out bunks are a PITA. Someone's gotta climb over someone else. Second, you can never own enough #2 square end bits. And every screwdriver that's specifically a #2 square end will get lost. Right now, my camper owns more #2 square hardware than I do. ;)

There are a few places that will rent or lease campers and I'd suggest that. Try out a few different makes and sizes and different options. See what you NEED and what you WANT and make your decisions based on that. Keep in mind the tow vehicle. If you get a 5th wheel trailer, you need a truck pretty much dedicated to only pulling the trailer. Maybe not the best thing for some folks.

[TimT]

Kroppe, I responded in the other thread, too, but I thought that I'd mention this....

My father-in-law had a 32' fifth-wheel trailer. He purchased a SilveradoHD with the 6.0 liter engine and the 4l80 tranny. He did not like towing with it. He experienced rear-end trouble and said that the transmission seemed to just go into neutral. The rear end went out on it within the first week of owning it. The replacement rear end had the wrong ratio in it and also needed replaced . He had enough trouble and overall dislike, that he traded it in (with some major cooperation from Al Serra) and purchased an HD with the Duramax and Allison transimission and is well pleased.
I mention all this because I don't know if the 6.0 is too weak for a travel trailer, or if his vehicle was just plain problematic.

Personally, I tow a 20' boat in a regular 2500 with the 6.0 and 4l80 and couldn't be happier. (The boat is probably only about 3800#'s, though.) I've never gotten over 15mpg on an empty load.

Anyhow, just food for thought. (Sorry, I don't know his mileage on the D-max, but the guys over at pickuptruck.com have covered that, I'm sure.)

[POLARBEAR]

http://www.turbodieselregister.com/

lots of good info on the cummins and dodge trucks here also. p.b.