Best tow vehicle for 25'?

[Silverbee]

Originally Posted by PaulnGina

I'm of camp #2. Get a 3/4-ton diesel (or gas) and don't worry about how much you are hauling. You won't regret it.

I agree with PnG. Another good reason for a 3/4 is you never know if you might choose to move up to 28 ft. or 30ft. Diesel will give you more life span on the engine. If you do move up in size, no need to have to resize the truck as well.

[Glenritas]

There is an other option . A van , in this case a Nissan NV 2500 Passenger van.

You can remove the seats or reconfigure them to suit your needs. The top of the line model even has a front camera for seeing where the front is, a great feature.

[BillfromWI]

I own a 2013 4x4 F150 Ecoboost with 144.5" wheel base and 3.73 axles, and a 2014 FC25FB Twin with solar. I ordered the F150 with max tow and max payload packages its rated payload is 2,000 lbs. and 9,700 lbs. max tow weight. I thought I would have a well matched rig.

Unfortunately my Flying Cloud came off the line in Jackson Center with a 925 lb. tongue weight. With clothing, etc., propane, some water, and empty holding tanks the tongue weight is 1,252 lbs. on the Airstream scale in Jackson Center. The result is that although I am well within the Ford's GCWR the rear axle is overloaded by about 400 lbs. with a Blue Ox and 1,500 lb. bars. If I use all of the links available in the Blue Ox setup I can get to 150 lbs. over weight but then the trailer ride is too harsh for its own good. I'm going to sell the truck and order a 2500 diesel.

My advise is that you try to get Airstream to tell you what your trailer will weigh with better specificity than the marketing materials provide. Then estimate (or weigh) the stuff you will haul in the truck, add the hitch weight and passenger weight, and compare that with whatever tow vehicle you are considering. I did all that, except I underestimated the tongue weight by about 400 lbs.

The Ecoboost has plenty of power and the truck is very quiet to ride in. I've used the four wheel drive exactly twice in 18,000 miles and I has very glad to have it both times. If you get a 4x4 go all the way get a locking rear axle. I have one and I'm glad for it too. It's a nice truck, just a little short of what I need.

Some may say that 400 lbs. is nothing to worry about, but I'm not one of them.

[Echelon73]

Originally Posted by Silverbee

I agree with PnG. Another good reason for a 3/4 is you never know if you might choose to move up to 28 ft. or 30ft. Diesel will give you more life span on the engine. If you do move up in size, no need to have to resize the truck as well.

This is very true. So many people end up trading up to a larger size camper, especially if they are fairly new to camping and have not had time to decide what model fits them best. It may be good to play it safe and buy something you feel would tow any of the different sized airstreams. Then, as others have said, you never have to worry about having enough truck for whatever you finally end up with.

[grizbear]

I use a 2500 dodge with a diesel with a cap on the bed. The wife calls it the garage, the AS will use about a thousand lbs of your TV's payload add in all the stuff you and the family will be adding to the bed the people in the truck and it adds up much quicker than most think. I have been to the scales twice and the camper is within 250 lbs of max and the truck about 400 lbs below max. Every time the wife wants to add something new her line is "it's not very heavy"But after showing her the scale print out she is starting to get it. Not sure of the payload on the F150 but I would check it out close to make sure you will have the capcity for all the stuff your family will want to take along. The tongue wt. listed from AS is always light it is around 1000 lbs in the real world. Good camping Rand

[greenflag]

I was in camp two in the 70's and 80's 3/4 ton gas 4wd.
In 2003 I switched to camp one 2WD to tow my 25 AI. I frequently went over payload especially when boondocking. It had adequeate power to pull most hills out West. It struggled on most larger hills.
I switched back to camp two diesel 2WD in 2008 to tow my 25 AI. I never regreted the decision except once when stuck in mud and jacknifed. My next truck will be 4WD again. You don't need it often in the Southwest. But when you need it, you really need it.
In the fall of 2013 I upgraded to a 30 AI. I was already equipped to handle whatever challenges the extra length and weight could throw my way.
What brand you say? The big three are all great. Nissan will have a 5 liter Cummins V8 this year in the Titan.
A family member is considering a Ford 2.7 Ecoboost and a 20 AI.

[Glenritas]

OK I just have to say when someone asks what to tow with, It really depends on the Trailer.

Example : 25' AS what year ? Say a '69 Tradewind ours weighs 4700# with 600# of it on the tongue loaded for travel. So a 1/2 ton would most likely get the job done easily.

Now a 2016 25' is a different beast that has a tongue weight over 800# and weighs 7300# Gross. This makes a 1/2 ton on the edge so a 3/4 ton would give you some wiggle room.

BTW don't exceed the vehicle manufactures spec's and get the trailer weighed when loaded for travel.

[Wildbill5150]

I went through the same thing a year ago. I bought my AS 25' Classic and was told by the sales guy that my '02 Chevy Z1 Tahoe (5.3 liter) would tow her no problem. Well the Tahoe did just fine on the flats but on most grades she dogged down to where I was going about 15 mph with a slew of angry vehicles behind me who wasted no time giving me the "you're number one" salute. After much research, including the F-150 Eco Boost, I settled on the Ford F-250 Turbo Diesel and haven't had a single issue since. When towing I average about 15 miles per gallon on the flats and 12 or so in the mountains. ...and not a single salute! Also, diesel prices on average is 20 to 50 cents a gallon cheaper than regular grade gas here in Calif.(at least where I live)

[PaulnGina]

Originally Posted by Wildbill5150

I went through the same thing a year ago. I bought my AS 25' Classic and was told by the sales guy that my '02 Chevy Z1 Tahoe (5.3 liter) would tow her no problem. Well the Tahoe did just fine on the flats but on most grades she dogged down to where I was going about 15 mph with a slew of angry vehicles behind me who wasted no time giving me the "you're number one" salute. After much research, including the F-150 Eco Boost, I settled on the Ford F-250 Turbo Diesel and haven't had a single issue since. When towing I average about 15 miles per gallon on the flats and 12 or so in the mountains. ...and not a single salute! Also, diesel prices on average is 20 to 50 cents a gallon cheaper than regular grade gas here in Calif.(at least where I live)

Another happy convert!

[Coolbreeze]

For my two cents worth....I have a '14 F150 3.5 Ecoboost, 4X4 HD Tow, HD payload and 3.73 rear axle. Pulling 2008 Classic at about 8K pounds. Like a parachute,4X4 only valuable when you NEED it. Getting 19+ MPG highway commuting to work at 60-65 mph. First trip averaged about 11 - 12 towing. Only 10mpg or so on the grades in NM and CO. but no issues pulling them. Truck handles the downhills well. Did some manual braking on he steepest downhills, but never a problem. I have owned 3/4 tons and they DO all the work you will ever need, but I don't need the rough ride anymore. The interior room on the new Ford crew cabs is wonderful. Seats are comfortable and controls are easy to use. Unless I move up to a much larger TT, I will stay with the half ton truck.

[pappy19]

Or you could go to Canada, see Andy and get a Chrysler 300 or a mini- van to tow it.

[Ted S.]

F450, with dualies of course.

[dkottum]

Just a reminder the op is looking for a tow vehicle for a 25' Airstream, not a 40' fifth wheel toy hauler with slideouts. And he lives in Florida. And he needs it as a daily driver as well.

His mistake was mentioning the word "best"; that makes it appear towing is all that matters.

[rodsterinfl]

It is true that you must check the tire sticker on an F150 for the actual configured payload rating. I already discovered that my 1720# payload while good, is about 200# less than the exact same equipped model without the 20" wheel/tire combination I have. Each part makes a difference. Just remember that tow rating and payload/cargo rating is different and you will be ahead of most sales people.

[Denis4x4]

I tow my 25' Safari FB with a 2013 Grand Cherokee 4x4 equipped with the hemi and factory tow package. It actually has more HP and torque than the Sierra 2500 that I traded in. After every trip a couple of years ago, I pulled out all the stuff never used and got the weight down to 6400#. As I said in another thread, AS dealers should be required to weigh every unit, post the weight and have a Shurline scale on hand for measuring tongue weight.
Packed and ready to roll, I'm about 600# under the combined gross weight of the car and trailer maximum. In a recent trip up the hill (9000'), my transmission temp never got to 200 degrees.

[FreshAirStmr]

We're in Florida too. If we had a 25-footer and were going to be weekend and southeast campers, we would have bought a new Ford F150 Ecoboost -- new because of the increased payload the new ones have. Then we'd just make darn sure we kept our weight within specifications.

But we bought a 30' Classic, we'll be full-timers, and we're heading west. So we bought a Chevy Silverado 2500 HD diesel 4wd because our travels and choice of trailer demanded it. We'll be carrying everything with us and encountering big mountains. We never wanted to be limited by our TV.

But there's no way we would have bought that truck for the first scenario. While it's a gorgeous truck, I'd hate it for a daily driver/commuting vehicle. It's a beast. And it was very expensive.

Joanne

[m.hony]

Still pulling a 30' Classic with a Tundra-


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