Need help deciding on purchasing tow pick-up

[BigDaddy787]

I've owned two Ford Expeditions, one Ford F-150 and two Ford F-250 diesels. I've towed boats ranging from 4-6,000 pounds with all of them. In fact the second boat spanned all three pickups. The two F250s have outperformed the gas engines in terms of power but not economy. I tow a 16 foot trailer and have had over 15,000 pounds on at least one load, too much for the trailer but the F250 could have cared less. For me, the big diesel (6.7) is the obvious choice.

[Abraham]

What I LIKE, and what others LIKE, in a tow vehicle is not relevant to anyone else’s situation. I have used many different TVs, including ½ ton and ¾ ton trucks and SUVs.

What matters is ‘can your tow vehicle carry the necessary payload safely and comfortably’.

Payload includes people, cargo, fuel, TW of trailer and Hitch parts.

In my past TVs I have had various limitations to live with, so I decided on overkill this time.

As for why I like pick up trucks, I like to carry things that are better not carried in the passenger compartment, like a generator, gas can, motorcycle, etc.

Why I like a Diesel, is the power and torque going up hill and the engine braking going down hill.

Heaver TV provides me more control of same trailer.

Fuel economy for me, in 2017 Chevy Silverado 2500HD is about 13 to 14 mpg while towing a 25ft Airstream (just over 6000 lbs empty) plus personal items, water and propane. When running solo and empty it amazes me that it gets between 20 and 24 mpg, depending on the terrane.

I also see the maintenance cost as very little different from gas burners of similar size. And the fuel mileage is better for me.

Choise of TV is more about personal choices than ‘which is best”. Depends on what you expect of it and what you carry and pull. Stick to manufactures load limits to be safe.

Within their limits, SUVs and ½ ton PUs, even with smaller engines will tow very well. If what you have works, use it. If not, do your research and find one that will.
All the popular brands will do the job, if you follow the rules.

Get more horsepower to climb hills faster.
Get a diesel for better downhill engine braking.
Pick what works best for you and your situation.
And by all means, have fun traveling.

Abe

[chugchug]

I tow my 25fb with F150, 3.5L ecoboost and the max tow package. It handles great, quite, smooth. I have yet to find a hill it will not pull at 60m/h. Mileage while towing is around 11 at 65 and around 14 at 55. Mileage when solo is a bit disappointing. I like the 36 gallon tank and the towing mirrors.

[Lab lover]

We tow our FC 26U with a 2017 Toyota Tundra and are very happy with it. We have big hills in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah and it does just fine. A canopy keeps our bikes clean and protected along with the chairs, grill, and misc camping gear. The 5.8L V8 is a gas hog so we don't use it around town as our daily driver. The 36g gas tank is a must. Love the Toyota reliability.

[Keith Gantt]

I can’t say enough about my F-150 3.5 ecoboost. Had plenty of others over 20 years and is the cream at he top.

[switz]

We tow our 2015 23D International Serenity (loaded weight 6,6063 pounds and a tongue weight of 928 pounds) with our 2007 Mercedes ML320 CDI v6 3.0L turbo diesel AWD that is broken in now at 176,000 miles.

We see 28.5 on the highway and 16.5 on the level when towing. Inside the car we can carry both of us, a single Honda 2000 generator, a Solar grill, a Viair 450 compressor, one 20 pound propane tank, a couple of folding chairs and miscellaneous tools and fittings for hitching and water connectivity.

Since we are on nation, we drive 55 mpg which works out to be the optimum speed for this engine and transmission. We can pull the mountains in 4th gear and 3,000 rpm at 55 mph. Coming down the really steep decline into Salt River Canyon east of Phoenix, the posted is 35mph. I put the car in second, and maintain 35mpg without touching the brakes.

We also have a 2012 Ram 2500HD Cummins we use to tow our 2014 31' Classic that has a tongue weight now of 1,200 pounds after installing the 600 amp-hour lithium battery under the sofa. After the initial installation of four Lifeline batteries on the tongue of the trailer , the tongue weight was 1.376 pounds. The stock receiver had been cut off and a Curt 15049 hitch was installed rated 2,550 pounds tongue weight and a 17.000 pound trailer which was more than adequate for any Airstream.

The current tongue weight plus the wife and I would exceed the load capacity of most ½ ton pickups before putting on a bed topper, generators, grill propane eco in the back of the truck.

We see no future changes to our models of Airstreams other than routine maintenance since we have extensively modified both units. They are the way we want them after upgrades and fixing the QC issues with the best replacement parts available for the job in question.

Our Ram could also easily tow the 23D if the Mercedes gets too old for the job.

So one needs to really consider their end game on the Airstream models and if they contemplate the "two foot 'itis'" creep that happens to many folks. We jumped from the initial 2013 25FB to the 31' Classic which stopped the would we ever conifer a longer trailer issue.

The 23D came along for some shorter side trips into any of the smaller western camp grounds.

[PKI]

Yep, those 23s seem to really fill a need. Amazing how they can u-turn, climb mountains, handle in the turns and make smiles over the miles. Pat

[SilverHouseDreams]

Originally Posted by PKI

Yep, those 23s seem to really fill a need. Amazing how they can u-turn, climb mountains, handle in the turns and make smiles over the miles. Pat

Curious, are those your "safety tethers" on your mirrors? We have the same mirrors and have also almost lost one once, thankfully I was able to pull over on a wide shoulder when it started to slide off. What do you tie the other end to? (edit: it appears you just have a loop around the mirror, which is what I had thought about doing)

[PKI]

Early on we used some cord, because we did not know what to expect. Have not used anything in about 30K miles. Just like your lug nuts, check to see they are tight. When the view changes, you might have a problem that deserves attention at earliest. Have not lost one, but others have. Pat

[slowmover]

Originally Posted by bbruntil

Not sure I want to give it up, main reason is to lower car payments. Also with another tv could get better milage pulling. Like the BLISS system Ford has and larger gas tank 36 gallon on F150. I get 14 mpg at 55 pulling and about 22 combined not pulling. I also have question on how well it will hold up with a large amount of towing. So far so good.

Towing is just not that hard. A vacationer might put on 5k annually. “Tough” is high heat and idling in traffic jams. An engine being worked under a load is happy. Lasts longer.

The current version of the Dodge Durango ought to be considered.

[SilverHouseDreams]

Originally Posted by bbruntil

Not sure I want to give it up, main reason is to lower car payments. Also with another tv could get better milage pulling. Like the BLISS system Ford has and larger gas tank 36 gallon on F150. I get 14 mpg at 55 pulling and about 22 combined not pulling. I also have question on how well it will hold up with a large amount of towing. So far so good.

There are a few members here with Q5s pulling larger trailers with a lot of miles on them, most of them being the TDI based on what I've seen. Though they likely all had some modifications made by CanAm RV to strengthen the receiver and give the weight distributing hitch more "forward" leverage rather than just the sleeved mount points for the hitch.

I can't speak to the lower car payment debate, as it may...but some of these trucks get pretty $$ quickly too. And then you have to factor in the depreciation that you are losing the value on when trading the fairly new Q7.

You will find a lot of discussions on here on the TV subject, the decision between an SUV and a pickup are very personal though and really depends on your particular situation and use case. I personally have no use for a pickup, since we spent a pretty small % of our time towing we would sacrifice a lot by having a pickup.

[bbruntil]

I am also interested in the mirrors, If I keep my Audi Q7 I need extension mirrors, can you tell me where you got them?

[ZOZ]

Originally Posted by Deeno

Another consideration: GMC 1500 Denali 4wd.
Very comfortable with lots of technology. The engine is the "strongest" gas I could find - did not want to go diesel. It has 460lbs of torque, and handles trailer uphill without gasping. I recently weighed the rig, and trailer is 5900 pounds with a full fresh-water tank, and 1.5 full LPS. The truck has an 8 speed transmission, and with cruise control on, she held speed up and down really well. On our last trip, from AR to Los Angeles and back, total miles were 3875, and the average MPG for the trip was 12.8. I think the average diesel would get about 14-15 towing, so this clearly shows that "gas mileage" is not much of an advantage for the diesels. If you can wait, I'm reading the 2019 GMC will have the 10-speed transmission, and a rear view camera program to replace the typical "dash-mount" aftermarket, and cameras in the side mirrors to replace need for adding bigger mirrors. Furthermore, it's trailering software will have trailer-specific programming to include checklist and diagnostic. It is a pricy truck, but it has features and strength beyond my expectation. I've got 12,000 miles on it, and no failures at this point.

The 2018 GMC 1500 Denali is my TV. Tremendous towing capacity. Great luxury and comfort. 420hp/460lb-ft torque. Average towing mpg is 13.8. The wife feels confident driving it and towing our AS. Don't forget for 2019 the Denali has the split tailgate, carbon fiber bed, back-up and hitching assists, trailer connection security and-my personal favorite-in-dash TPMS for the trailer! I may have to up-grade again!


zoz

[PKI]

Originally Posted by bbruntil

I am also interested in the mirrors, If I keep my Audi Q7 I need extension mirrors, can you tell me where you got them?

Mine came from the Airstream dealer in Fairfield, CA.

Ours are Aero 2s. The Aero3s appear to be an improvement.

http://www.milenco.com/products/mirr...-aero-3-mirror

The McKesh mirrors that Hensley sells are well recommended too.

Travel safe. Pat

[bbruntil]

When do you think the 2019 will be out?

[switz]

Model year change is 1 July.

So our 2013 25FB International Serenity was made in July 0f 2012....

Our 2014 31' Classic started 19 December 2013 and was released from production 21 January 2014.

Our 2015 23D International Serenity was made in September of 2014.

[n2916s]

I've owned and towed my 31' Sovereign with two pickup trucks. Originally a 2004 Nissan Titan with a 5.6 liter gas engine. That truck towed us some 70000 miles all of North America and never let us down. When I traded it in 18 months ago it had 213000 miles on it and everything worked except the CD player.

Now I have a 2016 Nissan Titan XD with a 5 liter diesel. For my situation, it is ideal as I work summers in Yellowstone, a long drive from Miami and I take more stuff than I would simply vacationing. 22300 on the odometer, some 12k and change towing and it has never needed any maintenance other than routine.

It works for me but it is not ideal. The new truck is over 7000# on the hoof. The turning radius is ponderous, it does require DEF and fuel filter changes. It is very comfortable and has many digital wonders but I wonder about longevity when even the electric windows have a microchip... Like all pickups it is tall so much less resistant to rollover than your current TV.

To me, a minor but inescapable annoyance is the diesel fuel experience. It seems that every diesel pump on earth is required to have a small, strategically placed puddle of spilled fuel adjacent to the pump. Slick and aromatic and, if you load some up on your shoes, you get to enjoy the aroma for hours.

Now, Illinois and Minnesota have mandated that all road diesel be a B20 biodiesel blend. My truck is placarded for no more than B10 which not only precludes fueling in those two states, it also eliminates Flying J and Pilot, which placard their pumps nationwide as containing some blend between B5 and B20 without specifying further.

If I had to do it over again, I think I would have waited for the gas version of the truck I have with the F150 Ecoboost as a very close second choice.

[bbruntil]

Thanks for the wealth of information. I took notes on every comment. For now I’m going to wait and see. I’m bringing the Audi Q7 in to the dealer to have them remove the bumper and inspect the hitch. If everything is well I am gonna continue pulling with the SUV until I’m lead to move to a pick up. For now I get a lot of satisfaction driving the Audi and it handles towing well.

Happy Camping,
Bruce

[PKI]

You can purchase one of the fiber opti inspection cameras to view the structure under the bumper. The Harbor freight stores sell them and the Home supply stores market them as well. Takes a bit of time to get used to how to move the head and view what you want to see. May well be worth asking the Audi Service tech for what you should check.

When they remove the bumper, use that opportunity to verify the nuts/bolts are correctly torqued to specification. Might mark the nuts to enable identification of a change in position if one should occur. It should not, but?

Also, when you are looking at the structure, review the chassis for where it might be possible to install a torque arm to upgrade the receiver structure. The standard approach that CanAm uses is to connect the torque arm from the receiver to the rear axle carrier. There may be other ways to accomplish this upgrade and it's worth investigating the alternatives. The Audi, Toureg, and Cayenne folks should have info to review. Might never need to upgrade, but worth understanding what folks are doing to improve their lashup.

Good luck with your rig tuning. Pat

[bbruntil]

Thanks for the information on inspecting the hitch. I’m at the Audi dealership now and was able to be knowledgeable about what needed to be done.

Bruce