Newbie Tow Vehicle Help

[jcl]

I think you will be just fine wth a 27 foot Airstream and your current truck, with an appropriate WD hitch.

It is good to plan ahead, but you have done enough of that. Put your efforts now into ensuring the combination is properly set up. That matters more.

[AFTER TAXES]

Originally Posted by trimills

Hi All,

Newbie here so please bear with me. Throughout COVID my fiancee and my jobs have become increasingly flexible and don't expect change soon. We want to buy a travel trailer to take advantage of this flexibility and looking at Airstreams in particular. I already have a truck so want to make sure whatever we end up getting can be towed safely with this vehicle, while offering enough space to live and work on the road with our two dogs. I've been doing some research about towing capacity and it's making my head spin a bit so would love help to make sure whatever we end up getting will be towed safely. Would love advice from those with experience on what size Airstream my vehicle can tow. Specs below:


- 2018 Ford F150 XLT Supercrew with 5.0L V8 4x4
- Bed length 6.5'
- Payload Capacity: 1,784# (based on max passenger and cargo sticker on door frame)
- GVWR: 7,050 (I think based on the sticker in the door)
- Class IV hitch with weight distributing specs of max trailer weight 11,600# and max tongue weight of 1,160#
- I need to have the trailer brake controller installed, but have back up assist and 7 pin trailer plug

I think the smallest we would want to go is 25' but hoping we could be more in the 27' or 28' range. Based on the specs of my truck what does everyone recommend in regards to maximum size/weight for safe towing.

Thanks!

5.0 Coyote motor is great.......my 2 cents

[Life is a Highway]

Lots of folks towing with a 150, or other 1/2 ton vehicles With a 25ft FlyingCloud my F-150 just felt lame. It lasted three trips and 1 year and now says SuperDuty 250. The 150 moved the trailer but we are more relaxed in the 3/4 ton truck. Im out West now 114 degrees of heat and in the MT's that Diesel performs so well. Love the engine brake.

Originally Posted by trimills

Thanks for the note Hans. We will actually be keeping our house in Atlanta as home base, and doing extended trips in the 2-3 week range rather than full timing. Hopefully that can keep weight down by packing for what is needed on that trips conditions. The only exception is we would like to go out west which will probably more like a 1-2 month trip, but we will see if that happens next year, or we build up to it. And who knows, hopefully by then I can convince my better half to let me upgrade to the 3/4T.

[TinVenture]

All your numbers look fine and within range of what you're looking at pulling. There are inexpensive upgrades that I did on my last truck which included a TorkLift 20k Class V Hitch and airbags if you needed a little more capacity.

Since you have a newer truck, you also have more gears available to help keep you in the power band.

There will always be people who say don't go 1/2 ton, go 3/4 ton. I've seen the same said about 3/4 ton from guys who own 1 ton trucks. I've pulled a trailer with a Sport Chassis P4XL with a DD13 which puts out 1,650 ft/lbs of torque. Of course it pulled up grades with ease better than a 1 ton or 3/4 ton but no, it wasn't necessary.

[new2trailer]

Pretty much any modern full size pickup with a tow package will pull the complete Airstream line. And no the numbers won't match. Airstream started by being easily towed by cars and that tradition has been maintained till today.

I towed a 25ft Airstream with a Cayenne because that is what I had. I was very happy with the configuration, weight distribution hitch and anti sway. Lisa was less so. The Cayenne pulled the trailer up mountains fast enough and it stopped fast enough and was fun to drive around unhitched.

Lisa was less happy, she didn't enjoy seeing the trailer so close, how the car felt the trailer and the lack of space in the car.

You didn't mention, do you like to travel in the left lane, will you be under time deadlines to arrive at your next stop to log on etc. All those ancillary considerations are probably more important in choosing than can your truck pull the trailer.

Now that said, I suggest the smallest trailer you and fiancee can be happy working in while on the road. How experienced are you at dragging a trailer? Backing up? Maneuvering?

It is a pita to drag around a house no matter the tow vehicle. I know far more people who quit trailering because the trailer was too big than those who quit because the tow vehicle is undersized.

Mike

[TinVenture]

I’ve been first on scene to more RV crashes than I can recall. Everyone thinks they’re fine, until they’re not. People don’t leave margin and tend to push the limits. Here’s a good article outlining one person’s experience which I’ve heard far too often:

https://www.trucks.com/2019/06/14/to...-math-problem/

[trimills]

Originally Posted by TinVenture

I’ve been first on scene to more RV crashes than I can recall. Everyone thinks they’re fine, until they’re not. People don’t leave margin and tend to push the limits. Here’s a good article outlining one person’s experience which I’ve heard far too often:

https://www.trucks.com/2019/06/14/to...-math-problem/

Thanks for sending the article, I guess I'm not sure what your POV on what would be consider safe towing with my set up and the trailer class I'm looking at.

In reading, it sounds like they are recommending to stay in the weight class I am looking at to allow a 15%-20% tow capacity buffer . In the article the F150 is towing a larger and heavier model than anything I'm considering, with a base weight heavier than the maximum loaded weight of what I am looking at.

If I look at the maximum trailer tow weight of my vehicle (9100#) and assume I load the trailer to the maximum weight (7600# which is 1730# of added weight), I would have 16.5% buffer when maxed out.

Based on this i should be fine as long as I make sure I measure what I put in, distribute weight, and make sure I don't exceed the payload of the truck with the tongue weight.

Am I missing something? I would love some opinions on how much weight the typical person might put in the truck and trailer combined when packing for a trip.

Thanks!

[TinVenture]

A few posts up I had mentioned your numbers looked good ����

The article was meant more for another post where someone had suggested that any modern full size pickup would suffice for any Airstream.

[tojimmiller]

The question to ask is NOT can I tow it BUT can I stop it. You could tow it. A motorcycle will tow a 30 ft trailer. But it sure wount stop it. Get a 3/4 ton or 1ton. Gas economy is about the same but if economy is important get the motorcycle or a prius.
Always buy more truck than you need that way you can’t go wrong

[drbrick]

We have towed our Int'l 25 through the Canadian Rockies with no problems with our 2013 F-150 - now it does have maxtow package (with tow/haul assist) I have added a link to my article on the exercise we did in choosing a tow vehicle for our Int'l 25 Airstream.

how-to-determine-if-your-tow-vehicle-is-right-for-your-trailer/