Towing larger trailers with SUV or 1/2 ton trucks

[RivetNV]

We are considering moving from our 20'FB Safari to a larger and as yet indeterminate size. I have read a lot of posts for and against going to trailer sizes longer than 25' and towing with a regular full size SUV such as Expedition or Suburban (1500), or 1/2 ton truck such as F150 or Tundra.

For those that have successfully towed the longer airstreams with these vehicles I would like to hear the details such as upgraded tires, which WD hitch (Was there a learning curve in your getting the set-up dialed in?), upgraded suspension, upgraded brakes, or even if you just left everything stock. I am hoping for the opportunity for the rest of us to learn from your success. Also, if you towed in the mountains, how was that experience? If you didn't, please mention that.

I'm hoping to get a sense of the practical (and safe) limits of these types of vehicles based on others successes.

[SteveH]

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f463...uck-99473.html

[dkottum]

We went from 20' to 25' and there was little difference felt in towing. Last fall we bought a 2012 Ram Express 5.7 Reg cab with towing pkg, 16" Michelin trailer tires/wheels for reliability, and a Propride hitch for excellent weight distribution and a completely stable and uneventful towing experience. We do not carry a lot of gear in the truck, bicycles, hoses, chocks and such, and balance our loading of the trailer. We have towed this coast to coast and up to 8,000 ft without any difficulty; a very pleasant ride virtually indifferent to winds, passing semi's, irregular road surfaces.

Another test of the rig last week we were towing downhill, slight curve, bridge at the bottom when three deer came running in front of us. The braking was straight, steering excellent, and everything under control as I was lucky enough to steer between them. Scary but satisfying.

doug k

[mefly2]

Agree with Doug ...We are using the same EQ brand WD hitch on our 25 as we did on the 20. We moved to a 3/4 T Ram only because that was required to get a diesel and we wanted a diesel for the torque available on the mountain passes ... in every direction from where we live in the middle of the Rocky Mountains. An added plus is the compression brake and larger standard brakes, tow / haul, etc. with the newer TV.

[RivetNV]

Steve H

Thank you for the link to your thread on the same topic. Very good reading.

Doug

That's good to know about the 25'. The 25s I have looked at have quite a bit more gross weight as compared to the 20s. I guess at least some of that is the much larger storage tanks which is variable weight. Still, nice to know that extra 5 feet is barely discernable. Our 20 is the only towing we have ever done.

Mefly2

Did you have the opportunity to tow the 25 before you got the diesel?

Thanks,
John

[n2916s]

I have towed my 31' Sovereign about 50000 miles now with my trusty old Nissan Titan.

I use a Reese Straight Line hitch.
Trailer has standard brakes and has Centramatics.
Only upgrade to the truck was slotted/dimpled front rotors.

Tows great. Never an exciting moment. However the truck just passed 154000 miles so I suspect a new TV is in my future before too long.

Mike

[dkottum]

On towing a 20' or 25', the difference in max loaded weight is about 1300#. Compare that to the total weight of our pickup and the 20' trailer together at about 11,500# and the difference seems less significant, unless climbing very steep grades.

A large resistance in towing is the frontal area of the trailer; there is little difference between the two. The 25' rests on two axles, so it does feel more stable.

When I traded trailers I had a Tundra 4.7 pickup, yet even with that size engine it was difficult to feel the engine working harder. Note that I never load much in the 1/2 ton pickup, bicycles and a few trailer accessories, sometimes a generator but now with solar power we often leave that at home.

My best improvement by far to towing was a Propride hitch with 1400# bars (as recommended by Sean at Propride). Completely different experience.

doug k

[Gene]

We tow a 25' FB Safari with a 5.7 L. Tundra. No problems with towing, power over very high mountain passes and it has been reliable over 45,000 miles of towing. The differences in weight with 27's and 28's is not that great and I think the Tundra could tow either without a problem. An Equalizer hitch takes some thought to adjust, but can be done.

Payload is the issue with 1/2 ton trucks, but we can make it under the limit. Check carefully on payload as different trim lines, engines, packages, options, models can have very different payload and are sometimes hard to determine.

Gene

[daveswenson]

I'm towing our 28' International with a 2003 Lincoln Navigator with a 5.4 l V8. I was concerned that it wasn't powerful enough. So far it's done very well. I've towed over Snoqualmie pass which is about 3500 ft high. Had it floored to keep 45 mph but I kept up with the semi's. I've upgraded the brakes, mostly for my peace of mind. I have an Equal-i-zer. When this TV dies I'll probably get a 3/4 ton diesel, it's a guy thing, but for now my 1/2 ton SUV is doing just fine.

[Hodum]

I tow a 34 ftr. with a F-250 diesel but recently came upon a couple from Canada towing a 34 with a Toyota Tundra. They were traveling at Interstate speeds with apparent ease, looking happy and at ease. In years past heavy cars towed most Airstreams. Some of us just like bigger trucks.

[wahoonc]

I have towed my 1975 Sovereign 31' GVW 7200# (usually in the 6500# range) with my wife's 2003 F150 Super Cab short bed, 4.6 V-8. We use an Equalizer hitch and stay out of the deep mountains. The 4.6 just doesn't have enough grunt power. If that truck had the 5.4 I think it would do just fine. It does have a the factory tow package on it and a tow rating of 7000# I have scaled it and we were under the GCVWR.

Aaron

[withidl]

I've been over the continental divide 3 times with my assembly; see my avatar; search on "withidl".

[RivetNV]

Steve

I think I recall that you wanted to avoid suicide doors. Is there a practical reason, or is it just personal preference?

Mike

Did your Titan come with a hitch installed? I have looked into the possibility of upgrading the hitch on a vehicle and the hitch stores I spoke with said they wouldn't do it if the hitch is welded to the frame. The dealership wouldn't do it either.

Doug

You said the propride was a completely different experience. Did you have a different brand WD hitch previously?

Very good suggestions on the brakes from a few folks. That sounds like a safe choice. Even when not towing.

[n2916s]

My hitch came with the Tow Package. It is very herky -- no problems so far. I don't think you would need to upgrade it.

The Titan is in need of an upgrade -- the interior is pretty spartan and it doesn't have all the bells and whistles the new trucks have. My brother in law pulls his 28' FB with a new Tundra and I like that rig a lot.

Cummins and Nissan are driving a Titan around with a diesel in it and rumor is it will hit the market in 2014. Might be interesting.

Enjoy your quest,

Mike

[Gene]

Rivet, do you mean the hitch receiver when you say hitch on a Titan? The hitch is that thing that attaches to the hitch receiver and the tongue. The hitch head is the part of the hitch with the ball on it.

Hitch receiver assembles can be welded or bolted on, sometimes both. Mine has a part welded to the frame and the rest of the assembly is bolted to that part.

Gene

[SteveH]

Originally Posted by RivetNV

Steve

I think I recall that you wanted to avoid suicide doors. Is there a practical reason, or is it just personal preference?

Personal preference....had one, did not like it, don't want another one. I was wanting to go to a shorter overall truck, 1/2 ton, but with a bigger cab than the standard, so extended cab.

End result was I could not find a 1/2 ton that met all my requirements and had the capacity to haul the weight that I knew I would be carrying, so I bought a 3/4 ton Cummins equipped Ram.

[MaxTow]

Originally Posted by RivetNV

I have read a lot of posts for and against going to trailer sizes longer than 25' and towing with a regular full size SUV such as Expedition or Suburban (1500), or 1/2 ton truck such as F150 or Tundra.

I'm unclear on the connection between length and the tow vehicle. If it's simply the relationship between length and other parameters such as GVWR, tongue weight, etc., then this should be the focus rather than length.

I tow a 30' Safari (8400 GVWR) with a '12 Ford F150 Ecoboost. So far pulling in eastern Canada (pretty flat) it has been excellent. Lots of reserve power on the highway to keep up and pass when required.

When decked out with all the towing/payload options, the F150 is very capable. By the numbers, when fully loaded (2150 lbs payload) the towing capacity is 8900 lbs. But at the other end of scale, a minimally equipped F150 barely has enough payload capacity for 4 guys and their golf clubs.

So one needs to do their homework.

I purchased a Propride 3D with 1400lb spring bars as recommended. Towing the Airstream with this combination is stress free.

As for mountains - I'll report back in August. We have a 10k km trip planned that will take us through the Rockies, the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone.

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by MaxTow

I'm unclear on the connection between length and the tow vehicle. If it's simply the relationship between length and other parameters such as GVWR, tongue weight, etc., then this should be the focus rather than length.

~snip~

So one needs to do their homework.
~snip~

The length thing has to do with a short wheel base vehicle being levered around by a longer wheel base trailer. Some people also have concern with the trailer weighing more than the vehicle controlling it. There is a lot of physics involved. But a lot of common sense too.

Aaron

[SteveH]

Originally Posted by MaxTow

I'm unclear on the connection between length and the tow vehicle. If it's simply the relationship between length and other parameters such as GVWR, tongue weight, etc., then this should be the focus rather than length.


I purchased a Propride 3D with 1400lb spring bars as recommended. Towing the Airstream with this combination is stress free.

It's not about trailer length, but weight, and tongue weight. And, don't forget about the 200+ pounds of weight for the ProPride hitch.

When I added all the weight of the tongue, hitch, and everything I frequently carry in/on the truck, I could not find a 1/2 ton truck that I wanted that would comfortably carry the weight.

When I added the 1100+ pounds of tongue weight, camper top, bed liner, bicycles, bar-b-q, chairs, tools, kayaks, us and the dog, every 1/2 ton truck that I looked at was over weight.

[switz]

I brought our new 2013 25FB International home behind a 2007 Mercedes ML320 CDI diesel that had a CanAm modified frame receiver to support the Hensley Hitch. Being both new and empty, the rig was completely legal weight wise per the CAT scales at a Love's truck stop. However, the empty weight was more than the Mercedes service manager's recommended maximum trailer weight of 5,000 pounds. (Note that newer models of the Mercedes ML class are allowed to tow 7,200 pounds)

Since I was leaving Los Angles for the Phoenix area, I was driving the notorious 55 mph CA speed limit for vehicles towing. The diesel was turning 1,650 rpms in 7th gear as I hit the mountain grade east of Palm Springs on I-10. As the engine came under load, I down shifted to 6th gear (1,850 rpms) and at the steepest area downshifted to 5th gear (2,150 rpms) and still maintained 55 mph. I was tickled pink on how all was working. When I hit the Arizona border, the trucks resumed 75+ speeds and I cruised along at 55 mph. There was no sway action from trucks passing at a 20+ mph speed differential.

Then we loaded the trailer with our "stuff" and a full tank of water, put a jack and some other stuff in the back of the Mercedes and we drove over the scales at the local Love's truck stop. The front axle was overloaded by 58 pounds and the GVW was exceeded by nearly 300 pounds.

I realized there was no way we could bring generators with gas cans in the ML nor additional water or any other gear. We were past maxed out weight wise.

Thus the search for an adequate tow vehicle began with looking at the Ford 150 series. I quickly discovered, using several Ford factory reference materials, that only a stripped down base model could barely have the necessary load capacity to tow our trailer, which had a 1,175 pound tongue weight, and some capacity for generators and other heavy gear.

Thus my search moved to the 3/4 ton diesel arena and the Dodge was the best choice for me as I know the engine and it's components (the original turbochargers for the first generation Cummins engine in the Dodge trucks were made by my family's first licensee in England). The current Cummins engine is American designed and built in Columbus, Indiana.

I have been pleased with the drivability, stoping ability with engine braking, cargo capacity (if it fits it ships ) and power when towing the trailer. It has the reserves to handle even a 31' Airstream if that were to be in our future.