Realistic weights, time to select a TV

[hostage46]

I'm leaning towards a later model, not new, 25 Flying Cloud FB Twin. What should I plan from a practical perspective on for GVTW and Tongue weight?

It's month end, good time to buy a truck

Dan in Dallas

[moosetags]

We formerly had a 2005 Safari 25FB+. It weighed 7,400# ready to camp. Her tongue weight with a Hensley Arrow was 890#. We just took delivery of a 2015 Flying Cloud 25FB. We have not weighed the new girl yet.

Brian

[dkottum]

Just call it an 8,000 lb trailer with 1,000 lb hitch weight. They may weigh less but not a lot less when loaded.

[dbj216]

There's never a good time to buy a truck. They're all expensive. A lot of folks have successfully pulled 8000 pound trailers with half ton pick ups with 300 hp. Make sure it has the tow package (most do). And then you have a decent daily driver as opposed to a big honk'n turbo diesel.

David

[AnnArborBob]

For the tow vehicle (TV in our parlance) I would encourage you to consider a diesel of some type. You certainly don't need it, but your towing experience will be vastly superior; cue the "diesel haters" and gas aficionados now, please!

There are enough diesel choices across nearly all vehicle sizes, from smallish SUV right up to one ton trucks so you really have your pick. While I am a Ford F-250 owner, if I only wanted a 1/2 ton, I would look at the new Ram Diesel 1/2 ton. If you want something a bit more refined, consider a BMW X-5, VW Touareg or Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Picking the TV is almost as much fun as picking the Airstream!

Have fun!!!

[KJRitchie]

I can't afford a diesel vehicle but my preowned 2010 Toyota Tundra 2wd 5.7L Double Cab tows my 8000lb GVWR 2008 Classic 25fb just fine. My hitch weight is about 1100lbs and I use an Equalizer with 1000lb bars. My mileage towing 60mph is between 11mpg and 13mpg calculated by hand.

Kelvin

[m.hony]

Comparing towing with a 2006/2007/2010 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD 6.6 Duramax/Allison diesel and my 2007 Toyota Tundra 1/2 ton 5.7 gas-
I can't tell a nickle's worth of difference. The 1/2 ton has a better ride- with or without the trailer. Both will deliver a 200 mile range or 12+ mpg or 4 hours between fill-ups. The Tundra has a bigger backseat and bigger back doors, but a shorter bed.
Both will run up the ramp to the highway as fast as necessary to merge into traffic.
Both will climb any hill and maintain 65 mph.
1/2 ton gas has less expensive oil changes, less expensive fuel, and cost less to buy on day 1.

[slowmover]

Originally Posted by dkottum

Just call it an 8,000 lb trailer with 1,000 lb hitch weight. They may weigh less but not a lot less when loaded.

This works well enough for general purposes


Sent from my iPhone using Airstream Forums

[Len n Jeanne]

We are in the "currently looking" category due to an accident with our (former 3500 lb) Bambi, and are considering the 19' Bambi (4500 lbs) but it looks like we would need a beefier tow vehicle for it. Our Tacoma is rated for 5000 lbs, so 4500 seems awfully tight for mountain driving. We were advised by our nearest AS dealer (Spokane) not to push it. Given that so much of our driving is on mountain roads and in remote areas with no mechanics nearby, we won't.

However, the folks at Can-Am RV in London, Ontario, Canada advertise themselves as the towing experts., and have gotten a lot of good press from members of this forum. Probably worth asking them about any non-standard configurations.

[hostage46]

I'm close on the F-150. As the new Aluminum body is about to come out, they are looking to move the "old ones". Odly enough, with incentives from Ford, new trucks are cheaper. I can get an F150 with a towing package and an 8 cyl 5 liter for less than $30K. Yes it's a lot of money, but one thing we have in Texas is pickup trucks, plenty of them. And it's month end and year end to boot.

That said, one thing that is causing me to tap the brakes is the Ram EcoDiesel. Tons of torque, better daily driver milelage. In the end, I will go with a 1/2 ton truck, I can't stomach a 3/4 ton "monster truck" for a daily driver, as may of my Texas buddies do

I'm using 8,000 as my higher end GVW, and with the proper hitch, I expect I'll be fine with the tongue weight.

[n2916s]

I am waiting to see the numbers on the new Nissan Titan with the 5.0 liter Cummins diesel. My present TV is a 2004 Titan with the 5.6 liter gasser. Just on 180000 trouble free miles, almost 60000 of it towing my Sovereign.

Either way, I am buying another Titan -- the diesel option if not ridiculously expensive.

Mike

[Air83]

I have to jump-in and say I bought the new Chevy Silverado 1/2 ton Aluminum body PU. Drove from TX to WY International. I was very impressed. It powered over the mountains in CO, NM and all over WY. Averaged gas miles 14.6 towing and 23 not towing. Being a female I carried everything but the kitchen sink: Oh wait, I brought that too. LOL

[dkottum]

I think only Ford offers aluminum body pickups, 2015 models.

[ukulele2010]

A lot of people like the Ford Ecoboost vs. the V8. Some prefer the V8 over the Ecoboost, but I suspect this is the minority. Ecoboost has a higher initial purchase price - towing mpgs are about the same, non-towed the Ecoboost has better mpgs. The power curves are starkly different, favoring the Ecoboost. I've enjoyed the Ecoboost that we own - but there are other great options as well...