Travel Trailers

[07xln]

You got a family of 5 and luggage AND trailer pushing the tow limit unloaded, which you pile up with all sorts of stuff????

And you're running P tires????


Technically youre waaaaaay above your weight limit and probably shouldnt do it at all, just fyi. But if you DO, you should probably have E rated LT tires aired up to like 70 psi or even full 80. Youve got like 18 000 lbs total when you add it all together.

....none of that street tire hankookery


PS although really you should just play it safe and legal and trade your Expy for the biggest cab Superduty with all the tow upgrades and the biggest diesel engine available. And be all safe and compliant.

Im not interested in your FYI’s. Everything you type on here is usually wrong or misinformation. You know nothing about my setup. I’ve weighed on scales fully loaded and I’m fine on my weight. Everything except for the wife and kids goes in the toyhauler. I pull heavy but my vehicle is not weighted down. Everything goes in the garage of the toy hauler which in turn helps offset tongue weight. I can see fine with the mirrors I have. Believe it or not I actually know how to drive and pull a trailer.

 

[cekkk]

Adieu - Glad I agreed with you!

 

[Adieu]

Lol you don’t need a big SD to tow a camper or toy hauler are you crazy. The Expedition fairs just fine doing that. The only reason I bought my F-350 was for the 8’ bed to throw sh*t in for work. I picked up a diesel 6.7 but would have been fine with a 6.2 gas one, the tow rating is something like 13,500 pounds which I’ll never use. I have no problem towing with either or just drive like a normal person and you’ll be fine. There are guys out there towing 7,000 with an exploder.

PS: the Expedition rides much better and is much more comfy.

He's got 8800 lbs DRY weight in that thing...

And unless I'm misreading something, he's even got VEHICLES in there. So the trailer is probably like 11k lbs easy.

...Maybe more. Maybe even a lot more.

Sure sounds like Superduty Diesel territory.

 

[chuck s]

We're throwing a lot of numbers around here. As I read the thread the trailer in question has a GVWR of 8800 pounds which is the maximum allowable weight for the trailer and all cargo. This is not the empty weight. The actual weight is only determined by weighing the trailer which I believe has been done in this case -- and I assume it's under GVWR.

I don't like to tow so close to maximum ratings mainly because I tow on weekends and don't have time for breakdowns. Every summer I see campers broken down along side the road (mainly the PA Turnpike). However they're almost exclusively obviously overloaded minivans pulling obviously overloaded trailers. Overloading the trailer will tax the tow vehicle drive train (why we have HD tow packages) and all the vehicles suspensions and tires. Overloaded tires can violently blow out. As can old tires.

Moving my trailer 500 miles from Cleveland to Richmond a couple of months I ignored consensus to replace trailer tires every 4 or 5 years and attempted the journey on very old tires. The newest one was at least 8 years old. I was lucky. Still had a violent blow out, of course, but I was only 20 miles from home and the Expedition handled it without problems. Getting the tire changed by myself laying on the gravel shoulder of the Ohio Turnpike was an experience I have no desire to repeat. My little scissors jack barely got the job done -- since replaced with a more robust jack. I turned around, went home, and had five (5) new tires and wheels delivered in a few days. Second attempt was much more boring.

-- Chuck

 

[J_82]

Really good info from all y’all. I’m the type of person that likes to do research so I can make an education decision. I am looking at buying a travel trailer and yall’s info really helps me a lot.

 

[Bedrck47]

How much towing experience do you have?

 

[J_82]

How much towing experience do you have?

A little, I have driven long trailers but mostly off road on ranches not so much highway. I feel confident maneuvering in and out of tight spaces. I have good common sense and I am mostly safety conscious because I will have my family with me. We are 5. I have driven a lot in big city traffic.

 

[Bedrck47]

In your original post You asked "how big can I go?" That was enough to make me not reply as I got the impression that you want the biggest heaviest trailer you can get.

I would suggest to you that maybe you should consider renting a TT in the 25 ft range and about 7000 lbs max weight to get some experience first. Invest in a good set of towing mirrors.

Towing on the highways is totally different than towing off road or farms or towing thru city driving

I agree with the ONE TON rule and also with the short wheelbase keep the length of the TT to under 27 ft. Also keep in mind the safety of your equipment and most important your family.

Start out smaller a lighter until you gain experience

I would also suggest that you join one of the RV forums as you will get much better information about RV's and towing from people that have been towing for years.
Jaycoowners.com is a very good forum for help and information.

Check the following links

https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f37/how-to-weigh-your-tv-tt-3871.html#post24549

https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f7/length-to-weight-27899.html#post308925

 

[brick]

I tow a 6000 lb (total with trailer) boat like it is not back there. My truck is a swb 2016 Limited with 3.73 gears and a 9200 lb tow rating. I think if you limit the travel trailer to about 6000 lbs + gear, you will be comfortable towing. A weight distributing hitch with sway control is mandatory, imho.
We have been looking at Airstreams to replace our old 24 ft bunkhouse...
brick

 

[Oldnerdguy]

We have a Keystone Passport Ultra-lite 26 ft bunkhouse. Dry weight is around 5300 lbs. Loaded is probably around 6000ish.
Vehicle is 2017 XLT non-EL with HD tow. The power of the vehicles is great. The trailer brake controller is AWESOME.
I did experience more sway and body roll with the vehicle and trailer than I liked the first time I towed. I added some Sumo Springs that helped a lot. (See my write up in the Towing and Hauling section in the thread Suspension enhancements for sagging.)
A properly setup WD hitch and sway control are a must. I have used the chain type with the separate sway control and the type that use the bar type that slide on the bracket as integrated sway control. Both have pros and cons. So to each his own on that.
I have always used the 85% rule. Meaning I try to keep the total load at 85% of the max rating of the vehicle. This gives me a little internal comfort that I am not at the max or on the edge of safety. A vehicle's rating is based on many different things, not just "go and whoa". There is the obvious of moving and stopping, but then there is the moving and stopping on hills, in corners, on rough ground, and many other scenarios. There are suspension components in the front and back that get loaded and bound up in odd scenarios. And so much more.
Most vehicles can move more than they can safely make a trip with (Toyota shuttle commercial - it was moving in a straight line at 5mph).
Also I have read that some states can and will check vehicles to makes sure they are not overloaded based on the door rating.
Tire pressure is a must to check on the towing vehicle and on the trailer. In my experience the 35psi to daily drive on is not enough to tow with. I usually put the trailer at 48 of max 50. I put the vehicle at 40 of max 44.
How you load the trailer and vehicle needs to be considered. Once you get the rig setup like you like it and it tows well, remember how it was all loaded and keep it that way. Moving a few hundred pounds from front to rear or visa versa can impact the towing characteristics.
Tandem axle is more stable than single axle.
The longer the trailer the more sway you will have, generically speaking.

Like the one person said, renting something for a weekend to try is a good idea. Some places might even let you tow a few campers down the road from their used lot to give you an idea of what to expect.