Truck size for towing ???

[thataway4]

Buy a truck which is comfortable for you to drive. I tow a slightly larger load with a Yukon XL, with 5.3 L, HD tow package, extra transmission cooler and air bags. My experience is only with V8's and diesels, even in the 1/2 ton range. The Yukon is an extremely comfortable daily driver for me. My son has a Toyota Tundra 1794 towing the same load--his is also a comfortable daily driver.

Although I live in Pensacola, FL, much of my towing is in the mountains.

I always run a "Scan Gauge" on my trucks and RV's. It gives more computer information. Also I suggest a tire pressure monitor system on the trailer, as well as the truck (most modern trucks have these built in)

[Bughawk]

I put down the wrong engine for my truck. It is the 2.7 L EcoBoost. I know many people don’t believe that a small engine can perform well enough to pull a trailer of the size we are talking about, but I can attest to my experience towing my 2108ds and the little 2.7 L does well. I took a trip in the Allegheny National Forest this summer and climbed several quite long and steep hills without any problems. Coming down those hills the truck performed equally well.

My truck is rated to pull up to 8,000 lbs. The 2108ds empty is a little over 3,700 lbs. I would have to double the weight of the trailer to come close to the towing capacity of the truck and I would not come close to that with the normal amount of water and supplies I carry. I will say I would not want to try towing a larger trailer with my truck but is fine with the trailer I have.

I think thataway4 is right about buying the truck you like and can do what you want it to do. My truck is the only vehicle I own so I wanted it also give me good fuel economy as well as being able to tow my trailer. I get around 19 to 20 mpg around town and about 23 to 24 mpg on the highway. The truck is very comfortable and has the features I wanted.

[Michael360wa]

I have a 1706FB with a dry weight of just shy of 3000 lbs and a gross vehicle weight rating of 7000 lbs, I can’t see ever being close to that rated weight. I have a 2019 Ranger rated for 7500 lbs of towing. It has a eco boost four cylinder and tows this Micro Minnie very well.

[DGundy]

I mated a 2012 19 foot Gulfstream travel trailer with a 2012 Honda Pilot AWD. I had minimal problems climbing the hills in Vermont traveling rom North Central Massachusetts. I carried some water and had 2 bikes on a 2 inch welded receiver. I would think that a Ford F150 would be plenty.

[TrailerDon]

Hi, I bought a Chev Colorado with the V6 and it came with the full trailer package. I then bought a Micro Minnie 2106DS. The first year I only had a few short trips with the trailer and all seemed fine. I did have to take my time going up hills but not being in a hurry I had no real concerns. However, this year I took a few longer trips and ran into a few more steeper hills. The Colorado had a tough time with the steeper hills, in many cases could not even do the speed limit. A few times I was one of the slowest vehicles on the road and did in fact slow down traffic. For peace of mind I upgraded, traded the Colorado in on a new full size Chev with the larger V8. What a difference, you do not know you are pulling the trailer, it is so effortless. I have no problem doing the speed limit, even up steeper hills. I have heard that the Colorado with the Diesel engine fulls far better than the V6 equipped version. Too bad, I did like the size of the Colorado being mid size. What did surprise me though was I am getting better gas mileage with the full size V8 than I did with the V6, but then again the engine does not have to work anywhere as hard. I realize now that the Colorado with the V6 was really at its limit for this size of a trailer as the 2106DS.

[LizandBruce]

We met a couple at an rv rally. They had an ice trailer and bought a pickup based on tow capacity and lips moving on the sales person. Engine and trans were fine. But tire capacity on the truck was too low. So they were trying to sell their undersized pickup to buy another one. So be careful of the tire size too.

[creativepart]

We towed an Artic Fox 25’ TT for 5-years that weighed 5800lbs unloaded. We had a Tahoe for a tv at first. It towed fine but the short wheelbase was an issue. Pretty soon after first getting the TT we traded for a Ford Expedition EL long wheelbase SUV. It was basically a Ford F-150 with the V8 engine. It towed great. Then near the end of our time with the TT we updated to a newer Expedition EL with the Ecoboost turbo V6. Again a F150 with a SUV body and we found the towing even better.

All three TVs had the factory heavy duty tow package.

After my experience I wouldn’t use a mid-size truck for that heavy a TT. Both the short wheel base and the lack of power/torque would make towing a chore.

[Tgbyrne716]

Originally Posted by JudyC

I have been to a few dealerships and a couple of RV sales to get information on what size truck I need to tow a 2018 Micro Minnie Winnebago, 20 ft and 7000lbs possibled if full to allowed weight. When I left the truck dealerships I was more confused than when I went in - SOOOOO I am coming to the experts - YOU all who tow campers daily! Can you give me a general guideline? I have looked at a Chevy Colorado which says ok to tow 7000 but others have said I need a V8 versus a V6 because if I got 'stuck in the mud' I need the extra push to pull it out? Do I go for a Ford F150 / 250 ? What about diesel (although not particularly interested in those) I am 66, woman, and alone for my travels and want something reliable and with enough power to go through the mountains yet mid size for me to manuver ( I am 5ft 4 in ) any feedback would be helpful.

Judy

We have a 2018 Micro Minnie 2400BH. 23 feet long, dry wt about 3750W#. Loaded I keep the total weight under 5000#. Yes the trailer is rated to 7000# because it has 3 x 3500# axles. Loading this trailer with over 3000# of stuff would be rather crazy camping if you ask me. That being said I an towing with a Honda Ridgeline rated to #5000. No problems so far with the 200 to 300 mile trips we take. No problem with the hills here in NH. We are using a Tokensha =brake controller. No problems with stopping or sway. Towing does cut my MPG almost in half. Good luck.

[SummitPond]

Originally Posted by Wayneelowe

How big is your TV that it has a wheel base? I need to shop for one!

The wheelbase is the distance between the front and rear axles. My TV (see signature) from front to rear bumper is about 21 feet with a curb weight just under 7000# (which just happens to be the GVWR of the TT).

The issue with wheelbase is overall stability of the combined TV/TT configuration; the shorter the wheelbase the more the tail (TT) can wag the dog (TV). Yes, you may have anti-sway bars but if the TV is not properly sized to the TT you can still have some sway issues.

[WoodBoss]

F250 4x4, I tow a lot of different things and the 4x4 option is very nice when you need it. It also gives you a low range you can engage should you want to creep along and not beat on your transmission. Gas is fine, even the 5.4 will do. 3.73 gears in my 2003 F250 pulls about anything. Good luck.

[TrailerDon]

Originally Posted by JudyC

I have been to a few dealerships and a couple of RV sales to get information on what size truck I need to tow a 2018 Micro Minnie Winnebago, 20 ft and 7000lbs possibled if full to allowed weight. When I left the truck dealerships I was more confused than when I went in - SOOOOO I am coming to the experts - YOU all who tow campers daily! Can you give me a general guideline? I have looked at a Chevy Colorado which says ok to tow 7000 but others have said I need a V8 versus a V6 because if I got 'stuck in the mud' I need the extra push to pull it out? Do I go for a Ford F150 / 250 ? What about diesel (although not particularly interested in those) I am 66, woman, and alone for my travels and want something reliable and with enough power to go through the mountains yet mid size for me to manuver ( I am 5ft 4 in ) any feedback would be helpful.

Judy

I had a Chev Colorado with the V6 and the factory towing package. First year towing it worked out, I knew I was having to push the truck going up long hills but it seemed to work out. Year 2 and I planned a trip through the Rockies, had a few instances where the "Check Engine" light came on while towing up steep hills, had to stop at a local GM dealer, they reset the engine to factory settings and all seemed fine. A couple of hours later, the warnings started again. This time the GM dealer advised me that the vehicle needed to have a replacement part for the fuel injection system, reason was I had pushed it past its limits driving up the steep hills. Traded the vehicle in as it was obvious the travel needed a towing vehicle with a larger engine. So I ended up with a full size Chev with the V8 and full trailer package, Too bad, the Colorado was less than a year old, but no matter what GM claims the V6 engine just was not up to the claim it could handle a trailer and pull 7,000 lbs, FYI I had a similar size V6 in a Chev Blazer and it was only rated to pull just over 4,000 lbs, I should have done more homework and not taken the GM claims as Gospel, maybe towing on the level, but not up steep hills.

[McTrailer]

2nd on dont exceed 80% your max tow rating.

Towing a max 7000lb camper you will want like a 9000lb tow rating.

You will want a half ton truck at minimum for 7,000lbs. also get a good wd hitch with sway control

[dharmabum]

Originally Posted by Bughawk

I put down the wrong engine for my truck. It is the 2.7 L EcoBoost. I know many people don’t believe that a small engine can perform well enough to pull a trailer of the size we are talking about, but I can attest to my experience towing my 2108ds and the little 2.7 L does well. I took a trip in the Allegheny National Forest this summer and climbed several quite long and steep hills without any problems. Coming down those hills the truck performed equally well.

My truck is rated to pull up to 8,000 lbs. The 2108ds empty is a little over 3,700 lbs. I would have to double the weight of the trailer to come close to the towing capacity of the truck and I would not come close to that with the normal amount of water and supplies I carry. I will say I would not want to try towing a larger trailer with my truck but is fine with the trailer I have.

I think thataway4 is right about buying the truck you like and can do what you want it to do. My truck is the only vehicle I own so I wanted it also give me good fuel economy as well as being able to tow my trailer. I get around 19 to 20 mpg around town and about 23 to 24 mpg on the highway. The truck is very comfortable and has the features I wanted.

Bughawk: I too have a 2014 F150 with the eco boost and drove the micro minnie back from Chicago to California. The best mileage I could get was 9 mpg which I thought was terrible/ I did keep the towing package switch turned on the whole trip. Perhaps I should not use that option all the time. Thoughts?

[Bughawk]

dharmabum that mileage is terrible. I am sorry to hear you had such poor performance from your truck.

The lowest mpg I have recorded while towing was around 14 mpg. It was a fairly short trip to the Allegheny mountains in PA from my home near Erie, PA. The longest trip have taken with the trailer was a little over 100 miles from my home and on that trip I got about 15 mpg.

I have a 2018 F150 with the 2.7 liter V6 Ecoboost, heavy towing package, off road package, 36 gallon fuel tank, etc... I actually ordered this truck from the factory and had it built specially to tow a trailer.

As I mentioned earlier I am getting around 19 to 20 mpg around town with my daily driving which is a mix of in town and a little interstate driving.

The trailer I tow is a 2108ds MicroMinnie.

I am wondering did you encounter a lot of conditions like high headwinds, mountains, deserts, etc... that would have placed more of a strain on the engine and lead to the reduced mpg?

[McTrailer]

Originally Posted by dharmabum

Bughawk: I too have a 2014 F150 with the eco boost and drove the micro minnie back from Chicago to California. The best mileage I could get was 9 mpg which I thought was terrible/ I did keep the towing package switch turned on the whole trip. Perhaps I should not use that option all the time. Thoughts?

9mpg towing a "box" style travel trailer is totally normal with a gas engine. Gasoline engines can only be so efficient when towing the giant walls behind you.

Some newer engines are more efficient with turbocharging and very high transmission gears (10speed). I have a newer 6.6 gas engine but It has a traditional heavy duty 6speed transmission. I get around 9-10 mpg regardless of whether my tt is loaded or not. If I had a 10spd transmission my mpg would be certainly higher.

Keep in mind the more turbocharging, the more transmission gears, the more you invest in your tow vehicle. I cant speak on the f150 but im familiar with the repair cost differences on a ecoboost explorer

While my truck isnt super advanced with all the bells and whistles...i can change the water pump without removing the engine ��

[Bughawk]

McTrailer I think you are right on the money. When I looked into getting a truck I was quick to realize there are a lot of different configurations for these vehicles, difference engines, different transmissions, different suspension and towing packages, etc... What one person's truck will do is not necessarily what another's will do so making comparisons can be very misleading.

My truck does have a 10 speed transmission with a variety of driving modes which are designed to optimize the performance of the truck under different conditions. So far things have worked out OK. The trade off for all of the bells and whistles is a much more complicated vehicle which will most likely have higher repair and maintenance costs.

The bottom line for me is choose the truck or tow vehicle you are comfortable with driving, can tow your trailer safely and you enjoy driving. After all I believe we all are towing our trailers to places we want to enjoy so why not enjoy the trip and not just the destination.

[dharmabum]

Sounds like our trucks are the same with the exceptions that mine is a 2014 with only the 6 speed transmission. I bought the MM trailer back in Indiana and so the trip back to California was its maiden voyage. We did cross over the Continental Divide and did encounter winds part of the way. Another factor which could be a key to this was tire pressure. The door markings said 40 psi, but the tires on the sidewalls had the max psi at 51. I ran the whole trip at 40 psi, so am going to try running at 49/50 psi and see if this helps. The MM tires are max at 50 psi and that was what we ran for the entire trip. With the exception of the mileage the trailer towed like a breeze and I would not change anything. What tire pressures do you run at when towing the MM?

[Bughawk]

I would have to check the book I keep the in the trailer to be exact but I believe it was around 52 to 55 psi. I ran them a little low as I heard that as the tires heat up they will increase in pressure and could fail. I have not had any problems so far but I plan to replace the factory tires this summer.

I agree the trailer tows well. I use a weight disturbing hitch and I think that helps a lot.

The one thing I try to do while towing is to keep the speed down and constant. I usually like to keep the rpm’s between 1500 to 2000.