If you could start over.....

[WildDisNut]

Debbie I noticed you had a GEM car, we have one as well. The trailer we towed our golf cart with is too small for the GEM. What size and type trailer do you use? Is it any tougher to tow then a golf cart? Oh yeah, ours is a 4 seater GEM.
Thanks

 

[DznyRulz]

This is the last truck we bought her before she had to get a car

That's a very nice looking Ex. If I had it to do over I'd have gotten the diesel Ex. When I bought it in 2004 the diesel was, IIRC, $4100 more. Now it is $6500 more in the trucks, they don't make the Ex anymore. I did look closely at a used diesel Ex but I couldn't justify it with today's prices. I love the room of the Ex and now I don't plan on giving it up. It does hurt at the pumps but I just suck it up and pay.

 

[des1954]

Hi, Al!

I don't recall the weight on the 21' Coachman. We only had it about 2 years and traded for a MH. The F-150 handled it pretty well, but did "dog it" a little on inclines. That's the only reason I felt that a larger TT needed a truck with a little more "oomph"!! Of course this was about 20 years ago & TT's have gotten lighter & trucks have vastly improved.

 

[des1954]

Debbie I noticed you had a GEM car, we have one as well. The trailer we towed our golf cart with is too small for the GEM. What size and type trailer do you use? Is it any tougher to tow then a golf cart? Oh yeah, ours is a 4 seater GEM.
Thanks

Here's our GEM Car:

http://groups.msn.com/GEMNEVElectricCarOwners

This is a website my DH set up for GEM owners & our GEM is the picture on the main page.

We haul it on an Aluma Trailer model 64133.

I just looked up this model on their website (www.alumaklm.com) & could not find it. It's a flat bed trailer with side-rails and a lift gate. I'm not sure where you're located, but we bought our trailer at Tropic Trailer in Marianna, FL. Their phone number is (850)767-4275. We dealt with the Gen. Manager by the name of Mike Duty. You may want to call him and see if he knows if this particular model is still made. We just bought it last July, so I'm not sure why it is not on the Aluma website. We paid $3158.00 tax included. I hope this helps!

BTW - I don't even know the GEM is behind the Explorer when I'm trailering it.

 

[PanFanAL]

Hi, Al!

I don't recall the weight on the 21' Coachman. We only had it about 2 years and traded for a MH. The F-150 handled it pretty well, but did "dog it" a little on inclines. That's the only reason I felt that a larger TT needed a truck with a little more "oomph"!! Of course this was about 20 years ago & TT's have gotten lighter & trucks have vastly improved.

Yeah, the trailers are getting much lighter and the difference in the trucks is a big difference. The trucks from the late 80's were weak by today's standards. Yours probably had a 302, or 5.0 which ever you want to call it. Great engine in a Mustang not so much in a truck. Didn't have much low end torque. I'm sure the MH is much better anyway.

 

[RvUsa]

Here is just another 2 cents from me. Don't trust the Rv dealer when you ask them if your TV could handle their nice shiney new trailer. LOL I saw a dealer installing a sliding 5th wheel hitch in a short bed crew cab f-150 because they just sold him a mid profile 5er That scared the crap out of me! I know that my friend of mine owned the same truck, and the weight rating was like 900 lbs in the bed, heck, that hitch weighed about 300

The point is, some dealers will tell you what you want to sell you what they have.

 

[AuburnJen92]

I agree, when we bought our TT, the dealer said, "oh, you can pull that with a Navigator no problem!" Well, we took it to Disney once and on the way back the tranny started to give us problems. The problem is that that Navigator belongs to the parental units! They had an extended warranty, which repaired the tranny, but they warned her not to bring it back with the same problem because they knew "someone" had been towing something. We had to go and lease a Tundra to pull it and created another whole set of problems. Did I mention I am not fond of leases?????

 

[ntsammy5]

We don't haul anything and I like to tent camp and backpack. The farthest I go is about 250-300 miles away in the Adirondacks. Because of work and other stuff, I might get out 2-3 weekends and maybe a week during the summer. When I retire in about 3 years, I can go more.

Right now I use a 96 Caravan with 152,000 miles on it. I don't like to spend much money on vehicles. All I need is enough room for the tents, the dog and beer. When I backpack, I take wine instead. Doesn't weigh as much.

When we visit the kids, we either stay with them or in a hotel (DW is not an avid camper). When I stay at FW it's always with Debbie in her RV.

When DW comes along to WDW we stay at SoG or somewhere else.......

Good luck with your search.

 

[ntsammy5]

BTW - I don't even know the GEM is behind the Explorer when I'm trailering it.

That could mean itfell off.

I miss your old GC. The GEM is nice but the golf cart had CLASS.

 

[clkelley]

I'm probably not the one to ask, cause this lady was perfectly happy campin' in a tent. But I did bring a bunch of "stuff" (air mattresses, plastic dressers, portable toilets, screen houses, portable clothes rods, etc.) However, the setup and teardown of tent camping (plus the mess of putting away wet) is what put me into a TT.

I've probably got the smallest unit on the group and I tow it with a 4.0 V6 Sport Trac.

My T@B weighs less than 1/2 my tow capacity (but I also don't have to have a weight distributing hitch or an electric brake controller).

Having said that, however, when I bump up on 100K miles and/or DHs Acura gets paid off, I'm going to get the V8 Sport Trac, just to give me a bit more umph so I can run at a steady 70MPH at 2500 RPM (or less), so that it doesn't drop down a gear every time I hit a little hill.

Many of the folks on my tabtrailers group tow with a V6, but those that do tow with a V8 say that their mileage drops less when towing.

 

[Us3]

So Rog, with all of this great information and advice, which way are you leaning? The F-150?

 

[BigDaddyRog]

I honestly WANT an F150....regardless of whether I end up getting a camper or not. The DW may be the most indecisive woman on the planet though. She says she doesnt care what we get, then I say "Lets go to the ford dealership", she says "but Im not sure I wanna truck".......her idea of "I DONT CARE WHAT WE GET" is apparently different in her world than in mine. I guess Im supposed to figure out what thats code for!!!!

 

[auntie]

Okay...tell her how the truck will help you with chores around the house. How you'll be able to go to Home Depot and pick up anything you need and not have to worry about it fitting. How you'll be able to go to the nursery and bring home those shrubs she's wanted you to plant. That sort of thing. I am a traitor to my gender..I am ashamed.
I won't be able to live with the guilt...so you better really do those things!

 

[Us3]

Okay...tell her how the truck will help you with chores around the house. How you'll be able to go to Home Depot and pick up anything you need and not have to worry about it fitting. How you'll be able to go to the nursery and bring home those shrubs she's wanted you to plant. That sort of thing. I am a traitor to my gender..I am ashamed.
I won't be able to live with the guilt...so you better really do those things!

Sounds like you have heard this reasoning first hand! It would work on me just knowing I would get those nursery items when it was my time to bargain!

 

[Us3]

I honestly WANT an F150....regardless of whether I end up getting a camper or not. The DW may be the most indecisive woman on the planet though. She says she doesnt care what we get, then I say "Lets go to the ford dealership", she says "but Im not sure I wanna truck".......her idea of "I DONT CARE WHAT WE GET" is apparently different in her world than in mine. I guess Im supposed to figure out what thats code for!!!!

Auntie Phyllis has the best advice! Good luck!

 

[lisa8200]

I honestly WANT an F150....regardless of whether I end up getting a camper or not. The DW may be the most indecisive woman on the planet though. She says she doesnt care what we get, then I say "Lets go to the ford dealership", she says "but Im not sure I wanna truck".......her idea of "I DONT CARE WHAT WE GET" is apparently different in her world than in mine. I guess Im supposed to figure out what thats code for!!!!

You could always play on everyones love of Disney and tell her that if you get a Truck while your alraedy looking at vehicles you would already have a tow vehicle if that once in a liftime camper came around and you could get her out of a tent.

 

[BigDaddyRog]

...chores around the house. How you'll be able to go to Home Depot and pick up anything you need and not have to worry about it fitting. How you'll be able to go to the nursery and bring home those shrubs she's wanted you to plant.

Whoa......I didnt say anything about having to trade this for PHYSICAL LABOR!!! Now I wont have an excuse not to do all those things!!!

Maybe we should get a corvette!!

 

[Us3]

Whoa......I didnt say anything about having to trade this for PHYSICAL LABOR!!! Now I wont have an excuse not to do all those things!!!

Maybe we should get a corvette!!

and I can just see it pulling the new pop up!

 

[PanFanAL]

and I can just see it pulling the new pop up!

Would definitely have the Horsepower

 

[my3princes]

Hello

Look what we got today

We will be using this to tow our camper to WDW at the end of June

I drove the new truck tonight. It is bigger than our old Tundra, but drives very smoothly and is soooo quiet. That may be because DH had a dual exhaust with a set of 40 series flowmaster mufflers and TRD headers It was one of those trucks that had men actually laying on the ground checking it out at campgrounds He had custom built the exhaust for more towing power. Add in your best Tim the Toolman grunt here