Travel Trailer suggestions

[stacktester]

Now that's a good point that I hadn't considered. I figured that the gas milage would plummet when towing, but hey, I'm used to getting 7mpg in the motorhome... so no big deal, right? But wait, the motorhome has an 80 gallon fuel tank. A 26 gallon tank at 7mpg means stopping every 3 hours for gas, ugh! I suspect I'd get better than 7mpg though, since the truck alone gets 19.2 highway.

As for the Tundra's tow rating, everything I've read suggests that the 10,800lb is pretty conservative. There is a promotional/documentary video series on YouTube where a Texas rancher was given a Tundra to torture test for 100K miles and he towed a 20,000+ lb gooseneck cattle trailer over washboard roads and never had a complaint power-wise and no suspension issues during the trial. It's a very interesting video.

One other thing I just found out... the Tundra uses engine braking. I'm not sure if this is a common feature on trucks or not, but I was pretty impressed. I would imagine this really enhances control when braking under load. That said, it will probably be a while before a trailer is in our future... I just got handed the bill for a new water pump on the moho and it'll be about $800!

Shan about the only difference between a 250 and 350 is suspension. Motor, frame and trans are all the same. Might be an extra leaf spring or 2 lol.

Sounds like you need to find another mechanic. A water pump even new is less than a C note. Damn, for $700 bills I'll drive to NC and change it and still have me some fort money. I realize it may take more time to get the old pump out since it's probably a little tighter in the engine compartment but dang, it can't be that hard.

 

[Shan-man]

Yeah, I know. The pump is only $120 (even for a heavy duty AC Delco), but my mechanic says it's an 8-10 hour ordeal to get it in. I just wish we'd have known it needed replacement 2 years ago when the radiator was out and the fan and clutch were off already! But hey, I'd gladly throw the 7 bills your way Donnie... come on up, I'll have the beer iced!

 

[ftwildernessguy]

Yeah, I know. The pump is only $120 (even for a heavy duty AC Delco), but my mechanic says it's an 8-10 hour ordeal to get it in. I just wish we'd have known it needed replacement 2 years ago when the radiator was out and the fan and clutch were off already! But hey, I'd gladly throw the 7 bills your way Donnie... come on up, I'll have the beer iced!

Reminds me of when I had my Safari van and a freeze out plug that cost 75 cents had to be replaced - total bill was 400 bucks because the darn plug was behind an engine mount and the engine had to be pulled to get it in.

 

[caveat lector]

I love my tt. however the half ton truks are tricky. I have been towing a keystone sprinter 311 bhs., it weigh about 8000 lbs. it is a travel trailer not a 5ver. My truck pulls it and I have a wieght distribution and a sway bar. these two things are neccessary in my opinion to tow with a 1/2 ton. also electric brakes are a neccessary. also be careful. when i bought my f150 alls the salesman could rave about was the f150 tows 10,000 lbs. well that is not 100percent correct. not all half tons are created equally. when you start filtering through it depends on everything . for example
a f150 crew cab with 3.73 gears and 4x4 may be able to tow 9900 lbs. however
a f150 crew cab 3.55 gears and 4x4 only tows 8500 lbs. i do not understand how the gear ratio changes the tow capacity so much but it does. I understand the torque and everything else but I never realized it was this big of a difference. I am unsure if toyota does the same thing. and actually when i talked to a sales person he was telling me that the actuall f150s that can tow that much are pretty much special order and few and far between. like I said i am unsure if toyota has one eng/gear package or not. you need to check. the gear ratio should be coded on you door panel and you can enter it in a travel trailer wieght calculator if you google it.
one more thing. I have been towing the same camper for almost three years now with an f150 and just got a new one. yes you may be able to tow it but it will not be very efficient. my f150 gets about 14-16 miles to the gallon around town. when i tow my travel trailer it is 4-6. that is not a very big distance. and lots of refueling. you have to refuel less than every 200 miles. Pulling one of these into a gas station is always tricky. also a transmission cooler would go a long way as when you pull your tt you will be turning some serious rpms at an average of 65mph. and this may sound funny but with an f150 a 15 mph headwind makes a huge difference in rpms and gas mileage. you can do it but it is a pain. also do not plan on doing any steep grades. after three years of doing this I am most likely upgrading in the next month to a 3/4 or 1 ton truck just to make it a little easier and more efficient.
also remember when you factor in all your gear that you will be hauling so if the camper weighs 8000 lbs the you add in 50 gallons of water in your tank. that is 8 lbs a gallon. there is another 400 lbs. and then add in any grey or black water you might have. the numbers start to jump quick. then you add two people and their weight all your sheets, pots, pans, decorations the number escalates exponentially.
if you do get a tt then one of tricks i do is unless i am dry camping i leave the camper 100 percent empy on water/grey and black. while hauling. this lightens the load. then when i get to the campground i put 10 to 15 gallons of water in the tank in case their is a brief water supply problem, which has happened multiple times, this way i can use the water during that period. any how just thought I would guide you. I bought the tt because my truck could tow it, but it does work the truck hard. you always want extra weight between your max towing weight and whjat you are actually towing. alright have a good one

Great narrative Gooftroop!
I just returned from an 1100 mile trip (each way). I pulled a 29BHS Cougar X-lite with my 2003 F150. My truck is a Crew cab with 3.55 gears and the trailer package. The package includes better alternator, transmission cooling, and suspension. There might be other stuff that I am unaware of. I got 8-9 mpgs on average. If the wind kicked up, that dropped to 7. So, every three hours meant a trip to the gas station. I made sure the TT was as light as possible, even draining the water out of the water heater. In addition, I have weight dist hitch, friction anti sway,and electric brake controller. All this being said, I had absolutely zero problems. Sure, on some steep grades, the thing downshifted and hit 4K rpms. But no rods breached the engine block. If I were pulling this TT more than once or twice a year, I would look towards upgrading the tow vehicle. But for me, it's a fair trade off for the other 50 weeks a years.

 

[thegooftroopfla]

yeah we use ours about once a month. last year we hit the fort a bunch. its about 160 miles one way to the fort. thinking i am upgrading. we have never done a big trip like 1100 miles, but we want to start branching out. hence the upgrade. we do not want a problem and the trips we have done with this package we usually try and camp before we get gas. that way after i set the camper up i run and fill up without the tt. this wa i do not have to mess with a small parking lot and big trailer. so time to uprgrade and i have seen some great deals out there right now