*Truck and Towing thread........ask your questions here.*

[bama_ed]

Poor Ford guys..

Corners being cut....They feel it...

 

[tiggerdad]

But, easily fixed with $30 of surgical tubing.

Now the other guys, they needed millions of taxpayer's $$

 

[peg110]

But, easily fixed with $30 of surgical tubing.

Now the other guys, they needed millions of taxpayer's $$

View attachment 221969

Which is one of the factors why I went with FORD when I bought my truck. I have to say, that my F250 is only 3 years old (with 44K+ miles) and I have not had any issues so far. Here's hoping the next 144K are just as good.

 

[dmaxphil]

Well, I'd like to thank all of you for helping Chevy make quieter cabs.

In all seriousness, Ford does receive significant taxpayer dollars (subsidies - 2.5B/year) and borrowed billions (FMC) from the government even though they didn't officially participate in the "bailout"

Here's one link
https://www.cars.com/articles/2010/12/report-ford-took-federal-funds-too/

 

[tiggerdad]

All government lies I tell you!

In honesty however, I hope I see the same 200,000 that Ed has on his Chevy. So far so good.

 

[Teamubr]

All government lies I tell you!

Those aren't lies. They are "alternate facts". Gotta get with the new terminology.

j

 

[tiggerdad]

Oh yeah, thanks dude.

Hey @dmaxphil you gotta get in one of these Gulf Shores run man.

 

[dmaxphil]

Oh yeah, thanks dude.

Hey @dmaxphil you gotta get in one of these Gulf Shores run man.

We'll be there in spirit. FYI, we will be staying at GSP for one night on the way back from the Fort in 3 weeks. Better than nothing I suppose.

 

[bama_ed]

I'm only on my first 200k. Figure I got at least another one or two of those still in me....

 

[tiggerdad]

We'll be there in spirit. FYI, we will be staying at GSP for one night on the way back from the Fort in 3 weeks. Better than nothing I suppose.

Shame, we could sit around and make fun of hybrid vehicles.

I'm only on my first 200k. Figure I got at least another one or two of those still in me....

At a boy Ed

 

[SYLVESTER7577]

Being a new to RV's here, looking for any advice. I have a 5.3L 1500 Suburban with a lot of miles but a fresh transmission and a trailer towing package. I used it to pull my 14 ft. enclosed trailer (3000 lbs.) with ease. I am now purchasing a 2006 Rockwood ultra lite TT (6200 lbs) 33 ft. Am I going to get by OK for a while? I know I need to upgrade but would rather work on purchasing a diesel in the future.

 

[tiggerdad]

Hi Sylvester7577, glad to have you aboard.

If I'm not mistaken, I believe the 1500 Suburbans towing capacity is in the 6000-6500 pound range, but that is for a 1998 model. Some references show its capacity possibly near 8000#, again depending on year model but with towing package it should be about right. As a rule, most people suggest not long hauling more than 75% of your vehicles maximum capacity as the wear on the vehicle is greatly increased.

Maybe a little more info such as the year model might help.

If it is in the 8000# range then your 6200# is about 77% so your within tow range, but you also have to add in weight of people, water, food, clothes, camping supplies, etc. This will increase you probably to near 80%. So, yes you probably can in short term tow it but for sure using a weight distribution hitch that is properly adjusted and make certain the trailer brakes are in good working order. Your biggest risk is stopping ability and handling and these two things are at the top of the list.

 

[SYLVESTER7577]

I guess I missed that info. It is a 2003 4 x 4 which I have found to be 7500-8000 lbs (aprox.) depending on the rear axle ratio that I don't know as I have it in my pole barn up north. Web sites seem to vary on that stat. It should either be a 4:10 or 3:73. The trailer has a nice heavy duty sway system. Upon picking it up I plan to go directly to someone to double check it's operation after I test drive some flat back roads. It just seems like a monster and I have never pulled something that large. Also specs have varied on the trailer as well (8311ss) as low as 5825 dry. But either way with the age I would be pushing it. I plan to try to stay close to town for awhile. Thanks Michael, i hope this sketchiness lol helps more.

 

[Teamubr]

I am now purchasing a 2006 Rockwood ultra lite TT (6200 lbs) 33 ft. Am I going to get by OK for a while?

It sounds like you know you are close to the limit, but I think you'll be OK. Suburbans are pretty tough (Ask Ed.) You will need a good, properly adjusted weight distribution (WD) hitch and probably a sway control, depending on the length of the trailer.

I've towed at 95+% of capacity in several setups. My 2nd trailer was a 33 ft TT. weighed 6800 lbs. Towed it with a V8 Explorer rated for 7200. I've also towed a 21,000 lb 2 car enclosed race hauler all over the country with my dually rated at about 21,500. Just know that towing at the limit will feel different than pulling your 3000 lb trailer. Not horrible or white knuckle, but not as "easy" as the light trailer.

j

 

[SYLVESTER7577]

Towed it with a V8 Explorer rated for 7200. I've also towed a 21,000 lb 2 car enclosed race hauler all over the country with my dually rated at about 21,500.

Speaking of racing I am a warehouse distributor for Griffin and Northern Radiators as well as work with my buddy on custom builds and high performance fans/shrouds. If needed in the future feel free to drop me a line for a quote. Mark

 

[PaHunter]

Being a new to RV's here, looking for any advice. I have a 5.3L 1500 Suburban with a lot of miles but a fresh transmission and a trailer towing package. I used it to pull my 14 ft. enclosed trailer (3000 lbs.) with ease. I am now purchasing a 2006 Rockwood ultra lite TT (6200 lbs) 33 ft. Am I going to get by OK for a while? I know I need to upgrade but would rather work on purchasing a diesel in the future.

We towed our TT at 26 ft and around 7000 lbs with our old 2003 Chevy 1500 Silverado. Our trip to Disney and lousy fuel mileage prompted the move to a bigger diesel. We averaged about 7mpg towing. So don't be surprised even close to home that you burn much more fuel than the enclosed trailer. Good luck to you, and welcome to the camping world.

 

[SYLVESTER7577]

We towed our TT at 26 ft and around 7000 lbs with our old 2003 Chevy 1500 Silverado. Our trip to Disney and lousy fuel mileage prompted the move to a bigger diesel. We averaged about 7mpg towing. So don't be surprised even close to home that you burn much more fuel than the enclosed trailer. Good luck to you, and welcome to the camping world.

Thanks for the info. On our bucket list is the FWC and I figured I was skeptical being the miles on the Suburban and the larger hills and such of Tennessee and Kentucky from Michigan. I could live with the miles but the truck might be to tired for a trip like that now. We are also glued on the simplicity and cost of Pop Century as we can usually fly round trip for under $500, usually non stop and no rental car with Magic Express. But we started Disney with the cabins and want to try the RV approach.

 

[peg110]

We had a similar suburban for our first Travel Trailer which was a Coachman Capri 27TBS (27 footer). GVWR was a little over 7000#. It did okay until it hit a hill. Obviously the steeper the hill the harder it worked. For us the hills wouldn't have been too bad if we could go at them at Highway speeds, but we had to start the hills (and steep ones too) at about 25 - 35 MPH which made it worse.

As others have stated, expect a difference in towing versus the smaller one. and the MPG will be horrible. Even when we upgraded to our F-250 (albeit gas engine and not diesel) my towing was still only about 8 MPG on the highway (at best).

 

[sirenia88]

I'm not going to get into the whole vehicle manufacturer vs thing. I already know which vehicle is the best. My truck.

Shame, we could sit around and make fun of hybrid vehicles.
At a boy Ed

ahem... My wife and I just bought a Hybrid. It's a 2016 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Limited with Ultimate package. Basically fully loaded. I know it's not even my prefer brand either. Why? Mainly because my frame can fit in every seat of the vehicle. A few weeks ago she rented one for an out of town event. Turned out she like the ride and wanted to look at one with more features. The lot we went to had a few to look at. She wound up taking a test drive in this one as she likes the idea of the hybrid. Well We didn't expect to sign papers for the car for at least a couple of months. Since it was 2016 leftover, we got a really good deal on it given the fact it was factory demo.

Oh the other nice thing, my wife is getting something like 42 MPG with winter gas. She just pull just a hair under 600 miles with her first tank of gas. It has a 100,000 mile warranty. Hyundai has coverage on the batteries in which other Hybrid don't. The price was right. The wife felt in love with the car which is saying something as well. Quite frankly, it gets over 3 times the fuel mileage of my F250 and my Explorer. The only way I could even get close would be a diesel with an extended range tank.

It sounds like you know you are close to the limit, but I think you'll be OK. Suburbans are pretty tough (Ask Ed.) You will need a good, properly adjusted weight distribution (WD) hitch and probably a sway control, depending on the length of the trailer.

I've towed at 95+% of capacity in several setups. My 2nd trailer was a 33 ft TT. weighed 6800 lbs. Towed it with a V8 Explorer rated for 7200. I've also towed a 21,000 lb 2 car enclosed race hauler all over the country with my dually rated at about 21,500. Just know that towing at the limit will feel different than pulling your 3000 lb trailer. Not horrible or white knuckle, but not as "easy" as the light trailer.

j

Come on! Ed tows a pop up with his Suburban! I see small SUVs tow pop ups! LOL j/k Ed. WDH and sway control is definitely a good choice in any towing set up. Speaking of which Teamubr, my parents tow a 3500 pound Jayco Hybrid with a 08 Explorer with the V8 and 6 speed trans. That vehicle walks all over my V6 with the 5 speed. The trailer is really balanced to their truck for what ever reason.

We towed our TT at 26 ft and around 7000 lbs with our old 2003 Chevy 1500 Silverado. Our trip to Disney and lousy fuel mileage prompted the move to a bigger diesel. We averaged about 7mpg towing. So don't be surprised even close to home that you burn much more fuel than the enclosed trailer. Good luck to you, and welcome to the camping world.

Yup. Get ready for frequent fuel stops and budget more than you think for fuel. I get about 8 to 9 MPG with my 250 with my 30 foot 6000 pound trailer. However, some of that is due to the shorter rear end gears. Going with a high gears like 3.73 to 4.30s will allow the trans to not shift as much reducing fuel usage. Now that my wife has a car again, I'm looking into regearing the truck from 3.73s to 4.30s to make trailer a bit easier this season. Diesels just have more power available at lower RPMs and in some cases can even be double the torque of their gas model cousins. Example Ford Super Duty. 6.7 Diesel is rated 440 HP with 925 TQ or torque. The 6.2 vGas model is rated at 385 HP with only 430 TQ. Earlier 6.2s where only rated for 405TQ. However, I know I am not going to win the race but I will get to my destination in more comfort than when I owned my F150 half ton.

PA, which 1500 engine did you have? 5.3? which rear end? that might have been one of the causes of poo fuel mileage.

 

[PaHunter]

I'm not going to get into the whole vehicle manufacturer vs thing. I already know which vehicle is the best. My truck.

PA, which 1500 engine did you have? 5.3? which rear end? that might have been one of the causes of poo fuel mileage.

Our 1500 had a V8 with the 3.73 rear. It was rated to tow 10000 if I remember correct and our TT comes in around 7000 or 7500 loaded up.