What size of trailer for truck?

[Firehole Hunter]

Ok, I am thinking about buying a trailer to take family out West, up North and to Florida and have the F-150 with all the bells and whistles. It is a 3.5Liter Twin Turbo and a heavy duty tow package. So how big of a trailer can I go with? A 20 footer, 25, 30 or bigger. What do you think. What are pro's and con's of using this half-ton pick-up. I know that the power is there so that shouldn't be an issue I believe. I am concerned about the lightweight of the truck. Ok guys, give me your thoughts on the matter.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

Research your payload, max trailer weight, and check the weight rating on your tires.

Don’t be so focused on “length” of trailer. You need to know what it weighs. A lot of trailer weight numbers are for the bare trailer, empty, no water tanks full, none of your stuff in there etc.

Also most travel trailer manufactures make just the frame and trailer and have other companies do the interiors so they don’t factor those weights in either.

I’m not a fan of towing a large family sized travel trailer with a half ton pick up. Guys do it all the time but most don’t know the capabilities of their truck and don’t understand what it’s doing to a light truck over lots of hauls.

When you step up to a larger truck that will be rated to haul a nice size travel trailer most guys focus on getting more “power” for hauling. What they really benefit from a 3/4 or 1 ton is the larger brakes, stiffer and more capable suspension, beefier frame and chassis on some models, better transmissions and differentials, better gearing and much stronger rear axles, better cooling systems, and motors like to be worked hard and run high miles. You also get tires that you know are rated for heavier weight hauling.

 

[rayporter]

in your owners manuel is a chart of tow capabilites. it if usually rated on the high or optimistic side.

the more you dirve and the steeper you go the more you will struggle with a max load.

weighing is your friend- dont believe what you hear. weigh this one so you will know what is needed with the next one.

i have seen many folks start with too light a truck and go over board when they upgrade.

 

[NMframed]

I would also say pay more attention to the trailer weight than length of. All the bells and whistles really don’t mean squat when you’re towing. Your transmission and brakes will take the most abuse when towing over mountains. It can be a very scary thing when your towing a heavy trailer up a slope and your engine or transmission start getting hot, and even scarier when you’re going down and your breaks start getting hot. I would just try not to get a trailer to heavy for your truck and make sure your trailer breaks work. 3/4 or 1 ton diesel with exhaust break is the way to go but hard to justify for someone that doesn’t tow a trailer often

 

[Grumman]

The wind it catches plays a big part also. I had a fifth wheel camper that only weighed 12,600 but pulled like it was 20k. I would not have wanted to pull or stop that in a half ton truck.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Kevin Dill]

The simple fact is that a half-ton (150 or 1500) pickup is not ideal for towing a family-sized camper around the country or continent. Can you do it? Of course. Is it advised? What are the potential (likely) issues?

RV camper towing requires good torque output. Horsepower is nice but torque is king when moving a trailer against gravity or other resistance. A smaller gas engine with high-output (hp) may be fine towing a boat or low profile trailer longer distances, but is potentially over-worked in pulling a family camper. You're extremely well advised here to go by trailer weight and not size, BUT do know a bigger trailer has vastly more wind/air resistance and will work your truck harder.

Within your truck's rated towing parameters: A lighter trailer will tow more easily and comfortably. A trailer in the medium weight range will tow capably in most road conditions. A heavier trailer will tax your engine, suspension, transmission, and all related systems. It will also tax you in the form of some stress when you must brake hard, think ahead constantly, accelerate much more slowly, pull hills in low gear and generally feel the trailer 'working' you and the truck. Tires will wear out quicker. So will brakes. Engines and transmissions run hotter. Fuel mileage suffers. Trailer sway is anything from annoying to deadly.

The bottom line isn't to get the most trailer you can. It's to get the right trailer which is well matched to your truck. That's where a good and well-regarded RV dealer comes in. However, the responsibility falls ultimately to the buyer to get very familiar with his truck's ratings and abilities. I would advise you to stay completely away from any trailer which puts it near the truck's maximum towing capacity, because you will not enjoy the driving experience much of the time, and you will likely see it have a negative effect on your tow vehicle.

 

[SDHNTR]

Take whatever your trucks stated tow capacity is and cut it in half. Or reduce it by at least 40%. That’s a more practical number with a half ton. You’ll soon see, it’s not an ideal tool for the job. It’s not the pulling you need to worry so much about, it’s the stopping and the handling.

 

[Dustin the wind]

Speaking from experience, I would go as small as you can get away with for your trucks sake. Might want to invest in some air bags as well.

 

[jt4]

I have an f150 right now with about every available option and the 3.5 ecoboost. I pull a 28’ (exterior length) camper that weighs 5200 or so unloaded. Depending on how I’m driving it gets between 7 and 9.5 mpg.

More to the point though, I wouldn’t want any bigger of a trailer than we already have unless I went up to a 3/4 ton truck. The truck tows it just fine, it’s more of the fact that you basically have a wind sail behind you and the truck just doesn’t feel heavy enough to keep it stable when it windy.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Middleofnowhere]

The new F-150 tow and payload ratings are “optimistic” in my opinion. They tried to “lighten“ the truck with all the aluminum to increase their ratings on paper. That said, you should be fine with an up to 27’ “ultralight” travel trailer with the load stabilizing hitch. A 6,000# trailer is going to weigh 8,000# real quick with water and family gear. I think the new F-150s have a 10K or 13K tow capacity, which might be fine for traveling short trips on flat ground. When you start to talk about traveling west and going over grades, etc. you’ll want to stay at the lighter end of the spectrum.

A buddy of mine who has a newer loaded F-150 rented a 29’ toy hauler and towed it just a few hundred miles. It beat him up pretty good, I’m sure it was close to 10K fully loaded.

 

[gwl79902]

The market for trailers that can be hauled by half ton trucks is hot. Lots of options.
For my family, we are going camping. We do not intent our trailer to be a condo on wheels. That is a different mindset to look at trailer. I have a friend who has a r pod and loves it but it is a nice place to sleep and maybe for the kids to escape bugs but it is not a living area for a family of 4.
another friend has a hard side pop up chalet I think. Great for what it is.
my advise is stat around 60% of tow capacity, get air bags, use a stabilization set up, and truly ask your self are you camping or want a condo on wheels
You can get a cido on wheels that your truck will tow but it costs in money and stress. Stress on you parking, towing, and everything else. It is stress on the truck that can do it but not really intended for it for the long haul, in my opinion. For me keeping it simply and light is key. I want to relaxe and not white knuckle it on every merger, up hill, downhill, and parking lot. Not to say the stress of getting into camp sites. You will not believe how short the stars are in some of the National parks.

good luck and remember it is about fun

 

[rayporter]

remember that there is no such thing as a free lunch. size matters from wt. to air resistance to engine and mileage to brakes. if you are going to pull you are are going to pay.
tires wear faster brakes wear faster etc etc

and dont cheap out on rubber-it is no fun being along the highway with traffic buzzing by changing tires.

 

[Tod osier]

Some of the best trailering with a 1/2 ton advice above. Listen to it.

1/2 tons have plenty of power to tow more camper than they should, the issue is the ability to manage the trailer safely... brakes, suspension, frame. Using the idea of using 1/2 to 3/4 of the stated tow Capacity is a good place to start. It is really Easy to go over Truck payload or axle capacity if you have a trailer that is decent size (Say 3/4 truck tow capacity, but even half) and then start adding passengers and payload in the bed.

get a good weight distributing hitch And anti sway.

 

[Whip]

I had an F150 Ecoboost when we bought our last trailer. The new trailer was about 7,500 # loaded and 900# on the hitch. That was really pushing the limits of the truck although it did fairly well as long as we stayed on flat roads. But one trip to the mountains was was it took to send me straight to shopping for a new 3/4 ton truck.
If you really want to stick with a 1/2 ton truck stay on the small side for a trailer. Pay attention to the tongue weight as much as the total weight of the trailer. There are a lot of nice smaller trailers if you want to go that way. For a family maybe one of the hybrid hard sides with slide outs? But if you want something bigger in a solid trailer you're going to want a bigger truck.

 

[Super Duty Dad]

There is some great info on here. My advice is do your research and be careful when buying from an Rv lot. Just my opinion though, I’m sure there are some great sales reps out there. I bought one of my trailers from a RV lot and when I sarcastically called the sales rep out on something that I knew to be false, she said she was a Christian and why would she lie. I kind of looked at her in shock. Anyways, I ended up with a 28’ bunkhouse fifth wheel (measures About 34’ end to end and weighs around 9K dry with gross weight at 11k) and stuck right on the side is a sticker that says 1/2 ton towable. I asked her if this was a joke and she said no, the new 1/2 ton trucks are rated for this and she said she wouldn’t hesitate to pull this trailer with a 1/2 ton. I pull this with a 1 ton and going over mountain passes I start to heat up ever so slightly so I couldn’t imagine a 1/2 tons attempting this.
So I guess what I am saying is just research what you can pull and stop safely because some of the sales reps are obviously just looking for their commission check.

 

[CO-AJ]

A lot of points already covered on here. I tow a 27' 3" with a 3/4 ton diesel. The trailer is a heavier 4 season trailer so I wanted a heavier truck. In addition I use the Equal-i-zer hitch which per the RV store was a bit overkill for my setup. Not sure how well the twin turbo will last with pulling weight, Im skeptical of aluminum engines with turbos in a towing role, seems to me they will generate alot of heat and will always be torquing on the transmission or seeking a gear. In Florida probably not a big deal, in CO pulling over passes likely a bigger deal.

 

[ZDR]

I have an 18’ foot trailer that weighs ~4800lbs fulled loaded with a tongue weight of 500 lbs. once I add bikes, other camping gear to the bed and passengers that’s about all I want to haul even though the truck is rated for more. I pull it w a RAM 1500 and get as low as 9-10mpg w a 5.7 hemi. The truck handles the trailer great in mountains, wind, braking (in conjunction w trailer brakes). I would not want to tow much more without a 2500/250. I recommend watching the TFLtruck YouTube channel to learn more about towing with your truck. They tow test all the major brands of trucks in the Colorado mountains.

 

[AZ8]

This is a good thread!

One reason I haven’t purchased a trailer yet. Will be upgrading to a 3/4 ton first, then I’ll go shopping.

 

[YZF_88]

I just went the other direction completely. Downsized truck and got a smaller trailer. Ended up with a 6x12 enclosed and am slowly modifying it to be a base camp trailer. Going to make bunk beds using the e-track next. Put in a deep cycle battery this week and added ceiling panels along with 2 LED lighting circuits. Next update will be a charging station and rigging the battery to charge when the truck is running. It only weighs about 2200 lbs with 2 bikes (or one ATV) in it. Keeping it simple.

 

[TexasCub]

Id say that as long as you keep the total weight of the trailer under 7500 lbs it will be manageable. When I say 7500 I don't mean empty weight of 7500, Im talking about a 4500-5000 lb camper that will then end up with 2000 lbs of crap in it when you hit the road. Things like slide outs add a good bit of weight too which youll see when specing them out. Take your time, add airbags to the back suspension, use a good WDH with sway protection and if you don't already have them, ditch the P rated tires for some E rated tires. I think your gonna be limited to a 25-28' camper, much smaller than that is going to be too cramped IMO for a family.