The Nomadic Life

[bigbill]

Tow vehicle question. Whatever I get will also be my daily driver. If I'm still working, my commute is a 22 mile round trip. If I'm teaching at the Community College, about the same. I'm not sure I even need a 3/4 ton for a 8500 pound trailer. I'm considering a Chevy 1500 with the 6.2L gas engine which can pull 13K pounds. The other option is a 2500 but I would only do a diesel in that. If I go gas, I don't see a reason to buy a 2500. GM makes a 3L Duramax in a 1500 but it only pulls 9500 pounds, I'd be at the limit with a loaded trailer.

[PaMtbRider]

You really need to know the payload capacity as much as the tow rating. A new Chevy 1500 can have a payload close to 2000 pounds but they are rare and have very few options. 1300-1500 pounds is fairly common but I have seen payload as low as 950 pounds. A stripped work truck with a max towing package will give you the most payload. A fully loaded High Country will definitely be on the low end. Why it matters, an 8500 pound trailer could easily have a tongue weight of 1000 pounds. Add two normal size adults and you are at 1300-1400 pounds of payload. You are already over max payload of many trucks and you haven't put anything in the bed yet. The 3.0 diesel 1500 is a very tempting truck. For 2022 you can get a towing capacity over 11,000 pounds, but will still be limited in payload. IMHO, an 8500 pound trailer puts you into a 3/4 ton truck.

[Clyde]

I would never think of towing something that heavy with a half ton. Go 2500 diesel and have plenty of wiggle room.

[Too Tall]

Tastes great, less filling. Here we go ;)

We spend most of the summer days camping at one of two parks. Most of the diesel owners are moving to gas for one reason, repairs are costly. The truck of choice for these converts is the Ford 250 with their big block gas engine which is getting rave reviews.

My next comment is controversial. If you were reading Dan's words carefully you'd "get it" that a half ton will pull your trailer just fine however it will have limited in-the-bed weight carrying ability.

In my situation I'm towing a 27' Airstream that has close to a 1000 lb tongue weight. That leaves me with about 500 lbs of in-the-bed carrying capacity and that's plenty for me as Toyota Tundra's under promise and over deliver. The truck EASILY tows the trailer, gets decent MPG and is a really great daily driver. Downsides are I can not carry a load of bricks and tow ;)

Tundras are reliable and not fancy. That's my story.

PS Dan's one ton van with the 6.0 vs my 5.7 towing similar trailers going up a mtn. are dead equal except his van looks way cooler and he can roll his motos into the back.

[Tom]

When they determine towing capacity does that only include pulling or does it include pulling and stopping?

[bigbill]

The trailer comes home today. I'm going to check the tongue weight to evaluate payload. The 1500 with a 6.2L is around 2000 pounds of payload. My wife and I total around 420 pounds (she's 6'3" and I'm 6'1").

[rmplum]

When they determine towing capacity does that only include pulling or does it include pulling and stopping?

Pulling, stopping, a few dynamics maneuvers and a very long/steep hill climb in Bullhead City, AZ where it's usually 110-115F when I've tested there.

SAE J2807 if you want to read about it.

[Tom]

I figured. The question was prompted by a memory of riding shotgun in a Chevy 3/4 ton, shoved down a Vermont dirt road by a four wheel wagon far overloaded with hay bales. It may not be totally necessary but if I'm towing something I want whatever I'm driving to have more than enough weight to get whatever it is I'm towing back in line if it gets frisky. The incident in my memory was thrilling but it wasn't the good kind of thrilling.

[rmplum]

It's a pretty good jaunt. Keep in mind that it's HOT. A lot of my hundreds of trips up that hill were done in 115+ heat with the A/C cut off due to high coolant water temps.

davis climb.jpg

Grade is 4-7% most of the way and you have to be able to maintain a speed within a range of the posted limits going up the hill and without tripping check engine lights, etc.

So that's pretty much worst case, and a large part of how the tow rating is derived and calculated for most vehicles. Obviously we have nothing in Michigan that simulates that kind of stress.

[PaMtbRider]

The depth of knowledge of the folks here never ceases to amaze me.

[bigbill]

Just brought it home. We bought it from a dealer in Lake Havasu City so we had to haul it on I-40 and over the big climbs into Kingman. We also have 25-30 mph winds but the stabilizing trailer hitch and anti-sway bar made it tow really nice behind the Chevy 2500 with the Duramax. The tech at the dealer said, "don't tow this with a half ton."

[Too Tall]

Just brought it home. We bought it from a dealer in Lake Havasu City so we had to haul it on I-40 and over the big climbs into Kingman. We also hav 30 mph winds but the stabilizing trailer hitch and anti-sway bar made it tow really nice behind the Chevy 2500 with the Duramax. The tech at the dealer said, "don't tow this with a half ton."

You got good advice Big man. That 2500 Duramax is a beast. Grease that WDH and paint truth marks on the bolts. Look forward to hearing more.

*NFS Race Grease for the win ;)

[bigbill]

You got good advice Big man. That 2500 Duramax is a beast. Grease that WDH and paint truth marks on the bolts. Look forward to hearing more.

*NFS Race Grease for the win ;)

I'm purchasing a 2020 F250 XLT on Thursday. Powerstroke, 10 speed, etc.

[Too Tall]

I'm purchasing a 2020 F250 XLT on Thursday. Powerstroke, 10 speed, etc.

I feel weak ;) Neat truck.

[bigbill]

I feel weak ;) Neat truck.

I'm going to put a nice shell on it for bikes and tools since the RV is a bumper pull. I was reading up on the ten-speed and how it turns some decent mpg when driving unloaded. I had a ten-speed with the 3.5 EcoBoost in my Expedition and it got 24 on the highway and 21 pulling a Uhaul from Texas to AZ. Now we'll have two, white 3/4 ton trucks, one for the gooseneck horse trailer and the other for the RV. I need to pick up a guide on snowbirding.

[bigbill]

Got the truck, it was exactly what I was looking for. Somewhere along the way, the big three US makers decided that a truck should have a luxury RV cab. The truck I bought was a two-year-old F-250 XLT work truck. Cloth bench seats with a fold-down center armrest, no center console, no automatic climate control, 6.7 Powerstroke diesel, ten-speed Allison transmission, standard headlights, factory radio and display, and heavy-duty hitch. I transferred my SXM service and my phone connects up with Android Auto so I have all the navigation and trip planning from my phone.

I reset the MPG when I left the dealer parking lot for the 90-minute drive home. Friday night I made a five-hour round trip to Vegas to pick up my wife from the airport. Yesterday I ran some errands in town and stopped by work on my way home. My work commute is 28 miles round trip with 22 of those miles on Rt66 with a 65 mph speed limit. I'm averaging 20.8 mpg. It's not the best time to have a diesel with fuel prices, but when it comes to pulling an RV from place to place several times a year, this truck is a nice compromise versus the gas powered version.

[Clyde]

How many miles on that XLT? I have a 2020 and 19mpg around town no towing, 12 towing. Barely broken in at 15K.

[bigbill]

How many miles on that XLT? I have a 2020 and 19mpg around town no towing, 12 towing. Barely broken in at 15K.

The truck had 55K miles. If your driving is around town, then 19 is probably good. I live 20 miles north of town and my job is about halfway to town, so the vast majority of my miles are on a highway with a 65 mph limit. I go to town about once a week, usually if I need something from a hardware store or groceries.

[mnoble485]

EFB1A7F3-9461-480B-A7F2-EB2CC057B263.jpg

I wasn’t sure if I should put this in “things I want now” or here. Crappy cell phone pic that I took while in traffic. Would have loved to explore all the hidden features and know what they were hauling in the rack.

Mike

And once again it’s sideways!

[bigbill]

Tomorrow is the maiden voyage of the F250 and Jayco 33' travel trailer. I've been getting 20.6 mpg on my commute for a month now. Yesterday my wife pulled the trailer to town to a hitch place where we set up my truck to pull the trailer. I'm going without the load distribution hitch, my truck only sagged 2" with the tongue weight. It brakes well, the whole rig feels connected and smooth. I went up some hills to make sure I could engine brake then pulled it at 70 mph all the way home on Rt66 with no sway even though there were some crosswinds. I reset the mileage leaving the hitch shop and got 12 mpg on the way home which was about half highway. I think more highway, less stop and go, will improve that 1-2 mpg. I'm not going over 70 mph in any case.

I'm pulling the trailer from my house in NW AZ to Payson, AZ. Rt66 to Seligman, then I-40 to Flagstaff to pick up Lake Mary road. I only have about an hour of interstate and the remainder will be US and state highways. We're going for an equestrian event (dressage, cross country, show jumping) so my wife is driving her truck with the horse trailer. No bike this weekend.