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chiwawamama

chiwawamama

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May 29, 2013
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We were driving home from doing some errands and I said to my DH, why don't we stop by McGeorgeRV and see if they have anything new.  So we did and they did and we fell in love and we purchased a brand new 2014 Keystone RV Cougar X-Lite 30FKV.  So now we need to shop for the truck - we are looking at a Ford 250 w/Echo Boost and will hopefully have the truck purchased early next week.

The dealer will be installing a rain sensor Fan-Tastic Fan in the bathroom, power tongue jack and a blue ox sway bar.  The unit will not be ready for pick up until next week. 

We still have to get the Directv set up - we will probably go with a portable dish and bring our box from the house.

Have we forgotten anything?



 
The F150 comes with the Ecoboost if you are looking for an F250 you will want the Powerstroke Diesel. And for your tow rating you will be looking for in a truck go by the gross weight of your trailer not the empty weight.
 
What glock said...except...if I got the right trailer, the GVWR is only about 7300 pounds.  But at almost 34' long, that might be a bit much for the F-150 Ecoboost.  It may handle the weight, but you might be more comfortable with the stability of the F-250.  With that weight, the PowerStroke diesel is probably not necessary...the 6.2L gasser would be more than enough.  But the diesel sure would take care of all your worries.

If you have any specific questions, let us know.
 
On the Keystone web site it shows the 2014 Keystone RV Cougar X-Lite 30FKV to have a light weight of 7082# with the GVWR at 8190. The F150 is rated to pull it but it won't be the best tool for the job (I have been there). At 8K lbs you will be wishing you had more truck and more motor. The Blue Ox Sway Pro is a great hitch. I used one on my last TT and it was the best hitch I have ever used. You won't be disappointed.
 
im staying out of the truck part But i will add about the satellite dish ,,,  you can get a second dish box from dish for 5.00 a month and just leave it in the rv thats what we did,, and the cost of the dome style dishes are coming down so they are pretty affordable now and unless you park under heavy trees they work good, if you park under heavy trees you can throw out a portable dish and use that while at that place..
 
At that weight, you'll want a 3/4 ton pickup, and if you're pulling in the mountains, a diesel would be much better.  If it's all flat lands, a modern gasser would suffice. 
 
While a 3/4 ton is a superior tow vehicle, I don't think 8190 lbs is beyond the capability of a properly-equipped half ton (F150 or Chevy/Dodge 1500). The key is "properly equipped", and I would be a bit skeptical of the current crop of small engine econo models. Yeah, they will move the trailer, but they work hard at it on anything but flatlands. A larger displacement engine has an easier time of it, and usually has a larger cooling system and heavier brakes too.  And avoid the cute  short wheelbase versions as well - you want a serious truck to be hauling that much trailer around.

Many half ton trucks are used pretty much like cars and the manufacturers tailor them for that, with economical engines and soft suspensions. That's not suitable for  towing a substantial size trailer. You need a "work truck" rather than a passenger truck, so it needs to be configured for that. Consider the Chevrolet/GMC 1500HD, which is essentially a baby 3/4 ton. I don't know if Ford has something similar or not, but you can configure an F150 with heavier suspension (sometimes called a Payload package) and 8 ft bed (longer wheelbase) and other features to beef it up.
 
I respectfully disagree Gary. Though 8K may not be beyond the manufacturers listed capability of a properly-equipped half ton, a 3/4 ton would be much better, safer, and probably more comfortable travel; especially for an inexperienced person.  And I sense the OP is inexperienced since they don't already own a tow vehicle/truck.
 
Derby6 said:
I respectfully disagree Gary. Though 8K may not be beyond the manufacturers listed capability of a properly-equipped half ton, a 3/4 ton would be much better, safer, and probably more comfortable travel; especially for an inexperienced person.  And I sense the OP is inexperienced since they don't already own a tow vehicle/truck.
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Agreed.

There are half tonners (properly equipped) that can do it.  But is it really the right tool for the job?  No. 

If money is an issue, the OP would be better off with a used 3/4 ton pickup than a new half ton.  And since the OP is likely new to doing this, it's much better to have too much truck than just enough. 
 
We just purchased a 2013 Ford 250 Lariat 4x4 - gas.    We are new to this and wanted to make sure we had enough truck.    The truck salesman called and talked to our TT salesman to make sure we had all the correct information for the TT we purchased - so that we made the right purchase.  It was probably the best car shopping experience my DH an I have ever had. 

 
chiwawamama said:
We just purchased a 2013 Ford 250 Lariat 4x4 - gas.    We are new to this and wanted to make sure we had enough truck.    The truck salesman called and talked to our TT salesman to make sure we had all the correct information for the TT we purchased - so that we made the right purchase.  It was probably the best car shopping experience my DH an I have ever had.
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That is a great choice of truck.  Let's see some pictures once you get it all hooked up.  It sounds like y'all done good!
 
Agreed - the 3/4 ton is a good choice for that trailer.  But I really hate to see all half tons condemned as tow vehicles. They can readily be configured to handle trailers up to around 7500 lbs or so. Not everybody needs a diesel dually.
 
Gary RV Roamer said:
Agreed - the 3/4 ton is a good choice for that trailer.  But I really hate to see all half tons condemned as tow vehicles. They can readily be configured to handle trailers up to around 7500 lbs or so. Not everybody needs a diesel dually.
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I really have to agree with Gary on this one. I had a 2011 ? ton Tundra and up to that 7500 lbs it was a great tow truck. After that you could feel the truck was starting to labor and the trailer was starting to push the truck a little in the tight turns. I do think they have come a long ways with the ? ton truck. I think they are every bit as good as the ? tons of yester-year. Just not as good as the ? tons of today.

What I found in my quest to find the right trailer is that I started out small and kept getting bigger until I finally out grew my ? ton truck. If I would have gone with the ? ton to begin with I would have had a truck that had the room to grow with it. A very costly mistake on my part.

Good choice on you truck decision. Looking forward to seeing some pictures.
 
The half tonners are probably fine in the flat lands.  Those of us who live and tow 7500+ lbs load in the high country have no use for them.  It all depends on where the person lives and what they will primarily use it for.

Pull a heavy trailer up (and back down) a 10% grade for a couple miles at 9700' elevation, and you'll bring most half tonners to their knees.  Out here, spare capacity is your friend.  My trailer is 7800 lbs gross, and we travel fairly close to it.  I'm 2500/3500 Cummins shopping as we speak.....
 
We're retuning from an 11,000 mile trip.  Florida to Oregon, Washington, and return. 

We bought a new, 2012, Dodge RAM 2500 diesel truck before we left.  That truck has made this trip not only possible, but pleasurable!  My 1500 half ton Hemi could NOT have done the job on the long steep grades. 

And if you get the ST, not the fancier ones, you can actually get a 2500 diesel truck for less than a fancied up 1500!  We don't have power seats, or a nav system, or leather seats... But you should see us pull our 5th wheel up 5% grades without downshifting!  1500 RPM in tow/haul all the way to the top! :)

Much better milage as well.  Today I did 250 miles, and averaged 14.5 MPG.  That's a good 40% better than my gas engined truck.
 
hoddinron said:
And if you get the ST, not the fancier ones, you can actually get a 2500 diesel truck for less than a fancied up 1500!  We don't have power seats, or a nav system, or leather seats... But you should see us pull our 5th wheel up 5% grades without downshifting!  1500 RPM in tow/haul all the way to the top! :)
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Yep, the 2013 ST's with the Cummins can be had for right around $40K here.  That's a lot of truck for the money.  I'll probably go with an SLT Lone Star to get a few more of the creature comforts and the trailer brake controller, but really, even the ST is very well equipped.  I like the look of the Laramie interior, but I can't stand leather seats...too hot in the summer, too cold in the winter. 

I'm about researched out on Ram 2500's.  I need to sell my old pickup and sock away another $5K and I'm ready to pull the trigger....hopefully by January when the deals are happening....
 
Friend of mine has a Ford  1/2 ton with eco-boost. He's fine driving around Michigan and the annual trip to Florida. But one year he went to Lynchburg Virginia. He said NEVER AGAIN.!! His engine was revving up very high RPM's going up the mountains (top speed 35 MPH) and his brakes were real hot coming down. He pulled off and let the brakes cool off and continued on.
A 3/4 ton truck will handle what you're new trailer.
Happy trails,
 
BillB800si said:
His engine was revving up very high RPM's going up the mountains (top speed 35 MPH) and his brakes were real hot coming down. He pulled off and let the brakes cool off and continued on.
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Out here in the big mountains, he would have been in real trouble.
 
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