You big trailer guys have stones!

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BigSkyTrailerGuy

BigSkyTrailerGuy

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Joined
Mar 4, 2014
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Big Sky Country
I was just reading another post about the guy pulling a 27' with a Toyota Forerunner.

I'm apparently becoming a coward in these, my "dessert years"... (and I'm not even 60 yet!) but even pulling a light 16" hybrid with my 97 Tahoe keeps me  "white-knuckling" my way down the highway.  While I've had no bad experiences, I'm inherently cautious I guess.  Overly so?  I just want to get my bride and me to the lake safely, and in a semi-relaxed state.

Then a pickup, pulling a 5th wheel which in turn is pulling a ski boat flashes by me in the fast lane doing 77.

In my book, you 25'+ trailer-hauling guys have stones. 

Sorry, not much point to this post, I guess.
 
I tow a 30' TT which grosses at just under 8000 lbs.  I towed it for 2 years with a 1989 F250 gas.  While it did the job and was technically within specs, I just bought a 2014 Ram 2500 Cummins, if that tells you anything.  I barely know it's back there with the new truck.  I'm a big believer in truck overkill when towing a conventional trailer.  Staying at 55 mph is a good idea with any trailer....tires are only rated to 65, and maxing them out is what leads to blowouts.

With either truck, I get zero sway.  Most handling issues are due to improper set up and loading.  It can get hairy with serious cross winds, but anything over 20 MPH and I hunker down and wait it out.  My last trailer was a fifth wheel and it did tow better, but a properly set up TT behind a stout tow vehicle will tow just fine too.
 
From personal experience, if you have the proper tool for the job it is far less likely you will get hurt using that tool.
There are so many people who for some reason try to tow at or over the maximum with the absolute bare minimum vehicle, and wonder why they are loosing their hair.
 
I pull a 29? bumper-pull toyhauler with my 2010 F-350. Trailer gross weight is just under 12,000. I haven?t weighed it with my ATV in it but I can feel it there. I?ve gone from Utah to California twice without the ATV in it. Occasionally the tail will wag the dog slightly in strong crosswinds or being passed by a semi. It will go 80 mph if I want but I keep it under 65. Driving it down the road doesn?t make me nervous; it?s the clueless drivers that frequently swarm around that worry me.
Years ago a former employer of mine decided to go camping in his very old CJ5 style Jeep pulling a travel trailer pulling a boat trailer. He made it about 5 miles from home and rolled the whole mess turning a corner. Minor injuries only. He was seriously injured a year later in a plane crash.
 
donn said:
There are so many people who for some reason try to tow at or over the maximum with the absolute bare minimum vehicle, and wonder why they are loosing their hair.
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I've never understood that either.  I liken it to trying to tighten a lug nut with a pair of pliers.....
 
I agree.  Buy a truck that's overkill for your trailer so you can tow the next one without buying a new truck.  Also, the Cummins is the way to tow.
 
koski said:
I think the point is, the guy who passed you is a moron!
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Smith said:
Driving it down the road doesn’t make me nervous; it’s the clueless drivers that frequently swarm around that worry me.
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These guys hit the nail on the head. My TT is 32' tip to tail but it's balanced well and I use a good WD hitch with build-in sway control. I'm very comfortable driving it down the road whether it's a narrow 2-laner or a 5-lane interstate. What causes me white knuckles are the pass-me-too-fast RVs & trucks, the pass-me-and-then-cut-in-front-of-me idiots, and my all time favorite the tailgater that thinks I'm leaving too much space after I pass another vehicle so he cuts to the right lane to pass me before I can move over.
 
Joezeppy said:
What causes me white knuckles are the pass-me-too-fast RVs & trucks, the pass-me-and-then-cut-in-front-of-me idiots, and my all time favorite the tailgater that thinks I'm leaving too much space after I pass another vehicle so he cuts to the right lane to pass me before I can move over.
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Amen brother.  These guys give me fits.
 
I agree with all of you. I think the diesel trucks are pushed a little hard here. I tow a 28 ft 7000 gross weight trailer with a f150.  Truck is rated at 9300 max trailer weight. Is it under powered? A little yes, but I don't feel white knuckled pulling it. I see so many 1/2 ton trucks pulling huge travel trailers with no weight distribution hitches,  or ones that are not setup correct it isn't even funny. Last trip I made in 13 I saw a guy dragging his tongue jack on the asphalt. Mind you the campground is fairly level. Whole bed of truck was HEAPED. No wd. Ten minutes later a guy pulls in with a Silverado that the wd bars were hooked on the first link. I was surprised that the back tires were touching the ground!
 
If you live in the mountains, diesel is the only way to go.  If you tow mostly on relatively flat land, a gasser is probably the way to go, as it's tough to justify the extra $8000-10,000 a diesel costs up front.  Those of us who go up 10% grades at 9700' elevation either own a diesel or want one.  Even my old big block wheezed up that high.  There was one stretch between Cloudcroft and Timberon where it was in low gear, to the floor, and at 20 mph.....About the third time I did that, I set my sights on an oil burner....

I see overloaded stuff all the time, and here in the high country, it's flat scary.  About 2005, I saw a guy with what had to be a 40' fifth wheel....three axle monstrosity.  He actually couldn't make it around some of the turns in the campground without backing up and taking three stabs at it.  The next day, I snuck over and looked at the data plate.....18,000 lbs gross.  He was pulling it with a new (at the time) SRW F250 Powerstroke.  The truck squatted badly with the trailer hooked up.  I (politely) asked him if he was aware that he was way overweight....he replied  "no, I'm fine....the guy at the RV dealership said I could pull anything he had".  I replied "let me know when you're leaving....so I can be behind you". He was oblivious.

 
I think the diesel trucks are pushed a little hard here.
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Me too, though I do favor them myself. Many (not all) half tons can handle 5W's up to around 7000 lbs and TT's that are even heavier. A 3/4 or one-ton diesel is going to be superior, but that doesn't mean a half ton gasser is necessarily inadequate. But you have to be a lot more cautious with the specs for a half ton, since it typically will be closer to its max payload and tow rating.

Late model gas engines with 5 or 6 speed automatic transmissions also perform much better at altitude than those of the 80's. They are going to downshift and run the RPMs way up, but they will get you across the mountains well enough.
 
We towed for 2 decades with a gasser in the mountains.  They most certainly will get the job done.  And the modern gassers, particularly with direct injection and better gearing coming on line, are light years ahead of what we had 20 + years ago.  But if the budget will allow it, a diesel will make you much happier, particularly if you like to go where the air is thin....  :)

 
Don't get me wrong. It would love to have a new truck, and it hope the next has a Cummins in it. But where I live it is pretty flat. I would not think twice about it if it lived closer to the mountains or i traveled more than the meager 300 miles towing yearly.
 
(Chip) said:
Don't get me wrong. It would love to have a new truck, and it hope the next has a Cummins in it. But where I live it is pretty flat. If would not think twice about it if it lived closer to the mountains or i traveled more than the meager 300 miles towing yearly.
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Agreed.  If I lived in the flat lands and spent most of my time towing there, I would have bought a gas truck.  Less expensive to buy and maintain, less persnickety, quieter, and more suitable for daily driver duty.
 
After pulling TT's with our old Jeep GC and then the Explorer.... When we moved to the Toy Hauler, I went big for a reason.  I was tired of the Interstate experiences with the trucks and 80mph + panel vans throwing us all over....  Vacation is not supposed to be a stress exercise!  :)  We are now happy with our camping AND tow experience...
 
Still, caution is in order with a big trailer.  I posted another thread....we're calling off our trip to the mountains this week....25 mph sustained, gusts to 40 mph.  Not safe....
 
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