Half Ton Towable

FLMikeG said:

Generally speaking, 1/2 ton truck - no more than a single axle TT. If it has dual axles, it's likely too heavy or right on the borderline.

I drive a Ford F150, V8. Pulling a 17-ft TT that weighs right around 2000 pounds. I barely know it's back there when I am towing it and I like it that way. 

Click to expand...

Sorry but you cannot compare a 17 yr old 1/2 ton f150 to a 2017 1/2 ton f150  apples and oranges. Yes there are lots of trailers that are 1/2 ton towable BUT as others have said you need to match them up. Yes a 3/4 ton will give you a billion more options and a 1 ton a billion more

Yup, one's made of Detroit steel. The other is made of aluminum, plastic, and fiberglass. 

FLMikeG said:

Generally speaking, 1/2 ton truck - no more than a single axle TT. If it has dual axles, it's likely too heavy or right on the borderline.

I drive a Ford F150, V8. Pulling a 17-ft TT that weighs right around 2000 pounds. I barely know it's back there when I am towing it and I like it that way. 

Click to expand...

Generally speaking there is nothing in general. The ratings for a specific truck are all that matter.

My utility trailer has dual axles. That gives me two more brakes. I load it up and it weighs about 6800 lbs.

My 1500 is rated for over 8000 lbs towing with a GCVW of 13,500.

With gas, passenger and some stuff, the truck and 6800 lb trailer is under the max GCVW and under axel ratings and under tire ratings.
However, at 65 mph the gas milage stinks.
Also, hills (mountains ) are really annoying.

Next truck, 3500 ctd.

We tow a Winnie Drop with a Nissan Frontier 4x4 Crew Cab. The Drop fully loaded is rated at 3800lbs. The Frontier max payload is 1368lbs, well over a 1/2 ton payload rating. There's a sticker inside the door that indicates you have to subtract 198lbs from payload due to options added. I am now down to 1170lbs. Still more than 1/2 ton. After all calculations I have concluded the Frontier can tow a TT with a fully loaded weight of 5400lbs. That gives me a 1600lb buffer with Drop. I think I can go up to a unit with a 4000lb dry weight and still tow quite comfortably. That gives me 1400lbs for "stuff". We are mostly weekend and at the most 3-4 days campers so do not carry much with us.

We just returned from a trip to Winnebago factory in Indiana for some warranty work. Truck did a great job. We averaged 11 mpg towing.

I have searched and read multiple forums over the last few weeks. I hope my situation helps others out there and educates a few. I have a 2014 Dodge RAM, 5.7L with towing package which includes 120L gas tank, 3.92 rear axle ratio. I recently purchased a 29BH dry weight 6400 LBS, plus gear, etc. 7500 LBS. I use a Blue OX anti-sway bar, and Tekonsha Primus IQ Brake Control which has double axle brake settings and manual over ride. I enable the TOW button in the truck to engage the gearing for towing and away I went on a 6 hr drive up\down hills, and border mountain climbs there and back another 6hrs. This is what I noticed, 20L/100KM-5.2GAL/62 miles for averages, no issues when I maintained a speed under 90km/hr - 55miles/hr. Truck has more then enough power to take off and seemed just fine cruising 70-90km/hr. I am not a novice to pulling around alot of trailer weight, so I made used of the electronic brake manual over-ride if I felt any sway, and to save my truck brakes working on downhills, used it there too. Most people would agree I think with the situation up to that point. Now my issue came in, sway, loose rear end feeling anything over 90km/55miles to keep up with the rest of the traffic going at speed limits or above. I had to maintain the course with my speed and let the world pass me by sticking to my feelings on how my truck felt to me. This is the biggest point I have for anyone, know your limits and your truck and how it feels when you pull something before you get a TT. My issue has a quick solution in my opinion, HD springs, AIR BAGS or both....so I opted to install Air Ride 5000 LBS airbags in the rear of my RAM last week to help with the tongue weight causing rear pull feeling. 35 lbs of air pressure lifts that TT like nothing, so I feel confident it will correct the issue. My next step is, most general people know STOCK is just that, STOCK... so for another $300, I will likely invest in rear HD springs from TUF TRUCK that can handle +50% load ..ie better springs. If I had a FORD, the rear is a leaf spring, the solution there would have been add a another leaf helper for tongue weight concerns.  Hope this helps similar people! Keep RVing all!

air bags do nothing to increase payload and if your driving a Ram with the rear coilovers you get a great ride but the payload including passengers is less than 1400 lbs in most cases

Also I am not looking to increase payload but flatten out the ride itself and take more pressure off those rear coils.

This is exactly why I went with a 1 ton diesel. These problems are not problems anymore.

RVFixer

Thank you for a well written, well researched "rant" on ? ton trucks.  Yes, SOME ? ton trucks are very capable tow vehicles. Most are not.  As you so well documented, many folks have no idea what their REAL tow capacity is or how much their camper weighs.  EXCELLENT POINTS!

Back when I was a boy in the Eisenhower administration, a ? ton truck had a 1,000# payload.  A 1 ton truck had a 2,000# payload.  Over time, pickup trucks got bigger motors, better suspensions - and increased payload ratings to meet or beat the competition.  Over time ...  you get to where we are today.  There is one specific F150 configuration with a 3,000# (1 ? TON!) payload.

Here is where the ad gurus get their data.  F150, for example, comes in 3 cab styles, 3 bed lengths, 2 drive systems (2WD / 4WD), 3 motors and 2 or 3 rear end choices.  3 cab X 3 bed X 2 drive X3 motors X2 rear = OVER 100 UNIQUE CONFIGURATIONS.  Note not all configurations are available, but you get the point.

Engineers set specific GVWR and GCWR for each configuration.  From this, ASSUMING BASE MODEL, NO OPTIONS, base weights are determined, then Payload and Max tow capacity calculated.  These charts are prepared, and marketing picks THE BIGGEST PAYLOAD for any configuration and THE BIGGEST MAX TOW for any configuration, then go to press!!

The ad may read, "The new F150 has a payload of 3,000#"  Not ALL F150, but since there is one, we can claim it!  As RVFixer noted, you will rarely find one like that on the lot, but it is made.

Same for Max Tow.  The ad may read, "The F150 can tow up to 17,500#" with video of a 4WD CC Platinum towing a trailer.  Now, THAT truck can not haul that load, but they do make one that can!

Buyer Beware!  Salesmen may not lie on purpose, but they are often far from the truth.

Felt good to get that off my chest!