Ready to buy but need some reassurance or reality check

[JanF]

I've decided to buy a new trailer.  I know I should buy used, but I'm in a bad place with my class C and I think a trade in is my easiest out.

It's just me, my husband, one giant and one medium sized dog. To start, until we retire in a few years, it will mostly be long weekends, but eventually much longer trips. We have agreed to a floor-plan that we like. It's a Forest River 274RK.

http://www.forestriverinc.com/rvs/travel-trailers-and-fifth-wheels/cherokee/274RK/695

We were searching for a 27-33 ft.  Several brands have a similar floor-plan, but I like that they moved the fridge more to the center line on this one.  I never understood why they make it impossible to get to the fridge with the slide in! Also like that it has 3 seating areas, 2 of which are across from one another so you don't have to crane your neck to have a conversation.

It says the GVWR is 9980. I have a 2018 F150 with the 3.5 Ecoboost, Max Tow, and they claim it can tow 12,000 lbs.

Can it really tow that much? I bought it for it's tow rating, but I was thinking more around a 7-8000 lb trailer at the time. But we haven't been entirely happy with the smaller ones. I think we would outgrow those very quickly. Any experience with similar models that might be a little lighter?

Many of the salespersons stressed the seamless roof on their models. What brands have those? And is there an advantage to the roofs that are curved? It's really hard to find information on roofs!  Any info you can offer is appreciated!

 

[donn]

Cherokee is a run of the mill brand.  Nothing special.  Curved roof?  All trailers have slopped or curved roofs.  One piece?  Again, most all RVs use what is commonly called rubber roof material.  There are several brands that are uses, but they are all similar.  A rubberized membrain that is glued to a substrait, either plywood or OSB. 
If your upside down on your current RV or otherwise cannot afford it, what makes you think going deeper in debt for abother RV is a good move?  I think you might be better off selling it for whst you can, get your situation in better shape and then consider whether you need/want another one.  After nearly 30 years with RVs we made the decision to sell out and stay home.  Our aituation is probably different as we did it for health reasons, but you have to put priorities ahead of playing.

 

[Gizmo100]

I will start by saying I'm the proud owner of a F 150 and very happy with it's performance. However I'm only pulling about 7000#s. On the 2 inch receiver on my truck ford placed a sticker that tells me my max tow weight. (10500) Also inside the driver's side door is another sticker that tells me the cargo capacity of my truck. (1735 I think). Those are the numbers you are going to need to safely tow.

It's also recommended that you need to allow a little safety margin depending on how far and the routes you may take the trailer. Mountains and or windy areas will have a very negative effect on controlling the trailer.

Personally I think you are taking on a bit more trailer than the truck will handle on longer trips.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

The high tow rating on the EcoBoost F150 makes for some interesting debates.  Remember that the tow rating is typically established using a low utility trailer that is loaded with bricks - not a tall, top heavy RV with a blunt front end.  The wind resistance of the large frontal area is a major load that isn't really accounted for in the top rating (Ford explains this in their Tow Guide).  I think the F150 will move the weight OK, but you may not be all that happy while driving it. I would also expect the engine to be revving fairly high to get the necessary horsepower, something that annoys or even scares some owners.  Personally, I would want a more robust truck with a heavier duty suspension to wrestle a 10,000 lb trailer.

You can review the 2018 Ford Towing Guide at https://www.fleet.ford.com/resources/ford/general/pdf/towingguides/Ford_Linc_18RVTTowGuide_r11_Jan4.pdf.  Page 15 has the frontal area considerations and basically says the F150 can handle 60 sq ft of frontal area. That's a max of about 8.5x8 ft and I suspect that trailer you like exceeds that somewhat. Probably more like 8.5 x 11 ft.

 

[grashley]

If your "bad place" with the class C is financial, trading for something more expensive will only make the situation worse - you increase the debt load.  Hear an echo, Donn?  The solution to money issues is to trade down.  You CAN trade the class C in on a used TT at a dealer.  This may help the situation.  Simply selling the class C is an even better plan.

If the problem is not financial, then your plan may work.  I still suggest used, though.

You will probably be pushing the F150 to its' limit with a 10K# TT.  If these are short trips for now, you may be okay.  I suspect you will want a F250 before you retire and make longer trips.

 

[Chakara]

  As a frame of reference, I just upgraded my 2005 Ram 2500 to a Chevy 3500 dually.  I pull a trailer that is not much heavier than yours.  In my case, the capacity of the truck to hold weight was only 2000lbs.  Dry my trailer puts that much on the truck, plus people and gear and fuel etc.

  Now, did i overkill it - - - absolutely as the Chevy as 4750lbs of "on the truck" weight available. 

  I ran with the old truck since Aug of last year - 3-4 trips and it pulled wonderfully, even with about 1800lbs of weight in a 2nd trailer behind it.  But in the back of my mind was...is this enough.

  I'm not one to hang in the camper and watch TV, but it does happen - - especially with bad weather.  That floorplan has everyone except the person on the back bench seat craning their necks to see the TV.  Not for us, but again, everyone has different needs.  Other than that our trailers are similar. 

http://northwoodmfg.com/arctic-fox-2/arctic-fox-27-5l/

Good luck on your search and I hope you find the perfect 5th wheel for you and yours!

-Kyle

 

[Lou Schneider]

Good luck on your search and I hope you find the perfect 5th wheel for you and yours!

JanF was asking about a travel trailer, not a 5th wheel.  Going to a 5th wheel would likely require an upgraded truck because the higher pin weight of a 5th wheel trailer is likely to exceed the payload and rear axle weight rating of an F150.

A travel trailer usually has a lower hitch weight than a 5th wheel, this combined with a properly set up equalizing hitch to distribute the weight between the truck's front and rear axles will likely keep the payload and axle weights within the F150's capabilities.

 

[JanF]

If your "bad place" with the class C is financial, trading for something more expensive will only make the situation worse - you increase the debt load.  Hear an echo, Donn?  The solution to money issues is to trade down.  You CAN trade the class C in on a used TT at a dealer.  This may help the situation.  Simply selling the class C is an even better plan.

It's not, I just can't get rid of the Class C.  It's been for sale for quite some time, on consignment.  Trading it in will allow me to get into the unit I want and reduce my payments. Win-Win!

 

[Arch Hoagland]

It's not, I just can't get rid of the Class C.  It's been for sale for quite some time, on consignment.  Trading it in will allow me to get into the unit I want and reduce my payments. Win-Win!

I suggest you send a friend to the consignment place pretending to be interested in your class C. 

I did that when I had a trailer for sale at a consignment place and found out they were pushing new RV's and used the consignment RV's to draw people in and then steer them to the new RV's. I took it back and sold it myself.

Have you tried to sell it yourself on Craig's list?

 

[donn]

Price, price, PRICE!
It all about price.  Remember you up against every RV dealer within a hundred miles of you.  If you want it gone drop the price to a point its attractive to prospective buyers.  Trading it in your going to get whosale and thats it.  Anything a dealer offers you likely means he will tack on the difference to your purchase.

 

[JanF]

The UVW is 6742 on the 274RK. I know the GVWR is the important figure, but am I really likely to add an additional 3238 lbs of weight?  I thought they usually said to figure an additional 1500-2000? 8742 lbs is much closer to what I was looking for.

 

[JanF]

found out they were pushing new RV's and used the consignment RV's to draw people in
Have you tried to sell it yourself on Craig's list?

This particular shop only sells used RV's so I'm okay there.  I do think he had it priced too high, so I called him and asked him to drop it another $4000. I know he wants something for his time and effort, but I told him if I have to trade it in on a new one he won't get anything.

I haven't tried to sell it myself as it needed some repairs, so I had it in their shop and it went from there to their consignment area.  I did have it at Camping World prior to that and they had it sold, but found it was delaminated in a couple of places.  I had the repairs done at this other shop and it's been there every since.

 

[JanF]

I will start by saying I'm the proud owner of a F 150 and very happy with it's performance. However I'm only pulling about 7000#s. On the 2 inch receiver on my truck ford placed a sticker that tells me my max tow weight. (10500) Also inside the driver's side door is another sticker that tells me the cargo capacity of my truck. (1735 I think). Those are the numbers you are going to need to safely tow.

I like mine too, though I suspect the other response about upgrading before we start our long distance hauling is correct.
We seem to have the same truck, yet mine says:
3.5L EcoBoost V6 HP - 375@5,000  Torque - 470 lb. ft.@3,500
Max tow - 13,200
Max payload - 3,230

Do you know why the difference?

And thank you all for the advice and comments!

 

[grashley]

Max tow is advertising claiming they make a model that can tow a 13,200# load of bricks. (max trailer wt)
Payload is similar - they make a truck that can carry 3230# in the truck - bed + hitch wt + passengers + other stuff in the cab

You need to find the yellow border placard on the driver door latch pillar.  That is the actual payload for YOUR truck.  The total of the hitch wt, the weight of all passengers and cargo and the weight of the WD hitch (80#) can not exceed this number.  Use 10% - 12% of actual trailer wt for the hitch wt.

It seems folks rarely purge their campers of unused stuff, so you may start at only 1500# of cargo in the camper, but it will slowly creep up.  This camper does have a generous CCC, which is a good thing.  However, to your point, you do not have to load it that heavily, but you can.  If you are diligent, you can certainly keep the camper to the lower weight.

 

[Gizmo100]

Max tow is advertising claiming they make a model that can tow a 13,200# load of bricks. (max trailer wt)
Payload is similar - they make a truck that can carry 3230# in the truck - bed + hitch wt + passengers + other stuff in the cab

You need to find the yellow border placard on the driver door latch pillar.  That is the actual payload for YOUR truck.  The total of the hitch wt, the weight of all passengers and cargo and the weight of the WD hitch (80#) can not exceed this number.  Use 10% - 12% of actual trailer wt for the hitch wt.

It seems folks rarely purge their campers of unused stuff, so you may start at only 1500# of cargo in the camper, but it will slowly creep up.  This camper does have a generous CCC, which is a good thing.  However, to your point, you do not have to load it that heavily, but you can.  If you are diligent, you can certainly keep the camper to the lower weight.

I like mine too, though I suspect the other response about upgrading before we start our long distance hauling is correct.
We seem to have the same truck, yet mine says:
3.5L EcoBoost V6 HP - 375@5,000  Torque - 470 lb. ft.@3,500
Max tow - 13,200
Max payload - 3,230

Do you know why the difference?

And thank you all for the advice and comments!

I can only guess.........
We have the XLT package on a crew cab. this will take away from from the total payload. I think we also have a few other options that may reduce our capacity

 

[JanF]

Thank you all! I ended up buying a 2019 Jay Flight 29RKS this past weekend. Dry weight 6,895, GVWR 9,500, CCC 2,605.

I will be taking a weekend trip just an hour away for a horse show in a couple of weeks to try it out.  Haven't camped since my Mom had a stroke in early 2017, so feels like we're starting over.  Time to go back to the library and print out a few of those checklists.

Anything I should have known but didn't before buying a Jay Flight?

 

[grashley]

DON'T BUY IT!!  HORRID CAMPER!!

Just kidding.  April Fools a day late.  You should be okay with that setup.  Obviously, you need a WD hitch and brake controller  ;D

 

[JanF]

DON'T BUY IT!!  HORRID CAMPER!!

You had me for a sec! 
They are installing a Recurve R6 WD hitch with sway control. Someone recommended it, so hoping it does the job and isn't a nightmare to use.
Added: A brake controller came installed on the truck.

 

[grashley]

If I got you for only a sec, I did my job  ;D