Uneasy about towing this trailer

[SeilerBird]

Why not pay cash for something like this:

https://www.pplmotorhomes.com/used-rvs-for-sale/travel-trailer/2017-keystone-summerland-mini_rv-39241

 

[Kiddco]

We're going back on forth on what we'll do if her bank disapproves.  The purpose of getting an RV was to save money by not renting apartments every-time we move and spending the associated moving costs.  If it gets to the point of spending X amount of money on a trailer we aren't in love with then it may just not be worth it.

There's another trailer we found that the girl really likes and is just at the realm of possibly for purchasing outright.

https://www.quietwoodsrvjanesville.com/product/new-2019-forest-river-rv-wildwood-x-lite-241qbxl-915054-29

 

[marcortez]

I would seriously consider consulting a lawyer about the bank deal, where a legal resident of these United States, is stereotyped into a likely scofflaw,based on the "wilderness" factor.

It is against Federal law for lending institutions, who are insured by the US Government, to discriminate based on age, religion, creed, gender and very possibly State of residence.

Banks can up the interest rate of a loan based on "risk" factors, but to flat out deny a loan based on a State of residence is over the top shakey.

Win that case.......bingo.......a NEW truck/camper........sans any loans.

Just sayin....

 

[QZ]

Not bad for $15000 compared to an apt. There is a wide range of opinions and what each person is comfortable with towing. We give opinions based on on our own experience but you are not us. You might be able to put up with an "undesirable" towing experience since it's just to get you from point A to point B.

You would be maxed out but you aren't touring the Rockies. Could you find a similar sized load that you could pull with your truck to see how it pulls? You might pay someone on CL if you could test pull their TT. Place the ad in wanted or in the RV section. The only difference might be in not having a wdh while doing it.  I'd far prefer most rv parks to an apt. If you junked it after 5 years  $15000 divided by 60 months is $250 a month plus park rental at about $400 is $650 a month plus electric at about$100 $750.

More realistic is that the RV is still worth at least 5k to 7 k. Depending on the distance that your job travels take you could you pay someone to haul it? That may not be practical but could let you buy a much bigger used rig. New or used you should be handy at diy stuff or this could be frustrating and expensive to call an RV replair place all the time. Even if you buy new look closely for water damage. 

You don't want to be dangerous or end up on YouTube with your rig hanging off an overpass but you might do other mods to help the truck such as springs, ties etc. It doesn't change the specs of the truck but you wouldn't be the first guy on this forum or any other to make things work for their situation.

 

[RVRAC]

I don?t think you will have an enjoyable experience with either truck specially in the PA mountains. But it seems your mindset is clear.

 

[RVRAC]

I meant either TT.

 

[Gods Country]

You don't  tow travel trailers with tiny trucks, unless they're tear drop type trailers, or pop up's.

I didn't see where the OP mentioned the trucks payload.


I have a friend with a similar size trailer and his Nissan Titan could barely move it on hills without screaming the engine.
Not to mention the the sail effect on a small truck.

You need more truck, or a start looking at much smaller trailers, like an Rpod or similar.

Trust me, you're in over your head with this.

 

[SpencerPJ]

Trust me, you're in over your head with this.

He's been warned.  :-\

 

[grashley]

Agree with comments above, but if you want to go forward, can YOU buy the camper, leaving her name out of the deal, since Alaska is the problem?  Also would strongly suggest looking at gently used and pay cash.  Then you can really save money!!!

 

[jboczek]

I have a 23MK trailer that I pull with a Ram 1500, 6600 lb. GVWR, 1600 lb. cargo capacity. My tongue weight is right around 700 lbs. ready to go camping. It's as big a trailer that I would want to pull with that truck, and we really don't go more than about 50 miles from home with it. Your truck probably isn't enough for that trailer, but it should be OK with your second choice.

 

[Kiddco]

Okay, so the GVWR of my truck is 5,690Lb according to the sticker, minus 198 pounds for installed equipment.  The truck itself is 4,343 pounds.
So 5,690Lbs - 4,343Lbs - 198Lbs - 175Lbs (my weight) - 176Lbs (full tank of gas) = Carry capacity of 798Lbs for the hitch.

The TT we picked out has a tongue weight of 500Lbs with another 100Lbs for the weight distributing hitch (we picked out a Blueox Sway Pro).
798Lbs - 600Lbs leaves us with 200Lbs of capacity leftover with the TT installed.  Not a whole lot of room there, but under the limit.

The truck itself is rated to pull 6,100Lbs according to the user manual from inside the vehicle. 
The trailer we decided on weighs 4,173Lbs.

The manual also states the total Gross Shared Weight between the truck, occupants, luggage, and trailer is 11,230Lbs.
11,230 - 4,892 - 4,173 = 2,165Lbs leftover.  This is just under 20% of max load.

The biggest thing which makes me nervous is the length, which is just under 27 feet.

There is a state weight station on the way back from the dealership, I'm going to double check numbers to be certain.

The trailer will be bone dry without a single item in it, and my truck will also be bare except for me and a drink or two.
Yeah I'm pushing the limits of my truck, and I understand that.  We'll be going slow and being as safe as possible. 

Link to the TT we are in the process of purchasing: https://www.quietwoodsrvjanesville.com/product/new-2019-forest-river-rv-wildwood-x-lite-241qbxl-915054-29

 

[Gods Country]

The biggest thing which makes me nervous is the length, which is just under 27 feet.

Ignoring others issues, I would go with that instinct.

You pull a 27 foot anything with that truck......well you're crazy  IMO.

Anybody telling you otherwise is reckless.

This isn't internet bravado talking.

It's experience.

Don't believe me.  Here's a test.


Go fill that truck with a load of rocks, sand, bricks, whatever.  Close to the weight you  will be hauling.  It will be lower, more forward, and more stable than the trailer your pulling.  Drive around for a day.  Pull big hills.  Get up to 65 and take some good turns.  After you change your undies report back.

That trailer is going to be harder to control than the loaded bed.  Oh it will brake better, and pull a bit easier.  Wait until some dumb ass cuts you off on the interstate ( that will take about 30 minutes) and you need to rely on the trucks ability beyond what you  think yo need. 

I'm not trying to scare you.
I'm trying to get you to realize that is far more to pulling a trailer than pulling a trailer.

Your Nissan isn't up to the task that you want.

 

[Oldgator73]

As I said in a previous post, I have the same truck- 2016 Nissan Frontier 4x4 crew cab. The brochure does say the tow cap is 6100. That is not our tow cap. I ran the numbers and came up with roughly 5400lbs. My wife said she would like to have a little bigger TT. To make things simple, since payload, tow capacity, etc is not simple, I told my wife we had to keep the new TT to no more than 4000lbs dry weight and preferably no more than 23 feet long. Otherwise we would have to purchase a larger truck or go to a 2500 or 3500 cargo van.

 

[Bratton316]

Just wanted to see if you purchased it and how it pulls? My tow weight is only about 1500 more than you have.

 

[Kiddco]

Here's the update:

The fiancee and I just pulled into the RV park about an hour ago.  We did buy the trailer which is just shy of 27 feet

My experience pulling it was mostly positive.  We drove from an hour west of Chicago to Tampa Florida
  Ot took us 3 days going 55-60mph traveling about 8 hours a day or so.  Traveling at 50-55 was comfortable and 60 was okay on the long flats. 

As far as power was concerned, the truck handled it like a champ.  The amount of weight I was hauling was comfortable and going up mountains was a piece of cake.  I think I only went over 3200rpms once.  Most of the flat terrain I was cruising at 1800rpm or so at 55mph with overdrive disabled.

The worst part of the trip was a small wind storm that I felt was blowing me a bit too much.  Luckily it only lasted about an hour and things went back to being okay.  Even so, just slowing down helped a bunch.  As far as semis go, they can definitely be felt, but were manageable.  I wouldn't recommend riding in the middle lane though with semis pulling from both sides.

So with all that said, my honest opinion after pulling the trailer for 1300 miles is that the truck has the power to pull the weight of the load, but is not large enough to comfortably pull a 27 foot trailer.  I wouldn't want to do another 1300 miles with this same setup, but for trips under 100-200 miles, it can be done safely if you watch your speed.

 

[grashley]

Thanks for the update!  Glad you made it safely.

For future readers, allow me to highlight a few points.

It took 3 days, driving 8 hours a day.  You need the break!

He kept the speed down to 55 - 60 mph.  No 75 mph down the interstate!!!!

When it got windy, he slowed down to stay safe.

He still feels a bigger truck would be better!!

 

[IBTripping]

I'm new to this forum, but thought I'd toss out possible options to consider. I spend a lot of time looking on Craigslist for low mileage older V8 trucks and SUVs to use as a towing vehicle. I found that there are a lot of them. It appears that a lot of owners want newer vehicles with a lot of bells and whistles. Thus, there are a lot of bargains on if you are willing to go without all the great technology that's available on newer vehicles. On modern engines, 100,000 miles is low mileage. It might not be too expensive to sell your small truck and buy a more appropriate vehicle with a V8 and a higher tow weight rating.

My other thought is, to do what you can to beef up your small truck. There are some things you can do to increase the hp, but not by much and there is a substantial cost (cold air intake, improved exhaust system, tuning chip). However, you might instead consider upgrading your shocks/struts to handle a heavy load. You might also consider whether air bags on the rear springs would help. Air bags are inexpensive and easy to install. Those suspension improvements may make your truck ride more rigid than you like without a load, but should make for an improved towing experience.

It probably goes without saying, but just in case........  It is critical that you have a good quality weight distribution with sway control hitch system that is designed for the tongue and trailer weights that you'll be towing.

Best wishes on your new adventure. Please keep the forum updated on what strategies you decide work the best for you and your significant other.

 

[Rob&Deryl]

I'm new to this forum, but thought I'd toss out possible options to consider. I spend a lot of time looking on Craigslist for low mileage older V8 trucks and SUVs to use as a towing vehicle. I found that there are a lot of them. It appears that a lot of owners want newer vehicles with a lot of bells and whistles. Thus, there are a lot of bargains on if you are willing to go without all the great technology that's available on newer vehicles. On modern engines, 100,000 miles is low mileage. It might not be too expensive to sell your small truck and buy a more appropriate vehicle with a V8 and a higher tow weight rating.

My other thought is, to do what you can to beef up your small truck. There are some things you can do to increase the hp, but not by much and there is a substantial cost (cold air intake, improved exhaust system, tuning chip). However, you might instead consider upgrading your shocks/struts to handle a heavy load. You might also consider whether air bags on the rear springs would help. Air bags are inexpensive and easy to install. Those suspension improvements may make your truck ride more rigid than you like without a load, but should make for an improved towing experience.

It probably goes without saying, but just in case........  It is critical that you have a good quality weight distribution with sway control hitch system that is designed for the tongue and trailer weights that you'll be towing.

Best wishes on your new adventure. Please keep the forum updated on what strategies you decide work the best for you and your significant other.

While upgrading shocks and adding air bags may make it ride better, it does not increase the rear axel capacity nor the wheel & tire capacity. After the crash you may wish you had the right truck.

 

[grashley]

While upgrading shocks and adding air bags may make it ride better, it does not increase the rear axel capacity nor the wheel & tire capacity. After the crash you may wish you had the right truck.

ABSOLUTELY CORRECT!!