New trailer - enough truck?

[travelin texans]

[QUOTE=mikenannie;125043]Danny, I've always been a fan of Michelins too, but I've never had them on a truck previously. Do you know which tire (MS2, Defender, etc.) you have been using? Thanks[/QUOTE
LTX MS2s. My last truck came with Generals that lasted about 25k. We had to run GY Wranglers on our company trucks & would NEVER buy a set personally. I got almost 40k out of a set of Yokohamas, less than 30k from the Falken (Discount Tires store brand), never tried Goodrich as if I'm going to spend that much I'll get Michelin, & final review is my sons FIL owns a tire store & highly recommends Coopers. So you buy what you want & can afford.

[mark5w]

Still stand by my over priced and over rated opinion. It's not really what I can afford, it's what I believe is a good tire. And to me the Michelin's are not.

[travelin texans]

Meant no offense, just meant everyone has their own opinion. At one time I thought they were overpriced also, now as long as our budget allows I'll buy Michelins.

[mark5w]

No offense taken. Just go by experience. Actually, my tire dealer recommends the Cooper tires over any other also. But, I also go by what the tread pattern looks like. We have to deal with dry and winter snow conditions up here. I prefer the HT tread for towing and depend on the 4 wheel drive for winter when needed.

[mikenannie]

Thanks all. I'll do some more research but leaning toward the Michelins based on my prior experience with them on other vehicles.

[Lloyd]

How did this thread about (enough truck for the trailer) get switched over to tire discussion?
Good thing to keep in mind---if the subject changes, a new thread should be started.

I'm a Goodyear fan myself.

[mikenannie]

Sorry Lloyd. Good conversations tend to wander a bit, but I'll start a new thread next time.

[Vermtown Zinger]

I have been reading through this thread and it keeps coming back to me that there’s been some but not too much discussion about stopping this setup safely. Not trying to cause any issues here, because I have a lot to learn myself, but having been through something similar when we upgraded to a 30’ Zinger and as usual the salesman said we would have no issues pulling it with our Expedition. Now I know, from bad experience, that my Expedition is not a truck and was not designed to really pull this trailer, even though it has the towing package, but the Expedition really did a good job pulling it, as long as there were no cross winds, the straw that broke my back was on a trip home and a gust caught us and I could feel the whole rig lean with a wife and three kids in it with me, I drove 45mph all the way home, thankfully it was a four lane highway on a Sunday evening. Anyways, even with a WD hitch and the tongue weight within the limits of the truck, I always wonder if the weight limits of these ½ ton trucks are getting to high. Stopping, maneuvering, handling high winds, etc., to me there was a reason that ¾ and 1 ton trucks are used on the longer, heavier rigs. I always see a lot of people upgrading their trucks so they better handle the loads, trying to do something that the ¾ and 1 ton trucks are designed to do without modifications. I don’t have much knowledge of the newer trucks and maybe they have been designed better to handle these bigger trailers, and if they are, that’s great, but I know I feel a whole lot better pulling with our Super Duty than I ever did with the Expedition. My two cents worth anyways.

[mikenannie]

Jim you bring up some good points. My current trailer is 6 ft shorter and about a ton lighter (guessing), but I have to say, the F150 handles it very well. My concerns, as you point out, are what happens when I move up in weight and add 6 feet to the overall length?

I see many on the various forum's that I participate in who are towing longer and heavier than I am with essentially my truck. Are they unsafe? Not sure. But I do draw a little confidence from those other campers and assume that at least a few know what they are doing in regards to the weights and safe towing limits of their tow vehicles. That might not be a safe assumption, I don't know.

I also rarely exceed 63 mph when towing and feel comfortable at that speed. I may need to make some adjustments to that with the new trailer. Most comments have suggested upgrades like truck tires with stiffer sidewalls and / or the Roadmaster active suspension system. And some have suggested air bags on my F150.

I'm not sure yet what I want to do. I'll be in need of some new tires in a few months anyhow, so I'm thinking about doing that a little early. I may even be able to sell my old Goodyears via Craigslist and recoup some of my new tire expense. I'm also toying with adding the Roadmaster system to my truck. I can't see that it would hurt my towing capabilities, and for me at least, the cost isn't that big of a issue. I struggle a bit with understanding how that system actually works, but I'm no engineer. But, I also feel like I should at least try to pull the new trailer with a stock truck before making any changes. The jury is still out and my feelings change almost daily

I have a few weeks to decide since our new trailer is on order, but I do appreciate all the feedback I've received here and on other forums (and FB groups).

[Delillo]

Originally Posted by mikenannie

Jim you bring up some good points. My current trailer is 6 ft shorter and about a ton lighter (guessing), but I have to say, the F150 handles it very well. My concerns, as you point out, are what happens when I move up in weight and add 6 feet to the overall length?

I see many on the various forum's that I participate in who are towing longer and heavier than I am with essentially my truck. Are they unsafe? Not sure. But I do draw a little confidence from those other campers and assume that at least a few know what they are doing in regards to the weights and safe towing limits of their tow vehicles. That might not be a safe assumption, I don't know.

I also rarely exceed 63 mph when towing and feel comfortable at that speed. I may need to make some adjustments to that with the new trailer. Most comments have suggested upgrades like truck tires with stiffer sidewalls and / or the Roadmaster active suspension system. And some have suggested air bags on my F150.

I'm not sure yet what I want to do. I'll be in need of some new tires in a few months anyhow, so I'm thinking about doing that a little early. I may even be able to sell my old Goodyears via Craigslist and recoup some of my new tire expense. I'm also toying with adding the Roadmaster system to my truck. I can't see that it would hurt my towing capabilities, and for me at least, the cost isn't that big of a issue. I struggle a bit with understanding how that system actually works, but I'm no engineer. But, I also feel like I should at least try to pull the new trailer with a stock truck before making any changes. The jury is still out and my feelings change almost daily

I have a few weeks to decide since our new trailer is on order, but I do appreciate all the feedback I've received here and on other forums (and FB groups).

Mike,
I can tell you that what Jim says above is true. Spent my career in the auto industry. The advertised max tow rating means the truck will pull that much HOWEVER, it doesn't take into account the many factors that can, and will affect your safety while doing it. My previous TT was a 35 ft Heartland Wilderness that weighed out at close to 8300 lbs loaded. My eco-boost would pull it without breathing hard however even with the spring winds we get in this neck of the woods, it was a chore to keep it between the lines at 60 MPH. 35 feet of flat sided trailer is a lot to control. It was also a SOB to get in and out of gas stations as most of them here have the pumps perpendicular to the store, not allowing a large turning radius. We got rid of it and our current SS26 is 5 feet shorter and 1000 lbs lighter. It may not seem like a lot but it made a HUGE difference in the control and manuevering of the unit. I would not get anything longer than that in the future.

[mikenannie]

Thanks Nick. We actually would have bought something shorter had a Grand Reserve floor plan been available that fit our needs. I never thought we would have a 26 ft (30 ft OA) trailer a few years ago, but not many options in the current Grand Reserve. For all the reasons you mentioned, I really didn't plan to pull anything even this long But, we wanted a couch or somewhere other than the dinette for seating on those spring / fall days when the weather isn't so wonderful. And my wife is planning to retire in about 3 years so we will be taking some longer trips!

If we ever, and I doubt it now, go any larger, we will need a bigger truck (3/4 ton).

[Delillo]

Ha!

You sound just like me! We also wanted a couch and my wife needed a kitchen area with some usable space.

If we ever went bigger, it woukd be a fifth wheel with a Super Duty.

[mikenannie]

Originally Posted by Delillo

...

If we ever went bigger, it woukd be a fifth wheel with a Super Duty.

Exactly. 5th Wheels seems to have grown a ton in popularity over the past few years so that would certainly be an option.

[Lloyd]

Originally Posted by Lloyd

You must have max pay and max tow by the sounds of your numbers. If that's the case I think you will be fine.
If you do find that the tail is wagging the dog once in awhile, then I would suggest you invest in a Hensley or Pro-Pride.

As you get closer to ownership----remember the above.

[travelin texans]

In the last 9 years we've towed a 5er very near or over 100k & have seen numerous combinations of vehicles & trailers that scared the hell out me & I can't imagine how the drivers were able to stop it or even control it in even the slightest cross winds.
Also the fuel stops brought up, I've got a 40' 5er & can fit in any truck stop for diesel while traveling (I prefer to find fuel after we park & unhook if possible), but those towing 30'+ trailers with gasoline trucks that has to be nightmare at 95% of the stations trying to maneuver around all the pumps, cars & people.

[mikenannie]

Originally Posted by Lloyd

As you get closer to ownership----remember the above.

I have the Max Tow, but not max pay. My payload per the door sticker is 1786 I believe. Max pay was only available with the longer bed and unfortunately, that wouldn't fit in my garage

[Lloyd]

[QUOTE=Lloyd
If you do find that the tail is wagging the dog once in awhile, then I would suggest you invest in a Hensley or Pro-Pride.[/QUOTE]


Sorry Mike. I wasn't clear enough with my previous post.
I was referring to this part of my post.