Pulling Campers... BE CAREFUL!!!!

[Tod osier]

This brings up something that I have thought a lot about driving around Colorado this summer seeing hundreds of trailers being towed with not even 1/2 tons, but small trucks and midsized SUV’s. My wife’s suv has a tow hitch on it and wouldnt dream of hooking anything up to that unless it’s maybe a drift boat or a utility trailer, never a 21’ or any RV trailer!

I drive an f150 and do have a RV trailer that I tow it with, but I feel like it’s welllll within the acceptable weight and size of what a 1/2 should be towing. It’s a 18’ trailer that weights 3,200 pounds dry, I’m sure fully loaded in at 4,000 or so. My f150 with the max tow and the 3.5 eco boost, Ford gives it a tow rating if I think 12k pounds, so I know people out there buy a truck like mine then buy these long and heavy 8-9k trailers thinking they are well within spec, so they’re fine.

Back to my question and thought....What do you guys feel the Acceptable % of your tow rating to be used on a dry trailer weight is? IE...if you have a 10k tow rating, should you never go over 50%? 35%? Or is it higher? I feel like some standardized “dry weight percent of tow capacity” rating would help people understand that it’s not just pulling, but stopping, and controlling the load that’s the much more important part. Especially all the new uninformed folks out today trying to recreate outside.

For me for a 1/2 ton, I like 1/2 capacity max as a starting point. A big issue is that a lot of people don't actually look at all the things they can exceed. On a half ton, it is easy to be within the tow rating, but exceed the payload capacity of the truck. Tow a 5K trailer with a 10K truck tow rating, sounds like now biggie, but that 5K trailer has at least a 500 pound tongue weight. Add a topper to the truck, passengers and gear in the bed and you easily exceed the payload and the rear axle rating.

 

[Buffinnut]

Yes payload is usually the first thing you exceed ESPECIALLY on 3/4 ton diesels. People don't realize this but a lot of them have about the same payload as a half ton. The truck weighs 8,000+ and has a 10k gvwr. Add gear and a truck full of people and you can't tow pretty much any 5th wheel and even a lot of bumper pulls will put you over ratings. It is possible to find 3/4 tons with the higher gvwr package but your best bet is to go 1 ton srw minimum if you will be towing anything decent size and dually for 35ft+ 5th wheels or giant bumper pulls. Those give you 14,000lbs of gvwr to work with and therefore approximately 5000lbs of payload.
That's not even mentioning the benefits of the dual rear wheels for stability and if you have a blowout on the rear axle
I bought a 2017 SRW f350 powerstroke new thinking I was good to go for anything and ended up with a 5th wheel that puts me way over the trucks 11,500lb GVWR and just over RAWR with a 16k fully loaded 5th wheel.
I'm well within "tow capacity" but those numbers are unicorns and rainbows.

Tow capacity can only be reached if you have the perfect set up as to not exceed any other of the trucks ratings. You need an empty base model truck because heated electric seats and power rear sliding windows and panoramic moonroofs and all that crap add weight to the truck, which limits your capability.

Then you need a trailer with extremely low tongue or pin weight %.

In real life you will not get anywhere near "tow capacity" without exceeding multiple other ratings.

My 5th wheel has 23% pin weight so at 16,000 lbs that's 3700lbs in the bed of the truck.

People don't think about the physics and what is actually happening.

Don't even get me started on tires. 95% of people don't know what they are rated for and hook up a 5th wheel to a 2500 and are over payload /gvwr, rear axle rating AND their rear tires ratings. Who wants a blowout on the rear axle at 25,000 lbs gross? I don't

 

[rayporter]

and so few actually run their rig across as set of scales to know wt. they just guess or take the vehicle tags as gospel..

 

[Buffinnut]

and so few actually run their rig across as set of scales to know wt. they just guess or take the vehicle tags as gospel..

This . Cat scale is easy and cheap and it's way easier to get diesel at the truck stop pulling a trailer anyways.

 

[Fatcamp]

LOL. Bumper pull.

#tandempullmasterclass

 

[woods89]

all the half ton questions-----------theres your answer.

seriously i see lots of three quarter tonners pulling way too big trailers all the time with the same attitude. it can pull it. i dont have any trouble. when you see a tri axle toy hauler or a six horse trailer with a three quarter ton pulling it they are gambling.

Yes, indeed.

My former boss had a 20,000 lb Skytrack telehandler. He bought a tandem axle dual wheel gooseneck and proceeded to pull it with a 3/4 ton longbed 4 door. Total rig weight was around 35,000 lbs. It would pull it alright. A couple of us kind of warned him that he was overloaded. One morning I was following him in my personal truck on a 2 lane highway. He came around a corner and there was a school bus stopped in his lane. He wound up stopped alongside the schoolbus in the oncoming lane. Thank goodness he didn't hit anybody.

He still pulls it with a 3/4 ton today, so I guess the lesson wasn't learned. In my opinion, he needed a 1 ton dually at a minimum. But he didn't like how duallys "looked.''

 

[BigDawgWill44]

I live in Oregon and see this all the time. Too many guys pulling 35’ trailers with 1/2 ton trucks. Got duped by the sales guy “hey it’s light weight and a 1/2 ton model, you are fine.” Too much weight and too long of trailer being pulled by the wrong truck.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Finch]

So I leave Monday for Colorado with the family. I'll be pulling our 2,000 lb popup with my Tundra. I bought new tires (Carisle Radial Trails 10ply - great reviews). I'll have two spares - one of which is mounted to a rim on the back of the trailer and the other is just the tire only -existing spare but still good shape). My wheel bearings checked to be good and I recently repacked with grease. Made sure to grease my ball and trailer coupler too. I feel like I've covered all bases.

One question though. I've always read/heard that you shouldn't really exceed 65mph while towing. I don't plan on doing anything crazy anyway but the tires I have are rated for 81 mph. I don't want to poke along while heading out there but obviously don't want to have any issues arise due to excessive speeds. Do you guys typically take it easier while towing?

 

[Buffinnut]

If your tires are rated for it and you are that light/low profile drive however you feel comfortable.

 

[Billy Goat]

So I leave Monday for Colorado with the family. I'll be pulling our 2,000 lb popup with my Tundra. I bought new tires (Carisle Radial Trails 10ply - great reviews). I'll have two spares - one of which is mounted to a rim on the back of the trailer and the other is just the tire only -existing spare but still good shape). My wheel bearings checked to be good and I recently repacked with grease. Made sure to grease my ball and trailer coupler too. I feel like I've covered all bases.

One question though. I've always read/heard that you shouldn't really exceed 65mph while towing. I don't plan on doing anything crazy anyway but the tires I have are rated for 81 mph. I don't want to poke along while heading out there but obviously don't want to have any issues arise due to excessive speeds. Do you guys typically take it easier while towing?

Nope. If tires are rated for it I'll do it.


Just keep in mind stopping distance at speed with payload.

 

[Finch]

Nope. If tires are rated for it I'll do it.


Just keep in mind stopping distance at speed with payload.

Definitely will especially since the pop up doesn't have brakes. I was actually going to install a new axle just to have brakes (current axle didn't have the brake mounting flanges) but the general consensus was I wouldn't need trailer brakes with that light of a setup and with my truck. thanks.

 

[Billy Goat]

Definitely will especially since the pop up doesn't have brakes. I was actually going to install a new axle just to have brakes (current axle didn't have the brake mounting flanges) but the general consensus was I wouldn't need trailer brakes with that light of a setup and with my truck. thanks.

Brakes always help, biggest thing is driving like you have a trailer behind you.

 

[Antarctica]

I have a 1 ton dually under a truck camper, and sometimes, I wish it were stiffer.

 

[*zap*]

Most people drive too fast, follow too close, have the wrong vehicles to tow and just do not pay attention. Glad they did not kill anyone else.

 

[MuleyFever]

I was looking for a toy hauler and went to buy a F250 because I knew I would be at 10k or more fully loaded. The sales person tried to talk me into an F150 because it can tow 10k. I said no thanks.

A month ago we had an SUV pulling about a 30' camp trailer lose it here on the interstate through town. We usually have one a year on a down hill section. The SUV ended up on its roof with the camper on top of the SUV. Luckily no one was hurt and we didnt have to cut anyone out. That job could have taken a while and someone hurt badly could have easily died.

 

[Vossman5]

This is the reason I have my big land yacht that doesn't get driven much. Cclb 2500 but when I need to haul a trailer it's never let me down.

 

[EastMT]

One thing not taken into account is tires. So many 1/2 tons have 4-6 ply on them, especially OEM tires, they put the thinnest, lightest tires on there for performance/MPG. If you are towing heavy with a light truck, I’d buy the HD tires, inflate them like a 3/4 ton, not what the truck sticker says at 35 or what ever, reduce pressure when not hauling.

I just towed 10,000lbs from AK to TX, 4300 miles with a 3/4 ton gasser. Never had a single wobble. I passed a 1/2 ton pulling a camper with it, and he was all over and I thought he was gonna take us both out. I could see his tire sidewalls flexing back and forth.

 

[3forks]

Pick ups are one thing, but I see just as many people towing Inappropriate loads with SUVs and even passenger cars that blow my mind.

 

[Dust Rider]

lots mid sized suvs and cars towing bumper pulls lately since covid outbreak.

 

[FLAK]

All trucks should START at 3/4 ton IMO.