Wheelbase

[oldguy49]

For various reasons I am thinking about replacing my truck with a 150/1500.
Given the general rule that a 30 ft. trailer should be towed with a truck having a 150 inch wheel base what are your thoughts on towing with a truck with a 145/147 inch wheel base.

The trailer is a 30 ft. Catalina toy hauler with a gvw of 7900 lbs. Since I no longer have my Harley the trailer will never again see max weight. Have not yet weighed it but estimate that the weight is about 65/6800 lbs. as 90% of our camping is local with in and hour or two at the most. We usually are on FHs and carry very little water.

Seems that are very few trucks in my area that have a 150+ wheel base along with the neccessary amount of payload so I have begun lookiing at 145/147 inch wheel base trucks.

Any and all opinions are greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[Bigblockyeti]

I know ford for the longest time would sell a 6.5' bed crew cab truck with the max towing package which significantly bumps up the payload on a pretty long wheelbase truck. Extended cab 8' bed 1/2 tons used to be great for towing but GM, Toyota, Nissan & Chrysler have all forgotten what a truck is. They'll all gladly sell you a super high CG compensation mobile for $80K though.

 

[Rosy]

30 ft is pushing it for a 1500, in my opinion, even if it won't be fully loaded. I think 24-27' is the sweet spot for a halfton.

What's your current truck and why are you thinking of replacing it?

 

[oldguy49]

30 ft is pushing it for a 1500, in my opinion, even if it won't be fully loaded. I think 24-27' is the sweet spot for a halfton.

What's your current truck and why are you thinking of replacing it?

When I first got my trailer in 2017 I put close to 10K on it pulling it out west. When we got home we talked about upgrading to a larger trailer that we could possibly make more extended trips. Unfortunatly that never happened, I now have Silverado 2500HD as the daily driver and to be honest the gas milage is killing me. About 11mpg in the city and a 36 gallon tank gets very expensive very fast. Hence the desire to downsize the truck.

I had no problems pulling that trailer thru SD, Wy.,Mt. Utah, Arizona and back home to KY. F150 with 3.5 would and did pull that rig anywhere I wanted to go. Never a bit of sway. But as I said, we were going to go bigger with the rig. Longer and heavier trailer or possibly a small fiver.

Any how, back to the original question regarding wheel base. Any helpful information?

 

[oldguy49]

Son no one has any insight on this?

 

[TheLooks]

There is no replacement for displacement.....don't care what the 3.5 is rated for....and there is no replacement for frame length along with heavier springs and brakes along with stiffer frame. You are going down in truck, and up in length and weight.
Speaking of old guys, I used to get into the coffee shop early back in my younger days and the "old guys" around the table would be talking towing adventures. Many snowbirds from Maine. One guy in particular spoke up and said he had driven about every size truck you could get and figured he could make do with his 1/2 ton Chevy. He did not make it across the US with a group of his retired friends before he traded up in trucks. He knew how to drive, but hanging on for dear life is no fun.

 

[team bradfield]

You need a bigger truck pulling anything with a 1/2 ton is asking for trouble

 

[Kevin D Pem]

By your handle I figured you were old enough to know better than ask people on a forum for opinions!!! You must like abuse.

Let me ask you a question! By the response do you think anyone really reads your question? Or just want to give their opinion?

Wheel base is important but is not a deal breaker!
The difference between 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton in truck weight is negligible when the handling is considered.
The stiffness is an improvement and should be considered.
The tongue weight is the biggest issue. Nothing fairs well when it has to absorb the shock while bottoming out! Yes things brake?

So why go lighter?

Forget gas mileage. Gear ratios, and displacement that increase tow rates, are also what set the gas mileage! Older rigs get worse milage vs newer. So if you do the numbers will better mileage offset rig expenditures? That math determines false economies!!!

I had to get rid of a rig, I had two. One a 1ton the other a 1/2ton. Both had 5.7 engines, one had rating greater by 2000 lbs. Both were within 1mpg of each other. The tow capacity was determined by age, more power was avaliable, and thus the difference in tow capacity.

So I chose the higher capacity truck, the newer one. The one that was closer to pin capacity, the half ton. Bet you weren't expecting that!

Look you get lousy mpg! Most likely due to old technology. Can you upgrade and save 250 a month on fuel? That's the savings in gas between 11 and 18 mpg paying 3.50 a gallon at the pump, if you drive 2000 miles every month. If you buy old technology mileage won't improve that much with truck capacity!

All I am saying is you have to make your own choices. Always consider safety. And remember that opinion! Well everyone is entitled to one!!!! But most are like a bad stink!

 

[Jabber Jaw]

Bigger trailer.....Smaller truck?
Sorry, but what a "contradiction"! And doubtful that you will be very successful with that approach! Most likely, a potential for disaster on the highway, possibly endangering yourself/family, and innocent others!
As you probably already know, towing is about load capacity of the tow vehicle, engine size, HP, TORQUE, rear end axle ratio, and yes, wheelbase is a consideration too! Your emphasis seems to be on wheelbase, not the other important factors!
You are always going to pay the price in reduced fuel economy to tow/haul a heavier/bigger load!
Either get the truck that matches the trailer needs, or get a trailer that matches the trucks capabilities!

 

[oldguy49]

Why is it so hard to get a question answered without telling the poster the world is going to end.

I am asking about wheel base. There was no mention of a larger trailer. I know all abouat the other inmportant factors. Just because they were not mentioned does not mean they were not taken into consideration. As stated above, I pulled this trailer for 10k miles with a 1/2 ton Ford F150 with the 3.5 not a problem.

so please, if you can not give an answer to the actual question, please refrain from the gloom and doom of needing a Mack to pull my little red wagon.

Kevin: yeah, guess I am a glutton for punishment.