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Salty Bob

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Salty Bob

RVF Regular
Joined
Mar 20, 2021
Messages
11
Hi everyone. My wife and I have owned or used all of the types of rv's except for the toy hauler trailers. We recently sold a fifth wheel and truck to buy a travel trailer and Ford F150. We made the mistake of getting a 34 foot weighing 6800 lbs and the first trip it swayed terribly. So it is now sold, and I am looking for one that tows better We live near Houston, but we want to travel to the mountains with it. I guess what I am asking, would a trailer 32 ft long weighing 5400 # be that much harder to pull in the mountains than a 28 ft weighing about the same. Swaying is the problem I want to avoid if possile.
 
Welcome to RVF, @Salty Bob; glad to have you join us. Unfortunately, I’m going to tell you something you don’t want to hear; the F-150 is the problem. It is simply not enough truck to pull that size trailer. The suspension isn’t up to it. The trailer dealers will tell you differently, but they are in the business of selling trailers. When I was pulling a travel trailer with a F-150, a 21-footer was all we could handle safely. And, we didn’t tow with the F-150 for very long before we moved to a F-350. What a difference, even with a 34’ 5th wheel.

TJ
 
F150s are pretty capable trucks.

My 2020 F150, crewcab, 5.0, 395hp/400tq, 3.31 gear, tow package, trailer sway control, has a CCC of 2049 lbs and a towing capacity of 9200 lbs.

I figure with the proper hitch I can easily tow 7500 lbs.

Remember that for every 1000' of altitude you lose about 3% power. At 11000' elevation at the Eisenhower tunnel, Im loosing about 132hp and a significant amount of torque.

As Im sure you are aware, a big part of the equation is the proper equipment and loading.
 
Both posters above have good points, but I want to see where this goes so I comment.

It only shows that you don't have enough truck when you find yourself behind the wheel of a properly sized truck for a while and have to go back to what you had before.
 
Yeah, a 34' trailer weighing 6800 lbs is close to the limit of an F150 when you consider all the crap you didn't add in to the equation that drives the weight up. A 32' trailer weighing 5400 lbs would definitely be more manageable but I think I'd want trailer brakes and some sort of load balancing hitch with anti-sway bars, not just a receiver hitch and 2' ball. Have you had any of this stuff weighed with all your stuff in the truck and camper with all the people in the truck? It's hard to say where you're at until you get individual axle weights and tongue weights. THEN you can see what you really need to do.
 
Hi everyone. My wife and I have owned or used all of the types of rv's except for the toy hauler trailers. We recently sold a fifth wheel and truck to buy a travel trailer and Ford F150. We made the mistake of getting a 34 foot weighing 6800 lbs and the first trip it swayed terribly. So it is now sold, and I am looking for one that tows better We live near Houston, but we want to travel to the mountains with it. I guess what I am asking, would a trailer 32 ft long weighing 5400 # be that much harder to pull in the mountains than a 28 ft weighing about the same. Swaying is the problem I want to avoid if possile.
Salty Bob,
I'm fairly new at this but I thought I would talk about " what I observed " not " what you should do "
With my 2012 f-150, crew cab, 6.5' bed , w/ eco boost 5.2, 6 cyl ( w/ dual turbo's ) It seemed to have the strength to pull my 31' 7000" TT, w/ set of Equalizer sway bars . HOWEVER, I was not happy when a big rig wanted to suck me into its lane . it was my first TT and I thought " Oh, that's normal " Keep in mind, ALL the people reading these comments also started from the beginning !, I then moved down to a 24' TT, much, much better but still it's more of a TT that I want to tow cross country. Sold that last year and just ordered a Geo Pro 19 FDS
which is what I will live with until I can upgrade as needed. I won't get the TT till this June and I have many questions for my new family mainly what after market stuff do i really need ? EG: CB radio, walkie talkies, surge protector OR a EMS, tire & hitch lock, etc., etc.
 

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