FWIW, I may be wrong , but most of the truck manufacturers put the 3.73 standard when the trailer option in ordered.
When I had my 05 Dodge 2500, it had the trailer option which was factory installed and the sticker showed it had the 3.73 gears.
Find a nicely equipped used Suburban 2500 or an Excursion diesel, pick a 25 foot TT and go camping. You will probably find that as the kids get a bit older they will want to sleep in tents. Our girls did. They each had a small two man tent and it worked very well for us. Only time they wanted to be inside with mom and dad was if it was cold or raining really hard
This is going to depend on how close you stay to your "one day from home" plan, but small children don't travel too well in the back seat of a pickup, and it gets worse as they get older.
I suggest looking at a full size passenger van, 3/4 ton to one-ton, as a tow vehicle for a family with small children. How heavy duty depends on your trailer size choice.
tatest wrote: This is going to depend on how close you stay to your "one day from home" plan, but small children don't travel too well in the back seat of a pickup, and it gets worse as they get older.
My kids only ride in pickups - they do just fine, even on 2 week trips. The truck has plenty of room for 2 huge Britax carseats and a booster seat. I would never move to a van unless I had too many passengers for my truck.
How is riding in the back seat of a crew-cab pickup any different than the hundreds of people who have kids and a 4-door sedan?
I have a bunkhouse with 4 bunks, plus the queen bedroom up front, U-shaped dinette and jack-knife sofa in my Surveyor 294, which is 33 feet and 4500# dry, with GVWR of 7000#, and I tow with a Dodge durango (tow capacity of 8950 #). Plenty of room for 2kids, DW and me and the dog. I am selling my 2009, because we found a Super C at a great price (was in our "dream" category for the future)
Keith, Suzy two teenagers and a dog
2005 Seneca 35 GS Super C
2009 Surveyor 294
Pro-Pride 3P hitch
2006 Dodge Durango with 5.7 Liter Hemi
My first PU was a short bed and tricked out for looks.We then had a 24'tt.When the boss wanted moore room,we got at the time what i thought was enough truck,2500gmc,"not",Finally,she wanted a really big one.So got F350 super duty 4dr long bed.Looking back,should have got the biggest truck in the first place.We have been rving since the late 70's.
resmas wrote: ... How is riding in the back seat of a crew-cab pickup any different than the hundreds of people who have kids and a 4-door sedan?
The only real advantages I have over a late model CrewCab pickup for traveling are that my 2nd row seats recline a bit (I think the new Ram MegaCab might too), and there's usually someone crawling back into the 3rd row seat to lay down flat across it while still being buckled with a seatbelt. I have been loaded with driver + 5 passengers for a couple 12-hr trips and everyone rode comfortably but most folks don't travel like that regularly so a CrewCab would be plenty sufficient for most.
2005 6" Lifted Nissan Armada LE (Offroad Beast)
2007 Jay Flight 29BHS
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I'll only speak from our experience 6 years, 2 TV's and 3 campers later.
Our DK's were 11, 7 and 4 when we started (now 17, 13 and 10). We started out with a 1/2 ton extended cab pulling a used 20' hybrid w/2 fold-outs. Fantastic first experience but in the long-run, a little too much cart for the horse & not quite enough room in the cart. Upgraded to a 3/4 ton short bed diesel with a full crew cab, followed by a 27' hybrid w/4 bunks & one fold-out. The horse never knew the cart was back there, loved, loved the open-air feel of the hybrid, kids loved the bunks but in the 95+ heat of the south, setting up, often by myself, was still a bit of a pain. 11 mos. later, went to the 5er in the sig - 34'5" bumper to pin, super slide, quad bunks. Absolutely perfect for our crew. The 4th bunk is great for extra kid stuff or an extra kid.
DH & I debated eventually going to a 1 ton but now that DK #1 will be graduating in another year, we've about decided the 3/4 ton is fine since we can't see ourselves needing a bigger camper. DH uses it for his daily driver & it's a little cheaper to operate than a 1-ton, it handles the 5er beautifully and the 5er is big enough for extended trips in state park CG's but not so big as to have to avoid any SP's so far.
If it were me, and it's in your price range, I'd go with at least a 3/4 ton vehicle of some sort just to give you some wiggle room in terms of camper choices. Gas/diesel is a personal choice. A truck will allow you to haul more than just passengers when it's not being used as a TV (i.e. yard & building supplies, wood, furniture, etc...). It'll also allow you to move to a 5er from a TT if you ever decide you want to go that route. Ours is a short-bed with a slider hitch for the 5er. Personally, I find it easier to maneuver in a shopping center parking lot than a long bed. The kids find the full crew in the truck more comfortable than my CRV for traveling when we aren't towing and DS #1 is over 6' tall.
Ignore the lunkheads that say bigger is better, diesel over gas, Ford over Chevy, etc... Think 5 years down the road in terms of your kids and camping and your non-camping needs as well. I don't know anyone who stayed with their first camper for more than a few years. As you camp, you learn what you like so give yourself the flexibility to grow when buying a TV.
Above all, and if you learn nothing else from this place, tow safely. Rule #1 - never believe the car dealer when he says the vehicle will pull it. Rule #2 - never believe the RV dealer when he says the vehicle will pull it. Rule #3 - refer to Rules 1 & 2. Know the towing specs of the TV and TT before you ever sign on the dotted line.
Happy camping.
Melissa
2004 F250 CC SRW 6.0L PSD "The Beast"
2006 Wildcat 31QBH "The Cat"
1 wonderful husband, 3 great kids and 2 dogs who think they're human.
I have never had a pickup but from my experience with friends who havce them the general feeling is they want a larger one the next time. Have you tried to park a crew cab with a full length bed? My daughter has one and it takes a large space to park it. I would second the Suburban/Expedition for the more usable room for the family. If you go with the minimum truck don't go for the maximum weight it can tow on the trailer. Save a lot for the comfort factor.
tatest wrote: This is going to depend on how close you stay to your "one day from home" plan, but small children don't travel too well in the back seat of a pickup, and it gets worse as they get older.
My kids only ride in pickups - they do just fine, even on 2 week trips. The truck has plenty of room for 2 huge Britax carseats and a booster seat. I would never move to a van unless I had too many passengers for my truck.
How is riding in the back seat of a crew-cab pickup any different than the hundreds of people who have kids and a 4-door sedan?
Its not. But a sedan may not work that well either, for long trips and families with more than two children.
Three children in car seat age range, two of an age where they might need an adult sitting by them for part or most of the trip, and a general ban today on putting car-seats in the front seat, means a family can travel better with more seating options. That is why the minivan market took off in the 1980s, with moms often buying the thing for the first child, if not the second or third. A minivan might be limiting for choice of TT, a larger van has more options and it has the seating.
It is not that it can't be done in a five or six seat pickup. In the sixties we traveled across the country pulling a TT behind a two seat station wagon, occupied by four adults and six children. That was before seat belts defined the number of seating positions, before child safety seats occupied adult-size spaces, and before child restraint laws.
When I need to carry kids, if put them in the back of the pickup with the adult goats, restrained by stock racks.
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