MrBlue wrote: I don't think that a 1 ton will make it across the country and back pulling its Max towing rate any ideals for a bigger tow truck or have anybody been pulling alot of weight across the country with a 1 ton what kind any problems overheating in the summer,
If you are convinced that a 1 ton truck can't handle the weight it's designed to tow then by all means don't get one. But, I think you're under estimating these trucks.
We took the above trip around the country last year with the truck and trailer shown below. No problems, no overheating, no creeping along mountain grades, no braking problems, no white knuckle situations... just had a nice trip, averaged almost 11 mpg overall towing, met lots of nice people, took lots of photos, ate lots of good food and drank some great wine. And THAT is what having an RV is all about, not worrying about being 10 pounds over this or that or listening to some big truck guy trying to scare you to death for not doing what he wants you to do. To each their own!
2006 Duramax Diesel 1 ton dually tugging around a 2006 Mobile Suites 36TK3 #2609. Retired and just travelling around now and then seeing the sights.
With my 5'er and motorcycle trailer, I am towing close to 19K with my Chevy Kodiak 4500. Cruise at 65mph and get 10mpg on B20 biodiesel, 9mpg on regular diesel. Is this weight your trailer weight or total weight with truck. I gross out at almost 30K. Be sure to get a truck with an exhaust brake if towing heavy trailers. Most medium duty TV's will that these. You can never have too much truck. Check out my Pics for my rig. John
John & Doni "NO MO SNOW" Full-Timing since 2005
2004 Chevy 4500 Kodiak Duramax w/ 25k AirRide hitch, Jordan 2020
2003 HR Presidential 36SKQ 5th wheel Quad slide My Pics GO BUCKEYES
Another vote for a "singled" Class 8 - HDT.
All the "GO" and "WHOA" you could ask for at
a reasonable price. (compared to 450's & 550's & MDTs)
Way more whistles and bells - intended for long haul comfort.
Another "plus" is - can be registered as a MH in most states,
no special DL required.
[Many states require commercial reg for the others = big $$]
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robert herr wrote: A 2008 F350 4x2 super cab dually, diesel with tow boss package with 4.30 ratio is rated for 18,300lbs fifthwheel towing
F350 4x4 super cab dually dually diesel with tow boss is 17,800 lbs
F350 4x2 crew cab drw diesel with tow boss 18,200 lbs all the F450 line up no matter what gearing 4.30 or 4.88 with it in 4x2 or 4x2 are 20,000lbs up to 24,500 lbs
Actually, my 08 F450 4x4 with 4.30 gears and a manual trans is rated at a paltry 18k tow capacity. With the 4.88 gears that would have come up only to 19k. I didn't feel the need to go that low.
That being said my trailer is a Salem 28BHSS. I think I have enough truck to handle this. On a recent cross country trip I could barely tell the trailer was there. Handling was great as was stopping and accelerating.
Why did I get so much truck for this trailer? Several reasons. Larger brakes for one. The F450 brakes are about 1" larger diameter front and rear versus the F350. Also I will be towing my flat trailer behind the 5th wheel when we go riding this season. And lets not hear from the anti doubles crowd on this one. I am very capable of towing and backing combination vehicles, thank you very much.
Lots of info so far...more that enough to address your question, so I'll just offer my thinking/experience if you'd like to see one more post:
My 5th as loaded weighs just under 16,000. Wouldn't be any problem to get it up to the 16,500 (IIRC) GVWR. My truck is a 2006 F350 4x2 with Tow Boss (13k GVWR, 26k GCVW). I've driven circa 47k miles, probably 25k towing. This has included about 4-5,000 miles in mountains and high elevations.
- Bought the Ford vs. Dodge at the time primarily because of cab room, also because of ratings;
- Had to park in a parking garage at work once in a while...hence no "OTR-style" MDT's or HDT's and the pickup style F450 wasn't out yet and $$ prohibited a F450/F550 conversion with hauler bed (For whatever reason, I was stuck on new).
- If you care about #'s (i.e. GCVW, GVWR), you'll exceed those long before you hit the "tow rating" of the 350/3500 series trucks.
- If I was retired where most of the driving was towing, I'd go for something beyond the F350, even with Tow Boss...while I've had no problems whatsoever with either going or stopping, it feels to me like the truck is at the extent of its capacity;
- When I was looking for a new 5th wheel, mostly looked at high end stuff; every dealer we went to (except Newmar) stated that their trailers were delivered by a "3/4 ton Dodge with airbags"....and this included a few trailers with 18-19k GVWR. Newmar stated that their trailers were delivered by a "guy with an F550".
As a poster stated above, RV'ng is about going out and camping, not about worrying about #'s. For me, the way I'd avoid worrying about #'s is to get a bigger truck than the 350/3500 class for your cited 16,800# GVWR trailer.
CRL
Temporarily (5 years & counting)displaced Alaskan
My Other RV is a 1946 PA-12
Offline
years & counting)displaced Alaskan
