# Help Me On My Towing



## greenfamily (Sep 8, 2006)

I really could use some help. I posted today for the first time and really don't don't if I got a good answer. I will just ask you and maybe you can tell me your thoughts.I have a fleetwood tent trailer that I am going to sell.Then I want to but a Outback for sure. I went to the dealer here in Portland Or. It was at Curtis Trailers, I told the sales rep all of my truck specs and told him that I wanted a trailer that was at 80 % of my max tow weight. He said I could get any one from the 21RS up to the 26RLS. HERE IS THE BIG PROBLEM, I called my brother in law and was talking to him about the trailers and he was saying the weight is to much for my truck. But the dealer told me that they were fine for my tow load specs. So could you please tell me what you think on this? I will give you my truck specs and what the specs for the trailer we like are. Then could you please tell me if that is fine for my truck our it is to much. Thanks for any help on this. I can't wait to get one. Also any imput on the price he told me would be great, I am going through the fleet person at the dealership.

SPECS ON MY 2004 4 X 2 SUPER CREW F-150 TRUCK 
ENGINE IS 4.6 V8 AUTO W/3.73 RATIO SLIP AXLE 6800 GVWR .

TRAILER IS THE OUTBACK 25RSS 
DRY WEIGHT 4695LBS PERSONAL GEAR IS 1305LBS OPTIONS 500 LBS TOTAL IS 5195 LBS THE TRAILER IS 6000 GVWR MAX.

SO THAT LEAVES MY TOTAL TOWING WEIGHT @ 5195LBS AND A BALLANCE OF 805 LBS .

SO IS THIS PUSHING THE LIMIT OF MY TRUCK ? WHAT WOULD YOU DO ?

tHANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP ON THIS : }

Rick Green


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## Husker92 (Feb 11, 2006)

It seems that you're getting close to your towing limit.







This site has some folks that can really weigh in (







)to tell you if you have an problem. I just replaced my Durango that had a limit of 7200 GVWR and I was pulling a 21RS (dry weight 4545.00) full loaded ~6200lbs.

these websites will help you with the price of the trailer:

National RV

Lakeshore RV

then add about $2,000 for shipping to get a rough idea about the price.

Good luck with the purchase you'll love the trailer!


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## HootBob (Apr 26, 2004)

I think it's too much for your truck
you have a 4.6 V8 you will want more motor when it comes to hills
and the rear you have 3.73 better if it was 4.10 gears
I just don't think you will be happy towing with that setup
Just my $.02

Don


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## stapless (Feb 20, 2005)

Welcome to the site!!









rule number 1: never believe the dealer!!

rule number 2: see rule number 1.

I'm glad you are posting here. we all did our research before buying and are safer and happier campers for doing so. this site is a great source for information.

you seem to be pretty close, but remember, the 6800# also includes your family, gasoline, and options installed on your truck (usually over and above a stripped down base model), etc. most will look at the GCWR as a better representation of overall towing capacity. you will need to make sure the weight of the TV and TT combined are under this number, preferably with a margin of safety built in. i'm sure the experts will chime in, but my impression is that your wheel base should be OK with a good hitch plus sway control. however, i think you will find the truck is lacking in tow power, especially with highway speed. head winds and hills will be pretty rough. if you live and camp over fairly flat terrain, and don't travel real long distances, you may be OK. I do like the floor plan of the 25RSS. I'll bet you will be wanting a new TV after a short time pulling that set up. I guess the best advice is to do a test tow and see for yourself how well your truck handles it. hopefully someone else with your TV can also comment.

best of luck with your decision. all of us here love our OB's.

scott


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## hatcityhosehauler (Feb 13, 2004)

Wheelbase is fine, the problem as already mentioned will be the HP/Torque issue. Don't misunderstand me. HP is nice, but torque is what's gonna move the TV/TT combo. You want at least a 5.4 for towing, unless you are in the flats, and never intend to tow in the hills.

Good luck and welcome to the forum.

Tim


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## VA_Kidds (Nov 4, 2004)

We just got back from a trip to the mountains in West Virginia. Pulling my 21RS with a 4.8 Liter V8 (GMC Sierra). Fine on the highway, but on hills I was really wishing I could afford a new truck! On some hills, I was only able to muster 35 mph, and it was pushing 4k RPM's. We were loaded really light too, as it was a short weekend trip. With that TV, I personally wouldnt recommend bigger than the 21RS.

We've had our 21RS for 2 years and love it. I took the advice on this board about taking your time when towing, driving in the 60 to 65mph range, and have had no problems at all on trips to Myrtle Beach and local campgrounds. I'll be thinking twice though before taking trips anywhere near the mountains. Anyone have any extra cash to buy me a shiny new TV? 

Alan


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## h2oman (Nov 17, 2005)

familymanoregon,

First, let me say, "welcome to the Outbackers". Stapless pretty much nailed all of the points. Trying to pull a full sized trailer across the mountains in Oregon with that little motor and weak tranny will defeat any relaxation you get from camping. Sorry to giveyou this bad news. Please stay and be part of our family anyways.

John


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## rms0726ea (Aug 9, 2006)

I agree with the others. Your weight is close to the borderline. Your engine will be struggling to haul your camper, and will be screaming through any hills or bigger grades. Don't believe the comercials on TV that show all thes 1/2 ton pick-ups towing big loads, it just isn't reality.

How many miles on your Tow vehicle? What part of the country do you live in?


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## aplvlykat (Jan 25, 2004)

Like the other guys have already told you, not enough motor especially in the oregon mountains. Have you considered trading it in and going with fords 0% plan, you may get a new one that will do the job at the same payment as the old TV? Kirk


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## Scrib (Jun 28, 2005)

Bahahahah! Curtis tried to sell us a 25RS when we had our Durango 4.7L that would have been pushing it to pull a 21RS.

Here's the Ford Towing Guide for 2004. It looks like you can tow 7000 or 7100lbs, depending on your wheelbase. 80% of that is 5600lbs, which is more in line with a 21RS or 23RS - both fine floorplans, btw.


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## greenfamily (Sep 8, 2006)

White Buffalo said:


> Bahahahah! Curtis tried to sell us a 25RS when we had our Durango 4.7L that would have been pushing it to pull a 21RS.
> 
> Here's the Ford Towing Guide for 2004. It looks like you can tow 7000 or 7100lbs, depending on your wheelbase. 80% of that is 5600lbs, which is more in line with a 21RS or 23RS - both fine floorplans, btw.


Thanks big help : }


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## rms0726ea (Aug 9, 2006)

aplvlykat said:


> Like the other guys have already told you, not enough motor especially in the oregon mountains. Have you considered trading it in and going with fords 0% plan, you may get a new one that will do the job at the same payment as the old TV? Kirk
> 
> What is the [ 0 ] plan ?


0% APR for 7 years on new vehicles. Keep in mind Ford is coming out with the new Twin Turbo 6.4L Diesel early 2007. How good will it be? How about after the mods?


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## huntr70 (Jul 8, 2005)

White Buffalo said:


> Like the other guys have already told you, not enough motor especially in the oregon mountains. Have you considered trading it in and going with fords 0% plan, you may get a new one that will do the job at the same payment as the old TV? Kirk
> 
> What is the [ 0 ] plan ?


0% APR for 7 years on new vehicles. Keep in mind Ford is coming out with the new Twin Turbo 6.4L Diesel early 2007. How good will it be? How about after the mods?
[/quote]
That's just 2 turbos to burn up on the Ford...
















Steve


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## rms0726ea (Aug 9, 2006)

huntr70 said:


> Like the other guys have already told you, not enough motor especially in the oregon mountains. Have you considered trading it in and going with fords 0% plan, you may get a new one that will do the job at the same payment as the old TV? Kirk
> 
> What is the [ 0 ] plan ?


0% APR for 7 years on new vehicles. Keep in mind Ford is coming out with the new Twin Turbo 6.4L Diesel early 2007. How good will it be? How about after the mods?
[/quote]
That's just 2 turbos to burn up on the Ford...
















Steve
[/quote]

Good







, perfect excuse for the upgrades:devil2:


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## 3athlete (May 14, 2006)

If I were you, I'd stay away from the Ford Diesel...our Excursion has been in the shop since 8/21 and they're flying in a tech from detroit, because they can't figure out what the H___ is wrong with it! But I'm not bitter, no, not one bit...NOT, the worst part is, the damn thing was MY idea!


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## Scooter (May 9, 2005)

Speaking from actual experience having towed with a simular rig (f150 4.6 4x4) you will not be happy with the performance even towing an outback 21rs. I finally traded up to a F150 5.4 V8 3:55 gears which allowed for approx. 1600 lbs leeway for me, spouse, gas , equip, batteries, propane, and still was not pleased (power was there , tranny and gears were not. and I always had to travel dry.

When an opportunity arose to invest in a F250 V10 I jumped on it. IMHO a 5.4 F150 V8 with 3:73 gears or higher will pull a 21rs (but not comfortably enough for me). I got tired of always playing the weight distribution game ets,, As for the truck traveling through the mountains it was constantly seeking up and down hills, and RPM's were always running high.

I would not even consider anything higher than a 21rs with the setup you have now, and honestly wouldn't now even consider a 21rs having already experienced what the ride was like. Just my opinion. 
Good luck with your decision.


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## mountainlady56 (Feb 13, 2006)

Rick,
I started out towing my 27RSDS with an 04 GMC Sierra ext. cab 5.3 L V8 with heavy duty towing package on it, and I quickly decided that it was too much for the truck. I had been told by the auto dealer AND the TT dealership that it would be a good combo!! WRONG!! Might be if you want to replace a transmission soon, and enjoy dogging the heck out of your vehicle to get up a hill, and I was towing without water, etc. and packed light. As you can see, a diesel was the solution for me!
The main thing, though, is to decide what your family needs are.......you don't mention the size of your family, ages/sex of kids, if any kids, etc. Also consider the physical size/level of comfort you need, before buying. When you pull one off the lot, and it's titled, it depreciates like $6,000, on average.......so plan for growth of family, if any planned, etc. 
Darlene


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## out4fun (Aug 22, 2006)

As far as price its hard to beat Lakeshore RV. As far as a TV don't beleive the dealer, here is a web site that might help http://www.rvtowingtips.com/index.html Good luck.......Angelo....


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## cookie9933 (Feb 26, 2005)

Rick,

You said your truck's GVW (gross vehicle weight)is 6800 lbs. But I don't think you said what the towing capacity is. Those are two different things. Truck GVW is the fully loaded weight (gear, people, fuel, and trailer tongue weight) sitting on your truck's four wheels. Each truck axle aslo has a maximum load GAWR (gross axle weight rating). Then there is GCWR (gross combined weight rating) which is the total fully loaded weight of both truck and trailer.

All trucks have values for each of these ratings and the numbers should not be exceeded. For a safety factor, some folks believe in only towing 80% or 90% of the tow rating. That's up to you, but a truck will certainly perform better and be safer the less it is towing.

RV dealers are notorious for telling customers that their tow vehicle can easily tow whatever they are trying to sell, even when sometimes it ain't so. Do your homework. Know what you can tow, based on the truck manufacturer's information.

Good luck with your decision.

Bill


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## greenfamily (Sep 8, 2006)

cookie9933 said:


> Rick,
> 
> You said your truck's GVW (gross vehicle weight)is 6800 lbs. But I don't think you said what the towing capacity is. Those are two different things. Truck GVW is the fully loaded weight (gear, people, fuel, and trailer tongue weight) sitting on your truck's four wheels. Each truck axle aslo has a maximum load GAWR (gross axle weight rating). Then there is GCWR (gross combined weight rating) which is the total fully loaded weight of both truck and trailer.
> 
> ...


Bill,

Thanks for the help, here is what my ford book says. Also this is exactly what my truck options are .
Ford book says that my truck is 4.6 L V8 AUTO WITH A 3.73 REAR AXLE RATIO.The GCWR FOR MY TRUCK IS 5534LBS .I also have the tow package on my unit. The trailer we want to buy is the Outback 25RSS , as it sits on the lot with the options on it is 5195 lbs .But my truck is listed at 6800 GVWR PACKAGE .sO WHAT DO YOU THINK ON THIS? wE CAMP AT STATE PARKS WITH FULL HOOKUPS. nOT MUCH DRY CAMPING. tHANKS AGAIN FOR YOUR HELP : }


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## stapless (Feb 20, 2005)

familymanoregon said:


> Rick,
> 
> You said your truck's GVW (gross vehicle weight)is 6800 lbs. But I don't think you said what the towing capacity is. Those are two different things. Truck GVW is the fully loaded weight (gear, people, fuel, and trailer tongue weight) sitting on your truck's four wheels. Each truck axle aslo has a maximum load GAWR (gross axle weight rating). Then there is GCWR (gross combined weight rating) which is the total fully loaded weight of both truck and trailer.
> 
> ...


Bill,

Thanks for the help, here is what my ford book says. Also this is exactly what my truck options are .
Ford book says that my truck is 4.6 L V8 AUTO WITH A 3.73 REAR AXLE RATIO.The GCWR FOR MY TRUCK IS 5534LBS .I also have the tow package on my unit. The trailer we want to buy is the Outback 25RSS , as it sits on the lot with the options on it is 5195 lbs .But my truck is listed at 6800 GVWR PACKAGE .sO WHAT DO YOU THINK ON THIS? wE CAMP AT STATE PARKS WITH FULL HOOKUPS. nOT MUCH DRY CAMPING. tHANKS AGAIN FOR YOUR HELP : }
[/quote]

is 5195 lbs the 'dry weight' listed inside the TT (mine is marked inside one of the kitchen cabinets)? the 'dry weight' listed on the TT is always short of the actual weight, so be careful. the manufacturer uses the weight of the TT before adding any 'options' (like the bed, sink, fridge, A/C, couch, carpet, etc.). it's a very deceiving practice. most will say that the dry weight can be off by 500 lbs or more. you may want to weigh it yourself.

I wish we had better news for you. some boards will tell you that a diesel is just enough to pull a pop up. this is not such a site. the folks here are pretty realistic, and I've never been steered wrong with their advice. unfortunately, I don't think you are going to be happy with your TV and the 25rss. sorry. we do wish you well and hope you continue to be an active member of the OB family.

scott


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