# 312Bh Towing



## vanfire (May 16, 2012)

Just wanted to see what other 312bh owners are towing with, input and advice.

Thank you,
Mike


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## LaydBack (Aug 22, 2010)

vanfire said:


> Just wanted to see what other 312bh owners are towing with, input and advice.
> 
> Thank you,
> Mike


2008 Chevy 2500HD powered by EFI tuned Duramax with 4" Silverline exhaust, Transgo Jr. Shift kit. Truck did great pulling the trailer before I added the goodies.


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## RDS (Jul 20, 2011)

You need a 2500 diesel for that big trailer. Any brand will work, but I am biased towards GM after working on them for 25 years


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## OutbackKampers (Mar 25, 2012)

2010 Toyota Tundra Double Cab. Reese dual cam weight distr. hitch. Firestone Air Bags. Tows great!


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## vanfire (May 16, 2012)

Tundra....Hmmm I love that truck but thought i would have to go diesel. So OutbackKampers, you have no problem towing with you Tundra at all? have you gone on long trips, hills and such?


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## OutbackKampers (Mar 25, 2012)

vanfire said:


> Tundra....Hmmm I love that truck but thought i would have to go diesel. So OutbackKampers, you have no problem towing with you Tundra at all? have you gone on long trips, hills and such?


I towed a 6600 lb, 28 ft. Coachmen for two years with the Tundra, and no problems. We upgraded to the 2012 312BH this year. We haven't gone on any long trips yet, but have towed it within 100 miles of home. The truck handles the Outback just as well, if not better than the Coachmen. We don't get out on the interstate much, but there is no problem towing at 60mph through the winding, hilly two lane roads we have around here. So far, I'm happy with our setup.


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## echolewa63 (Mar 28, 2012)

Bought a 312BH last year and just bought a 2009 F350 6.8L V10, 4.10 gears. Tows it with no problem, unless you are concerned about gas mileage. Averaged around 8mpg cruising between 65 and 70 most of the way. Truck performs great but we've only taken it in relatively flat terrain of Michigan and Indiana. Going to Williamsburg, VA this summer. Cant wait to see how she handles some hillier terrain. Its not a diesal but the V10 has alot of torque compared to most other gas options out there so I'm betting she'll do fine.

We towed it last year for a couple months in a 2007 Dodge Durango 5.7L Hemi. It worked but not well. Never felt comfortable and was not a pleasent ride.


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## H2oSprayer (Aug 5, 2006)

2007 F-350 Diesel, mostly stock for now. I have added a set of Aeroforce gauges to the A post to keep track of things. Rolling at 65, she hardly breaks a sweat!!


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## Jewellfamily (Sep 25, 2010)

I have a 2008 1/2 ton Silverado with the 365hp 6.0L, 3.73 gears, and firestone ride-rite airbags. I am going to upgrade to an Equal-i-zer hitch for better sway control...


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## Ryguy (May 16, 2012)

Diesel is over rated and way over priced! Stay away unless your funds are unlimited. I am a duramax owner for years, and is very powerful, but also very expensive to run and maintain. My father has the 6.0 liter and its just about as capable. I also am from bc and have made many coq., runs with very heavy loads. Unless you are gonna do it regularly, get a gasser. But yes a3/4 ton would best best suited. Or like the above guy withe the airbags, if you do alot of local trips. I had a10000 lb cougar before my new 312bh and have towed my tailer with both. More power and faster, but money matters to me. A perfect set up would be 6lt. Withthe alison tranny. Everything on a diesel is double to tripletheprice, oil changes and repair costs. Sounless you do long haul regularly. You will never recoup the maint. Costs, and is totally not needed.


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## vanfire (May 16, 2012)

Wow, thank you all for the awesome info. For you local outbackers I commute from Langley to Vancouver, so deisel might be to pricey to buy just to tow the trailer 10 times a year... But we do take long trips along the coast ( 3-4 weeks) every year. I have some more research to do on the tundra, as that would me my choice if it comes down to gas.


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## Kevin K (Jan 31, 2011)

I tow mine with a Duramax tuned by PPE. With 35" tires I think the truck does a great job pulling it. I would agree with others that it is expensive to tow with a diesel. If money is the deciding factor than yes go with gas - but, you didn't buy the 312BH because it was cheap. If you did, a pop-up behind a mini-van would have "worked."


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## Ryguy (May 16, 2012)

Hey Mike,
I Myself like the new Tundra and think it would do the trick towing our New 312bh's. And hey its a toyoata so, you know its gonna be around for the long haul so too speak, with little cost comparison to the diesel. I dought you could make the top of the snow shed at 100 km per hour but, if you dont mind doing 70 to 80 by the top the tundra would be a fine choice. I would suggest air bags and an expensive equalizer set up, its all you need. The trailer pulls nice and tight and suprisingly does not wander much in the stronger winds. My 2004 cougar 304 was horrible in comparison. My duramax is way more truck than is needed. I run the Edge juice with attitude, BD torque converter, 4 inch stainless magnaflow exaust and many other toys on it. If I could go back 6 years ago and pick a different truck I would, but I have spent enough on my rig and will keep it. Of course its fun passing cars on a steep hill, but it to expensive and really not needed. I would suggest buying an equalizer set up then going down to toyota and tell them you want to test drive it for 1/2 a day. And then go home and hook her up. They let me take our new car for a whole day test drive in chilliwack. Then it would put all doubts to rest.


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## joeymac (Aug 19, 2010)

2008 Chevy Suburban 3/4 ton with the 365hp 6.0L engine and 3.73 gears with the Reese Dual Cam setup.


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## Insomniak (Jul 7, 2006)

Ryguy said:


> Hey Mike,
> I Myself like the new Tundra and think it would do the trick towing our New 312bh's. And hey its a toyoata so, you know its gonna be around for the long haul so too speak, with little cost comparison to the diesel.


Lol, that's what I thought until a few months ago. For 4 years I used my Tundra to pull our 30ft, 7,500 pound (loaded) Outback 28RSDS and it did a good job. The 5.7 liter engine is a gas hog, and with the towing package and 4.3:1 rear-end, I was only getting 8-9mpg towing and 10-11mpg in town. Last July, we upgraded to a 301BQ which is similar in length and weight to a 312BH. Just short of 40,000 miles and it's 5th birthday, things started to break on the Tundra. Cracked exhaust manifold, leaky water pump, broken front-right axle carrier assembly, cracked serpentine belt, and the transmission was starting to shift roughly and make some funny noises. The last thing to go was a blown stereo speaker! Fortunately, I had an extended warranty and the dealer had to make almost $4,000 in covered repairs. Nobody could tell me for certain why things suddenly started going bad on a truck with low mileage that I babied, but it seemed awfully coincidental with the new, 1,000 pound heavier trailer. I didn't want to temp fate, so I traded it in for a Ram 3500 diesel. I have yet to tow with it, but I'm thinking it will do just fine.







The Dodge was only about $5,000 more than I paid for my Crew Max five years ago, so I didn't really consider it to be much of a price premium (but the Crew Max is an expensive truck). Hopefully my experience with the Tundra was a fluke, but I wanted to share some info with those who are considering pushing the upper towing limits of the truck.


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## hoosier steve (Apr 10, 2012)

I thought my 2004 F150 FX4 would be plenty enough also with a 9900Lb. tow rating, but it's the GCWR that gets you. My outback 2012 312BHS weighs 7791 according to CAT scales, add the truck and I only have about 1400lbs. to spare. Add gear, kitchen stuff, bikes, coolers, people in the truck not to mention if you have to bring a tank of water, and you will be over in a 1/2 ton. If you have an accident and you are over the GCWR, insurance will not pay. whether you were aware you were over or not....it's your responsibility. Just sharing what I have found out, I am shopping for a 3/4 ton to be safe on the road with my family, and others.


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## 4 In Virginia (Jan 8, 2012)

hoosier steve said:


> I thought my 2004 F150 FX4 would be plenty enough also with a 9900Lb. tow rating, but it's the GCWR that gets you. My outback 2012 312BHS weighs 7791 according to CAT scales, add the truck and I only have about 1400lbs. to spare. Add gear, kitchen stuff, bikes, coolers, people in the truck not to mention if you have to bring a tank of water, and you will be over in a 1/2 ton. If you have an accident and you are over the GCWR, insurance will not pay. whether you were aware you were over or not....it's your responsibility. Just sharing what I have found out, I am shopping for a 3/4 ton to be safe on the road with my family, and others.


 We started off towing our 2012 312BH with a 2006 Nissan Armada (built on the Titan Frame) with friction sway control. and it wasn't enough in a lot of ways. It was underpowered for towing into the mountains, i had to perpetually kick it out of OD and my mileage was HORRIBLE. The wheel base was too short so i felt it even when a fiat drove by, forget about how it felt when we were passed by a Semi. At speeds over 55MPH it felt "loose" in the backend - the suspension just wasn't enough.... The Armada was a great road trip vehicle but not suited for towing in this range. It finally came to a head last summer on our way to Rodanthe, NC in the Outer Banks when we were going up and over the bridge on the south side of Manteo my DW glanced to her left and saw the expression on my face and said.... "maybe we should get a new truck". SO we now have a 2011 F350 SRW Diesel with the Reese Dual Cam system... now i have to glance in the rearview to make sure the trailer is still there... we are planning a 1000 mile trip to Maine (from Virginia) in August coming up -- 3 weeks of camping and i can't wait!!!!


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## rsm7 (Aug 8, 2009)

I never towed with a Tundra but these 30+ foot trailers weighing 7000+ are best left for 3/4 ton trucks. Gas or diesel take your pick. I agree with the poster who said diesel is over rated. These new gassers are pretty stout too. If you can afford a diesel and want one it will pull stronger but it is not needed. In any event I would get a 3/4 ton and be done with it. 1/2 tons in general lack the payload capacity needed. Why tow on the edge or over the limits.


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## hoosier steve (Apr 10, 2012)

Hey Virginia, I just sold my F150 and now Have the exact same setup you have, even the reese DC. You are right, I have to look in the mirrors to make sure I hooked it up!


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## midlifecamper (Jun 15, 2011)

I tow mine with a 2012 F150 Ecoboost with the Max Tow package. It tows like a dream, even uphill with the bed full of firewood and bikes and 4 of us in the cab with the AC on, it's no problem for this truck.


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