# 28rsds Towing Help



## Chris562 (Nov 29, 2007)

I bought a 28RSDS at the end of the summer and have only been able to tow it a couple of times. The dealer told me my 95 Chev 1500 Z71 would tow it fine but I have soon found out that at around 7100 fully loaded, wife, 2 kids, that I'm probably going to loose a tranny, engine, or both....especially if I want to pull it down to Gatlinburg going over Jellico and such. I have been looking for a good used TV, researching used diesels. It's hard to find a good used diesel with under 150K for under $10K so I've started looking at gassers. The v10 Fords, even with well over 150K are still expensive. I have come across a 96 Dodge 2500 club cab 4x2 with the V10 that has only 63K on it for $6900. It looks in really good shape, not ragged out at all. Does anyone have any experience with this setup or model year? I really need some help on this one because I just don't have the money to spend to upgrade my TV but I need something bigger.


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## johnp (Mar 15, 2004)

Hi and welcome

Good news is your engine will be fine but the bad news is that tranny should have been left in the old cars. With that trailer your tranny is on borrowed time. I had a 95 burb and fried mine towing a 26rs to Florida. If you want to keep the truck you could always put 4.10 gears in it and buy a tranny that was built with severe duty in mind and coolers. If your out truck shopping a few things to avoid. 99-03 Ford V-10,5.4.They like to blow out sparkplugs at 2 grand a pop. Also 03,04 6.0 Ford diesels lots of gremlins in them. Any of the big block gasser 3/4 ton should be fine but drink gas. The only thing I have heard about the Dodge v-10 is its a guzzler.

Good luck

John


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## rms0726ea (Aug 9, 2006)

Well I was in a similiar situation and blew the tranny out in my 96 Tahoe after 1 year of pulling a 30' TT. Camper dealers will tell you your truck will pull anything they sell. With you mentioning driving to Gatlinburg and the Smokie Mountains you will quickly heat up that tranny and start using some serious fuel. on average about twice that of a diesel. I know I am a diesel freak & pusher but I honestly believe you will be much better off if you can find one in your budget.

Here is a link to one for sale on Oklahoma. Not sure were you live and it is a couple of grand over the price range you mentioned. But if you blow a tranny or beef up your current one you are easily looking at 2-3K.

http://www.powerstrokenation.com/forums/sh...read.php?t=3042

I'll keep my eyes open for any good deals out there. Ditto to the advice John gave above....


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## ntputter17 (Aug 17, 2007)

I pull a 35' trailer with my Excursion V10 with a 4.30 rear end, and have had no, no problems......It's 2000 model and they can be had cheap. The plug issue is a "none" issue if they are torqued correctly. We do not use ours as a daily driver, but it gets @15 mpg normal driving and @8-10 mpg towing. Trans temp runs @175* towing. Switched all the fluids (oil, rear end, trans fluid) to Royal Purple and have never looked back. They make a very good tow vehicle and with the gas prices running high, they can be had for cheap.

Kirk


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## GarethsDad (Apr 4, 2007)

I looked up your zip and entered it into autotrader and found 74 diesel trucks within 200 miles under $10.000 http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/searchresult...e=1196530129999 . I'm looking for a diesel in the W/Va area as the bodys are in berter shape for there age than here. James


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## whodey (Feb 9, 2007)

Welcome!

I had the same situation. Bought our 28rsds and had 05 silverado 5.3L w/4.10 rear. Pulled but it didn't like it. Got 8.0 - 9.0 mpg. If you can find a diesel, that would be your best bet. My truck loves pullin the outback, if not paying attention, easily find myself crusin at 75mph. Diesels don't really get broke in until around 100,000. The first recommended engine overhaul on the 5.9 ctd is at 350,000. You definitely get better gas mileage with the diesel, but now that diesel is running about 50-70 cents a gallon more than gas, is it really better? Hope this helps.

Mike


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## GarethsDad (Apr 4, 2007)

whodey said:


> Welcome!
> 
> I had the same situation. Bought our 28rsds and had 05 silverado 5.3L w/4.10 rear. Pulled but it didn't like it. Got 8.0 - 9.0 mpg. If you can find a diesel, that would be your best bet. My truck loves pullin the outback, if not paying attention, easily find myself crusin at 75mph. Diesels don't really get broke in until around 100,000. The first recommended engine overhaul on the 5.9 ctd is at 350,000. You definitely get better gas mileage with the diesel, but now that diesel is running about 50-70 cents a gallon more than gas, is it really better? Hope this helps.
> 
> Mike


I beleave that Diesels are better as you don't have to upgrade them as often. James


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

whodey said:


> Welcome!
> 
> I had the same situation. Bought our 28rsds and had 05 silverado 5.3L w/4.10 rear. Pulled but it didn't like it. Got 8.0 - 9.0 mpg. If you can find a diesel, that would be your best bet. My truck loves pullin the outback, if not paying attention, easily find myself crusin at 75mph. *Diesels don't really get broke in until around 100,000. The first recommended engine overhaul on the 5.9 ctd is at 350,000*. You definitely get better gas mileage with the diesel, but now that diesel is running about 50-70 cents a gallon more than gas, is it really better? Hope this helps.
> 
> Mike


Holy Smokes Batman....recommend overhaul at 350,000 miles? That is awesome. If I could start a Poll (trust me..I've tried and tried) I'd make one to ask folks how many miles they have on their TV. Anyone ever get over 200k before buying something new?


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Oregon_Camper said:


> Welcome!
> 
> I had the same situation. Bought our 28rsds and had 05 silverado 5.3L w/4.10 rear. Pulled but it didn't like it. Got 8.0 - 9.0 mpg. If you can find a diesel, that would be your best bet. My truck loves pullin the outback, if not paying attention, easily find myself crusin at 75mph. *Diesels don't really get broke in until around 100,000. The first recommended engine overhaul on the 5.9 ctd is at 350,000*. You definitely get better gas mileage with the diesel, but now that diesel is running about 50-70 cents a gallon more than gas, is it really better? Hope this helps.
> 
> Mike


Holy Smokes Batman....recommend overhaul at 350,000 miles? That is awesome. If I could start a Poll (trust me..I've tried and tried) I'd make one to ask folks how many miles they have on their TV. Anyone ever get over 200k before buying something new?
[/quote]

I did it....i actually got the poll working!!


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## Chris562 (Nov 29, 2007)

So I guess what I'm asking is this:

Will this Dodge 2500 with the V10 pull my trailer well.....hills and all? My wife has told me in not so many friendly words that whatever I get better be low priced and get the job done. None of this getting it and it don't cut it if you know what I mean.


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Chris562 said:


> So I guess what I'm asking is this:
> 
> Will this Dodge 2500 with the V10 pull my trailer well.....hills and all? My wife has told me in not so many friendly words that whatever I get better be low priced and get the job done. * None of this getting it and it don't cut it if you know what I mean.*


We've all been there brotha'


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## Airboss (Jul 14, 2007)

Chris562 said:


> So I guess what I'm asking is this:
> 
> Will this Dodge 2500 with the V10 pull my trailer well.....hills and all? My wife has told me in not so many friendly words that whatever I get better be low priced and get the job done. None of this getting it and it don't cut it if you know what I mean.


IMO, yes. The Trailer Life Towing Guide reports that the 1999 (I know yours is a 96, but this is the best info I could find on the fly) Dodge Ram 2500 with the 8.0L V-10 is rated up to 13,500 towing capacity. This should be more than adaquate assuming that the truck has a factory towing package. Since it's a 3/4 ton truck I would guess that it does.

Would you be happier with a diesel? I think so, but I do understand that they are more expensive. It's not likely you'll make up for the difference in price between a V-10 and a diesel solely on MPGs. The diesel's do have more torque, hold their value better and should last a lot longer though.

Good luck with your decision and let us how how it works out. BTW, have you asked the seller if you can take it for a test ride with your trailer in tow?


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## Carey (Mar 6, 2012)

The only problem with a high mileage diesel is what about the rest of the truck? I have a bud with 450k on his old dodge with a cummins, never has been rebuilt... The problem is the rest of the truck is in shambles.. The doors are about ready to fall off.. lol 
Have another aquaintance that has over 300k on an old '92 ford and its body is in shambles too.. He did have to rebuild his engine at 250 k though.. The cummins last way longer than the ford or chev diesels in those years, so if you do get diesel get a cummins.

If I had my pick on a truck of 10 years old or more, I would take the low mileage model reguardless of what engine it has..

In my book low mileage sells me on a used vehicle, not the engine.

Those Dodge V10's are good engines.. They do have the same tranny as the diesel, which was used up until lsat year, 2006. I knew a guy who put a blower on his dodge v10 back in the 90's.. That thing was the fastest truck I have ever riden in! It was making in the mid 500hp range. he towed a front end loader on a big 8 tire gooseneck. His tow weight was around 20k not including the truck..

The gas mileage will still be pretty close to what you have now while towing, but empty is a different story, you chev will beat it by about 1/3rd empty.

Good Luck in your search!

Carey


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## Chris562 (Nov 29, 2007)

Ok guys thanks for the info. I was able to do some research and found out the V10 produces 300hp and 440-450lbs torque while the CTD put in the same model year puts out 160-215hp and 420-440lbs torque. But the diesel puts the torque out at lower RPMs.


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## 1jeep (Jul 24, 2007)

Colorado~DirtBikers said:


> The only problem with a high mileage diesel is what about the rest of the truck? I have a bud with 450k on his old dodge with a cummins, never has been rebuilt... The problem is the rest of the truck is in shambles.. The doors are about ready to fall off.. lol
> Have another aquaintance that has over 300k on an old '92 ford and its body is in shambles too.. He did have to rebuild his engine at 250 k though.. The cummins last way longer than the ford or chev diesels in those years, so if you do get diesel get a cummins.
> 
> If I had my pick on a truck of 10 years old or more, I would take the low mileage model reguardless of what engine it has..
> ...


You sir are correct! I had a 96 ram 3500 CTD, the engine seemed like it would pull anything and never missed a beat. However, i had numerous tranny issues, injector pump problems, the interior had more rattles and squeaks. Finally at 250k miles i traded it in, for me i dont keep trucks past 100k miles so i dont think the diesel investment is worth it.

The only issue that i know of with the V10 dodge is that she can be thirsty even when empty.


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## Chris562 (Nov 29, 2007)

Thanks for the help all. I have decided to buy a V10 Dodge 2500.....that's once I get my Z71 sold. I don't think a diesel would be a good match for me because I don't drive my truck very much. 90% of the time it just sits. The cost of gas is $.50 per gallon cheaper than diesel too. Anyone near KY that would like a nice 95 Z71, drop me a line...LOL


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Here's to a quick sale of the Z71....


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## rms0726ea (Aug 9, 2006)

You should be fine pulling your camper with that, glad you were able to change your tow vehicle - it would have been hard on your current one. Best of luck....


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## Moosehead (Dec 6, 2007)

Hey everyone,

New to this forum. Glad I found this post 'cause it answered the question I had when I came to this site...We have an '06 4x4 Suburban 5.3 V8 as tv and we're looking at purchasing a tt in the new year (we currently own a '06 Fleetwood Niagara pup). We really like the floor plan of the 28RSDS (it answers to the needs of our family) but we're not sure about our tv being able to handle it. Well, according to what I've read, I better look at another tt model 'cause we're not changing the tv anytime soon...thanks

cheers,
Moosehead


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Moosehead said:


> Hey everyone,
> 
> New to this forum. Glad I found this post 'cause it answered the question I had when I came to this site...We have an '06 4x4 Suburban 5.3 V8 as tv and we're looking at purchasing a tt in the new year (we currently own a '06 Fleetwood Niagara pup). We really like the floor plan of the 28RSDS (it answers to the needs of our family) but we're not sure about our tv being able to handle it. Well, according to what I've read, I better look at another tt model 'cause we're not changing the tv anytime soon...thanks
> 
> ...


Welcome to the site!! Glad you found us.









I bought the same Outback (28RSS) and had to upgrade my Expedition to a 3/4 Suburban. I have had ZERO towing issues with the Suburban (other than the fact it is a bit thirsty)


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Oregon_Camper said:


> Welcome!
> 
> I had the same situation. Bought our 28rsds and had 05 silverado 5.3L w/4.10 rear. Pulled but it didn't like it. Got 8.0 - 9.0 mpg. If you can find a diesel, that would be your best bet. My truck loves pullin the outback, if not paying attention, easily find myself crusin at 75mph. *Diesels don't really get broke in until around 100,000. The first recommended engine overhaul on the 5.9 ctd is at 350,000*. You definitely get better gas mileage with the diesel, but now that diesel is running about 50-70 cents a gallon more than gas, is it really better? Hope this helps.
> 
> Mike


Holy Smokes Batman....recommend overhaul at 350,000 miles? That is awesome. If I could start a Poll (trust me..I've tried and tried) I'd make one to ask folks how many miles they have on their TV. Anyone ever get over 200k before buying something new?
[/quote]

I did it....i actually got the poll working!!








[/quote]

Cool Jim... I'll have to go find that!

Happy Trails,
Doug


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## Chris562 (Nov 29, 2007)

I have been looking at electric tongue jacks for my camper too. Can anyone tell me the bolt pattern and what the minimum weight I should get? I have found a couple but I found out there is different bolt patterns and stuff. Thanks.


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## MJRey (Jan 21, 2005)

Chris562 said:


> Thanks for the help all. I have decided to buy a V10 Dodge 2500.....that's once I get my Z71 sold. I don't think a diesel would be a good match for me because I don't drive my truck very much. 90% of the time it just sits. The cost of gas is $.50 per gallon cheaper than diesel too. Anyone near KY that would like a nice 95 Z71, drop me a line...LOL


Sounds like a sensible choice. You didn't say what type of transmission was on the truck you were looking to buy. The one thing I would add is to check on the transmission in the truck. The older Dodge automatics were not known for their reliability although from what I've read the manuals are pretty solid. It would be a shame to trade one problem for another one.

Good Luck


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## MJRey (Jan 21, 2005)

Chris562 said:


> I have been looking at electric tongue jacks for my camper too. Can anyone tell me the bolt pattern and what the minimum weight I should get? I have found a couple but I found out there is different bolt patterns and stuff. Thanks.


I thought they were all the same? I've never seen anything other than the 3 bolt triangular pattern on large trailers.

The weight question is an easy one. Get the biggest one available, when I bought mine that was a 3,500 lb model.


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## Sayonara (Jul 23, 2007)

MJRey said:


> I thought they were all the same? I've never seen anything other than the 3 bolt triangular pattern on large trailers.
> 
> The weight question is an easy one. Get the biggest one available, when I bought mine that was a 3,500 lb model.


i agree. i bought my Barker and never even thought about different bolt patterns. I got the Barker VIP3000. wanted the 3500 but the dealer was out of them and assured me the 3000 would be fine. so far no problems at all!!


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## Chris562 (Nov 29, 2007)

I'm sorry guys, the bolt pattern wasn't what I meant to say. It dealt with the spacing, 2 1/2 inch or I think 3 inch. Some had both while others only had one setup. Which one fits the 28RSDS?


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

PDX_Doug said:


> Welcome!
> 
> I had the same situation. Bought our 28rsds and had 05 silverado 5.3L w/4.10 rear. Pulled but it didn't like it. Got 8.0 - 9.0 mpg. If you can find a diesel, that would be your best bet. My truck loves pullin the outback, if not paying attention, easily find myself crusin at 75mph. *Diesels don't really get broke in until around 100,000. The first recommended engine overhaul on the 5.9 ctd is at 350,000*. You definitely get better gas mileage with the diesel, but now that diesel is running about 50-70 cents a gallon more than gas, is it really better? Hope this helps.
> 
> Mike


Holy Smokes Batman....recommend overhaul at 350,000 miles? That is awesome. If I could start a Poll (trust me..I've tried and tried) I'd make one to ask folks how many miles they have on their TV. Anyone ever get over 200k before buying something new?
[/quote]

I did it....i actually got the poll working!!








[/quote]

Cool Jim... I'll have to go find that!

Happy Trails,
Doug
[/quote]

Appears you cut/paste into the wrong topic Doug...


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Chris562 said:


> I'm sorry guys, the bolt pattern wasn't what I meant to say. It dealt with the spacing, 2 1/2 inch or I think 3 inch. Some had both while others only had one setup. Which one fits the 28RSDS?


Can't go wrong with an Atwood Power Tongue Jack 3500.


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Chris562 said:


> I'm sorry guys, the bolt pattern wasn't what I meant to say. It dealt with the spacing, 2 1/2 inch or I think 3 inch. Some had both while others only had one setup. Which one fits the 28RSDS?


I have the Ultra Fab 3500 w/ adjustable foot pad on my 28 RSDS. It is a 2 1/4" shaft according to the adds. Sorry I can't measure right now as it is in storage. As far as I know, any of the 3500 lb jacks will work.


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