New to the camping world!

Uncle whitey · 03-10-2024, 06:23 AM

I bought my first 5th wheel camper, been wanting a camper for many years! Bought a boat last year, now need to have the camper! I bought a Keystone Cougar lite 28 SGS. I have a 1997 F350 to pull it with. I do have the 7.3L diesel engine. I live in Aurora, CO and have been looking to see where we want to cart camping. Most places so far are going to be on the flat land VS going through the Rocky Mountains. I know my old girl would have a tough time with the mountains. Any advice on issues you’ve had in the past? Or words of wisdom? Would be appreciated!

Lee · 03-10-2024, 06:37 AM

Hi,

I know others will chime in but, my only comments are: Take it easy on the ole gal and she will pull your RV just fine. Be sure and keep up on all the maintenance, oil/filter/ fuel filter/ tranny flush/brakes/etc.

I pull my TT over the cascade mountains regularly, .... and she is 54yrs ole!!!!!

**chuckster57** · 03-10-2024, 07:15 AM

Welcome to the forum

Your old truck will do just fine, Mine is a '94 IDI and it does it

jsb5717 · 03-10-2024, 07:51 AM

Welcome aboard! Your set up will work just fine.

I had a 2000 F250 with the 7.3 for many years. It was a great truck and took good care of us pulling our 5er that was probably about the same weight as yours.

Are you using a tuner? That 4 speed tranny will tend to want to up-shift at inconvenient times when pulling up hills. I found that using a SuperChips tuner and setting to tow mode solved that. It was a beast on the hills and would easily accelerate. So that's my one piece of advice for using your rig. It'll do the job very well.

**JRTJH** · 03-10-2024, 08:44 AM

Welcome to the forum. I had a 93 F250 7.3L NA (no turbo) and pulled a 93 Holiday Rambler 34' travel trailer (9600 pounds) through the mountains a number of times. It was "sort of slow" (40-50MPH) on the long uphills, but never had any problem getting to the top (except black exhaust).

One time, on I-70, going up to the tunnel from Denver, the black exhaust was really visible. When we got to the top, the front side of the trailer was "sooty" so we stopped to check things out. Back then, I always left the roof vents open to pull fresh air into the trailer and keep it cooler.... Well, when we opened the trailer door to go inside for lunch, the ENTIRE inside was "a black sooty mess"... DW was not a "happy camper" that day.....

So, learn from my "past mistakes"... Don't tow in the mountains with the roof vents open. It sets up a vacuum inside the trailer and will "suck that soot through every crack and crevice, through the trailer and out the roof vents"....

Again, welcome to the forum and enjoy your time here.

Roper46 · 03-10-2024, 12:26 PM

Welcome to the forum from south Georgia. Congrats on your first fifth wheel and safe travels to ya.

spicercars · 03-11-2024, 03:22 AM

Welcome from northern MN.

jxnbbl · 03-11-2024, 04:03 AM

Welcome from NH!

cougar23 · 03-11-2024, 06:26 AM

Welcome from middle TN. I have owned 3 trucks with the 7.3 diesel and pulled heavy trailers thru the mountains in Montana with no problems. My trucks had 411 rears and were automatic transmissions.

jsb5717 · 03-11-2024, 06:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JRTJH

Welcome to the forum. I had a 93 F250 7.3L NA (no turbo) and pulled a 93 Holiday Rambler 34' travel trailer (9600 pounds) through the mountains a number of times. It was "sort of slow" (40-50MPH) on the long uphills, but never had any problem getting to the top (except black exhaust)...

Interesting. Our 7.3 had a turbo and I hadn't really considered that they made them without it. Ours didn't have that problem with smoke...even pulling long hills. Sure, some occasional smoke if I really romped on it, but not sustained black smoke.

Still...a good idea to close windows and vents while on the road.

wiredgeorge · 03-11-2024, 07:57 AM

Hopefully the 97 F350 has four wheel disk brakes; our 96 F250 460 CID had drums on the back. It pulled a similar size RV fine in the hills and canyons; some very steep. Brakes didn't like it though.

dutchmensport · 03-11-2024, 10:19 AM

Welcome to the forums and congrats on getting your new camper. About the truck!.... well ... in my opinion .... you'll be just fine!

Just take it slow and easy until you are fully comfortable towing your new camper. Never do Jack-Rabbit starts when towing a trailer. Your truck may be able to take it, but your engine will "take" your gas tank! Slow, steady starts, and pick up speed smooth and evenly. You'll do just fine!

Stopping: Well, you really need to experiment a bit there, no matter what the tow vehicle is. Every camper responds a bit different with different tow vehicles.

Test braking at a very slow speed (less than 5 mph), smooth steady braking and then a hard panic stop brake. Feel the difference. No do the same thing at 10 mph. You'll feel a big difference in the panic stop at 10 mph that you didn't feel at 5 mph. Now, you have a base line what your camper and truck is capable of doing. You may want to tweek the gain (plus or minus) on your brake controller for the camper, then try stopping smoothly and evenly at 50 or 55 mph until you get the right feel.

If you do this, I think your truck will serve you just fine! Just remember, when towing, you are dragging thousands and thousands of pounds behind you. With all that weight, no vehicle operates the same as when you "dead head" (drive not towing).

jsb5717 · 03-11-2024, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dutchmensport

...
Stopping: Well, you really need to experiment a bit there, no matter what the tow vehicle is. Every camper responds a bit different with different tow vehicles...

Good thought. You'll need a good brake controller. I've found that the Tenkonsha P2 or P3 to be my favorites. I've used the P2 for years and like its control. There are both timed and progressive styles of controllers. The P2 and P3 are progressive which, IMHO, provide a smoother stopping experience when properly set up for your trailer.

My 2000 Ford had the connector under the dash so after getting the right adapter it was easy to connect.

jwehree · 03-14-2024, 07:19 AM

We have a 2001 F-350 with the 7.3 Powerstroke and pull our 41 foot 5th wheel which is a lot heavier than yours. We have the 6 speed manual transmission and pull in the mountains just fine. We pulled up over Wolf Creek Pass last May. The turbo gets hot so make sure you let her idle a while when you stop so it can cool off.

P&DZ · 03-14-2024, 08:08 AM

Welcome from Fort Collins! Plenty of great camping locations in CO. Have fun!

coastn · 03-14-2024, 11:51 AM

Welcome from another neighbor in Breckinridge. Agree with others that you have enough truck. Have hauled various fifth wheels over almost every major pass in Colorado except Independence. No issues with my 2500.

Uncle whitey · 03-24-2024, 07:40 AM

I bought a rear caliper kit to get rid of the rear drum brakes, been doing some research of them and found Lugnut 4x4 to have the best put together kit. I'm waiting for it to come in the mail, But with the tandem axle trailer brakes, it stops pretty good. Thanks for your input.

Uncle whitey · 04-07-2024, 06:33 AM

Where did you find the super chips tuner? Any certain model?

jsb5717 · 04-07-2024, 09:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle whitey

Where did you find the super chips tuner? Any certain model?

The tuner I used seems harder to find now than it did 15-20 years ago. It was a simple hand-held tuner that you would plug into the OBD port, tune as desired, then disconnect and store until next time. I set my truck to Heavy Tow and just left it there.

Something like this might accomplish the same thing but it requires an installation. I have no experience with this and I would be careful to NOT overtune. A 50-60 hp bump sounds about right.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/31513187124...Bk9SR8LHzZnXYw

FWIW, although mine was red, this is the type I had
https://www.autoaccessoriesgarage.co...AX-MicroTuners

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