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03-03-2019, 07:14 AM
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#1
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Member
Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 48
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New owner in WI!
Hi there. My wife and I just pulled the trigger on a Passport 239ML. A little worried about my tow vehicle, a 2018 Tacoma with a 6400lb limit, but I think it will be okay. We have one little boy.
For several years we’ve been renting cabins at campgrounds a couple times a year. Two years ago my bro in law bought a pull behind and they love it. So we decided to join in the fun.
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03-03-2019, 08:24 AM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: N. Illinois
Posts: 167
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Welcome, our previous trailer was a passport. No issues with it, I hope you enjoy yours as well.
__________________
Andy & Iacie G.
2017 Impact 361
2017 F350 4x4 6.7 Powerstroke
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03-03-2019, 10:47 AM
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#3
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Member
Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 48
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 86GT2r
Welcome, our previous trailer was a passport. No issues with it, I hope you enjoy yours as well.
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Thanks. This one seemed like everything was a notch better quality than some of the other brands in the same sized trailer. I’m hoping I wasn’t hoodwinked!
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03-03-2019, 12:37 PM
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#4
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Site Team
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: W. Texas
Posts: 17,686
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Welcome and congrats on the new rig!
The Passports I've seen seemed like pretty nice trailers. As far as towing it with the Tacoma, I think it will struggle simply because it will be pulling 5400 lbs. As far as handling the load, I don't know. Look at the driver door stickers and see what your weight limits are (payload, gawr, etc.) and that will give you a better idea of how you will fare. With your payload figure then take about 650 lbs. for the tongue (5400 x .12) and 100 lbs. for the hitch to give you some idea of how much lee way you have - the tongue weight will possibly/hopefully be less.
Good luck and have fun. Camping in an RV IS great fun and with the little one you will be making memories for a lifetime.
__________________
Danny and Susan, wife of 56 years
2019 Ram 3500 Laramie CC SWB SB 6.4 4x4 4.10
2020 Montana High Country 331RL
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03-03-2019, 12:44 PM
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#5
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Member
Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 48
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sourdough
Welcome and congrats on the new rig!
The Passports I've seen seemed like pretty nice trailers. As far as towing it with the Tacoma, I think it will struggle simply because it will be pulling 5400 lbs. As far as handling the load, I don't know. Look at the driver door stickers and see what your weight limits are (payload, gawr, etc.) and that will give you a better idea of how you will fare. With your payload figure then take about 650 lbs. for the tongue (5400 x .12) and 100 lbs. for the hitch to give you some idea of how much lee way you have - the tongue weight will possibly/hopefully be less.
Good luck and have fun. Camping in an RV IS great fun and with the little one you will be making memories for a lifetime.
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Sticker says 425 hitch weight
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03-05-2019, 04:38 PM
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#6
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Site Team
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: W. Texas
Posts: 17,686
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Controller23
Sticker says 425 hitch weight
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Your sticker is showing you the unloaded hitch weight - 425 lbs. That is the very least it would weigh hopefully with a 4189 lb. dry weight (10.1 %). You need to add the carry capacity of the trailer (1211 on the website - also on the sticker) and it should come out to about 5400 lbs. In my experience 12% has been a good number to estimate tongue weight on a bumper pull. That equates to about 650 lbs. as my previous post mentioned (5400 x .12 = 648).
As a note, my trailer sticker says my tongue weight is 825. I suspect it has never been that low unless it was when it rolled of the assembly line. After both propane tanks were filled and 2 batteries were added before I took possession that number was well into the history books. I now weigh 11-1200 depending on how I load....and, I put lots of stuff in the bed of the truck, including my 10 pairs of jeans and DWs 28 pairs of shoes etc. to keep it out of the trailer...
You're making a mistake trying to look at all the dry numbers and not trying to figure out what's going to happen in real life. A Tacoma IMO is a marginal towing vehicle at best; if it's 4 wheel drive even worse due to the short wheelbase, high height and narrow width. You will do yourself a huge favor by trying to err on the conservative side instead of "stretching" the capabilities of the combo. JMO/YMMV
__________________
Danny and Susan, wife of 56 years
2019 Ram 3500 Laramie CC SWB SB 6.4 4x4 4.10
2020 Montana High Country 331RL
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03-03-2019, 12:42 PM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Schulenburg
Posts: 1,164
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Congrats and welcome from the other side of this great country.
__________________
Joey
2017 Hideout 308BHDS
2006 F-350 6.0L PSD CC 4X4
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03-03-2019, 02:01 PM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2018
Location: Markham, Ontario
Posts: 1,942
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from Toronto
Congrats on new trailer, Good luck, and enjoy your stay here.
__________________
Dan & Serena
2019 GMC SIERRA 2500 HD SLE
2015 Cougar X-Lite 29 RET
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03-05-2019, 03:38 PM
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#9
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: Hurley
Posts: 350
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and enjoy the new PassPort.
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Kenny & Susan
2017 Passport 2670bh
2017 F250 6.2 4wd
Equalizer 4 pt.
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03-06-2019, 03:09 PM
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#10
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Junior Member
Join Date: Feb 2019
Location: De Forest
Posts: 22
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Welcome fellow Wisconsinite! We pick up our new Passport in three (maybe two) weeks. We had to keep up with the brother-in-law also.
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03-06-2019, 04:04 PM
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#11
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Woodbridge New Jersey
Posts: 823
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Congratulations on your New camper, Welcome to the forum from New Jersey.
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03-10-2019, 07:15 AM
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#12
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Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: Wilmington
Posts: 4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Controller23
Hi there. My wife and I just pulled the trigger on a Passport 239ML. A little worried about my tow vehicle, a 2018 Tacoma with a 6400lb limit, but I think it will be okay. We have one little boy.
For several years we’ve been renting cabins at campgrounds a couple times a year. Two years ago my bro in law bought a pull behind and they love it. So we decided to join in the fun.
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Hi,
We bought a 239ml this past November and took it to the Everglades. I tow with a 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 4.7L. It did fine on this flat land trip. I usually don’t tow with full water. Will be interesting to see how it does heading West this summer.
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03-10-2019, 10:13 AM
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#13
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Junior Member
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Posts: 2
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Congrats on your new Keystone 239ML travel trailer. I trust you will have many years of enjoyment with it.
Regarding your tow vehicle (TV) I agree with Sourdough that it will be a struggle to pull with your Tacoma. We also live in Wisconsin and you will never realize how hilly Wisconsin is until you start pulling a trailer. We have a Keystone Passport 2510BH and used to pull it with a 2012 Tahoe with the 5.3L engine and tow package with 3.42 rear ratio. It was rated to pull 8400 lbs. It towed ok but I had to get a running start to get up hills and keep RPMs under 3500. But if winds were over 15 mph, which they often are here, it was a struggle to tow, even with an Equalizer hitch system. I added LT tires to our TV and that helped but it still swayed in winds over 15 mph.
So I researched and found I had 3 TV problems:
The Tahoe had coil rear springs which gave a nice ride but not much stability. Leaf springs give added stability.
The Tahoe wheelbase was too short for the trailer. The Tahoe had 116” wheelbase which is good up to 21.5’ trailer. (See RV Consumers Group (rv.org) for guidelines) For our 25’ trailer we needed at least 124” wheelbase and longer the better.
The Tahoe had 320 HP but more would be better with all the hills.
In conclusion I decided I needed to upgrade our TV to a pickup truck and ended up with a 2017 GMC Sierra 1500 with the Max Tow package. This was a nice alternative instead of going up to a 2500. It rides as nice as the Tahoe even with the beefed up leaf springs; a longer wheelbase of 143”; increased 105 HP at 425 HP with 6.2L engine. This made a significant improvement pulling our trailer. No more white knuckles pulling in the wind or hills.
I hope this helps. Good luck and happy camping.
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03-10-2019, 10:28 AM
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#14
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Member
Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 48
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cleghorn Kid
Congrats on your new Keystone 239ML travel trailer. I trust you will have many years of enjoyment with it.
Regarding your tow vehicle (TV) I agree with Sourdough that it will be a struggle to pull with your Tacoma. We also live in Wisconsin and you will never realize how hilly Wisconsin is until you start pulling a trailer. We have a Keystone Passport 2510BH and used to pull it with a 2012 Tahoe with the 5.3L engine and tow package with 3.42 rear ratio. It was rated to pull 8400 lbs. It towed ok but I had to get a running start to get up hills and keep RPMs under 3500. But if winds were over 15 mph, which they often are here, it was a struggle to tow, even with an Equalizer hitch system. I added LT tires to our TV and that helped but it still swayed in winds over 15 mph.
So I researched and found I had 3 TV problems:
The Tahoe had coil rear springs which gave a nice ride but not much stability. Leaf springs give added stability.
The Tahoe wheelbase was too short for the trailer. The Tahoe had 116” wheelbase which is good up to 21.5’ trailer. (See RV Consumers Group (rv.org) for guidelines) For our 25’ trailer we needed at least 124” wheelbase and longer the better.
The Tahoe had 320 HP but more would be better with all the hills.
In conclusion I decided I needed to upgrade our TV to a pickup truck and ended up with a 2017 GMC Sierra 1500 with the Max Tow package. This was a nice alternative instead of going up to a 2500. It rides as nice as the Tahoe even with the beefed up leaf springs; a longer wheelbase of 143”; increased 105 HP at 425 HP with 6.2L engine. This made a significant improvement pulling our trailer. No more white knuckles pulling in the wind or hills.
I hope this helps. Good luck and happy camping.
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Thank you. I think I mentioned above I decided to upgrade to a new Silverado with the 5.3 and regular advanced tow package, for a tow rating of 9600lb. Don’t think I’ll have a problem now.
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03-10-2019, 06:53 PM
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#15
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Junior Member
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Posts: 2
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Sorry I didn't see you picked up the Silverado already. You should be set. Have fun!
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03-10-2019, 10:28 AM
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#16
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: New Bern
Posts: 10
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Congratulations from North Carolina.
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03-10-2019, 10:32 AM
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#17
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Windsor
Posts: 13
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Welcome
Congrats and welcome to the site great information here on just about anything about rving
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03-11-2019, 12:13 PM
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#18
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Schulenburg
Posts: 1,164
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Congrats yet again. You'll be pleasantly surprised.
__________________
Joey
2017 Hideout 308BHDS
2006 F-350 6.0L PSD CC 4X4
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03-13-2019, 05:54 AM
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#19
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Member
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: Cincinnati
Posts: 94
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Yeah you will definitely be ok pulling it with the Silverado. I have the exact trailer you have and pull it with a 2011 ram 1500 with the 5.7 and it pulls great. Never have I had an issue towing it. As long as you have your weight distribution hitch dialed in you will be good.
__________________
2017 Keystone Passport 239ml
2011 Jeep GC Overland 5.7 Hemi
2003 Dodge Ram 4.7
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03-14-2019, 04:11 PM
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#20
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Member
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: Cincinnati
Posts: 94
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Take a look at the blue ox swaypro. That’s what I am using with my 239ml and like it a lot. Very easy to hook up and no adjustments needed other than ride height for your initial setup. Definitely not the cheapest but very nice. Plus if you ever upgrade to a bigger travel trailer you only need to buy the bars to match your weight. I believe I have 750 lbs bars on mine.
__________________
2017 Keystone Passport 239ml
2011 Jeep GC Overland 5.7 Hemi
2003 Dodge Ram 4.7
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