JeffS
06-04-2013, 06:12 PM
Due to my wife’s recent back surgery we will be selling our current xLite 26SAB 5th wheel and moving to a Travel Trailer since we need to eliminate as many steps as possible. Quick word of advice, do everything you want sooner rather than later. Then when life throws you a curve, make whatever changes needed to keep on RVing. If you have time to wade through all of the following I have 3 questions at the end.
It is our intention to tow the travel trailer with our 2003 F150 7700 with which we have towed a 5th Wheel for the last 13 years with no real difficulty. Since the truck has less than 60,000 mi. and has never seen a winter we have no desire to replace it. Granted Vail Pass (have done it 6 times) has us down to 35MPH but we consider the trip half the adventure and don’t travel more than 350 miles/day at 60 MPH. Since we are retired we enjoy the luxury of time and never need to get anywhere in a hurry. The Cougar xLite 31RKS travel trailer we are considering is almost an exact match in trailer weight and Pin/tongue weight to our 26SAB 5th Wheel.
Just for reference here are the actual truck specifications and how we will run on the 4 key capacities:
2003 F150 7700 5.4L Triton V8 4X4 SuperCab (this is the old 250LD)
Wheel Base 138.5”
Base Curb Weight 5,030# (includes full tank of fuel)
GVWR - 7,700#
GCWR - 13,500# (assumes mandatory options, no cargo, 150# driver)
GAWR front - 4,150#
GAWR rear - 4,800#
Payload - 2,670#
Max Trailer/5th Weight - 8,200#/8,300#
Transmission - 4R100 (Heavy Duty)
Differential - 10.25” Sterling 3.73 Limited Slip Semi-Floating
Cooling (Radiator) - 1.42” core thickness (Upgraded Radiator)
Cooling (Transmission) - 14-plate Auxiliary Transmission Cooler
Brake Rotors - 12.13” front / 13.2” rear
Wheels/Tires - LT245/75R16E 7 bolt, Load Range E
GVWR – 10% under capacity
Payload – 35% under capacity
Trailer Weight – 8% under capacity
GCWR – 5% under capacity
On last year’s trip to the San Juan’s and Rockies we covered 4,000 miles at an overall fuel average of 10 MPG. BTW if you think towing eats the fuel spend a day on Engineer Pass in 4-low.
OK, finally the questions:
Since the tongue weight of the loaded trailer will be close to 1200# I am thinking a Class V Receiver Hitch may be a better option than a Class IV?
I am leaning toward an Equalizer Weight Distributing Hitch with Sway control but would not rule out the Reese Dual Cam if there is a clear reason to do so?
It has been 13 years since I have towed a trailer with our old Jeep Grand Cherokee (WD hitch and friction sway bar) so I am wondering, assuming a properly setup hitch, just how different is this going to be compared to the 5th Wheel?
It is our intention to tow the travel trailer with our 2003 F150 7700 with which we have towed a 5th Wheel for the last 13 years with no real difficulty. Since the truck has less than 60,000 mi. and has never seen a winter we have no desire to replace it. Granted Vail Pass (have done it 6 times) has us down to 35MPH but we consider the trip half the adventure and don’t travel more than 350 miles/day at 60 MPH. Since we are retired we enjoy the luxury of time and never need to get anywhere in a hurry. The Cougar xLite 31RKS travel trailer we are considering is almost an exact match in trailer weight and Pin/tongue weight to our 26SAB 5th Wheel.
Just for reference here are the actual truck specifications and how we will run on the 4 key capacities:
2003 F150 7700 5.4L Triton V8 4X4 SuperCab (this is the old 250LD)
Wheel Base 138.5”
Base Curb Weight 5,030# (includes full tank of fuel)
GVWR - 7,700#
GCWR - 13,500# (assumes mandatory options, no cargo, 150# driver)
GAWR front - 4,150#
GAWR rear - 4,800#
Payload - 2,670#
Max Trailer/5th Weight - 8,200#/8,300#
Transmission - 4R100 (Heavy Duty)
Differential - 10.25” Sterling 3.73 Limited Slip Semi-Floating
Cooling (Radiator) - 1.42” core thickness (Upgraded Radiator)
Cooling (Transmission) - 14-plate Auxiliary Transmission Cooler
Brake Rotors - 12.13” front / 13.2” rear
Wheels/Tires - LT245/75R16E 7 bolt, Load Range E
GVWR – 10% under capacity
Payload – 35% under capacity
Trailer Weight – 8% under capacity
GCWR – 5% under capacity
On last year’s trip to the San Juan’s and Rockies we covered 4,000 miles at an overall fuel average of 10 MPG. BTW if you think towing eats the fuel spend a day on Engineer Pass in 4-low.
OK, finally the questions:
Since the tongue weight of the loaded trailer will be close to 1200# I am thinking a Class V Receiver Hitch may be a better option than a Class IV?
I am leaning toward an Equalizer Weight Distributing Hitch with Sway control but would not rule out the Reese Dual Cam if there is a clear reason to do so?
It has been 13 years since I have towed a trailer with our old Jeep Grand Cherokee (WD hitch and friction sway bar) so I am wondering, assuming a properly setup hitch, just how different is this going to be compared to the 5th Wheel?