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Old 12-09-2011, 04:04 PM   #1
mike&jenny
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Passport 3220BH

Does anyone out there own a Passport 3220BH and what do you tow it with? We are looking at one and not sure what to do. We love the layout and features. I have a 2003 F150 supercrew with a 5.4 liter, tow package. It's rated to tow I think 8200 or 8300 lb trailer. Any advise would be appreciated.
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Old 12-09-2011, 04:25 PM   #2
Festus2
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First, welcome to the forum. If you have your mind made up on the Passport, then you need to do some number crunching to see if your F150 is capable of safely towing it. You should find out the various weights of the Passport (Dry weight, GVWR, tongue, etc.) and compare that to the various towing weights and limits of your truck. Check the stickers on the truck and then go online to the Keystone website and find out what the various weights of that trailer are. You can't exceed the GVWR or the GAWR (Gross Axle Weight Rating). Please provide for a safety margin which may vary from 15%-20%.
You need to do some of this "homework" and provide us with some specific information about both units before we can give you any reliable information and advice.
Are you prepared for example, if you are set on that Passport, to upgrade your truck to an F250 or similar 3/4 ton? I would suggest that you not try to "force fit" the F150 to the Passport. They may not be a good match. Remember that the safety of you and your family and others on the road is paramount. So be prepared to either beef up your truck or to look at a lighter and probably smaller trailer.
Finally, I would not listen to any salesman who tells you that you can tow this RV with a 1/2 ton truck or to pay much attention to any sticker on the RV which says "Half Ton Towable". Do some research on your own and find out for yourself what all these terms mean and what would make a good match for your truck or what you need to pull the Passport you are looking at.
Loving the layout and the features of this Passport is great but make sure you have a tow vehicle which will take you and your family safely from A to B.
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Old 12-09-2011, 04:25 PM   #3
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Hi
With any 1/2 ton truck, the most important thing to factor in the trucks payload rating. The tongue weight on a 8500 lb TT will be around 900 lbs. Add that 900 lbs to any thing in the truck including passengers,dogs, bikes, wood, etc. You will likely exceed the trucks payload rating, and still could be within its tow rating. In my opinion, any trailer above 7500 lbs GVWR is 3/4 ton territory.
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Old 12-09-2011, 06:54 PM   #4
mike&jenny
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Thanks for the info. The dry weight is 6109 and carring capacity is 1391 which adds up to 7500. Tongue weight is 600 lbs. Does this sound about right?
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Old 12-09-2011, 07:14 PM   #5
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Originally Posted by mike&jenny View Post
Thanks for the info. The dry weight is 6109 and carring capacity is 1391 which adds up to 7500. Tongue weight is 600 lbs. Does this sound about right?
With a 7,500# GVWR trailer, your tongue weight should be a minimum of 12% of the loaded weight. 1,391# of "stuff" really is not that much gear. It adds up quickly. That all means you should be thinking in terms of at least a 900# tongue weight. Loaded tongue weights, even if the total is under GVWR, tend to be greater than manufacturer's spec. My 24' Sunline was GVWR'd at 5,500# yet it had a tongue weight of about 820# on a typical trip.

You'll have to do some homework to come up with the payload and other specs for your truck and then crunch the numbers.

Like therink, I generally think that a 7,500# GVWR trailer is right on the bubble between 1/2 and 3/4 ton trucks. And my preference is 3/4 ton at that point. But you will have to do the math to be sure about your specific tow vehicle.
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Old 12-09-2011, 07:17 PM   #6
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I am thinking that the loaded tongue weight will be 10% of loaded trailer weight or gvwr, which would be about 750 lbs. You may be ok. I believe on trailerlife.com there is a weight towing guide that covers all truck brands by year, model, engine, axle ratio, etc. You will need to know your axle ratio to get correct rating for your truck.
Good luck
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Old 12-09-2011, 09:44 PM   #7
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The 2003 F150 supercrew 4X4 has a 4 speed transmission and a max trailer weight of 7600 lbs with the 3.55 rear end. Payload is 1640 lbs

This info was obtained from the Ford F 150.net website.

If this information is accurate, then here's about what you face:

With you and 3 passengers at 150 each (600 lbs) and 200 lbs of cargo, firewood, etc you have a payload of about 800 lbs before you hitch your trailer. Assume the trailer weighs 7500 lbs and the tongue weighs between 10-15% (750-1125 lbs) If you could keep the tongue weight at 10% which is a tough thing to do, you'd be at the max vehicle weight. If you do load that way, you may find that you have significant sway with the trailer. Most people find that they need to maintain 12-15% ratio to tow well. Doing that will cause you to be over your truck's GVW and possibly over the RAWR as well.

Note that there is no "safety margin" in these calculations. Most people will recommend that you reserve 20% of your tow capacity as a safety margin. If you do that, then the max tongue weight you can tow with the above 4 people and 200 lbs of cargo in the bed would be 1312 - 800 = 512. A trailer tongue weight of 512 comes out closer to a 22-24' travel trailer.

There are some people on here that tow with your generation F150 and some of them report frustration towing 27' trailers. You might want to do more research before you commit to your plan. Good Luck
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Old 03-04-2012, 05:42 PM   #8
lspajm
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f150

I have a 2008 F150 5.4 ltr supercrew and we are buying this same unit -- i do not anticipate any problems towing it.
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Old 03-04-2012, 06:03 PM   #9
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I have a 2008 F150 5.4 ltr supercrew and we are buying this same unit -- i do not anticipate any problems towing it.


Dont take this the wrong way but Good luck
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Old 03-15-2012, 08:50 AM   #10
maronej
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towing a passport 3220 BH

I just joined today and read this post about towing the 3220 BH. We bought ours last August and love it !! We tow it with 2002 Ford Excursion, V10. 3.73 gears and so far have had no problems, it tows great !!
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Old 03-19-2012, 04:45 PM   #11
mic1hael
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getting same trailer had same problem

After all the research I did for my TV I ended up having to upgrade to something a little more stout which will also give me room to upgrade the TT. I would have to say if you have any doubt or concers about safety you might have to bite the bullet and upgrade your TV to a 3/4 ton. I replaced my Nissan Armada with a GMC 2500HD and I already feel better even though I have not towed it yet. Good Luck please post if you get a new TV.
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Old 03-19-2012, 06:57 PM   #12
lab530
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3220bh

We got our Passport 3220bh last May. We had a blast camping with it. We pulled it last year with our F-150. It pulled it fine with no problems. We have now upgraded as my husband is going to start plowing in the Winter. So we have a F-250 Super Duty now. Can't wait to go camping again. Our 1st trip is Memorial Weekend. We have already booked about 5 different campgounds already. You have any pro's or con's you found with your TT?
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