Upsized Truck

[ShotgunZ71]

Having towed with HD trucks since the beginning, we sold our fifth wheel a while ago and I went back to a 1500. Then, we found the Cougar 30BHS and really like the layout and storage. My truck pulled it fine and we were well within the weight ratings of the truck, as I have stated up here on a few threads. One thing kept bothering me, though. The stability of the tow wasn't near the same. Had I never towed with an HD, I'd probably never notice the difference. However, I did and couldn't get used to that "feel". Anyway, found a nice used 3500HD truck similar to what I had before I got the 1500. Now, the tows feel like I think they are supposed to and the ride is much more relaxing.

[dutchmensport]

Thanks for sharing your experience. Sometimes, things just have to be discovered by trial and error. I towed with smaller vehicles and when the transmission blew, I said never again. I went with dually's ever since, switched from gas to diesel and never, ever regretted it. Once you find a product that works and works well, don't upset the apple cart.

Thank-you for your affirmation! Hopefully others will take your hard-knocks experience and avoid similar costly, unhappy decisions.

[JRTJH]

When a "half ton owner" buys a trailer and starts towing, the "squishy feel" is all he's ever known, so he accepts it as "that's the way it's supposed to tow"... They fight the unstable towing characteristics, white knuckle steering with every big truck that passes, arrive tired and short tempered after a long day of fighting the trailer behind their truck, and simply accepting that "This is just the way big trailers tow.... It's all they've ever known, so it's "their normal" and they accept it....

As illustrated above by ShotgunZ71, once you have the knowledge/experience to "know the difference" and the ability to compare "this with that", then you immediately recognize the difference in "towing characteristics" between a "half ton design" and a "heavy duty design" vehicle....

Yes, there is a difference and to anyone who's "accepted bad towing as normal", until you have the ability to compare your towing experiences with "good towing characteristics", it remains a situation where "you just don't know what you don't know"......

[sourdough]

As Shotgun points out there IS a huge difference between towing with an HD truck and a 1/2 ton...no matter what "package" it has on it. I've done the same thing and would never tow a larger trailer with a 1/2 ton again.

I used to be one that said it towed "just fine" with a 1/2 ton. I thought I was unwilling to give up my cushy ride but being over payload by 200, living in an area where 50mph winds are customary spring, summer and fall and white knuckle experiences I didn't like, I decided to bite the bullet and go to the HD truck quite a few years back. Now that was an actual day and night experience - I was shocked. The 1/2 ton with LT tires, air bags, HD sway bar and an E4 just couldn't compare. That's why when folks come on with a 33-38' trailer and gvwrs ranging 8k-10k pulling with a 1/2 ton that's just fine, I know it's not; they just don't know. Some listen, some don't. Some will go to a scale, some won't. The bottom line is that the HD truck is just a better towing platform no matter the trailer but at that level it's the only safe one - but you don't know what you don't know as John pointed out.