Let's See Your Tow Vehicle, Trailer or Rig

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by DawgofWar11B

Hello all,

We just bought a 2005 zeppelin ZII 291

My tow vehicle is my 1999 GMC Z71 1500. It has the 5.6L V8 vortex with the extended cab ( 3rd door ) and an 8' bed.

I bought her in 2005 while stationed in Alaska for my 21st birthday and she's been with me ever since. Added a rough country 6" lift and 1 ton leafs in the back. She drove from Alaska back to Maine and now we are doing a 2 week Midwest and deep south trip.

Any suggestions, comments and concerns please don't hesitate to let me know.

You might want to take a look at the following threads. They may give you some insight into your truck and how towing a heavy RV can affect its performance.

https://www.keystoneforums.com/forum...ad.php?t=46355

https://www.keystoneforums.com/forum...ad.php?t=47039

I'm not suggesting that you "WILL" have all of the same issues, but many of them may "rear their ugly head" at a most inopportune time and put you, your rig and your family in an unsafe situation.... Better to know and make decisions than to think everything is "good to go" and find out at the wrong time that "it ain't what you thought"....

Take a look and see what you think.

[DawgofWar11B]

I did the math with towing cap at 6500, the trailer is 4800 and with our additional weights we should still be 1000ish lbs under the max. I did go for the extra sway towing bar for the trailer.

I've been towing around a Worthington trailer with a bucket loader with this truck and had minimal issue. This trailer will be a bit longer then that but we shouldn't have issue.

Only true way to find out is by doing, so we shall see how it goes.

Thank you for the input though!

[wesaysoracing]

Current rig

[Rcscisa]

[curtiscapk]

Nice mat! I've seen it before!

[skunked again]

Originally Posted by DawgofWar11B

I did the math with towing cap at 6500, the trailer is 4800 and with our additional weights we should still be 1000ish lbs under the max. I did go for the extra sway towing bar for the trailer.

I've been towing around a Worthington trailer with a bucket loader with this truck and had minimal issue. This trailer will be a bit longer then that but we shouldn't have issue.

Only true way to find out is by doing, so we shall see how it goes.

Thank you for the input though!

11B ? Infantry?
I was a 12B

[Wowzer]

New this year.

[Village Idiot]

2004.5 GMC Sierra 2500 HD Diesel....146k miles. I was thinking I was the only one running an older truck but obviously I was wrong. Those are some nice looking trucks!

[Blueswede]

[quaddriver]

This: (if the picture works....)

[machz]

2021 22mls
2021 f150

[skunked again]

Originally Posted by quaddriver

This: (if the picture works....)

I love it !

[quaddriver]

This *should* be someones tow vehicle....


Powered by about 500hp of cummins....


The name is good....

its cool when he turns on the propane and 3-5ft jets of flame come out of the stacks...

[RVGator]

Our new rig. Has a 20k Reese Goosebox on it that I am really enjoying. 2022 Avalanche 378bh

[cchristo]

[milhead]

Hi Forum,

This is the same photo that I put on my new User page but I am pretty happy with my tow vehicle. In this day of $100K pickup trucks I have a Eddie Bauer Ford Excursion with a dreaded 6.0l diesel. The dogs (kids 2.0) get the back of the vehicle on trips.

I bought it with a blown head gasket, It's now studded and is outfitted with an external oil cooler and some other towing tweaks. The last diesel Ford made without DPF or DEF and has been running well for a couple years.

Is the first diesel I've owned but towing with this rig has been a dream update form my old 3/4 ton suburban. Been fun to work on as well as a good set of lessons.

With GM turning modern Suburban's into glorified mini-vans the Excursion is the last decent full SUV puller sold in the US. Maybe someday they will invent a good electric tow rig but with todays range it's not happening soon.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by milhead

Hi Forum,

This is the same photo that I put on my new User page but I am pretty happy with my tow vehicle. In this day of $100K pickup trucks I have a Eddie Bauer Ford Excursion with a dreaded 6.0l diesel. The dogs (kids 2.0) get the back of the vehicle on trips.

I bought it with a blown head gasket, It's now studded and is outfitted with an external oil cooler and some other towing tweaks. The last diesel Ford made without DPF or DEF and has been running well for a couple years.

Is the first diesel I've owned but towing with this rig has been a dream update form my old 3/4 ton suburban. Been fun to work on as well as a good set of lessons.

With GM turning modern Suburban's into glorified mini-vans the Excursion is the last decent full SUV puller sold in the US. Maybe someday they will invent a good electric tow rig but with todays range it's not happening soon.

Nice looking rig... While it doesn't happen to everyone (hopefully no one else) the Excursion is an extremely heavy SUV with a critically limited payload. It's very easy to overload a diesel Excursion with even a medium length lightweight travel trailer. Take a look at this "very old thread" about one member's experiences towing with an Excursion that was "as heavy as an F250 and rated to tow 10K.... https://www.keystoneforums.com/forum...ight=excursion

[milhead]

Interesting read, The Excursion is an F250 in all respects but heaver due to the rear cabin. Is rated to tow up to 11000 on the bumper but I don't get near that I don't think I've ever approached 9000 by my napkin calcs. I have a 12000LB load distribution hitch. Compared to my old 2500 7.4l Suburban (pretty much a 2500 pickup) it tows remarkably better, And not just due to the power difference. In the old suburban the 8000 long trailer would toss you around enough to make your heart race. The Excursion, oddly enough, is a downgrade in ride when compared to the Suburban empty, but once loaded inside or with a trailer the Excursion is the clear winner to drive. We bought it pretty strictly as a tow vehicle that makes occasional hardware store runs. It's a true pity that the market is not large enough to keep the production going. In my opinion it's far more useful that a truck and unless you use a 5th wheel or some of the Crew-Cab/Long-Bed tows pretty much the same.

[skunked again]

Milhead- I agree, especially the last part, about it being more useful than a truck.
I always liked the excursion. Have contemplated getting one, for the reasons you listed. It would fit our lifestyle better than a truck.