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View Full Version : Retiring Again, Need Truck & Travel Trailer



Jim Robinson
03-30-2005, 2:22 PM
At the end of this year I am going to retire (for the second time). The wife and I plan to purchase a not-real-big travel trailer and see parts of the U.S. that we haven't seen. That will probably only last for a year or two and then we will probably sell the trailer.

Here's my dilema, I need to purchase a truck to pull the trailer (the one I now have has 384,000 miles on it) but I don't want one that will be a real gas hog for just running around in and trips to the sawmill.

So, can anyone recommend a 1/2 ton size truck and the options I will need to pull the trailer? Also, I need suggestions as to what travel trailer is a "besy buy" as well.

Both of these will be purchased USED (I don't buy new vehicles, too smart for that.)

Jeff Sudmeier
03-30-2005, 2:28 PM
Jim, Look for a truck that has a transmission cooler or plan on installing one. Towing long distances can heat up your transmission coolant to very high temps. Once tranny fluid has been heated, it does not recover.

Also, the new trucks with the tow/haul mode are really nice for towing. You flip it on to tow/haul mode and it changes the shifting patterns to be more aggressive.

Have fun with your search and seeing the us!

Ken Fitzgerald
03-30-2005, 4:51 PM
Jim good luck with retiring!

I tow a 26' 8600 lb. 5th wheel travel trailer. The 5th wheel IMHO tows better than a bumper hitched trailer. It puts the weight over your rear axle and has a shorter turning radius. I bought our trailer used when it was 2 years old for about 70% of it's new price and yet it looked new. I bought a used 1-ton Ford F-350 4X4 with a 460 ci engine,4:10 rear end and a 5-speed manual transmission. Reason....the 460 has the hp to haul the trailer....the rear end puts the power to the wheels and the 5-speed manual transmission allows me to set the gearing. Traveling in the mountains, I want to be able to control my descent speed without using a lot of braking action. It's easy to burn out brakes on steep descents. I've seen 9 truckers killed at the bottom of the Lewiston hill due to going too fast and had their brakes burned out. Gas mileage 10-11 mpg and the truck doesn't care if the trailer is there or not....it's still 10-11 mpg. The newer trucks now have an automatic transmission with a "holdback" function that "puts the automatic transmission" in a lower gear and holds back on descents. I will be replacing my truck with a newer one in a couple of years when I retire. I will most likely get a diesel engine 4X4 and very possibly an automatic transmission so my wife will drive it. Good luck with your retirement, research and purchase of a towing vehicle and trailer!

Jim Becker
03-30-2005, 5:28 PM
Hmmm...if you're buying new or late-model used, there are some nice choices out there in 1/2 ton trucks as previously mentioned (Ford, GM, Dodge, Toyota, Nissan), including some diesel options with the Ford, GM amd Dodge. All can tow, but there are differences in capacities...knowing what your trailer will require is going to be important in that respect. Not all offer a full four door/back seat if you need a complete short bed (or long bed) arrangement, so consider that, too, if it's important to you.

Jason Roehl
03-30-2005, 10:40 PM
Hmmm...if you're buying new or late-model used, there are some nice choices out there in 1/2 ton trucks as previously mentioned (Ford, GM, Dodge, Toyota, Nissan), including some diesel options with the Ford, GM amd Dodge. All can tow, but there are differences in capacities...knowing what your trailer will require is going to be important in that respect. Not all offer a full four door/back seat if you need a complete short bed (or long bed) arrangement, so consider that, too, if it's important to you.

Except that there aren't too many diesel options in the 1/2-tons...(GM was the last one to do it, but those were lousy--100,000 mile engines). :cool:

If this is something that you're going to do full time for a year or two, you'll definitely want to go with a minimum of a 3/4-ton truck. For one, the engine/tranny combos are better, as well as the suspension, frame and brakes will all hold up better to long-distance towing and hauling. Depending on how much you want to spend, I'd go with either a Ford or Dodge 3/4-ton diesel (you'll get better mileage towing and unloaded) in the 2-10 year-old range. I don't know squat about brands of trailers, though. If you don't go with a 5th-wheel or gooseneck, get a weight-distributing hitch to help put more of the weight on the front axle for a more stable setup.

Chris Lee
03-31-2005, 8:24 AM
Jim,

Congratulations on your upcoming retirement. I should be there in about 30 years or so:D . I sold Ford trucks for 3 years and from experience I would advise you to get at least an F-250 or F-350 if you plan on towing anything over about 6000 lbs, for any long distance, especially on the highway. While smaller trucks will do it, you will notice a big difference in the way the vehicle handles with that big trailer back there. The F-series super duty trucks are fantastic and will definitely do what you want to do and you can get them outfitted with 3 different engines and probably 100 other configurations to suit your needs.

That said, if you really plan on buying a smaller trailer, say something weighing around 5000 lbs. I would suggest the Nissan Titan. I am sure there will be the typical people that only say Ford, Chevy or Dodge, but I made a very good living off trucks for 3 years. I went through this same decision about 6 months ago and wound up buying a Titan. I never thought I would do it either until I looked at the truck. 380 lb. ft. of torque, largest cabin of all the trucks,and a towing capacity of 9400 lbs. I would never tow that much with a 1/2 ton, but I guess you could for a short distance. The one thing I really liked was it has a tow package which gives you a class IV hitch, a 4.10 rear end, tow mirrors, transmission cooler, a temp. gauge for the transmission and it's prewired for the trailer brake box.

Good luck on your purchase.

Chris

Karl Laustrup
03-31-2005, 9:40 AM
While I don't own one, I have talked to three different individuals who use them for work, hauling heavy trailers with bob cats and the like. What are they.

The GM branded diesels with the Allison tranny and a $400-500 after market chip for the computer. The chip provides a sizeable increase in HP and torque as well as very much increased MPG. One said he averages 16-18 around town, pulling or not, with a crew cab dually. As I said, I don't know this for sure but each of the three had similar stories about the engine/tranny combo with the after market chip.

What you are doing is something I have dreamed about doing someday. My choice would be a 5th wheel trailer with the power coming from a Chevy or GMC set up as above.

Of course my first choice would be as seen in the picture. :D

Dennis McDonaugh
03-31-2005, 10:58 PM
Jim, I second the recommendation for the 5th wheel. We have one and it tows a whole lot better than the travel trailer we replaced with it. As to the truck, depending on the size of your trailer, a half to might no do the trick. Add the pin or hitch weight of a trailer, gas, stuff and people and you shoot right past the gvwr of a half tonner. I'm also a big proponent of diesel engines for towing--25 percent better milage and half the RPMs make a much nicer towing experience. Check out the forum at Trailer Life magazine for lots of opinions (and strong ones to boot) about tow vehicles. Good luck on your retirement!

Jason Roehl
03-31-2005, 11:43 PM
Along the lines of what Dennis is saying about fifth wheels...you need to be careful with the GVWR of 3/4-ton trucks, too, particularly the diesels. Diesels are generally rated to pull more than an otherwise equal gasser, but due to the extra weight of the diesel engine, they take a hit on the payload capacity. This can severely limit the pin weight (and thus, overall weight, as pin weight should be about 15-20%) of a gooseneck or fifth wheel trailer. PM or e-mail me, and I could give you a link to a good (large) Ford truck forum (I own 2, that's why I go there, I'm not necessarily endorsing them).

Brian Hale
04-02-2005, 9:42 PM
I'm with the others here, a 3/4 ton is a better tow truck and diesel would be my first choice. Better mileage, low maintenance cost, lower fuel cost (in the summer) higher resale value and a better power band more suited for hauling/towing. IMHO Cummins (Dodge) is the leader and is the only American owned and operated diesel available in a P/U.

As for a trailer, i can offer a couple thoughts. 5th wheels tow better as already stated but the hitch is an additional cost and puts holes in your truck bed.

Which ever type of trailer you get, look inside the cabinet doors for a paper that lists the capacities of the unit. Most importantly, you need to find the Cargo Carrying Capacity. This tells you how much weight you can put in the unit. You'll be surprised how many only allow 400-600 lbs. That may sound like a lot but it isn't.

Have you considered a slide-in P/U camper? A lot eaiser to jockey around and it doesn't require additional tags/insurance.

Brian :)

Dennis McDonaugh
04-04-2005, 8:31 PM
I'm with the others here, a 3/4 ton is a better tow truck and diesel would be my first choice. Better mileage, low maintenance cost, lower fuel cost (in the summer) higher resale value and a better power band more suited for hauling/towing. IMHO Cummins (Dodge) is the leader and is the only American owned and operated diesel available in a P/U.

As for a trailer, i can offer a couple thoughts. 5th wheels tow better as already stated but the hitch is an additional cost and puts holes in your truck bed.

Which ever type of trailer you get, look inside the cabinet doors for a paper that lists the capacities of the unit. Most importantly, you need to find the Cargo Carrying Capacity. This tells you how much weight you can put in the unit. You'll be surprised how many only allow 400-600 lbs. That may sound like a lot but it isn't.

Have you considered a slide-in P/U camper? A lot eaiser to jockey around and it doesn't require additional tags/insurance.

Brian :)

Brian, we drove to Alaska last summer with another couple. We pulled a 25' lightweight trailer with a 2003 Dodge/CTD and they had a 2001 Dodge/CTD and slide-in camper. We actually got better gas milage than they did. The only thing we could figure was our trailer was actually shorter than their rig with the camper. The extra wind resistance seemed to have a big effect on gas milage.

Brian Hale
04-05-2005, 6:08 PM
Dennis

Drive to Alaska! You've done that?? I'm envious! It's on our list of things to do shortly after we retire (6.5 years to go). Is it worth the drive? :cool: :cool: Where did you go to? How long did it take once you passed into Canada? What are the roads like?

As for the mpg differance... Are you both running the same rears? The 4:10's will get you off the line real nice but the 3:54 and 3:73's will get better milage. Yes, the truck camper does offer more wind resistance. The gap between the top of the cab and the bottom of the overhang of the camper is a nice air pocket. Open the sliding window at 70 mph and it wants to blow the driver out the window :eek: . Also a cap on the p/u with a trailer adds some to the mileage.
Just think, if you'd have been driving a Powerstroke you'd be 2-3 mpg lower. Love those Cummins! :D

BTW, are you a member of the Turbo Diesel Register? Great resource for the CTD. I've been in since i bought my truck new in '96. (176,000+ miles and 20-22 mpg)

Brian :)