Towing a trailer, how much truck do you need?

[twinfin]

Which is what I wrote.

Yes. And it was good advice worth repeating.

[dozer wright]

Many people grossly over load their trucks
Everything weight wise needs to be accounted for.
Every ounce counts.
It's very easy to over load people dont think about water , fuel , fire wood, people.
Like others have said it's all fine and good until it's not.
Added stress on Drive train, brakes , frame.
Just cause it says 250 , 2500 , 350 , 3500 dosnt mean anything. Gvrw is very important . But a 30 ft trailer is alot of Wind resistance , catch a strong side wind get that trailer whipping I want a 350/ 3500 possibly even a Dually. Keeping things under control.
I towed a 28 ft boat with a 96 F350 for 10 years. I thought it towed great , never had a issue , Then I bought a 2018 Duramax 3500 Dually , stress levels and Fatigue went way down , ride was better.

[Fjold]

Safely, you can tow all the way up to the truck's listed limit.

Not having to slow to half of the speed limit going down hill and not having to run 4,000 RPM going uphill, you should tow not more than 75% of the listed capacity.

If you want to to be able get on the freeway at speed going up an onramp and not even think about it then limit yourself to 50% of the listed tow weight.

I drive a Ram 1500 with the 5.7L and an 8 speed, Ram says I can tow 11,600 Lbs of trailer. My 18 foot travel trailer fully loaded weighs less than 4,000 Lbs and I can get on the freeway without even noticing it.

[Fizz]

Very overloaded and dangerous. It works till it doesnt:

Those look primarily like the loads were rear the trailer axles vs overloaded per se.

[therealnickb]

Those look primarily like the loads were rear the trailer axles vs overloaded per se.

Correct. Plus some of those trailers have the axles way too far forward. Poor design you don’t see manufactured anymore.

[Calif Hunter]

I used an F-350 Superduty 4x4 to tow our 24 foot toyhauler. I sometimes got comments about so much truck to pull the small trailer when I was getting gas, etc. I would reply that with toys, water (if any) and gear, the trailer weighed plenty. I would much rather have too much truck than too little. Going downhill or getting even a touch of sway, use the trailer brake only. Accidents often happen when the trailer starts swaying and the driver panics and hits his vehicle brakes - as others have pointed out. If you are foolish enough not to have manual/electric trailer brakes and a controller, speeding up may also pull the trailer straight behind you but that can be just as unsafe depending upon your speed, the grade, curves, etc.

Living in Apple Valley, I often see trailers on their sides and vehicles that were too small and light with bashed in rears and/or on their sides as well on the 15 freeway. Get enough truck or you are foolish and putting yourself and others at risk. The price of gas will be meaningless if injuries and even deaths occur.

[Rob454]

Went camping last weekend and the family next to us had a 32 ft travel trailer towing it with an older Toyota Tacoma. They went to take off and the amount of tongue weight I thought the front tires were gonna come off the ground. This was up and down a mountain. I would think even an F150 would be marginal for that downhill stretch. Thoughts?

Toyota’s are well known for having very soft rear springs. That and you possibly not having what’s called a weight carrying hitch caused the rear sag high front condition.
The problem with the older mini or midsize trucks is they didn’t have good braking systems and soft suspensions. Which meant a trailer can easily push them around and get all out of whack while driving.
Yiu were also most likely overloaded both in tongue weight and actual trailer weight. It to mention combined weight.

3/4 ton , does not matter gas or diesel, the suspension, brakes, tires and wheelbase are more important. The extra cost of diesel purchase is only going to be recouped if you keep truck 10 years. Gassers are just as fast or effective at pulling with right gear ratios and driving in powerband. Diesels are great if you tow frequently or full time, otherwise gas is fine and it is at every pump and does not make your hands stink and no urea needed(unless you buy a used old diesel)

Actually it’s realistically mileage. Truthfully a gas engine today will last a long time. I routinely used to get 200,000 out of my service trucks. I drove about 60k a year so I quickly racked up the miles. Most didn’t need anything a diesel didn’t need. Alternator or water pump maybe a radiator. Fuel filter every 40k etc. truthfully a gasser is a lot cheaper to maintain and fix compared to a diesel. Even a early diesel.

Diesels are great IF you tow a lot of weight ALL the time. As in hotshot work or traveling with a trailer and plan on racking up big miles.
Otherwise a big gasser will do just fine for 80% of most peoples towing needs.

I have had diesels for the past 20 years. My hands never smelled any worse than when I pumped regular gas. It’s not like I had to bathe in diesel to get it to fill my truck. My costs were minimal. Oil changes are 2x the cost of a gasser. Engine parts are slightly more expensive but I drive older diesels. I thug new with lots of cats or smog.

[Bobula]

Spend the money on a QUALITY weight distribution hitch.

[Fjold]

Spend the money on a QUALITY weight distribution hitch.

That's a big truth.

[echo1]

I towed a single axle, 22' Fleetwood Prowler with my 4.3 S10 extended cab from Modesto CA to Blackfoot ID, about 800 miles, 45-50 mph all the way. Took 2 days. It's my tiny home for my seasonal work in Idaho. 3rd season just ended. The Prowler sales brochure shows the 19' being towed with a Chevy Citation. PAX