Beating the FL heat by RVing or other way

[DogFather]

I live in Jacksonville, FL and want to head to the GA mountains to beat the
heat. I have a 1988 Mallard Sprinter, w/50K miles on it. But over the years
there have been many leaks. So, I think it's time for Bessy to head to the
salvage yard. The whole back part would need to be rebuilt....don't think it's
wise to put any money in here.

I'm thinking of a TT and Toyota, Nissan of GM pick-up truck. I plan to use
the truck as regular transportation as well.

So what TT would you all suggest I buy, for my half ton truck. I figure I can
get along in as small as 18'. But 23' would be better!

I also have to decide about a Tacoma V6 vs a Tundra V8. Same thing with
Nissan. A GM V6 will only tow about 4800...not really enough. So, the GM
truck would have to be a V8.

Any suggestions where to buy the TT. I don't like the dealers in Jerksonville,
they all be a bunch of chiselers. But many would say they are all that way.

Thoughts on either truck or TT are welcome.

[Denise]

We purchased the Ford F-150 shown in my signature below. We're pretty happy with it. Our tt currently weighs in loaded at about 6,500 lbs. One thing even with that "low" of weight is that the truck does need to slow down to 45mph to make it up the steeper mountain grades.

Happy shopping! Let us know what you wind up buying

[vesteroid]

This is a very subjective conversation. I purchased a 29bds which weighs in around 7500 max weight.

I had a 2008 ford f150 with the max tow package, so I think the max weight of that year was 8900#

I towed the trailer all through the sierra, I mean running over 9K feet on 8% grades.

Did the truck make it? Yes. Did it slow WAY down, I mean sometimes to 35...yes.

In the end I was not happy with its performance. It constantly ran in higher gears, and often the tach (and I mean on slight grades on the interstate) was well over 3K.

It just always felt like it was straining. On a windy day even on level ground, I had a hard time hitting 60 mph.

I sold the truck and bought a diesel. This truck doesnt even know my trailer is back there. I can run up interstate 80 over the mountains at 65 if I want to.

So bottom line, you have to decide whats ok to you. If you stay around 80% or I guess all the way to 100% of the manufacturers tow rating, I dont believe you have any serious wear issues on your vehicle.

however I would ask you, would you buy a scooter and strike off down the interstate at 35 MPH? Probably not because the flow of traffic is doing 70.

My silly point is just because it is rated to tow something, doesnt mean it will do it at normal highway speeds.

[Denise]

Here's another thought... through advice of others, we looked for the tt we thought we would be happy with for the next 8-10 years (we take 5-6 week trips several times a year, and occasionally take our grandkids locally for a weekend.. but most likely will never 'full time'). Once we found the floor plan and make we liked, then we started looking at trucks. This time we didn't have the $$$ to invest in another diesel.

Years ago, we just bought a 3/4 ton diesel then picked the tt as we knew the diesel could pull just about anything, but it was more costly. If you do get the diesel, you can always upgrade to a bigger tt and not have to worry about the purchase of another truck!

If you are set on the half-ton, try to get to an rv show. You have an opportunity to see many more trailers than if you just go to one or two local dealers. You may find that the 18-23' tt's may actually feel too small once you walk around in one. Some good advice we got from another forum, NEVER believe a salesman when he tells you that your half-ton will pull the trailer you pick (one guy told Don and me that any half-ton could pull a trailer that weighs 8000lbs! We walked out the door when he said that!).

[kipper]

Hey Dogfather , we Just bought a Jayco 19BH , its 22.5 feet long sleeps 5 to 7 , but over 4 it would start to get tight , its perfect for me dear wife and 8 year old , when our 18 year daughter decides to come , still livable , and our son who is serving in the Navy can also be shoe horned in . But that hasnt happened yet .
We tow it with a 2009 Chevy Silverado crew cab and it seems to be a perfect combination , enough power and plenty of room in the bed for bikes , firewood and stuff .
Kipper