Truck prospect

[EagleRecon]

Good day all,

I wanted to seek opinion on a truck we are considering for purchase. This truck - intended purchase is to tow our 26' 2015 Jayco Jayflight trailer. (4959lbs dry weight)

With wife and two kids in the truck and camping stuff like my beer, I expect to be towing and estimated 7500lbs. I won't load water tanks until we arrive at destination.

Truck info:

2005 Dodge Ram 1500 5.7 V8 HEMI

My plan is to have air bags installed (electronic brake controller already installed) working with dealership to install as part of this deal IF we go for it.

Allegedly towing capacity is 10,000 lbs. this is going to be verified.

New to towing, would this be ok for a rookie?

Thank you all in advance!

Cheers

[Fr8Train]

Sounds alright to me

[farnik78]

Depending on how much beer you need with a proper weight distribution hitch you should be good to go.


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[54GFL]

You should also consider what the payload limit on your truck is, then estimate the weight of your passengers cargo in the bed, as well as the tongue weight of the trailer. I've gone through this in the last several months, except my situation was opposite of yours. I already had a 2016 F150 with 3.5L Ecoboost. We ended up buying a Forest River Vibe 308BHS (36', 7200 dry) . The F150 pulls it fine, but because it's a lighter half ton, it lacks in stability especially with crosswinds (any half ton with a larger trailer) I'm selling it and going to a heavy duty pickup (F350 Super Duty)

Could you get by? Maybe. It really depends on how often you plan on towing, and if this is your last camper, or do you think there is any chance you would want to upgrade in the future. All of those things considered, if I were you, I would seriously look at a Ram 2500 (assuming you're a Ram guy) and get it right the first time. Wish I would have bought a Super Duty out of the gate. Now it's expensive.

BTW- my F150 has a 12,200 towing capacity. Don't be fooled by that. It's fairly meaningless vs other factors.


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[EagleRecon]

Originally Posted by farnik78

Depending on how much beer you need with a proper weight distribution hitch you should be good to go.


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Custom hitch for truck with Ant-sway bars came with.


Thank you for the tip! I'll keep beer payload down 😜

[etex211]

It sounds fine to me.

I'll add that I wholeheartedly recommend air bags for any of today's half ton trucks for pulling any trailer. Today's half ton trucks are built to ride like a Cadillac, not for hauling.

[herewego]

It will work ,Noticed you did not talk about gas mileage ,if that's not a concern than go for the Ram ,I think you will do a little better on fuel miles with the EcoBoost .if you want to realy see what people are towing with go to your nearest camp grounds and look at the TV >>>>>

[Nukeneck]

You'll be fine. I think we've all read enough weight/payload/tow capacity threads to choke a horse to determine that.

[rkresge]

Originally Posted by EagleRecon

Good day all,

I wanted to seek opinion on a truck we are considering for purchase. This truck - intended purchase is to tow our 26' 2015 Jayco Jayflight trailer. (4959lbs dry weight)

With wife and two kids in the truck and camping stuff like my beer, I expect to be towing and estimated 7500lbs. I won't load water tanks until we arrive at destination.

Truck info:

2005 Dodge Ram 1500 5.7 V8 HEMI

My plan is to have air bags installed (electronic brake controller already installed) working with dealership to install as part of this deal IF we go for it.

Allegedly towing capacity is 10,000 lbs. this is going to be verified.

All that towing capacity is nice, but it's MUCH more important to look at the truck's payload capacity, and the trailer's tongue weight based on the expected LOADED weight, not the dry weight. That means you need the GVWR of your trailer. About 10-15% of the trailer's weight is going to be on the hitch, not the tires. And that means the truck needs the available payload to handle that weight, plus passengers, cargo, fuel, etc.

FYI, the towing capacity number is based on general towing where the weight of whatever you're towing will be carried by the trailer's tires. Travel trailers are designed to put 10-15% of their total weight on the hitch; the tow vehicle must CARRY that, not just pull the trailer.

BTW, you're going to need a weight distribution hitch and sway control.

Good luck!!

Roger

[bzeller]

Originally Posted by 54GFL

You should also consider what the payload limit on your truck is, then estimate the weight of your passengers cargo in the bed, as well as the tongue weight of the trailer. I've gone through this in the last several months, except my situation was opposite of yours. I already had a 2016 F150 with 3.5L Ecoboost. We ended up buying a Forest River Vibe 308BHS (36', 7200 dry) . The F150 pulls it fine, but because it's a lighter half ton, it lacks in stability especially with crosswinds (any half ton with a larger trailer) I'm selling it and going to a heavy duty pickup (F350 Super Duty)

Could you get by? Maybe. It really depends on how often you plan on towing, and if this is your last camper, or do you think there is any chance you would want to upgrade in the future. All of those things considered, if I were you, I would seriously look at a Ram 2500 (assuming you're a Ram guy) and get it right the first time. Wish I would have bought a Super Duty out of the gate. Now it's expensive.

BTW- my F150 has a 12,200 towing capacity. Don't be fooled by that. It's fairly meaningless vs other factors.


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A Titan XD will handle that load much better than a regular half ton. I dropped down from a '15 Dmax and other than acceleration, have noticed zero difference.


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[SouthTexasRV]

Originally Posted by bzeller

A Titan XD will handle that load much better than a regular half ton. I dropped down from a '15 Dmax and other than acceleration, have noticed zero difference.


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Not trying to hijack thread, but how do you like the Titan XD? I have a 2006 Dmax 2500 currently. Been looking at the Titans..

[EagleRecon]

Thank you all very much for all the information. I'm am very fortunate to have read this information before purchasing a TV..

Cheers!

[bzeller]

Originally Posted by SouthTexasRV

Not trying to hijack thread, but how do you like the Titan XD? I have a 2006 Dmax 2500 currently. Been looking at the Titans..

I love my XD. Pulled my 314bds with the my '15 Dmax for about a year. Had a chance to get into the XD for a very good price and full warranty vs 90K on the Dmax so pulled the trigger. The 5.0 isn't as powerful as the LML 6.6 but I haven't really noticed and everything else on the XD feels the same as the 3/4s such as brakes, stability in wind, etc. An exhaust brake on the XD would be a nice feature but tow mode does a nice job of downshifting for engine braking.


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[Midnightmoon]

Just one more comment on the XD. Test drove a few over the last couple of weeks in preparation to replace my wife's 1/2 ton. Nice, nice trucks for what they are and very competitive in the price point. Basically a modestly equipped diesel for the price of a more optioned gas 1/2 ton from the big 3.

We haven't made up our mind yet, but it is definitely on our short list.

[clutch]

Just remember "you can't have too much truck".

[EagleRecon]

Originally Posted by clutch

Just remember "you can't have too much truck".

This is true, better to have too much than not enough. 👍🍻

[BCx213]

Originally Posted by EagleRecon

Good day all,

I wanted to seek opinion on a truck we are considering for purchase. This truck - intended purchase is to tow our 26' 2015 Jayco Jayflight trailer. (4959lbs dry weight)

With wife and two kids in the truck and camping stuff like my beer, I expect to be towing and estimated 7500lbs. I won't load water tanks until we arrive at destination.

Truck info:

2005 Dodge Ram 1500 5.7 V8 HEMI

My plan is to have air bags installed (electronic brake controller already installed) working with dealership to install as part of this deal IF we go for it.

Allegedly towing capacity is 10,000 lbs. this is going to be verified.

New to towing, would this be ok for a rookie?

Thank you all in advance!

Cheers

I have an 2004, towing is 8600, not 10,000. My TT is 5500 GVW and pulls it with no problem. I will be installing rear air bags on mine too.

[87Yugo]

Don't forget we are surrounded by mountains here in the lowermainland. A few weeks ago, when I towed up to Kelowna, every tow vehicle with a trailer was a diesel! Like someone said here, you can never have enough truck. Best Wishes

[Iraqvet05]

The XDs are nice trucks but you will be pressed to find a used one for less than $40k. The 2005 gas truck the OP mentioned can found for less than $12k. A $40-50k diesel is not in everyone's budget.

[87Yugo]

Anywhere we go around here, we are surrounded by the Rockys and Cascade mountains. Ever seen the show Highway thru Hell? This is our main highway when heading east. All I am saying is plan and get the truck you really need.