28BHS or Similar - What are you Towing it With?

[TaftCoach]

Long story but my favorite mother in law wants to buy me a new TT so she can vacation with us.

My DW and I love our 21QB but I'm willing to explore options. I also happen to be looking for a new truck early next year. The 28BHS or 28BHBE seem like good choices.

Those that have a 28BH what TV are you using and is it working?

[Rustic Eagle]

Wow, nice gesture on your mother in-laws part!

I'm sure some 28BHS/28BHBE members will chime in......, but I will submit that my prior Eagle 278FBS had a GVWR of 9,000lbs similar to that of the 28BH's, and I found both my prior/present 2500HD 6.0L gasser's towed my Eagle's associated loaded weights nicely.

Bob

[ALJO]

You will probably hear that a half ton will pull it easily, but it will not be a comfortable drive. 7000 is the max limit for a half ton. After that go a truck size up.

[2021JayFlight28BHS]

Just picked mine up yesterday. I towed it home with my 2018 f-150 3.5 eco boost. Towed fine, had enough power. You definitely know when a Semi passes you (wind pulls you in). I drove 55mph because this is the biggest thing i’ve ever towed. I got an E4 10k hitch. Glad I did it helped level the truck and with sway.

I feel safe and think my truck will do fine and will continue to use this truck for a while, but will trade up for a f250 in a year or so.

Another camper to consider jay feather 24bh, very much like the 28bhs sans the couch. Had one on order but was taking too long, dealer got the 28bhs in and we settled on it. No regrets. Also might be a long drive for you but my dealer pretty much beats anybody in the nation, when comparing same options to same options. So definitely look outside where you live and be willing to travel and use that to your advantage.

[TaftCoach]

Thank you. I'm fairly certain I'll be happier towing with a 3/4 ton on cross country summers. It's using it for a daily driver that makes me hesitate. I live my F150 for daily drives.

[2021JayFlight28BHS]

Agreed... it’s a lot of camper. 33’4” to be exact.... I didn’t really want to go that big, but it was available and the price was right. I will for sure be upgrading to a f250 before I go more than 100 miles from home to camp.

Best of all, the wife agrees that I should now upgrade to an f250. so it’s a win win.

[kayakterp]

My F-250 pulls my 27BHS very well with no problems. It's a 2015 which is the first year for the aluminum body. It has over 3k lbs. of payload.
It is also my Daily Driver so I wanted gas...the 6.2L gas is a work-horse and good for towing.
My TT 27BHS box is 28'4" and with the tongue it's 31'8" weighing in at 6,065 lbs. dry and total weight capacity is 8,250 lbs.
This is just a tad smaller than the 28BHS
Any 3/4 ton and up should do what you need!

[2021JayFlight28BHS]

This is the engine I’d get also. Any long term issues from the 6.2? What about avg mpg with mixed driving, and with towing (my f150 got 10mpg towing, which I thought was pretty good).

[Rustic Eagle]

TaftCoach,

Member "LiftedAWDAstro" has a 2017 28BHBE (9,250lb GVWR) and tows with a Ram 2500. CAT scale results: Gross loaded weight 8,500lbs and 1,200lb loaded tongue weight (14% of gross). Reference Post #12: https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...t-57188-4.html

Member "Northern Jay" has a 2015 28BHBE (9,250lb GVWR) and tows with a GM 3500HD. CAT scale results: Gross loaded weight 8,800lbs and 1,200lb loaded tongue weight (13.6% of gross). Reference Post #6: https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...t-57188-4.html

Recommended loaded tongue weight: 13% to 15% of gross.

Originally Posted by TaftCoach

snip......I'm fairly certain I'll be happier towing with a 3/4 ton on cross country summers.........snip

I would agree......., even towing 35 miles to a local campground.

Bob

[2021JayFlight28BHS]

To follow-up, I went to the scales on the way to campground this past weekend and here are my weights:

Steer 3220 (100% weight returned)
Drive 3580 (about 960lbs more than no trailer)
Trailer 7100
Total 13900

Truck absolutely had no problem pulling the weight.... and I had absolutely no sway (driving 55mph or less) with some porpoising when hitting a bump. I say all that to say that I can and will use my truck, but I will be in the market for a F-250 ASAP because it would just make me feel safer going up and down the mountains of WV.

[Rustic Eagle]

Originally Posted by 2021JayFlight28BHS

To follow-up, I went to the scales on the way to campground this past weekend and here are my weights......snip

Were you able to confirm your loaded TT tongue weight?

Bob

[2021JayFlight28BHS]

Originally Posted by Rustic Eagle

Were you able to confirm your loaded TT tongue weight?

Bob

No, unfortunately I was in a rush... so I wasn’t able to disconnect the trailer and do it the right way, next time I take it out (prob next spring) I will for sure do it the right way.

I do know that from a previous weigh with just the truck my steer axle was 3220 and drive was 2620.... so I deduced my tongue weight to roughly be about 8-900lbs including the hitch... (previous weigh was only me in the truck, weigh with trailer I had wife and baby in the back seat of truck)

I know it’s prob not that accurate, but at least I have an idea.

[kayakterp]

Originally Posted by 2021JayFlight28BHS

This is the engine I’d get also. Any long term issues from the 6.2? What about avg mpg with mixed driving, and with towing (my f150 got 10mpg towing, which I thought was pretty good).

I have not had any issues with this motor. I bought it used with only 4,800 miles and now am at about 60K miles.
It does suck the gas though! 7-8 MPG towing and about 12 MPG without my TT.
Disclaimer: I do have a heavy foot, esp in the mornings on my way to work.

[bushflying]

I have a 28BHBE and tow it with a 2007 Silverado with 5.3L and I have gone to Alaska 6 times with it and no problems.

[Scubachris]

For two seasons I towed our 28DSBH with a V8 F150 CCSB 3.31 rear end, plenty of power even for most hills. Felt like I was “driving” all the time, always on edge. Upgraded to an F250 6.2 CCSB with 3.73. Handles like a dream, very little semi “suck” and handles crosswinds with much less hassle. I was always skeptical about people saying “night and day difference” but it really was. That being said, we go on long trips two-three times a year so I really like it and don’t mind the hassle of it being a daily driver....

[Scubachris]

Oh, I’m averaging 9.8 towing (this includes some mountains we did Yellowstone and Tetons), and 13.5 in mixed driving as a daily driver. The 6.2 has a solid rep.

[joe w]

We tow our 212QB with a 19 Ram 1500 V6 with the tow package and a Husky Centerline TS hitch. Took a 7000+ mile grand tour in Sep & Oct out west to include most all of the national parks. Had zero problems and averaged 9.2 MPG overall including mountainous legs. I set the cruise at 62 when on the level. I use only Mobil I in all my vehicles. We had the oil changed half way through the trip in Mountain Home Idaho.

[gothsqwd]

I have a 28BHS and currently tow it with my 04 F-250 with diesel and a WD hitch. I previously towed it with a dodge 1500. It did OK, but struggled a bit on hills. The F250 definitely sits better while towing as well. I get 11-12 mpg while towing the camper.

[Regulator]

We were in the same situation a couple of years ago. We bought a 28BHS and took one trip pulling it with our F150. On the interstate it was scary. We traded for an F250 diesel and have not looked back.

One thing you need to consider, though. How spry is your mother-in-law? The F250 is pretty tall and is a bit of a struggle for my 70 year old wife to get into.

[RonkoCamper]

Wife and I are new to RV camping- 4 years into this adventure. We are on our second camper- first one was a older Fleetwood 31 footer and we downsized to a newer 26BHS Jayco

My last two trucks were a Ram 1500 but I knew I was close to its max towing capacity so I traded it in for a Silverado 1500 with a beefier rear end for more towing capacity. Slightly better but not by much. I never felt confident pulling either camper with either trucks. I tried upgraded rear shocks and air bags in the Chevy. It was better but I still felt the front end get light on me in some of the off camber curves. It was unnerving feeling.

I traded it in on a Ram2500 Gas 6.2. This truck is a beast and pulls great! So far, i have not felt that light feeling in the front end. Around town, my mileage is 11-12 miles. On our last trip we got 9 per gallon in a headwind and rainstorm. Since I ride my motorcycle to work most days and work 10 miles form home, I can deal with the poor gas milage.

Hope this helps!