Towing a Whitehawk 28DSBH with F150 Eco?

[12VOLTMAN]

Hi guys,

I am new to the forum and have some towing concerns. I have a 2013 F150, 5.5' box, 4x4, ecoboost, with 3.55 electronic axle. I do not have the max tow package. The truck says I should be able to pull 9600lbs and yellow door sticker says combined weight should not exceed 1361lbs. I am shopping for a travel trailer and I'm looking at a Jayco 28DSBH. It has a hitch weight of around 640lbs and a dry weight of about 6000lbs and is 32' long. I'm worried that this is too much trailer for the truck. I have never pulled a camper before and I don't want to set myself up to fail. Does anyone else have this combination? I have read about so many different problems with towing something this long that I'm considering waiting until I can step up to an F350 and going to a fifth wheel. Am I over-reacting?

Thanks

 

[Bassdogs]

Going from Zero to 32', with no towing experience will be a challenge. One thing I can tell you is that the White Hawks tow like a dream. My 2014 is 34' and it towed fine with my 08 Chevy 1500 other than I was getting some higher tranny temps. The numbers on the 1500 said I was ok. I upgraded to a 2500HD so the question is no longer in play.

Time will tell with the ecoboost but if you believe Ford, it is a towing machine. I'd worry more about the length and let Ford deliver on the towing.

 

[Whitehawkmn]

I have the same exact setup as you are talking about. This is our second camper but our last was a 17ft expandable and I pulled it with a minivan. The truck you have will do a great job. We are actually pulling ours from central MN to the Black Hills next week. The only thing that I added was Roadmaster Active Suspension. If you have any other questions, send me a PM.

 

[DJL1967]

I have no issues towing my 28DSBH with my F150. I've towed my 20' boat for many miles before buying my TT and actually find towing the TT is much easier. The extra length makes backing in the driveway so much easier than the boat. You will have no issues with that setup, just keep in mind when towing you need to make wider turns and just take your time.

 

[Rustic Eagle]

Welcome to JOF

The Jayco published 640lb hitch weight isn't representative of the "actual" loaded hitch weight. The loaded hitch weight for a 32ft TT should be 13% to 15% of the TT's actual loaded weight, and the TT loaded weight is the result of your personal loading habits.

Using the 28DSBH's GVWR of 7,500lbs (worst case), the recommended loaded tongue weight would be 975lbs to 1,125lbs.

snip...... I do not have the max tow package. The truck says I should be able to pull 9600lbs ......snip

Since you don't have the Max Tow Package, you will have to confirm your F-150's payload capacity because the TT's loaded tongue weight is subtracted from the TV's payload capacity.

As stated, a 32ft TT is a long trailer requiring some additional awareness while in-tow and in confined areas (some campgrounds/campsites, gas stations, etc.).

Bob

 

[milw156-JAY]

I used to have an F150 Ecoboost but with the Max Tow package. In fact there's a thread that I started in August last year showing results of taking it to a CAT Scale.

I think you'll be close to the limit when loaded under real world conditions.

I believe you will definitely want a WD hitch with built in sway control.

The engine can handle it without a sweat going up hills, but I felt it was a little weak when engine braking going down.

 

[Derekv700]

I think you'll be close to the limit when loaded under real world conditions.

I believe you will definitely want a WD hitch with built in sway .

This is great advice I towed my trailer with an F150 and it did a good job but the trailer would sway the truck a little so we went to a Reese dual cam setup and it was much better to tow with. A Reese dual cam or Equilizer E4 hitch will be the way to go. We upgraded to a one ton now so we have no issues at all anymore.

 

[12VOLTMAN]

Thanks for the replies. From the research I've done, and your comments, it seems that the truck will handle pulling the trailer although it will be close to reaching the payload of 1361lbs. I completely agree that a 32' trailer is pushing it for a novice, and believe me, it gives me pause. I started out looking at smaller floor plans with bunks, but once we saw the oversized bunks of the 28DSBH it was hard to go back to looking at the small coffin style ones. We like the hybrid X23B a lot also, but it's tough to justify the price of the hybrid when can spend just a little more and get something so much more substantial like the White Hawk.
I have a brother that is an experienced semi truck driver. So whatever I decide on, I'll definitely have him put me through 'drivers ed' before I try to go too far on my own!

 

[youngcanadiancouple]

You should be fine... Like 1 member said they tow like a dream!

 

[gtsum2]

you will be over on payload once you are loaded up and hitting the road imo. No doubt the ecoboost has plenty of power to pull it though...you just dont have much payload and will have to be very aware of what you take with you

 

[William-JAY]

I tow the 28dsbh with a Tahoe that has less than your truck capacity and I pull it with full tank of fresh water and it does fine. My neighbor just bought the same camper with the f 150 v8 and 342 gears and he has no problems pulling it either.

 

[Bassdogs]

Just watch the tranny temps and take it easy on long climbs and curvy roads. That turbo will scream and "Eat fuel" under heavy acceleration. That milage that ford talks about will be just a dream when towing and with a lead foot. The Ecoboost gets its power from the turbo. Thats not a bad thing, but when its spinning, its packing in the gas to feed those little cubic inches.

Love my Duramax that pretty much climbs anything with pavement and rarely will it ever exceed 3000 rpm's. For sure it sucks fuel under heavy power, but its just humming not screaming.

 

[Big Sky-JAY]

Vapor Locked?

Just watch the tranny temps and take it easy on long climbs and curvy roads.

X2 with Bassdogs on this. Watch that temp gauge.

As a newbie, also don't push your speeds. There have been many threads on the forum asking folks what speed they pull at and what their TT tires are rated for. Most agree the 55-65 as a maximum is safest.

We have a YUKON XL and are pretty maxed out on our tow rating with our Jayflight 26 BHS. Here is an experience I haven't read on the forum but may become of some use to you in regard to climbing mountain passes.

We were climbing out of the Santa Cruz beach area headed to Sequoia NP. The ascent traveling to the park entrance for us started below sea level and climbed to 8,000 feet. My tendency was to try and force the transmission to downshift as we climbed by punching the accelerator. Not an effective choice. As we passed the 6,000 foot mark the TV started to chug and stopped in the road. This is a two lane road, no shoulders and a pretty steep incline. I'm blocking traffic on a winding road. The engine acted like it was vapor locked, which since it's fuel injected had me confused. Fortunately a tow truck driver stopped and had me remove the gas cap. Hot summer temps create excessive fumes and indeed create a "vapor lock" type engine chug. Removing the cap to let the fumes escape worked like a charm, engine started right up and purred. Next advice he had for me was to just baby the throttle and let the engine do its job, slow & steady in low gear. We made it with no issues.

Good luck on your new camper. I love the Whitehawk line up. Enjoy!

 

[FoxFanRay]

Before we moved to the Eagle 5th wheel, we towed our Whitehawk 30DSRE with our F150 Eco-Boost (with max-tow package and 3.73 gears). I could not believe how that little thing towed. Since it creates LOTS of torque and horsepower quite low in the RPM range for a gas engine (look at a graph of its torque curve), the little thing never had to get up to any high RPMs to do its job.

Towing up I-77 going out of NC to Fancy Gap, VA, there is an 6 mile climb with a grade of around 4.5%. The rig held its speed with no struggle. On another trip from NC to upstate NY, I intentionally tried some really heavy grades. As an example, instead of going up Rt. 29 to I-64 to cross the Blue Ridge over Afton Mt. (heading to i-81), I cut off and climbed to the Afton Mt crossing at Rockfish Gap using Rt 250, again without any issues.

Regarding the overall length of the rig, finding gas stations on long trips that are accessible to such a long rig was my main concern. Really need to be careful!

Oh, BTW on our long trip from NC to NY and back, we averaged 11 MPG! I was really happy with that.

 

[12VOLTMAN]

That's funny Big Sky, I just had the same gas cap issue on a riding lawn mower last week!
I appreciate all the replies. I don't plan on climbing any mountain passes in the near future that's for sure. Most of what I plan on using the camper for will be weekend getaways and possibly one weeks vacation a year. I am a partner in a small business so the type of trips you guys are talking about are something I dream about doing 'some day'. I am mostly leaning toward the White Hawk over a hybrid because it would extend my camping season. I'm concerned about the length, however, because one of my favorite local places to go is the Allegheny Forest. Some of those forest roads can be a little iffy.