We still had our pop-up when we bought our 2017 Explorer. We were starting to look at TT and in the fall of 2018 got a great deal on our current 212qb. However, I was taken in a bit with the "Marketing" spin Jayco put on things - Dry weight of under 4200lbs, tongue weight of 420lbs (10% - that's in the range of 10-15%, I'm all good). I have come so far by reading this forum. Thanks for all of the guidance.
After getting the trailer, I started to get very concerned as we were on, or slightly over the edge. We had the towing package on the Explorer, so we have a 500lb tongue weight and 5000lb towing capacity, which as I read, was far too close. As we got to the start of the season last summer, I tried to push a change in TV; however, it didn't go over well, and I won some small battles by being the weight fanatic. I kept all weight down in the trailer (dry weight was 4325 and I wouldn't allow more than 500 lbs into it). We carried in the Explorer except for my DW and myself (the kids had their own transportation and tent if they wanted to come on our little trips), and I kept the trips down to simple excursions of a few days here and there to a campground that we had visited several times with the pop-up that was about 90 minutes away from us. No highway travel, no big trucks. I had the WDH set up perfectly and we had no issues with hauling the trailer even with some good hills on the trip.
With that structure, we got out, learned the trailer and figured things out. I was a little concerned through the winter as to what plans would be like this year. I was supposed to have hip surgery in April, so we had only planned a week at the same campground in July for a week just to keep it simple. All the while, I continued to scheme and plan and drop hints about upgrading the TV. Then COVID-19 hit and all the summer plans are up in the air. We are not sure what may be happening. My surgery is delayed, so given the timing of that we may not be able to do anything
The Explorer was a champ and did everything we asked of it; however, I knew that was not sustainable, especially if we wanted to do more (which I already said I wouldn't do if we didn't upgrade the TV).
And so early last week, I noticed that GM Canada had put a special out for their 2020 Silverado 1500 Crew Cab LTZ for 0% for 18 months. Now, I prefer Ford (not to start a brand war, some people just prefer some brands over others); however, I went online and did a build just to see what it looked like. It was OK, but not my favourite. I checked the Ford site and no matching offer. The Chevy sat in the back of my head...
Then mid-week, I see an ad that Ford had their F150s also for 0%, and off I go! I had the configuration I wanted down by rote and I spin through the Build and Price, and sure enough, 0% for the truck I wanted. So now, to do two things... 1 - contact the dealer and 2 - make the sale to my DW (the harder of the two). Within an hour of me sending an email to the dealer with my desires, I get a call and they have one lined up. I get the details and start the business case for the hard part.
I catch my DW slightly distracted with work, and I dazzle her with a spreadsheet of cost benefits, and why it would be crazy not to pull the pin right now instead of waiting for another couple of years (especially since 0% never seems to come around for F150s here in Canada). And much to my delight it worked!
I had been working on this for a couple of years. Taking test drives, snapping pictures of weight labels in the trucks to ensure that I had things looking good, using weight calculators, etc. So off I go to the dealer and do a final test drive, bring the truck around the house and get the DW to walk through it (we actually had looked at some F150s before buying the Explorer; however, she was not thrilled by them - I think we were looking at the wrong models). Since I had everything pre-worked out, a quick trip down to the dealer and get things signed!
Here's what we ended up with...
F150 Lariat SuperCrew with 5.5' box (I couldn' the 6.5 box in the driveway with the other vehicle) with the following (that I wanted, it had a few other things I didn't care about):
It should be in next week after they get the bedliner sprayed in and the tonneau cover installed.
I'm feeling much more comfortable with this (I know that some feel this truck is a bit light even for this trailer as they like an F250 sort of as the minimum; however, this will be a daily driver with a few camping trips per summer) and will be looking to travel a little further next summer when the surgery and other things settle down.
Thanks for reading right to the end
After getting the trailer, I started to get very concerned as we were on, or slightly over the edge. We had the towing package on the Explorer, so we have a 500lb tongue weight and 5000lb towing capacity, which as I read, was far too close. As we got to the start of the season last summer, I tried to push a change in TV; however, it didn't go over well, and I won some small battles by being the weight fanatic. I kept all weight down in the trailer (dry weight was 4325 and I wouldn't allow more than 500 lbs into it). We carried in the Explorer except for my DW and myself (the kids had their own transportation and tent if they wanted to come on our little trips), and I kept the trips down to simple excursions of a few days here and there to a campground that we had visited several times with the pop-up that was about 90 minutes away from us. No highway travel, no big trucks. I had the WDH set up perfectly and we had no issues with hauling the trailer even with some good hills on the trip.
With that structure, we got out, learned the trailer and figured things out. I was a little concerned through the winter as to what plans would be like this year. I was supposed to have hip surgery in April, so we had only planned a week at the same campground in July for a week just to keep it simple. All the while, I continued to scheme and plan and drop hints about upgrading the TV. Then COVID-19 hit and all the summer plans are up in the air. We are not sure what may be happening. My surgery is delayed, so given the timing of that we may not be able to do anything
The Explorer was a champ and did everything we asked of it; however, I knew that was not sustainable, especially if we wanted to do more (which I already said I wouldn't do if we didn't upgrade the TV).
And so early last week, I noticed that GM Canada had put a special out for their 2020 Silverado 1500 Crew Cab LTZ for 0% for 18 months. Now, I prefer Ford (not to start a brand war, some people just prefer some brands over others); however, I went online and did a build just to see what it looked like. It was OK, but not my favourite. I checked the Ford site and no matching offer. The Chevy sat in the back of my head...
Then mid-week, I see an ad that Ford had their F150s also for 0%, and off I go! I had the configuration I wanted down by rote and I spin through the Build and Price, and sure enough, 0% for the truck I wanted. So now, to do two things... 1 - contact the dealer and 2 - make the sale to my DW (the harder of the two). Within an hour of me sending an email to the dealer with my desires, I get a call and they have one lined up. I get the details and start the business case for the hard part.
I catch my DW slightly distracted with work, and I dazzle her with a spreadsheet of cost benefits, and why it would be crazy not to pull the pin right now instead of waiting for another couple of years (especially since 0% never seems to come around for F150s here in Canada). And much to my delight it worked!
I had been working on this for a couple of years. Taking test drives, snapping pictures of weight labels in the trucks to ensure that I had things looking good, using weight calculators, etc. So off I go to the dealer and do a final test drive, bring the truck around the house and get the DW to walk through it (we actually had looked at some F150s before buying the Explorer; however, she was not thrilled by them - I think we were looking at the wrong models). Since I had everything pre-worked out, a quick trip down to the dealer and get things signed!
Here's what we ended up with...
F150 Lariat SuperCrew with 5.5' box (I couldn' the 6.5 box in the driveway with the other vehicle) with the following (that I wanted, it had a few other things I didn't care about):
- Equipment Group 502A
- Max Trailer Tow Package
- 20" Wheels
- Powerscope Trailer Tow Mirrors
- Power Deployable Running Boards
It should be in next week after they get the bedliner sprayed in and the tonneau cover installed.
I'm feeling much more comfortable with this (I know that some feel this truck is a bit light even for this trailer as they like an F250 sort of as the minimum; however, this will be a daily driver with a few camping trips per summer) and will be looking to travel a little further next summer when the surgery and other things settle down.
Thanks for reading right to the end
