Not Enough truck?
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Joined: Sep 2009
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Not Enough truck?
I have a 2017 F150 Supercab 5.0 L3 3.31 145"WB 4x2 XLT. GCWR is 9100# if I am reading the chart correctly.
Bought a Grand Design 2150RB TT.
Empty weight of the trailer is 5200# and I was surprised at how much the truck seems to be struggling at 60-65 mph.
I'm in Florida, and when bringing it home I had to stop and check the trailer tires for heat as I thought the brakes might be on...
Truck was in 4th gear a lot of the time and 5th for most of the time, rarely hitting 6th unless going down hill.
Normal? Thought the truck would handle this weight a lot better.
Thanks!!
Bought a Grand Design 2150RB TT.
Empty weight of the trailer is 5200# and I was surprised at how much the truck seems to be struggling at 60-65 mph.
I'm in Florida, and when bringing it home I had to stop and check the trailer tires for heat as I thought the brakes might be on...
Truck was in 4th gear a lot of the time and 5th for most of the time, rarely hitting 6th unless going down hill.
Normal? Thought the truck would handle this weight a lot better.
Thanks!!
Mountain Pass
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 201
Likes: 9
From: Vancouver Island
I remember having the same feeling the first time I pulled my trailer with the Ford Explorer. It felt like brakes were on, but it was all in the wind resistance, and it took some getting used to. You have a low axle ratio, so 4th and 5th gears are not surprising.
I now have a slide in camper on my Super Duty (3.73) and it doesn't see 6th unless my foot is practically off the gas.
I now have a slide in camper on my Super Duty (3.73) and it doesn't see 6th unless my foot is practically off the gas.
Postmaster
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 4,392
Likes: 22
From: very South Texas
trailer is near flat front..and flat rear... can you say parachute
and head wind will almost stop you....
normally I get 9 mpg with my trailer..
2 days of 30 mph head winds.. I got 7 mpg. and never seen 6th gear with my F 250.
and head wind will almost stop you....
normally I get 9 mpg with my trailer..
2 days of 30 mph head winds.. I got 7 mpg. and never seen 6th gear with my F 250.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 941
Likes: 25
From: Port huron MI
What's your towing experience? Weight isn't the issue, its wind resistance. My old camper was 25' overall and weighted about 4k, new one is 35' over all and is 7-8k and i only see about 1-2 mpg difference(7-9 mpg) at 65. It takes a good bit of power to pull something with a ton of frontal area at speed. Dropping a gear or two is normal, especially if you get into a headwind or start climbing.
Freshman User
Joined: Jan 2018
Posts: 37
Likes: 1
From: Oregon
We just bought a Grand Design Imagine 2600rb. Pulled it home with my Tacoma that has 6500 capacity knowing we would be shopping for a bigger truck. After reading the form on both FB and the Grand Design owners forum, was thinking a F-150 with eco boost. That in of itself was pushing the high end of the capacity given not only pull weight, but also tongue weight.
Shopping for a good used one with the trailer tow packages was difficult to find one really well equiped. Then by chance saw a F-250 pop up with all that I need to pull anything up to 14,000 as it was a special order. Just picked it up last weekend, hooked up trailer, and really felt comfortable since my trailer is right in the middle of the range. I expect, based on other posts to get 8 -10 pulling and 14-16 not pulling
You should not be going into 6th gear anyway, and keeping it at 65 or less on the speed. Mine has the Tow/haul choice on the transmission and it is a really nice feature.
Shopping for a good used one with the trailer tow packages was difficult to find one really well equiped. Then by chance saw a F-250 pop up with all that I need to pull anything up to 14,000 as it was a special order. Just picked it up last weekend, hooked up trailer, and really felt comfortable since my trailer is right in the middle of the range. I expect, based on other posts to get 8 -10 pulling and 14-16 not pulling
You should not be going into 6th gear anyway, and keeping it at 65 or less on the speed. Mine has the Tow/haul choice on the transmission and it is a really nice feature.
Mountain Pass
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 201
Likes: 9
From: Vancouver Island
In my initial reply I assumed the issue was all about aerodynamic drag. But I must ask the OP, were there other indicators that the combination was feeling iffy? Did the steering feel light? Do you have a properly adjusted weight distribution hitch? Was the truck otherwise loaded reasonably? You have LT tires inflated to their rating?
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 941
Likes: 25
From: Port huron MI
We just bought a Grand Design Imagine 2600rb. Pulled it home with my Tacoma that has 6500 capacity knowing we would be shopping for a bigger truck. After reading the form on both FB and the Grand Design owners forum, was thinking a F-150 with eco boost. That in of itself was pushing the high end of the capacity given not only pull weight, but also tongue weight.
Shopping for a good used one with the trailer tow packages was difficult to find one really well equiped. Then by chance saw a F-250 pop up with all that I need to pull anything up to 14,000 as it was a special order. Just picked it up last weekend, hooked up trailer, and really felt comfortable since my trailer is right in the middle of the range. I expect, based on other posts to get 8 -10 pulling and 14-16 not pulling
You should not be going into 6th gear anyway, and keeping it at 65 or less on the speed. Mine has the Tow/haul choice on the transmission and it is a really nice feature.
Shopping for a good used one with the trailer tow packages was difficult to find one really well equiped. Then by chance saw a F-250 pop up with all that I need to pull anything up to 14,000 as it was a special order. Just picked it up last weekend, hooked up trailer, and really felt comfortable since my trailer is right in the middle of the range. I expect, based on other posts to get 8 -10 pulling and 14-16 not pulling
You should not be going into 6th gear anyway, and keeping it at 65 or less on the speed. Mine has the Tow/haul choice on the transmission and it is a really nice feature.
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Freshman User
Joined: Jan 2018
Posts: 37
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From: Oregon
You should be set with your rig, just adjustment on pulling.
Laughing Gas
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 793
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Truck seems plenty for that RV.
I looked up the trailer. From a sail area standpoint, it is probably among the better designs as it has a relatively low stance and slanted front which are generally two good things to have. Even so, not all trailers pull well anyway, so consider checking with other owners for their impression.
Toward the truck's gear selection, another factor is the RV's tire. Chances are good that they are Load C's which only go to 50 psi cold. Presuming so, selling them and installing Load D's which go to 65 psi cold will make a noticeable difference in terms of the drag.
Throttling back the speed will make a difference too, but I realize that not everybody does this or cares to.
I looked up the trailer. From a sail area standpoint, it is probably among the better designs as it has a relatively low stance and slanted front which are generally two good things to have. Even so, not all trailers pull well anyway, so consider checking with other owners for their impression.
Toward the truck's gear selection, another factor is the RV's tire. Chances are good that they are Load C's which only go to 50 psi cold. Presuming so, selling them and installing Load D's which go to 65 psi cold will make a noticeable difference in terms of the drag.
Throttling back the speed will make a difference too, but I realize that not everybody does this or cares to.
Moderator
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 6,103
Likes: 384
From: Southern California
IMHO, here is the issue....... this is not the same 5.0 engine that the previous F series had for decades....... the increased 1k rpm has shifted the torque band up by about the same, and the only way to mitigate this is to go with lower gears in the diff (by .50 gear ratio) or you can accomplish the same this by going to a shorter tire.
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In my initial reply I assumed the issue was all about aerodynamic drag. But I must ask the OP, were there other indicators that the combination was feeling iffy? Did the steering feel light? Do you have a properly adjusted weight distribution hitch? Was the truck otherwise loaded reasonably? You have LT tires inflated to their rating?
I had the dealer set up my Recurve R3 hitch. I am going to check and make sure it was done correctly.
The only thing that may be an isuue with it that I notice is a bit of "porpoising" when going down the road..
Thread Starter
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New User
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Truck seems plenty for that RV.
I looked up the trailer. From a sail area standpoint, it is probably among the better designs as it has a relatively low stance and slanted front which are generally two good things to have. Even so, not all trailers pull well anyway, so consider checking with other owners for their impression.
Toward the truck's gear selection, another factor is the RV's tire. Chances are good that they are Load C's which only go to 50 psi cold. Presuming so, selling them and installing Load D's which go to 65 psi cold will make a noticeable difference in terms of the drag.
Throttling back the speed will make a difference too, but I realize that not everybody does this or cares to.
I looked up the trailer. From a sail area standpoint, it is probably among the better designs as it has a relatively low stance and slanted front which are generally two good things to have. Even so, not all trailers pull well anyway, so consider checking with other owners for their impression.
Toward the truck's gear selection, another factor is the RV's tire. Chances are good that they are Load C's which only go to 50 psi cold. Presuming so, selling them and installing Load D's which go to 65 psi cold will make a noticeable difference in terms of the drag.
Throttling back the speed will make a difference too, but I realize that not everybody does this or cares to.
They are load D tires with nitrogen fill.. 60 mph is fine with me!
Thread Starter
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New User
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 9
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We just bought a Grand Design Imagine 2600rb. Pulled it home with my Tacoma that has 6500 capacity knowing we would be shopping for a bigger truck. After reading the form on both FB and the Grand Design owners forum, was thinking a F-150 with eco boost. That in of itself was pushing the high end of the capacity given not only pull weight, but also tongue weight.
Shopping for a good used one with the trailer tow packages was difficult to find one really well equiped. Then by chance saw a F-250 pop up with all that I need to pull anything up to 14,000 as it was a special order. Just picked it up last weekend, hooked up trailer, and really felt comfortable since my trailer is right in the middle of the range. I expect, based on other posts to get 8 -10 pulling and 14-16 not pulling
You should not be going into 6th gear anyway, and keeping it at 65 or less on the speed. Mine has the Tow/haul choice on the transmission and it is a really nice feature.
Shopping for a good used one with the trailer tow packages was difficult to find one really well equiped. Then by chance saw a F-250 pop up with all that I need to pull anything up to 14,000 as it was a special order. Just picked it up last weekend, hooked up trailer, and really felt comfortable since my trailer is right in the middle of the range. I expect, based on other posts to get 8 -10 pulling and 14-16 not pulling
You should not be going into 6th gear anyway, and keeping it at 65 or less on the speed. Mine has the Tow/haul choice on the transmission and it is a really nice feature.
Really liked the 2600RB and the 2500RL.
Our carport is 26' and we wanted to get one that would fit under it..