Hello all, about 5 months ago some kid destroyed our camper. Now that insurance has taken care of everything we are looking at upgrading.

The trailer is a 2018 JAYCO JAY FLIGHT SLX 284BHS

I’ll post a picture of weight descriptions.



My truck is a 2013 FX2, super crew cab with a short box


I already have a WD hitch, but have recently been looking at those newer Anderson chain style WDH

Should be fine with the v8,

what hitch do you currently have?

the Anderson hitches are good units and people tend to be happy with the performance, but they are not as effective at transferring weight back to the front axle of the truck. They seem to be really good at sway control, but not as good at weight transfer. depending on what you currently have, you may be better off in your current Hitch.

payload is always a concern with a half ton truck and should always be a consideration. Figure 12-14 percent of the trailer GVWR for hitch weight to be safe. So 900-1000 lbs to be carried by the truck. ( mine is a tick over 1,000 lbs hitch wright on a 6800 lbs camper fully loaded)

trailer length is also a consideration, but not a deal breaker for me. A long trailer on a half ton truck should be fine with a good hitch and a good “tune” on the hitch setup. I’m towing 35’ of camper (31’ box plus tongue) on a 119” wheelbase (way shorter than your truck) So it can be done, and can be done safely, but requires a good hitch and a certain level of fastidiousness when setting it up.

Good points to think about.

When I was choosing I was going back and forth between the Equalizer, Curt Truetrak, and the Reese Dual Cam.

i went with the Reese straight-line dual cam and couldn’t be happier. If you are willing to spend the money, I feel confident that it will work well with your truck and proposed camper

The dual cam hitch is a bear to install and a bear to get dialed in, but worth the work in the end. As the name implies, it keeps everything in a straight line.

JMO

maybe I’m missing it, I can’t seem to find the ratio. Only thing listed axle related says 27?

ahh just did a quick search 27 = 3.31, wheel base is 145. It is a 5.0 v8.

Maybe i I should stick with a smaller trailer

It’s a comfort level thing.

A friend of mine used his 4x4 5.0 3.55 (slightly less tow rating than yours) to tow his 29 footer all over the Rockies last year and said it was just fine. He just took it slow and let the truck do it’s thing and had no complaints. He said it was “semi truck speed” up to the Eisenhower tunnel, but he was fine with that.

He weighed his rig and was right at the maximum GCWR, so it is a full load.

Its all up to the driver what they are willing to deal with.

For me, I’m coming from a 310hp 5.4 with a 4 speed transmission, so 360 hp and a 6 speed is leaps and bounds better regardless of rear gear. I can tell you I’d be fine with it, but others might not be. It’s really kinda just up to you.