Good choice, that's whole reason I stepped up to the 250 and now have a 350 on order. I wish you well.

 

The "weight police" will tell you that you need an F450 to pull a 12' aluminum boat. Hard to imagine that everything in the past was towed with a 350 and a 3-speed transmission. Head on over to an RV forum and the weight weenies will tell you that your trailer will require an F350 6.7 SRW at minimum to be "safe." Some will even say you could be sued if you go over the specified number, but none can show an instance of that ever happening. You have a nice, new trailer. Get out and enjoy it.

 

Exactly what I've always practiced but unfortunately the OP is towing out of spec and likely the tounge weight has absorbed the majority of payload as well.

 

it looks like you’ve probably settled on a bigger truck, but to answer your question- yes, it will fit, but it is not a “drop in” solution. It would have to be a custom installation. I only mentioned it because it is a very good cooler with a fan.

im inclined to think that a bigger factory cooler and the upgraded HD radiator are both “drop in” solutions that would get you where you need to be from a temperature standpoint. I think with those upgrades and patience driving probably keeps temps inline and will let the vehicle live. As I said, 20-30 degrees in trans temp is all the difference here.

As to the question of safety, that’s a personal choice. You are definitely over your trucks rating, and are probably at the practical limits of what your drivetrain is capable of handling. The chassis capabilities for the maximum rated truck in that year are right around 10k.

food for thought.

 

Your point is well taken and something I am contemplating. I mean, with COVID and everything...you'd think we'd all need to wear space suits to walk to the mail box. So, it is definitely a balancing act - my experience vs specs and others (more experienced others) advice. It's a hard decision. If I wait to get a different, bigger truck...I might not get to take my trailer out for a couple of months. So...I dunno...gonna have to climb a mountain (aka...lock myself in the bathroom) and meditate on it for a while...lol

 

Thanks meborder and...I like you pic and comment :-) - in you signature line!

 

I always turn OD off.

 

Any downside to a Toyota? The Tundra is Toyota's 3/4 ton pickup I believe.

 

Other's will correct me if I am wrong, the downside of a Tundra will be its curb weight not the power or drive train. It's curb weight is more in line with a 1/2 ton therefore you will still encounter the sway issues you currently have with your F-150. A 3/4 ton truck's curb weight will be 1000-2000lb more than the Tundra which equates to stability and more sway control. The Tundra will have a much more comfortable ride than the 3/4 tons and it will be night and day from what you are currently driving. It's a balancing act.

 

Tundra is a 1/2 ton, on par with the Titan, F-150, Ram and Chevy 1500.
The only "Asian" 3/4 ton is the Titan HD

 

Tundra's usually have a low payload number. I have seen plenty pulling 5th wheels though......nose in the air, but still pullin'.

 

That may not matter. Once you reach a certain point, you’re not gonna shed enough heat to avoid a meltdown. A 4.6 is going to have to spin enough revs to keep the load moving that a bigger radiator and trans cooler may just be pissing money away.

Slow down and the fans slow likewise-little heat shedding. Keep revs up to keep the fans moving faster and you just go into limp mode sooner.

More truck is the answer and I know that’s been said. You have way more margin as far as drivetrain goes. Never mind a 33’ sail catching wind and acting against your truck.

 

Man...this site has really been a life saver! I'll stick with an American made 3/4 ton - I don't wanna take a chance again of not having a big enough truck. Sad part is...even though my current truck is almost 13 years old...I really like it - sucks to trade it.

 

I might go check this one out this weekend. It just seems hard to believe that...a 2008 with 90K miles on it priced at $20K is considered a good deal.

 

I totally feel your pain... in 2018 I walked into a RV yard and knew nothing about campers, and all that I knew about our Pathfinder was that it had a hitch and a tow button. By the time I settled on a camper it was too late to do the paperwork so I came back the next morning. That night is the first time I even came across things such as: GVWR, towing capacity, payload, etc... By the time I showed up the next morning, I knew that the camper we picked out was too much... so we got one a little smaller that was right on the line... and in all honesty, over weight too. We had a 5000 lb tow capacity on the Pathfinder, and this camper was 4255 lb dry with a 6000 lb GVWR. I told myself that we can easily stay under the 5000 lb rating of the Pathfinder... and for the most part, we did...

But, the 5000 lb tow capacity was the maximum rating, and nowhere near the real rating by the time we loaded up the family, our dogs, and then "necessary items" in the camper. The listed GCWR on the Pathfinder was 10000 lbs and when I drove it over the scale, we were at 10,200 lbs. In reality, our payload was exceeded and the tow rating was exceeded, and with everyone in the vehicle and with a fully loaded camper (still quite a ways from the 6000 lbs) we were even 200 lbs over the GCWR! However, while I can't remember the exact numbers, we were still under the axle ratings!

Like you though, I drove slow and with our WDH cranked all the way up, felt safe when driving it. We often times took trips about 30 miles from our home, and we loved them all. We did take a much farther 350ish mile (one way) trip and I felt bad for the Pathfinder the whole time...

I knew I needed another vehicle, but also like you, wasn't in the place to get a new vehicle, and I didn't want to sell the camper, so for 3 years we just stuck to short, close to home trips. Then last year we wanted to take a longer trip, so we actually rented a truck. It was my first time pulling the camper with anything other than the Pathfinder, and as it turned out it was a brand new (only 52 miles on it) 2020 F250 with a 6.7 PSD engine! Wow... was I impressed. We ended up putting almost 4000 miles on the truck with the camper hooked up and I loved it. (The pic in my sig is fro that trip, when we were entering WY!) Then a couple of months later, I rented another truck, but this time a 2020 Ram (and with 20k miles on it...) It still chugged along with no lack of power, but I really didn't enjoy it near as much as the Ford...

So, fast forward to May 24th, 2021 and we haphazardly stopped into our local Ford dealership. They ended up giving us a really good deal on the Pathfinder, and priced us Invoice +$500 on a new 2022 F250. So we jumped on it! I ended up ordering the same F250 in an XLT trim, but with several additional features that weren't on the rental. Even the same color! The down side though is that now we don't have a tow vehicle at all... so, no trips for us this year because I'm not anticipating getting it til about Christmas time (hopefully). So, we are sacrificing our camping trips for this year, but by next year, we will be all ready to go, and with a vehicle that will be a bit overrated for our camper (but plenty of room to move to something bigger later in life if we want to). And the good thing is that the longer it takes to come in, the more money we will have to put down on it when it does come in! Since we don't have a car payment right now we still continue to just put the amount aside we estimate we will pay each month and will use it all as a down payment when it comes in.

So, my suggestion is don't put any more money into your current truck, and save for another truck that is more in line with what you need. Also, right now dealers are offering top dollar for trucks... maybe take yours in and see what you can get for it... you may be surprised! Also, if you absolutely want to take a couple of trips this year, you can look into renting a truck. IMO, it was a pretty good deal. We rented the F250 for 10 days and put around 4100 miles on it and it cost $680. (Of course fuel was additional too... and we used a lot of that!)

Whatever you decide to do though, know that your not alone... but also know that one day, it will be behind us and we won't even think about this time when we are out doing what we love!

Good luck!