MarcD147

I am a complete newbie when it comes to trucks.....

so I stopped by the dealer to see what they have that I can u se to tow a 20' featherlight with a cup car in it. I figure 7000# or less. it will be mostly East Coast towing.


i asked some questions about axles and box sizes etc and was getting weird bull**** answers...

I am looking to spend as little as possible but be safe and reliable.
so likely a recent year F150?

things that making towing safer, hooking up easier etc are worth a premium to me. most others not.

what should I expect to spend?
what are must have options/packages?

phast930

I towed a 24' enclosed all aluminum trailer with a Ram 1500 and it did just fine. Loaded my load was right around 7500#. So an F-150 should do just fine. Ram was a 1500 had an after market trailer brake and never had an issue

The bigger the tow vehicle the easier it will be in high wind situations and easier all around drive.

I now pull a 34' and its a different story. Ram 3500 since I now pull over 12,000#.

skxf430

A 1500 will work fine on a Featherlite, and I actually used to tow one with a Macan S. But, you might eventually go from an open Featherlite to an enclosed trailer, so you may as well just go for a 2500. That's what I did and I have not regrets. I prefer a diesel for the torque and mileage, and the truck rides well too.

177mph

You will get 100 answers. Just check the tow rating on the vehicle before you buy. 1500 series trucks will do fine. F150 - good choice.

zedcat

Also a towing noob but with an open trailer currently. I wanted a truck that could also pull a lightweight enclosed in the future. I went with a new F-150 with 3.5l ecoboost , 3.55 axle and max trailer tow package. Max trailer wt of 11.9k and GCWR of 17k. The tow package includes brake controller and also has the pro trailer backup assist. No way I could backup into my narrow drive without the backup assist.

ExMB

Just about any full size 1/2 ton pickup with a tow package will tow it. Would recommend a longer wheelbase version like an extended or crew cab instead of regular cab. Also truck tow rating is one thing therefore make sure that the GCVWR is not exceeded since you already are at 90% of your trailer's max rating based on your estimate.

If you plan on garaging your truck but don't have enough room you might also look at the mid size GM/C Colorado/Canyon with the diesel engine. It would tow what you want but sacrifices future weight increases to a point.

C1Forged

If the total trailer, car, and gear will weight under 7,500lbs then you're open to a lot of options. Entry level full size trucks [F-150, Ram 1500, Chevy/GMC 1500], mini trucks [Colorado/Canyon v6/diesel], and full size SUVs [Tahoe/Sub/Yukon, Jeep GC, Expedition, etc.].

From my own personal experience, and the times that I've towed with personal vehicles, as well as rentals/borrowed, My favorite is the Ram 1500 Eco Diesel with the air suspension. Drives smooth, doesn't even feel like you have a trailer on there unless you're trying to pass, and I averaged ~23 mpg driving from SoCal to NorCal with a custom extended open trailer and a 3400lbs car with a Massive 71" Wing installed. Averaged low-mid 30s without towing anything.

ExMB

Canyon/Colorado = diesel only, Tacoma = no since its tow capacity is limited to 6400 lbs with the V6.

C1Forged

Wasn't 100% with the Tacoma. As for the Canyon/Colorado, their V6 gas option is rated at 7,500lbs, or it was back in 2016 when I was looking at buying one to tow my then daily turning project car.

ExMB

7000 lbs for MY17 http://www.gmc.com/trailering-towing.html

And tow rating is only part of the equation. There is also the axle load and the GCVWR. Exceed either one and towing could be an adventure.

BlueBarchetta

The 1500 series trucks are generally sufficient for what you're trying to do. Get a tow package, or max tow package. Generally these will include a brake controller, and larger mirrors. Then look for a truck with a great rear camera, makes hitching very easy.

I'm going to point you away from only looking at tow ratings and suggest that what you also need to pay attention to is Payload Rating. A 7000 lb trailer, will have a tongue weight of around 850-875 lbs. Add 75-100lbs for a good weight distributing/anti-sway hitch (a must) and before you put anything else into the truck and you will have used 950-1000 lbs of your Payload. If you're not traveling with anyone else, no big deal. But if you have passengers, luggage, and stuff in the bed, you could easily need 1400lbs or more of Payload. Think carefully about what you will put in, or attach on the truck with respect to Payload. I'll also toss out there that most people will upgrade to at least a 24 ft trailer. Consider these things if you want to "future proof" your truck

The GM and Ford trucks will have you covered for this type of Payload. Toyota and Dodge, probably not. I will admit my bias, as I have a F150 max tow. I have a lot of options on the truck, but still have 1650+lbs of Payload.

Lastly, if you want something to get better gas mileage, both GM and Ford are supposed to have diesels in their trucks next year. Another option that not too many people talk about is the smaller 2.7L ecoboost in the F150. It easily tows 8500, has good Payload, and even better fuel economy than the 3.5L exoboost or the GM engines with their cylinder shutdown.

Happy truck hunting

MarcD147

lots of good info...

I tried to configure a dodge ram and its towing capacity is 6600 lbs.

to get to the max towing capacity of 10600 lbs you need to call the dealer to hear what secret options are needed

similar for Ford..

what options do I need to add to get over 7000 or 8000 lbs?

they really force you to interact with a one celled organism at the dealer... :-(

ExMB

If you are looking at RAM 1500 you can play with towing capability

here

Generally speaking you need the tow package, axle and engine.

If you are concerned about mpg with a reasonable towing capability you probably need to look at the Ford 2.7 ecoboost as mentioned by member BlueBarchetta

zedcat

I found this useful for F-150.

linzman

I had an F150 with the bigger ecoboost and it pulled an enclosed 24' ATC no problem. BUT after 60000 miles, less than 10000 towing, the transmission started acting up. Otherwise a great truck.