Who tows a full size pickup?

[moisheh]

Actually the title of this thread is a little misleading. We have an 08 Dynasty 42' with the 425 ISL. Presently towing an 05 Tacoma4 x4. About 4200 lbs. Great truck but I would like something just a little bigger. A 1/2 ton 4x4 with a 6 ft. box. Maybe crew cab. The Tacoma tows just fine but in the mountians I am often passed by other Monacos with the same engine. BUT they are not Dyansty's. . Their coaches are much lighter. Is there any one on this forum with a Dynasty towing a full size PU? I would hate to buy another truck and be bogged down due to the weight. Thanks.

[Locomotive]

Moisheh, I tow a 1996Dodge Ram Pickup with 8' bed behind my Exec w/450hp. I don't know it's back there. I can't imagine there is MUCH difference in gross weight between it and your Tacoma. Your Total Gross Weight could be actually heavier than I if you were full of fuel/water and mine was near empty. In my estimation; the wind resistance would be the same etc. so a smallish weight difference would not significantly slow you down. More weight means more fuel consumption, however. LocomotivemanTOM

[moisheh]

Thanks Locomotiveman:

If your Dodge is a 4x4 then it would be heavier. I have been looking at the crew cabs from all o the big3 ( not anymore) and they are about 1500 to 1800 lbs. heavier tha the Taco. Your Exec probably has more torque than my ISL. You of course are correct that I would use more fuel. Thanks

[Bill2]

Moisheh, I have a 06 Endeavor with the ISL 400 engine and pull a full size Silverado 4x4 with a Harley Ultra Classic on the back of it. It is hard to tell the weight is behind me except when I want to stop real quick and that is where the SMI Air force one comes in. I love it and I don't think you would have any problem pulling it either. The dynasty is a bit heavier than mine but then you have more hp.
Bill

Quote:

Originally Posted by moisheh Actually the title of this thread is a little misleading. We have an 08 Dynasty 42' with the 425 ISL. Presently towing an 05 Tacoma4 x4. About 4200 lbs. Great truck but I would like something just a little bigger. A 1/2 ton 4x4 with a 6 ft. box. Maybe crew cab. The Tacoma tows just fine but in the mountians I am often passed by other Monacos with the same engine. BUT they are not Dyansty's. . Their coaches are much lighter. Is there any one on this forum with a Dynasty towing a full size PU? I would hate to buy another truck and be bogged down due to the weight. Thanks.

[Twomed]

The H3 is 5200 on a DOT scale. We do fine out West, but don't hurry that much. Runs fine with the 400. About 7.5mpg overall.

[ShapeShifter]

My situation is similar to Bill2 -- I use my '07 Endeavor to tow an Avalanche 1500 4x4, which is basically a Suburban with the back roof cut off. Curb weight 5678 pounds (although I've added a few hundred pounds of accessories, and probably another hundred pounds of tow/braking gear) and a GVWR of 7,000 pounds. I pull it with an ISL 400, 1,200 lb-ft TQ, and weigh right up at the GVWR of 33,000 lb. So I figure my combined wright is in the 39,000 to 40,000 lb range. Hopefully that gives you enough numbers to relate it to your situation.

If I've been driving the rig for a while without the toad, and then hook it up, I can tell that it's there at first, although the difference is subtle. After I've been driving it a few miles, I don't really notice the difference anymore. Then, after being used to it, and I drive without the toad, I again can feel a subtle difference.

When going up steeper Interstate slopes in PA and WV (I've not been to the "real" mountains) I can't keep up with all of the cars, but I can easily pass the big rigs and gasser MHs. I can generally maintain speeds on most hills, with only a little drop-off on the steepest slopes. But if I have to slow down because I can't pass a truck right away, then I've lost my momentum and can't really get it back again. At that point, I might as well just get comfortable behind the truck because it will be hard to pass. But if I can maintain my momentum, I don't loose much speed on the hills.

That's my experience, hopefully you can translate it to your expectations. It's hard, because everyone's expectations are different. What's acceptable to one person, may be intolerable to another. My guess is that you'll be OK, but I would hate for you to upgrade based on what we say and have you turn out to be disappointed.

One thought -- can you put some additional weight in the back of your Taco to approximate the weight of your desired new truck? Then give it a test pull and see if you really notice the difference?

[itdave]

We traveled with some friends who have an 42' 07 Dynasty with a ILS 400. They tow a Grand Vitara and we tow a GMC Envoy with our 40' 06 Endeavor same ILS 400 engine. When we are climbing hills out here in the west they can't keep up with us generally 10 mph slower. I think the basic problem is that the ILS 400 or 425 is just not enough engine for the tag axle Dynasty so the weight of the Toad has a greater impact on climbing ability than it should. If I remember correctly the change from 400 to 425 was just to make up for emission controls added in 08 and did nothing to improve performance over the 400 hp engine. Seem like you need at least a 500 which is what today's Dynasty.
FWIW I would keep the Toad as light as possible if hill climbing is a major concern.

[BigSkyBob]

My 4x4 Dodge Ram 1500 weighs in at 5600 with full fuel and some gear in the bed. I can't really tell the difference when I'm towing the truck unless I get on a 5/6% grade then it slows some. My ISL 400 is not a clean burn but I doubt that makes much difference. I get 7.5 to 8 MPG driving 62 MPH.