Tow vehicle

[NULarry B]

Laubenthal
We tow with a 2011 F450 and our loaded weight is 24,200 lb with 40 gallons of water. The difference between an F350 and an F450 to me is night and day. It handles the weight of the trailer better, pulls better, new engine and transmission, stops it better, bigger brakes.
The question of braking issues on a downhill grade is a lot up to the experience of you the driver, and knowig how to descend a grade whether it is a normal hill, or going down a mountain. Common sence in going down a hill is to not let your vehicle get it's speed up to where you cannot stop it even on the hill. To make sure you can always stop, make sure that you are in a gear that will help hold you back, that is one or 2 gears lower than high, if it is steep and as you need, a little pressure on the trailer control as needed will save the truck brakes for when you need them.
The new transmission in the 2011 F450's has a manual setting for steep grades that keeps you in the lower 3 gears for real steep grades.
In my humble opinion, you should have no problem pulling the 39 RSBTSS with an F450. That is the floor plan the wife and I have been looking at for a couple years also.

[Neil Laubenthal]

Thanks for the update . . .I keep convincing myself that the 450 is plenty for either the Elite Suites or the New Horizons we're also considering given the 24,500 5th wheel capacity for the 2012 model. I've also corresponded with Jack Mayer over on the NH forums as well as several other HDT/MDT truck builders and owners . . .they almost universally recommend big trucks and say that pickups aren't safe in a panic situation. While Connie and I obviously want to be safe . . .neither of us has experience with MDT/HDT and there's a whole world of things to worry about with them (double clutching, additional mechanical systems and checks we know nothing about, etc) . . .we're leery of going down that road unless it's truly necessary. We see pickups over big trucks at least 15 to 1 in the parks and on the road . . .which kind of leads me to think that maybe the big truck enthusiasts/builders are trying a bit too hard. At this point I think we're going to stick with the 450 . . .although we'll have to have 4WD and crew cab with the 2012 model as Ford has backed way down on the number of available configurations. I'm taking a look at the Dodge RAMs as well . . .but I think they all have lower towing capacity than the Fords do.

You mention a little pressure on the trailer brake controller . . .having never actually driven a truck with one of those . . .can I presume it gives you a way to apply a little trailer braking manually vice being picked up from using the truck brakes?

[NULarry B]

Yes, you typically apply brakes to the whole uint thru the brake pedal, but the auxillary brake controller allows you to only apply brakes to the trailer, or put more brake power to the trailer.

[BCooke]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Woodie1 I was considering a newer model since I am 6'8" tall the newer models has 6'10" height. The wife still wants a MH which she can drive but I do not want all the additional preventative maintenance requirement. A 5th wheel she may consider driving/towing but no comfortable. Thanks for the reply

Woody,
Make sure you an fit in the F450. I have a moonroof in my 350, am 6'1" and have to lean the seat back to fit. Withot the moonroof you get about 2-3" more.

[Shaun and Amy]

I would recommend a MDT at least. We have a Kountry Aire with a gross trailer weight of 20,000. We tow it with a Freightliner Sportchassis and have no issues. The actual length of the truck is not much different then a crew cab pickup. My concern isn't necessarily getting over the hill, it's stopping at the bottom. A MDT will stop it for sure.

As far as getting use to driving it, I do not see any issues with that either. If you're looking to buy a fifth wheel to pull around and are willing to drive that with a piickup then this won't be any harder. It's got an automatic transmission, and in my opinion is as easy to drive as my car. Maintainance is easy in opinion as well. It's no more difficult then a regular pickup.

I think for the money you would be getting a lot more truck in a MDT.

Good luck with your search and have fun!!!

[glennwest]

Need to take into consideration comfort. Any 450-350 will beat on you on a long trip. The coach is over twice the weight of the truck. All the movement of the coach is transferred into the truck. It is physics and nothing will change that. Add to this the conditions of the roads we travel. I just done a 1300 mile tow from northern Ohio to Houston TX and I was so beat up I was no good for anything for at least a day. The guys with the HDT are fine after a tow this long or longer. Those units are made from ground up to tow cross country in comfort. Even bobtail these units are comfortable. Sure can't say that about a LDT or a MDT. They are no wider than our duallys only taller. They also have a shorter turning radius. Also get 8-10 mpg. Towing 55 more. They won't spin tires or be exciting to drive (performance wise) but they will turn heads and you will have a smile on your face that won't go away.

[dale60]

We have a Freightliner Sportchassis M2, 330 CAT and Allison tranny. Our rig weighs about 22,500. Our truck goes all the way down to 30 mph when we go up steep hills and in our case, repair bills have been incredible. The new Ford trucks are much better than they used to be. We are looking into a Ford 550. It is not much more expensive and would be more powerful than the 450 and give you that little extra edge.
Good luck with your decision.

[cummins-n-grey]

I would say Glenn's advice is closest to my sentiment.

We had Dodge RAM for 12 years, had to rebuild the tranny FIVE times; I got fed up with all the LDT options (weak drive train/transmissions in ALL of them), learned the torque of MDT was not all that great, so (for $40k) got into a used HDT with 1650 torque (carries us over most hills at 50-60mph), plenty of stopping power with 2-stage engine brake. Our 35' trailer GVWR is at 19k, the HDT weighs about 23k with smart loaded and full load of fuel.

My wife would not drive the Dodge with trailer attached (fear factor); she drove half of the 50k miles (over 3 years) we did in the Volvo -- first year she only drove with the trailer attached; didn't drive bob-tail until year 2 at the HDT rally. She has the confidence and competence to drive the HDT when/if necessary. Ours is a two-pedal, so no clutch footwork needed -- I made that a priority when shopping for the HDT. For safety and uphill towing power, this is the way to go... IMHO.

[greyt-parent]

We are relatively new to the RV full time lifestyle and am certainly not an expert in talking about the merits of either type of truck. I will say though that we have just put 5k miles since September, from Kansas to South Dakota to Florida to Texas with a new 2011 F450 towing a 41' NH Majestic. For the whole trip, we averaged 10mpg.
Our one trip through mountains, on eastbound I24 to Chattanooga (6% grade), we had absolutely no problems either accelerating uphill or braking on the downhill.
One of the changes we made to the F450 was the installation of a Kelderman Air Suspension, which makes a big difference in ride, even making the washboard stretch of I10 westbound from New Orleans, bearable.

I will add though, that the one topic that seems to have been missed in this discussion is 'what do you do once you get where you are going?'. I see many with HD trucks, towing a small car, or renting a small car at their destination, to have something to drive that can be taken to the local grocery store or tourist attraction. I think the added costs are something to be considered.

[Neil Laubenthal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by greyt-parent . . .5k miles since September, from Kansas to South Dakota to Florida to Texas with a new 2011 F450 towing a 41' NH Majestic. For the whole trip, we averaged 10mpg. Our one trip through mountains, on eastbound I24 to Chattanooga (6% grade), we had absolutely no problems either accelerating uphill or braking on the downhill. One of the changes we made to the F450 was the installation of a Kelderman Air Suspension I will add though, that the one topic that seems to have been missed in this discussion is 'what do you do once you get where you are going?'. I see many with HD trucks, towing a small car, or renting a small car at their destination, to have something to drive that can be taken to the local grocery store or tourist attraction. I think the added costs are something to be considered.

Thanks for the comment . . .we've decided to go with the 450 and if the ride is an issue we'll look into the Kelderman. As far as when we get there . . .we will be keeping a Jeep/Outback/small SUV type vehicle for our daily driver anyway . . .we do a lot of hiking/kayaking and want something that is a little better at getting down dirt roads than a SmartCar which a lot of people have. The pickup will be driven only when towing or if we need to go carry something big. Whoever isn't driving the rig will follow/lead/navigate/run interference through small towns with the daily driver . . .that will probably me as although my wife will drive it enough so that she's trained and familiar with it in case she _has_ to drive it she won't volunteer to do much driving while we're moving.

[Allen Inks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by glennwest Need to take into consideration comfort. Any 450-350 will beat on you on a long trip. The coach is over twice the weight of the truck. All the movement of the coach is transferred into the truck. It is physics and nothing will change that. Add to this the conditions of the roads we travel. I just done a 1300 mile tow from northern Ohio to Houston TX and I was so beat up I was no good for anything for at least a day.

My wife and I make the trip from Toledo, Ohio to San Antonio, Texas twice a year in our F350 pulling a 30 ft New Horizons. I don't feel "beat", most likely because of our Ultra-Fab Trailair® Pin Box, with an air bag and two shock absorbers that," acts as a buffer, arresting the transfer of road impact between the tow vehicle and the coach to produce smooth, stabilized towing performance. " (Ultra-Fab Products, Inc.| - Trailair® Pin Box).

Some of the credit may also go to our Pullrite Super 5th hitch (PullRite has a SAFER, STRONGER, BETTER designed hitch for you)

Together, they work wonderfully.

[glennwest]

It's the "chugging" that gets to me. I do have a air bag pin on my Mobile Suite

[royandann]

We have a 36ft New Horizons pulled by an F450. We added the Trail Air Pin box with the Tri-Glide system. It makes a big difference. It makes Chucking more tolerable.
http://www.lci1.com/NewProducts/Flye...e/triglide.PDF

[greyt-parent]

Quote:

Originally Posted by greyt-parent One of the changes we made to the F450 was the installation of a Kelderman Air Suspension, which makes a big difference in ride, even making the washboard stretch of I10 westbound from New Orleans, bearable.

I might also add that besides the Kelderman Air Ride Suspension on the truck, NH installed a Helmsley 3 bag Trailer Saver hitch on the truck. This cushions all of the momentum transfer between trailer and truck, giving us a pretty smooth ride.