Tow vehicle

[Woodie1]

What type of truck do you use to tow your NH 5th wheel? From what I have looked at I would need a F-450 Ford.
Thanks in advance for any comments.

[chaunclm]

Hi Woodie1,

Welcome to the New Horizon message board.

It would help us to answer your questions if we had an idea of how large a fifty wheel you were thinking about also a bit about how you would be using it.

Generally a fully equipped Chev or GM 2500 HD, or a F250 Ford, or Dodge three quarter ton can handle a 32 foot NH fifth wheel. You may be able to get a couple more feet with a one ton dually. Some folks tow larger trailers than this with an F 350 type, but I wouldn't.

We tow a 29 foot NH travel trailer with a Chev 2500 HD. We gross over 20,000 pounds and our truck has a 21000 gross vehicle combination weight rating. Our truck handles this load very well. We have climbed a 12 % grade with adequate power and no overheating.

[Woodie1]

We would probably get a 35' ~ 37" RLTSS The 35" w/ king bed if I understand the spec would add 2'. We have toured the factory but would like to spec out a home.

Ken

[chaunclm]

Woodie1,

A 37 foot Majestic with two slides would weight about 16,500 pounds dry. The Chev 3500HD with full trailering package has a 21,500 pound tow rating. So it should handle the trailer you are looking for just fine and provide you with 5000 pounds for personal goods and tankage.

Here is a link to a good site for truck towing ratings.

Truck Ratings for RV Towing

[Woodie1]

Thanks for the reply

[87_Fixr]

Woodie, have you seen the 2009 35 ft RLTSS on the NH website inventory? Man is that a nice unit.
I just compared the big 3 towing ratings from their websites yesterday. Ford nudged out GM for most towing capac. Boy, they are getting expensive. Mid fifties price range. Ford developed a new diesel engine for last year's trucks.

[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

[shj525]

Woodie1,
We just ordered a 37' RLTSS which will grow by 2' because of the king bed. I found an excellent web site that helps explain tow ratings, etc. The link is:
RV Camping & RV Lifestyle - Changin' Gears

Look at the column on the left for the links under Tow Vehicles. It is very educational. Good luck!

[shj525]

Here is a link to a J.D. Power and Associates press release about medium-duty trucks:
2010 U.S. Medium-Duty Truck Engine and Transmission Customer Satisfaction Study | JDPower.com

[shj525]

Here is link to estimate the weight of a Majestic:
Specifications | Majestic | New Horizons RV | Luxury Full Time RV & Custom Fifth Wheels

As NH state, appliances and options add weight.

Also include water at 8.35 lbs per gallon and each full LP tank at 70 lbs each.

[wandering1]

What you would need depends on the trailer you are looking at and how much it weighs.

[Diva]

I have a 2006 36' New Horizons trailer and Ford F-550 truck [Moderator edit] -- we found that the F550 pulled (and, most importantly, stopped!) this heavy trailer well and with no problems. Our trailer, empty, weighs around 21,000 lb; the towing capacity of the truck if I recall correctly is around 33,000 lb.

Margaret

[rfhtlh]

check the gross combined rate rating on the truck. we had the chevy 3500 that had a tow rating at 21500 lb but the gross combined was around 23500 lb. the truck weighed 8000 so that reduced the trailer weight to 15500 lb. we moved up to a medium duty with a 30000 lb gcwr as our trailer weighs around 18000 lb

[Neil Laubenthal]

Nobody's talked about the pickup vs HDT/MDT decision on this thread . . .so figured I would see if anyone has words of wisdom to offer. We're looking at buying a New Horizons 39RSBTSS which according to the NH site will be right about 18,000 pounds dry. Figure another 3000 pounds of stuff and gross trailer weight will be about 21,000.

According to the Ford 2012 towing guide the F450 dually 4x4 5th wheel towing capacity is 24,500 . . .so according to that the 450 is plenty of truck.

Phil from New Horizons also says the 450 is plenty.

The other side of this debate (Jack Mayer for one is an HDT proponent) says that while the 450 specs say it's enough a MDT or HDT will have much better towing performance and braking performance . . .typically the folks that have purchased an HDT/MDT strongly recommend them over a pickup.

There are obviously some advantages (towing and braking) . . .and just as obviously some disadvantages . . .the lack of a fully automatic transmission option (i.e., no clutch ever necessary) is on this list as is the fact that most people have little to no experience with the extra mechanical stuff, maintenance, etc that a MDT/HDT requires.

Given all of that . . .I'm trying to figure out what the right answer is . . .and there are lots of smart people on both sides of this discussion.

So . . .for those of you with New Horizons up around the 21,000 pound loaded weight . . .what are you pulling with -- pickup or MDT/HDT? Have you had any issues going up and down mountain highways? I realize that you'll slow down on the uphills a bit but as long as the speed stays up at 45-50 or so going uphill and there aren't issues with brake overheating going downhill then I wouldn't think the pickup would be an issue . . .but clearly I'm not an expert in this area.

Thanks.