New Camper Advice

[rubberduckie]

Picked up the new camper. It’s a 2014 Dutchman 282 RBS. The unloaded weight is 6,727 lbs. I am towing with a 2013 Ford F-150 Super Crew with the Eco Boost. The two hour trip home went well. I was impressed with the truck. I do have two concerns. The first is can I use my cruse control? With it on my RPM’S stayed at 1200 on flat road. On a hill it would kick in and jump up to around 1500 to 2200 depending on the hill.

Second concern is going through the mountains Virginia and West Virginia. Not sure if I have enough truck. I feel confident in dragging it around Ohio for short trips. Any advice or recommendations would be appreciated.

[rubberduckie]

I wish I found this forum prior to making my purchase. My 2013 F-150 has the following equipment package. I hope I am not pushing or exceeding my limits.

2013 F-150 4x4 Super Crew
145” Wheelbase
Eco Boost 3.5 V
Electronic 6-SPD Auto
3.31 Ratio Regular Axle
7200# GVWR Package
Select shift Transmission
Trailer Brake Controller
Trailer Sway Control
Trailer Tow Package

[tuffr2]

The Eco-Boost engine in the F-150 is really good for pulling. The RPM you you state are low and so far not near the red line.

Yes, you can use your cruise control when traffic is light enough. I will use cruise control on occasion but find the traffic flow really does not allow long term use. Seems when I am towing I drive faster than most semi trucks but not as fast as the cars. That makes using cruise control difficult for me.

Your other question...humm, you already have the truck and trailer so it is really too late to tell you a 3/4 ton truck is what you probably need. A 1/2 ton truck is actually kind of little for towing a 8,000lb wet trailer. Sure it can be done but a bigger truck makes it easier.

Anyway, give it a try towing thru the mountains. I did it with a 5.0 litre F-150 and a 5,500 trailer. WVA Route 77 is windy and up and down with semi trucks. It really is a good towing test. I was going from central Ohio to Jacksonville. Driving thru Virginia was not bad at all compared to West Virginia.

Good luck

[rubberduckie]

Thanks Tuff r2. I will let you know how it turns out.

[gggplaya]

I'd get a hensley arrow or propride hitch if i were you. They'll give you far more stability because the pivot point is much closer to the rear axles, just like on a fifth wheel.

[wandering1]

So what kind of a camper is it? A tent trailer camper, a popup camper or a travel trailer or a fifth wheel? F150's are highly over rated for towing.

[SeabeckS]

Originally Posted by wandering1

So what kind of a camper is it? A tent trailer camper, a popup camper or a travel trailer or a fifth wheel? F150's are highly over rated for towing.

So, you think the OP has 6727 pound tent camper? It must be freaking huge!

[Superslif]

Did you happen to see what your gas mileage was when you were towing?

My first trip towing my 5100 (wet) tt with my new 14' Tundra (5.7L) it was hard to keep it in over-drive and the RPM's hovering at 2100. Second trip out I fueled up with "plus" grade gas and it was much easier staying in over-drive at about 1700 RPM's, thus improving mileage from 10 to the 11 MPG range. Doing this while traveling at about 62 MPH...

[Bamaman]

Half ton trucks will tow your trailer just fine.

As your truck ages, you will need to have your wheels aligned yearly so they can keep a close watch on ball joints, tie rod ends and other suspension parts. And make sure your brakes are really, really good at all times.

[SmokeyWren]

Originally Posted by rubberduckie

Picked up the new camper. It’s a 2014 Dutchman 282 RBS. The unloaded weight is 6,727 lbs.

Dry weight is almost useless. Add the cargo weight capacity to get approximately the GVWR, and use that as your wet and loaded trailer weight. Then use 15% of your wet and loaded trailer weight to determine your approximate hitch (tongue) weight.

The Dutchman 282RBS has shipping weight of 6,727 and a cargo carrying capacity of 2,953 for a total of 9,690 gross trailer weight. Wet and loaded tongue weight could be as much as 1,450 pounds.

I am towing with a 2013 Ford F-150 Super Crew with the Eco Boost. ... 3.31 Ratio Regular Axle... 7200# GVWR Package

GCWR 15,100, tow rating 9,200 (when tow vehicle weighs 5,900). But your wet and loaded F-150 4x4 SuperCrew is going to weigh a lot more than 5,900, so your tow rating is going to be a lot less than 9,200. So even with nothing in the truck but a skinny driver, you'll exceed the GCWR of the truck by quite a bit. (Tow rating = GCWR minus truck weight).The GCWR indicates whether you can tow a gross weight up a normal interstate hill or mountain pass without overheating anything in the drivetrain, and whether you'll be the slowpoke blocking traffic when climbing a mountain pass.

But exceeding the GCWR is not your main problem. Your GVWR is only 7,200, which means a tongue weight of over about 700 or 800 pounds will overload your suspension and brakes. If you try to load the trailer to 9,690 pounds, you're going to kill your truck

My F-150 EcoBoost has about the same available payload as yours. And I'm overloaded with my TT when it weighs 4,780 pounds including 560 pounds of hitch weight. So I'm guessing you'll be SEVERELY overloaded over the GVWR of your truck when you tie onto that wet and loaded TT with your wet and loaded truck.

The first is can I use my cruse control?

I use cruise control almost all the time when traffic allows. For steep grades, pay attention to the tach and don't allow much over 5,000 RPM before you kill the cruise. When in hills or mountains, be sure tow/haul mode is turned on.

Second concern is going through the mountains Virginia and West Virginia. Not sure if I have enough truck.

You don't. Pay close attention to the temp gauges. If you have the digital tranny temp gauge in the display, choose the screen that includes that gauge. It's much easier to read than the analogue tranny temp gauge on the dash. I use the digital gauge and never allow more than 225° tranny temp. I've never seen over 220° in my EcoBoost, but then my TT grosses less than 5,000 pounds. If it gets up to 225°, then find a good place to park it for a bit, keep the engine running and the tranny in neutral or park, elevate the engine idle RPM to 1,200 or so, and sit there twiddling your thumbs until the tranny temp falls back to less than 220°. Heat is the tranny killer, and you don't want to cook your tranny.

Any advice or recommendations would be appreciated.

I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, but you don't have enough truck for your trailer. You need to trade for either more truck or less trailer. As someone above mentioned, you need an F-250 to tow that trailer without having to worry about being overloaded.

[SeabeckS]

Originally Posted by rubberduckie

I wish I found this forum prior to making my purchase. My 2013 F-150 has the following equipment package. I hope I am not pushing or exceeding my limits.

2013 F-150 4x4 Super Crew
145” Wheelbase
Eco Boost 3.5 V
Electronic 6-SPD Auto
3.31 Ratio Regular Axle
7200# GVWR Package
Select shift Transmission
Trailer Brake Controller
Trailer Sway Control
Trailer Tow Package

Sorry that it seems you picked sort of the wrong TT for your F150. When I started viewing this forum, I was thinking F150 (albeit with the 5.0 instead of the EB) all the way. Fortunately, or ironically, my buying decision was delayed by the twist and turn of economic winds. Through research I discovered that the price of a 250XLT was only a few hundred more than a heavily optioned to the max 150XLT...and out of the box the 250 had MUCH more true towing capacity. And with a couple of select options is/was even a much better choice in the long run.

I'd guess that you'd take a real bath on the TT you've purchased if you decide to sell/trade it. So wonder if a 'better' option might be to trade the 150 in for a new 250...?


FWIW, I think the tow ratings by the truck manufacturers border on deceptive practices.

Sorry for your troubles, but good luck!

[Bamaman]

But don't forget that factory tow ratings are very, very conservative on 1/2 ton trucks.

We see comparable trailers all the time pulled by 1/2 ton trucks with no issues when they're equipped with load leveler hitches and antisway bars.

[SeabeckS]

Originally Posted by Bamaman

But don't forget that factory tow ratings are very, very conservative on 1/2 ton trucks.

We see comparable trailers all the time pulled by 1/2 ton trucks with no issues when they're equipped with load leveler hitches and antisway bars.

Please define "very, very conservative". 5%, 10%, 25%, or...?

Just wondering....

[NFlcamper]

Originally Posted by Bamaman

We see comparable trailers all the time pulled by 1/2 ton trucks with no issues when they're equipped with load leveler hitches and antisway bars.

What we see isn't always the right thing to do. Too many variables that can fail. Only needs to fail once to cause an accident. P series tires overloaded, too much bounce from too light of a suspension, too light duty shocks, metal fatigue from supporting too much for too long flexing ever so slightly going down the highway. Is your family worth the risk?

Use a truck at its rating or below, especially if you don't have much experience. Experience teaches us if we can exceed ratings, and how much and how long. If your here asking, don't take offence at advise given. If you give advice, take into consideration a possible lack of experience and don't say "I do it, so you can too" - it may be your family the new Guy meets by accident!