New here. Looking to purchase a truck and TT. Opinions please.

[hdflhx]

Hello everyone. New here. I have never owned a truck or TT before.

My wife and I are in the process of getting over a a very serious motorcycle accident. She says he doesn't want to ride again and to be honest, I don't think I would ever ride her again. Don't mind hurting myself but I just couldn't bear the thought of ever hurting her again. We used to camp a lot when the kids were younger and really enjoyed it.

My plans are to purchase a truck and a small travel trailer for my wife and I to enjoy some time to ourselves now that our kids are grown and on their own.

My son is a salesman at a dealership and I asked him to find me a good deal. He brought home a 2006 f150 4.6l 4x4 that he can sale me at costs. The truck has 90000 miles on it and is in great shape. Nor a bad deal at 11,000 dollars either.

My concerns are with towing a travel trailer. What weight can I reasonably expect to tow with the 4.6 engine? I really don't need anything big but a bath and toilet i a must. Is there any TT that this truck can easily handle?

[John H...]

Welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear about your accident. My wife wants me to get rid of our Harley because there have been so many accidents because of people pulling out in front of bikes. Good luck on your quest for a TT.

[awarnes]

Open the drivers door and look at the sticker. If it doesn't have the tow package it won't tow much. You can also go online to Ford and look at the tow specs for that make and model. $11k for 90K on a 5 year old truck seems high to me.

JMHO
Arnold

[CoachDJS]

I'm glad you're recovering. I also ride and have been hit twice. Makes me really nervous when I ride today. I hope you can find a little humor in your post. It says, "She says he doesn't want to ride again and to be honest, I don't think I would ever ride her again.". I hope you're talking about the motorcycle. Wish we could get away with something smaller. We have to drive an Excursion (four kids). Hope you find what you're looking for. We've just winterized ours and are already looking forward to heading out this spring. Keep us updated on your search.

[hdflhx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoachDJS I'm glad you're recovering. I also ride and have been hit twice. Makes me really nervous when I ride today. I hope you can find a little humor in your post. It says, "She says he doesn't want to ride again and to be honest, I don't think I would ever ride her again.". I hope you're talking about the motorcycle. Wish we could get away with something smaller. We have to drive an Excursion (four kids). Hope you find what you're looking for. We've just winterized ours and are already looking forward to heading out this spring. Keep us updated on your search.

Hello Coach, lol I re-read after seeing your post. I guess I should lay off the pain pills lol.

[hdflhx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by awarnes Open the drivers door and look at the sticker. If it doesn't have the tow package it won't tow much. You can also go online to Ford and look at the tow specs for that make and model. $11k for 90K on a 5 year old truck seems high to me. JMHO Arnold

The dealer is asking 16k and from my research the vehicle still books for over 17k. I could be wrong so I will have to look into it again.

[hdflhx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by John H... Welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear about your accident. My wife wants me to get rid of our Harley because there have been so many accidents because of people pulling out in front of bikes. Good luck on your quest for a TT.

John H, I understand your wife' concerns. After getting a life flight and months of healing (still in a wheelchair), I will never give up riding but I think the days of towing my wife around are over. Looking for other means of spending our time together lol.

Thanks everyone for the best wishes.

[CoachDJS]

I hope you don't think I was giving you a hard time. I understand after having a poor driver lay me up for several months. Was in Colorado and an elderly lady figured she needed the road worse than me. She pulled out in front of me. I tried to accelerate to keep from getting hit. Missed it by that much. Caught my right behind my leg. I divided my accident into several parts. There was the initial flying, the bouncing end over end, the rolling and finally the slide off the side of the road. Ended up with 6 broken ribs, a separated shoulder a broken hip and scrapes and bruises. Being Colorado I didn't have my helmet on. My head never touched the ground. I got lucky. Sounds like yours was a lot worse. I wish you the best in your recovery and hope you get your truck and camper and hit the road soon.
Just wondering, have you considered the TT with the pop out ends? Save you weight and you would only have to open one if you wanted to. Wouldn't really work for us, but wouldn't be bad.

[Yarcola]

You could easily tow any of the small molded fiberglass "egg" type trailers. They cost considerably more than "stick and staple" trailers of the same length, but hold their value well. Brands include Casita, Scamp, EggCamper, Escape, Lil Snoozy, and maybe a few others. One problem with them is you can't get them through a dealer - you must order them directly from the factory and usually must pick them up there also, although I think a couple of the brands can arrange delivery. another problem is they are all very small, the EggCamper is the most roomy with the most headroom and width, and the Escape brand has the longest with a 19' model. Scamp and Escape also make tiny fifth-wheel models that a half-ton pickup can easily handle. Go to www.fiberglassrv.com for information on any of these.

[GENECOP]

One word.......CASITA

[Yarcola]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GENECOP One word.......CASITA

I would have bought a Casita, (wanted one for years), except with the inside max. height at 6'3" I would not be able to stand up straight in even the biggest 17' Casita, (the two smaller Casitas have only 5'10" of headroom). That's why we went with the EggCamper which has 6'7" of clearance inside. I don't think you can go wrong with any of the brands of molded fiberglass trailers, especially if it's only for two of you. If I needed to bring a couple of kids along the 19' Escape would be the way to go; it has comfortable sleeping for four and a central bath so each bed can be at least semi-private. The trouble with the Escape is they are quite pricey and you have to go to British Columbia to buy one. 19 Foot Escape

[hdflhx]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I'll look into everything mentioned.

[TXiceman]

With the 4.6L, I'd stick to a Casita. If it is a stock dealer truck, it probably has the 3.42 or 3.55 axle, which will not be good for towing more than the smaller trailers.

Have him run the VIN and see it if has a towing package or not and what it has for a rear axle.

Ken

[hdflhx]

Thanks Ken.

It does have the towing package and it has the h9 axle which is the 3.55 limited slip rear end.