Question, I am new to this RV'ing

[jball0601]

I have a 2013 yukon denali XL with a 6.2 v8 and a 2016 v6 2.7 twin turbo 2016 F150. My camper is 274BH and dry weight is roughly 5900 pounds dry. I want some experienced RV'ers to let me know if they think I should trade in my truck for a 2500 or F250? Or if my two vehicles will be efficient to pull the 274BH? Thanks for your input everyone.

[1st-tt2018]

Lets start with ratings. What does the door sticker say on each...if you cant tell payload and all, post pics of them.

Second what is the sticker saying on the rv for gvwr?

With those we can all tell you more.

[450Donn]

Remember 5900 dry can easily translate to 8000 ready to go camping. Look at the trailers GVWR which you can get off the metal looking tag on the left sife near the front. This tag will give you the OE tire rating, axle size and the trailers GVWR. Base all your guesses on worst case, which is GVWR. You also need to drive both vehicles across the scales loaded ready to travel. Subtract the scaled weights from the vehicles GVWR as located on the tag on the drivers door post. Trailer tongue weight can easily hit 15% of the trailers weight. So again base your tongue weight on 15% of the trailers GVWR. Now the question only you can answer after you have done all the above. Does the combined actual vehicle weight plus the calculated tongue fit under or over the vehicles GVWR.

[jball0601]

The f150 6500 and yukon is 8600

[1st-tt2018]

Originally Posted by jball0601

The f150 6500 and yukon is 8600

The f150-no
The Yukon-only local trips. Stops will be rough and you will likely be at or over your ratings by the time you are loaded and ready.

[DbleDutch]

Third question: where and how are you towing?
Towing in the mid-west 40 miles to your local lake?
Or western states towing from 1k elevation up to 7k+ and down on weekends?

[tuffr2]

I agree with, "where will you be towing"? If towing to the local state parks 25 to 50 miles away then either vehicle will work.

But if you want to tow 100's of miles on the freeway then neither vehicle will work.

Towing on back roads to a local state park with a nice little lake is fun for the kids and grown ups and sometimes all you need. Either vertical can tow that trailer at 45 to 50 mph easy.

Towing on the highway for 100's of miles at 72 mph is a whole different thing. Semi trucks will push you around a bit and any sidewind makes it worse. That is if you do not have a big enough truck to control the trailer. You can try it and see for yourself. Maybe it is driving you can tolerate.

I had a little truck that was maxed out. I used it for 3 years towing to local state parks. After I retired I wanted to travel more. My rig was not good on the highway I had to get a bigger truck to make it a much more enjoyable trip.

[MtCamper]

What they said and an FYI. The 3/4 ton trucks of today are a lot like the 1/2 of days gone by. The one tons are more like the old 3/4s. Ride between 3/4 and 1 is about a wash and the toners get bigger brakes and other stuff you want. And somehow, over time, your RV may grow a few feet and get a couple of thousand pounds heavier. If you are going to go to new truck, at least consider the one tons.

[Gigattime]

As others have shared, highway driving won't be any fun once fully loaded in my experience.

We towed for a little while with a Ford Expedition and didn't enjoy that at all on the highway. We were under the weight rating and numbers were good, but semis and other large vehicles caused too much movement to enjoy the drive.

Moved up to a V10, used Excursion and liked it better, but still not as good as a 2500 Truck. Now have a 1 ton dually and there is no comparison. Traded trailer in 2016 for new toy hauler and the dually does a great job. Personally, I would never go back to anything else as the dually is simply made to tow. With that said, a good F250 or similar will definitely handle the trailer you are inquiring about.

[Kurtsara]

Originally Posted by 450Donn

Remember 5900 dry can easily translate to 8000 ready to go camping. Look at the trailers GVWR which you can get off the metal looking tag on the left sife near the front. This tag will give you the OE tire rating, axle size and the trailers GVWR. Base all your guesses on worst case, which is GVWR. You also need to drive both vehicles across the scales loaded ready to travel. Subtract the scaled weights from the vehicles GVWR as located on the tag on the drivers door post. Trailer tongue weight can easily hit 15% of the trailers weight. So again base your tongue weight on 15% of the trailers GVWR. Now the question only you can answer after you have done all the above. Does the combined actual vehicle weight plus the calculated tongue fit under or over the vehicles GVWR.

5900 dry can also translate to about 6200 ready to go camping, I no we don't bring much.

Originally Posted by Gigattime

As others have shared, highway driving won't be any fun once fully loaded in my experience.

We towed for a little while with a Ford Expedition and didn't enjoy that at all on the highway. We were under the weight rating and numbers were good, but semis and other large vehicles caused too much movement to enjoy the drive.

Moved up to a V10, used Excursion and liked it better, but still not as good as a 2500 Truck. Now have a 1 ton dually and there is no comparison. Traded trailer in 2016 for new toy hauler and the dually does a great job. Personally, I would never go back to anything else as the dually is simply made to tow. With that said, a good F250 or similar will definitely handle the trailer you are inquiring about.

Isn't the Excursion built on the F250 chassis? You would think with the heavier body than a truck it would be better than the truck.

[Persistent]

Originally Posted by jball0601

I have a 2013 yukon denali XL with a 6.2 v8 and a 2016 v6 2.7 twin turbo 2016 F150. My camper is 274BH and dry weight is roughly 5900 pounds dry. I want some experienced RV'ers to let me know if they think I should trade in my truck for a 2500 or F250? Or if my two vehicles will be efficient to pull the 274BH? Thanks for your input everyone.

As an experience RV'er I recommend as others above have that you do the math. When you are pushing capacity limits, you must learn the method and perform extra activities to insure your safety and the safety of others on the road.
The towing capacity published in various places varies and is unreliable. There are good reasons for that. It is not a conspiracy. The bottom line is to start with the two loading stickers found on the driver's door frame. That is the definitive safe loading capacity.

You need "cargo capacity" or "payload capacity". If it is not listed specifically, then you must calculate it. Calculate by subtracting "dry weight" from "gross vehicle weight".

Multiply the cargo capacity by 7. That is the maximum actual trailer weight you can safely tow at 55 miles per hour. The actual weight of your trailer with everything loaded must not exceed that value.

Even if your trailer is under that weight you may not be safe. Again it is not a conspiracy. The reason is, the weight of everything you add to your tow vehicle decreases the safe trailer towing capacity. Every 100# you put in your tow vehicle decreases the towing capacity by 1500#.
Driver's weight is expected to be 150# so everything over that weight counts.
Passenger weight counts.
Luggage counts.
Tools count.
Trailer hitch counts.
Everything that was not attached to the tow vehicle when it left the factory counts.
As a result, your towing capacity will be substantially less the published maximum towing capacity.

Next is your trailer. You already have yours so you can load it up and get it weighed at a truck scale. Load your truck with everything you are likely to travel with including passengers.

You are always welcome at commercial truck scales. They will charge you about $15 and usually provide individual axle weights and total rig weight. You are usually not welcome at state highway weight stations.

You also need to know your trailer tongue weight. You can do that by getting a second weight at the scale. Disconnect the trailer and weight only the truck. The difference in the two truck weights is the tongue weight.

Since you are going to pull at or above your truck capacity, I recommend you get a tongue weight gage. Amazon sells them for about $130. Tongue weight will change from time to time due to many variables. My fully loaded tongue weight is 750# when I leave home. It is 500# on my return trip. Tongue weight needs to be at least 10% of trailer weight for stability. 15% is the normal high limit. In any case it must be less than the available cargo capacity after subtracting added loads in truck.

Compare the numbers from the scale report to the numbers on the door stickers.

1. Truck weight from scale report must not exceed MGVW from truck door sticker.
2. Trailer weight from scale report must not exceed MGVW from trailer sticker.
3. Front and rear truck axle weights must not exceed specified axle weights on the sticker.
4. Tire loading must not exceed tire capacity specifications.
5. Tongue weight must be between 10 and 15% of actual trailer weight.

All of this assumes you are using a weight distribution hitch with good sway control.

I wish you good luck with your camping!

[GCSuper]

You'll never regret too much TV but you will always regret too little.

[Gigattime]

Yes, sits on 250 Frame and did a nice job overall, but still caught a lot of wind. We moved to the Expedition then Excursion from a Ram 2500 Quad Cab long bed and thought the 2500 did a little better than the Excursion. Then went to the F350 Dually and never looked back. Dually hands down is the best tow vehicle we've owned in 30 years of towing different trailers.

[theoldwizard]

Towing capability of either 1/2 ton or 3/4 ton depends a lot on what options were included when the truck was built. All manufacturers offer some kind of "trailer towing" option that might include things like a HD radiator, auxiliary transmission cooler, additional wiring, etc, etc.

As others have said, you would be happier with a 3/4 ton pickup.