Tow vehicle for ORV 20FQ

[whitlowe]

We want to switch out our 2003 F250 as the tow vehicle for our Creekside 20FQ. We do not ever see ourselves in a heavier, bigger rig as we stay off the beaten path, and like small. We moved up from a Lance 845 which we took everywhere for 17 years (short bed version). The FQ seems huge to us.

Anyhoo, we are wondering if we could get away with the F150 for comfort this time. Sadly we cannot get the supercab, 6.5 bed with the payload package for some weird reason. Ford makes you go to a crew???

The F250 is huge to us...and much longer than our older F250. And it is a harder ride, which we got tired of on long trips to Alaska in ours. Maybe they are better after 17 years..LOL.

Can the 150 do it? Or are we really just pushing it?

What are others pulling their FQs with?

And the old diesal vs gas issue...do the costs of maintaining the diesal eat up any savings in mpg? When does the diesal pay for itself, at how many miles or how many miles would we have to travel to recoup the cost?

We got 7mpg with our old f250...not happy campers with that...we got 12 with the Lance (2300 lb dry slide in).

Thanks all.

[egwilly]

That unit is around 7k in weight. After adding stuff, water, propane and other. the weight will rise to 8k roughly.

That's about 800lbs on the ball hitch. Little room for more weight on a half ton.

I would suggest getting the specs for the Ford, Dodge and Chevy and compare what they can handle. You want to go with a safety margin as well. Cargo carrying capacity and axle loads are important.

My guess is the 150 setup properly would be a good choice, but I don't have the numbers in front of me to say for sure. A F250 would be better.

I tow with a 1 ton diesel and never have regretted the engine I chose. I used to tow a 20 ft toy hauler with a F150 gas motor and hated it going up any grades. The long bed is not good as a daily driver though. I'm retired and only use it to tow.

Have fun looking.

PS: I am from the bigger is better camp.

[ioski]

Originally Posted by whit2020

We want to switch out our 2003 F250 as the tow vehicle for our Creekside 20FQ. We do not ever see ourselves in a heavier, bigger rig as we stay off the beaten path, and like small. We moved up from a Lance 845 which we took everywhere for 17 years (short bed version). The FQ seems huge to us.

Anyhoo, we are wondering if we could get away with the F150 for comfort this time. Sadly we cannot get the supercab, 6.5 bed with the payload package for some weird reason. Ford makes you go to a crew???

The F250 is huge to us...and much longer than our older F250. And it is a harder ride, which we got tired of on long trips to Alaska in ours. Maybe they are better after 17 years..LOL.

Can the 150 do it? Or are we really just pushing it?

What are others pulling their FQs with?

And the old diesal vs gas issue...do the costs of maintaining the diesal eat up any savings in mpg? When does the diesal pay for itself, at how many miles or how many miles would we have to travel to recoup the cost?

We got 7mpg with our old f250...not happy campers with that...we got 12 with the Lance (2300 lb dry slide in).

Thanks all.

We have an F250 & 20FQ setup and have been happy with it. The F250 is a 2017, 4WD, crew cab, gas, and camper shell. All loaded up and driving up and down the Alcan we averaged at least 10 mpg. Being able to have plenty of power uphill and the size/capacity to slow down on the downhills with the bigger F250 is nice.

[Old-Biscuit]

Isn't the GVWR 6,995# for that 2016 Outdoors RV Creekside 20FQ

If YES then a Current F150 should be OK

[ToppDogg]

Originally Posted by Old-Biscuit

Isn't the GVWR 6,995# for that 2016 Outdoors RV Creekside 20FQ

If YES then a Current F150 should be OK

[Cumminsfan]

Any Max Tow F150 would be fine with that trailer.

[Part-time]

Creekside 20fq specs

Dimensions
Length Hitch to Back of Ladder: 24' 7"
Interior Height 6' 11''
Overall Height with AC 10' 7"
Weight Maximum Trailer: 6995 lbs.
Dry Weight 4975 lbs.
Dry Weight, Hitch 485 lbs.
Water Heater 6 gal.
Cargo Capacity 2295 lbs.

We tow a 24KTS with a typical loaded weight of 7000 lbs with a 2019 Ram 1500 3.92 gears and a 5.7 Hemi. I believe that we are at the limit of what I would tow with this truck but it works well. It has a tow rating of 12300 lbs and I use the 60 percent rule, 60 percent of the rated tow capacity for the weight of the trailer. Also with payload we have 300 lbs to spare fully loaded.

We've been through the Colorado Rockies and did just fine. Do we go up the hills like a cummins diesel? No, but we rarely get below the speed limit with this setup. On a 7 percent grade I'll keep the rpm at about 2800 and just motor up the hill passing some trucks and some passing us. I don't like to run the truck hard up the hills so we give up a little but still get there just fine. Some want to go fast up and down the hills but we are in no hurry so the extra expense of a diesel wasn't justified in our case.

The only up grade is the Helwig sway bar and it made a difference in the stability of the truck.

[Randy the sly old fox]

I think that you would be fine with any of the modern 1/2T trucks with that TT.

[RBORV20FQ]

I towed our 17 20FQ with a 2013 F150 supercrew short bed. I had the 5.0 V8 and it towed it no problem. If I were to go back to the F150 I would get the 3.5 ecoboost. There were times I has the 5.0 revved up and my understanding is the ecoboosts with their twin turbos acts more like a diesel.

[Northcal]

We have a 2017 20fq and tow with a 2500 2019 Ram 6.4 gas motor with the 8 speed trans. Three reasons we went with the 3/4 ton.

Payload capacity: The tongue weight on the 20fq is on the heavy side. We can carry a lot of stuff in the truck bed and the Ram gas has 3200# payload.

Heavy duty: Suspension, brakes, safety and better towing experience.

Price;
Not much difference between 1/2 ton and 3/4 in the gas.

Yes the ride is definitely not as smooth as the the 1/2 ton trucks. I went with 18" wheels instead of 20" but it still is a big truck.

Would a 1/2 ton work, yes but you will probably need to always watch your payload capacity.
Good luck and all the best.

[snxwmxn]

We have a 17 20 FQ and tow with a 2019 GMC 1/2 ton 6.2 l with max tow. We live in the Rocky Mountains and it tows fine. My friend has a 2018 Tundra and 21RD and likes the way it goes.

[whitlowe]

Originally Posted by Northcal

We have a 2017 20fq and tow with a 2500 2019 Ram 6.4 gas motor with the 8 speed trans. Three reasons we went with the 3/4 ton.

Payload capacity: The tongue weight on the 20fq is on the heavy side. We can carry a lot of stuff in the truck bed and the Ram gas has 3200# payload.

Heavy duty: Suspension, brakes, safety and better towing experience.

Price;
Not much difference between 1/2 ton and 3/4 in the gas.

Yes the ride is definitely not as smooth as the the 1/2 ton trucks. I went with 18" wheels instead of 20" but it still is a big truck.

Would a 1/2 ton work, yes but you will probably need to always watch your payload capacity.
Good luck and all the best.

what was your reasoning behind going ram 2500 vs another 3/4? We are looking at the Rams too, and fords. F250 is stiff though. Thanks

[Vintage465]

I think a 20fq, depending on the how much you load it up and what you put in your tow vehicle is pretty close to a 3/4 ton requirement. I think if you don't go 3/4 ton and go with the "hefty-half", you'll need to pay closer attention to loading of pickup and the loading of the trailer. Personally I don't like paying attention so I've always towed with a 3/4 ton. The current set up I have is a rather heavily loaded 20fq and a 3/4 ton crew/short box 4X4 with Diesel. Completely effortless towing uphills, downhills, and flat lands.

[seaeagle2]

The problem with asking "can I tow it with and F150" is that the tow capacity( which really isnt a very useful number), and payload are all over the place. Our previous F150 had P tires and a 1500lb payload. The F150 Unincorns are the HDPP, but they run almost what an F250 runs.