Cougar Half ton series

[Old-Biscuit]

Originally Posted by TurtlteB52

Update. My wife & I just had our maiden voyage trip with 2012 GMC YUKON DENALI XL pulling our 2022 Cougar 22RBS. Everything went perfectly, even getting to the site in the dark. We were extremely satisfied and shocked at the same time. Been married for 25 yrs and this is probably only the 5th time we haven't had some kind of disaster happen during vacation that caused us to go home early. SUV pulled trailer perfectly. That WDH really makes a difference too. We were maxed out on trailer weight just like I figured we would be. 13,660lbs together trailer was 7,220lbs. 20lbs over. Only down side is fuel mileage which I already knew was going to suck. Anyway we can't wait to go again in a few weeks.

Thanks for posting update on actual trip & towing
Glad it has worked out...memories to be made!

Now for the 'negative' side
The RV Bug/Addition has got both of you......

[TurtleB52]

Afraid you're right Old-Biscuit. We have been sucked in to the vortex I reckon.

[Xmcdog]

I've have a 1/2 ton towable fiver. It tows well behind my 2500.
Don't think I would tow it with a 1/2 ton though.

[runamuck]

Originally Posted by bneukam

Ram 1500 with 5.7 with cylinder deactivation will engage while towing, at least mine does. Selecting down to 7th gear will keep it from activating.

yes I see eco mode every now and then when towing with my ram 1500 but I thought the conversation was about the gm trucks with 6 speed. I dont think I ever saw eco mode when I had a gmc sierra for towing.

[JIMNLIN]

Originally Posted by Dave1956

Greetings,

Any thoughts or experiences with the halftone series?

Thanks,

Dave

I'll repost your question for you.
Something to keep in mind is not all 1/2 ton series trailers are built the same. Just as not all 1/2 ton trucks have the same tow/haul capacities.
Too many rv folks think because their trailer was a low cost 1/2 ton towable trailer and had lots of issues that their all built the same.

I saw this on a Airstream dealers add;

Cheap prices
You want it bad
you get it bad
The worse you want it
The worse you get it
So how cheap do you want it ?

[MI PJC]

My mother who is now age 85 and has had owned numerous Newmar 40 ft Dutchstar MH's has stressed that my F-150 2.7 liter (Eco boost) will have a hard time pulling my Cougar 22MLS. She and many others have made the same comments. Since I already own my Ford F-150 and only camp on the weekends less than 4 hours from our home we have been successful pulling our TT. However, once the truck is ready to be replaced, we will be upgrading to a
F-250 for sure. To make my truck work I have installed Air Lifts to my rear suspension. Parts cost around $350. Labor around $500. Also upgrading my 3 ply tires to 10 ply helped with "Butt Wable". Blu Ox hitch with sway bars completed my setup. These add ons are the way we have been able to make our truck work for us. We realize we just have to drive around 65 mph and take it easy.

[dpliske]

Originally Posted by MI PJC

My mother who is now age 85 and has had owned numerous Newmar 40 ft Dutchstar MH's has stressed that my F-150 2.7 liter (Eco boost) will have a hard time pulling my Cougar 22MLS. She and many others have made the same comments. Since I already own my Ford F-150 and only camp on the weekends less than 4 hours from our home we have been successful pulling our TT. However, once the truck is ready to be replaced, we will be upgrading to a
F-250 for sure. To make my truck work I have installed Air Lifts to my rear suspension. Parts cost around $350. Labor around $500. Also upgrading my 3 ply tires to 10 ply helped with "Butt Wable". Blu Ox hitch with sway bars completed my setup. These add ons are the way we have been able to make our truck work for us. We realize we just have to drive around 65 mph and take it easy.

You guys must not live in an area with mountains. We just traded our 21RBS for a 26RBSWE, we had a Sierra 1500 which did great in the valleys of California but struggled in the Sierra Nevadas, got a Ram diesel and boy what a difference. The 26RBSWE is only about 1600 pounds heavier so I'm expecting to be able continue to accelerate up the mountains (what a great feeling).

[xc-mark]

My buddie has a Jayco HT eagle 31', It empty was 8700 lbs with a 10,500 gvw...... That is hardly 1/2 ton compatable! I was pulling it with a 3500 crew cab 4x4 6.5' bed diesel GMC single wheel truck. He changed the tires to some no-name off road tire , 300 miles later those tires where off the truck and Michelins where back on it. He had a sway problem over 65 mph and its stable at 70+ with michelins. Bottom line I would avoid any 1/2 ton type trailers they are just built to light everywhere.

[Ldubs]

Originally Posted by Skip426

1/2 ton towable is a BUZZ phrase in the industry , to sell trailers to unsuspecting 1/2 ton owners who won't look at the numbers .

Truthfully less than 10% of the 1/2 tons; built in the past 10 years ; on the road are capable of towing them safely.
Older than 10 years probably none will have the payload capacity to handle the weight.

I'm not sure where the 10% you quote is coming from, but wouldn't it be based on the actual model spec's. From what I see, these TT's have models from 5,600# to 8,500# plus corresponding carrying capacity. I would be concerned towing the heavy 37' model with my 1/2 ton, but would be OK with the lighter 26' model.

[tuffr2]

I would guess 8% of haft ton trucks are capable of towing that kinda of weight. I would need to see how many F-150 trucks are built with the HDPP option plus how many Nissan Titan XD trucks are sold.

Now I am thinking about 5%.

[JIMNLIN]

I'm not sure where the 10% you quote is coming from, but wouldn't it be based on the actual model spec's. From what I see, these TT's have models from 5,600# to 8,500# plus corresponding carrying capacity. I would be concerned towing the heavy 37' model with my 1/2 ton, but would be OK with the lighter 26' model.

https://news.pickuptrucks.com/2018/0...s-winning.html
Article in pickuptrucks.com with a quote from cars.com data says their were 1.4 million 1/2 ton F150...1500 Silverado ...1500 Ram pickups sold in 2016 and 2017.
That wasn't counting 1500 GMC pickups or the foreign made 1/2 ton trucks.
Using a average of '16-'17 figures could be over 4.2 million 1/2 trucks built from '2016 to 2021 on the road still working and playing.

Fourty years ago and even today choose the right 1/2 ton truck for the job.

[Dave Pelletier]

The right half ton for the job is usually a 3/4 ton! LOL Cougar "Half Ton Series" consists of 25 models varying from 7200 GVWR and 26' long to well over 10,000 lbs GVWR and over 37' long! I'd suggest that all of them are best towed with a HD truck and only the smallest and lightest of them are just within range of the best equipped half tons. Only two are under 26' long and only four are under 7,800 lbs GVWR....

My business partner has the Cougar Half Ton 22RBSWE and tows it with an E350 PSD. They tried towing it with a Ram 1500 Hemi but weren't comfortable with the stability.

2 cents,
Dave

[TurtleB52]

Well we had an overall successful 2nd trip last week. After 3.5hrs trying to get the heat to come on. Long story short we had to kill all the power to the trailer to reset the whole system. Thankfully we had enough phone signal my wife was able to do all the hunting on Youtube to help us figure it out. Yukon is doing a great job handling the TT. We ended up getting 8mpg average. Like the saying goes "YOU gotta PAY if YOU want to PLAY"! Thanks very much to Martian for all of your advice so the pipes didn't freeze.

[Randy the sly old fox]

Originally Posted by JIMNLIN

https://news.pickuptrucks.com/2018/0...s-winning.html
Article in pickuptrucks.com with a quote from cars.com data says their were 1.4 million 1/2 ton F150...1500 Silverado ...1500 Ram pickups sold in 2016 and 2017.
That wasn't counting 1500 GMC pickups or the foreign made 1/2 ton trucks.
Using a average of '16-'17 figures could be over 4.2 million 1/2 trucks built from '2016 to 2021 on the road still working and playing.

Fourty years ago and even today choose the right 1/2 ton truck for the job.

I think a better point is how many of those trucks are actually equiped with the tow capacity and payload to handle a trailer. I know that the MaxTow option for GM products was very hard to find on a lot and even to special order was a gamble due mainly to CAFE requirements for MPG that could not be met if too many trucks had the 3.73 rear gears for towing. 3/4T and larger trucks do not fall under CAFE restrictions.