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Hi Folks I want to thank you for taking the time to post all this valuable information. I think we are going to start semi retirement next year so looking at all options. We bought a used Motor Home in early 90s 12k miles, it was perfect. We were both working but every wknd and vacations even New England winters we were camping.
So since all of us nearing retirement have to watch our pennies, a TT seems a good option.
Any opinions on Towing Issues: We are looking at a Nissan Frontier not sure 4x2 or 4x4 , we would be camping in Fl for 3-4 months, 6cyl it states its towing is 6300lbs ok thanks in advance for any insights.
You have to subtract the occupants and all the weight in the truck, consider the tongue weight on the hitch, and a few other items to determine whether or not the trailer you have will work safely. That's a pretty decent number on the Nissan so you should be able to tow a nice little trailer.
My truck has a cargo bed capacity a little over 2,000 lbs, and my truck camper loaded is real close when all gear, water, food and propane is added up. It goes FAST, lol.
It may not seem that I'm close- but you can tell, especially braking. The diesel truck can pull it, but the brakes may not stop it!!
Kelticroam, Yes, I'd have some serious reservations about your proposed tow vehicle for your intended use.
Whatever you do, DON'T buy any tow vehicle until you've decided for sure what RV you want and done some in-depth research as to what it would take to safely -- SAFELY -- tow it.
My concerns center on your statement that you'll be camping for 3-4 months at a time. That's a good part of the year, and you'll want to pack items to make that stay comfortable and fun (hobby stuff?). I imagine you'll also want an RV big enough to make it a comfortable stay and with enough quality that you won't be wearing out the drawers and carpet the first year or two.
Start immediately visiting RV shows and RV dealerships to get an idea of what you'd like in an RV. Sit in them as though you were living in them. Try out the bathrooms, bedrooms and kitchens for size and livability. Examine storage areas, both inside and outside. Make notes of dry weights, cargo capacities, hitch weights, etc. Study up on GVW, GVWR, CGW, CGWR. You cannot rely on salesmen to figure these for you. Many don't know how; most don't care.
Join rv.net and/or other RV boards to gather info from seasoned RVers. Ask them why they have the RV that they do and if they like it. When you find one that you fancy, ask others what they think of that particular model.
Once you finally decide on which RV you want, that's the time to select the vehicle to tow it. I can almost guarantee that it won't be the Frontier or any other small truck. They might be okay for pop-ups but not for anything that would be comfortable for extended stays.
Most will choose a 1-ton diesel truck to pull a larger, high-quality 5th wheel for extended stays.
Hi Folks I want to thank you for taking the time to post all this valuable information. I think we are going to start semi retirement next year so looking at all options. We bought a used Motor Home in early 90s 12k miles, it was perfect. We were both working but every wknd and vacations even New England winters we were camping.
So since all of us nearing retirement have to watch our pennies, a TT seems a good option.
Any opinions on Towing Issues: We are looking at a Nissan Frontier not sure 4x2 or 4x4 , we would be camping in Fl for 3-4 months, 6cyl it states its towing is 6300lbs ok thanks in advance for any insights.
With a vehicle that only offers 6K you will be limited to the smaller light weight TT's...Not something I would want to spend several months in at a time and surely not a TT that I would want to try to camp in during extreme hot or cold weather.....
My guess is you will soon learn when you get out into the market place looking at TT's that the tow vehicle you have in mind will not be large enough to tow the TT's you like.
Location: Just transplanted to FL from the N GA mountains
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WyoNewk
Kelticroam, Yes, I'd have some serious reservations about your proposed tow vehicle for your intended use.
Whatever you do, DON'T buy any tow vehicle until you've decided for sure what RV you want and done some in-depth research as to what it would take to safely -- SAFELY -- tow it.
My concerns center on your statement that you'll be camping for 3-4 months at a time. That's a good part of the year, and you'll want to pack items to make that stay comfortable and fun (hobby stuff?). I imagine you'll also want an RV big enough to make it a comfortable stay and with enough quality that you won't be wearing out the drawers and carpet the first year or two.
Start immediately visiting RV shows and RV dealerships to get an idea of what you'd like in an RV. Sit in them as though you were living in them. Try out the bathrooms, bedrooms and kitchens for size and livability. Examine storage areas, both inside and outside. Make notes of dry weights, cargo capacities, hitch weights, etc. Study up on GVW, GVWR, CGW, CGWR. You cannot rely on salesmen to figure these for you. Many don't know how; most don't care.
Join rv.net and/or other RV boards to gather info from seasoned RVers. Ask them why they have the RV that they do and if they like it. When you find one that you fancy, ask others what they think of that particular model.
Once you finally decide on which RV you want, that's the time to select the vehicle to tow it. I can almost guarantee that it won't be the Frontier or any other small truck. They might be okay for pop-ups but not for anything that would be comfortable for extended stays.
Most will choose a 1-ton diesel truck to pull a larger, high-quality 5th wheel for extended stays.
Great advice! We had a 1 ton dually, hooked up our first fiver, everything was good.... till... we put her on the scales. Then it was, holy crap... what can we unload? I pulled Sam's gap in the coach last week and thought back wondering just how we'd have done had we still been in the truck and fiver... because even though we were as careful as could be, inevitabely we'd end up back over weight. It's very easy to do when you spend any length of time in an RV.
Something else, perhaps these folks might want to consider... It sounds as if they want to "snowbird" in Florida for the winter. If you don't want to "pull" and want to have a smaller more economical vehicle, there are tons of places in FL which rent out RV's, already parked in very nice parks, as well as park models.
I'd buy used as depreciation can be substantial on many of these types of vehicles. to get an idea check the price of a new unit that you would be interested in then go to something like Auto trader or Craigslist and see what the cost of the same unit is 2-3 years down the road, for a real price check owners used prices rather than dealers used prices..
TY Theerun, ok I keep getting educated or more stupid not sure...lol..ok now I find out even though the Nissan Frontier has stated tow capacity of 6300lbs, I find out that's not a real number, you have to get all these other numbers to get at the actual tow weight. Ok here is one piece of info I got
"One final rating that must be taken into account is the Combined Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (CGVWR) of the tow vehicle. This is the manufacturer's recommended maximum allowable weight for the combination of the vehicle and trailer together.
Usually this includes the weight of the vehicle with fuel and other fluids plus the driver and one passenger. If there are more people aboard plus luggage or other equipment, this weight must be subtracted from the weight of the trailer. For instance: If a tow vehicle has a Combined Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of 9500 lbs. and the vehicle itself weighs 4000 lbs., a 5000 lb. trailer will sum up to 9000 lbs. However, if there are 3 extra passengers at 150 lbs. each and 200 lbs. of luggage in the vehicle, the combination is overloaded by 150 lbs. (9650 lbs.). At least 150 lbs. must be subtracted from the trailer. "
I still have to digest this, I feel like I'm back in geometry or maybe calculus class which seems like a 100 years ago..lol..now let me say this is only preliminary ...as of this morning after 2 cups of coffee think I need more..my new number is towing 5400lbs that includes (Nissan Frontier ) 1 person, full tank of gas...pulling a 5000lb trailer which has propane, water and clothes and stuff...ok any comments or opinions is welcome since this is a continuing evolving story ty for your help.
WyoNewk, thank you so much I just read now, I need more practice on City Data so I'm reading things in proper order...Your advice is priceless..Yahoo going to a camping show this wknd in NH perfect timing and all your advice is right on...Yea that truck thing..I was hoping to avoid an 8cyl..maybe wishful thinking ?
Great advice! We had a 1 ton dually, hooked up our first fiver, everything was good.... till... we put her on the scales. Then it was, holy crap... what can we unload? I pulled Sam's gap in the coach last week and thought back wondering just how we'd have done had we still been in the truck and fiver... because even though we were as careful as could be, inevitabely we'd end up back over weight. It's very easy to do when you spend any length of time in an RV.
Something else, perhaps these folks might want to consider... It sounds as if they want to "snowbird" in Florida for the winter. If you don't want to "pull" and want to have a smaller more economical vehicle, there are tons of places in FL which rent out RV's, already parked in very nice parks, as well as park models.
Ty Aus10..we are going down to Fl for a vaca in April didn't know about that option to rent Travel Trailer..will check out ...ty so much
TY Theerun, ok I keep getting educated or more stupid not sure...lol..ok now I find out even though the Nissan Frontier has stated tow capacity of 6300lbs, I find out that's not a real number, you have to get all these other numbers to get at the actual tow weight. Ok here is one piece of info I got
"One final rating that must be taken into account is the Combined Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (CGVWR) of the tow vehicle. This is the manufacturer's recommended maximum allowable weight for the combination of the vehicle and trailer together.
Usually this includes the weight of the vehicle with fuel and other fluids plus the driver and one passenger. If there are more people aboard plus luggage or other equipment, this weight must be subtracted from the weight of the trailer. For instance: If a tow vehicle has a Combined Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of 9500 lbs. and the vehicle itself weighs 4000 lbs., a 5000 lb. trailer will sum up to 9000 lbs. However, if there are 3 extra passengers at 150 lbs. each and 200 lbs. of luggage in the vehicle, the combination is overloaded by 150 lbs. (9650 lbs.). At least 150 lbs. must be subtracted from the trailer. "
I still have to digest this, I feel like I'm back in geometry or maybe calculus class which seems like a 100 years ago..lol..now let me say this is only preliminary ...as of this morning after 2 cups of coffee think I need more..my new number is towing 5400lbs that includes (Nissan Frontier ) 1 person, full tank of gas...pulling a 5000lb trailer which has propane, water and clothes and stuff...ok any comments or opinions is welcome since this is a continuing evolving story ty for your help.
CGVWR is most important. What can your tow vehicle SAFELY stop if you had to stop in the shortest distance? The answer lies in part with your tow vehilcle's brakes. The bigger the better. Hence why a 3/4 or 1 ton is preffered because of the LARGER brakes. Also having electric bakes on the trailer helps.
You do not want to tow a bigger load than your vehicle's transmission and cooling system can handle.
Towing smart will also help. We towed a 7K pound travel trailer through West Virgina on the back of a 1500 Chevy with a 350 auto (had 170K miles) in July when the temps were near 97 degrees. We stopped every 2 hours to let the truck cool for 90 minutes. There were smaller trailers with bigger vehicles on the side of I 77 with blown radiators, but we managed to make it without any problems.
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we are going to start semi retirement next year so looking at all options. We bought a used Motor Home in early 90s 12k miles, it was perfect. We were both working but every wknd and vacations even New England winters we were camping.
