If you owned a car before your tow vehicle, there’s probably a pretty good chance that car wasn’t fit to tow your new RV, was it? Many RVers have to buy a tow vehicle to tow their RV. Did you?
After voting in today’s poll, tell us about your experience and tell us what tow vehicle you have and if you like it or not. We’re curious to hear.
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We used a van to tow a pop up, then when it died got a 4×4 jeep to tow then went with an early model jeep grand cherokee and when we got the 21 foot model we found the trans was going so we ended up with almost new jeep grand cherokee. Have not traded yet. I think we are good.
Decided on the RV, a Grand Design Reflection 150, then bought the truck, a new Chevy Silverado 2500.
We bought the F350 Crew Cab Diesel in 2010 knowing we would upgrade our Fiver later. When we bought the 40 foot Sabre in 2013 we already had the truck to tow it. Still driving truck and trailer. Both custom ordered.
Before we bought the RV we bought a 2014 Ram 3500 dually 4×4. My wife drove it back and forth to work to get comfortable driving it. Then used it for the first 8 months after buying the RV. Then we decided to buy a new 3500 when we went full time 3 yrs. ago. We now have 103,000 miles on the new one and still love it.
Spouse demanded we get a new truck. She wanted fulltime A/C.
Picked out and ordered the 5th wheel we wanted as the first step. Then selected and ordered a truck to accommodate the pin and gross weight. Chose a truck color to complement the RV colors as well.
Used the one I had when I first bought the RV until it died then had to buy another one.
Sort of both, I had a popup which my F150 towed (for 15 years). I knew I was going to get a bigger trailer so I bought a F350. Then a couple of years later I found the trailer I wanted (or should I say my wife found).
Bought a 22′ TT (7000 lb GVWR) then bought a 2021 Toyota Tundra to pull it. Got the Double Cab with 2WD to maximize payload. The 5.7 L V-8 and 4.30 rear end is a great combo for our trailer and with a WDH it tows like a dream. MPG is not great (13-15 in city, 10 mpg towing) but is primarily a recreational vehicle. Only issue was that since 2019 the Tundras have no transmission cooler (not even an option). Purchased one from GenuineCoolingSystems.com and with it we have been able to tow at 55 mph up 6% grades for several miles at >95 deg air temps with no issues.
Our old truck (04 Chevrolet 2500 diesel) was a great truck and towed our light weight fifth wheel great. But we wanted to get a new fifth wheel to eventually go full time in and knew the old truck wouldn’t be up to the challenge of towing a much heavier trailer. We bought a RAM 3500 dually so we would not have to worry about the truck not being capable enough with whatever fifth wheel we would end up with. It’s been great so far.
Tricky question, I bought my truck with the thought of towing a future RV which turned up two years later.
My wife and I got back into camping in mid 2020, we purchased a 2020 Jayco 5th wheel 42.5 feet in length. Weighs in loaded around 14,500 our pickup of choice is a 2020 ford f-350 super duty dually with 6.7 power stroke. Love the truck pulls the camper very well with plenty to spare. Fuel milage while pulling rv averages 10 to 12 mpg sometimes a little better, around home 16 to 18. Highway just the pickup 20 to 22. My chosen speed of travel is 60 to 61 mph, seldom does that vary. Happy trails to all
We specifically bought the truck before the RV, knowing what RV we were going to get.
Happened across a Chevy 2500 Duramax High Country. More bells and whistles than I was looking for. Is now my daily drive. Pulls our 22 foot TT easily.
We actually bought the RV that was towable for the Chevy Silverado we already owned.
I chose 3 I liked, spoke with the dealer, and got the one best suited to our weight limitations.
I have been happy with our choice for the past 6 years.
We actually bought a new 3/4 ton recently after finding that we were a bit over the 900 LB payload on my 1/2 ton while towing.
We switched from a heavy truck camper to a 34ft 5th wheel to go fulltime in 2010. We had a Chevy 3500 diesel dually, but it wasn’t quite enough to tow the 18.5K lb 5er down the road, so we got a 2008 Ford F450 diesel dually with a 4:88 axle ratio. The King Ranch model was nice, but the mileage was disappointing, at 7.5 to 8 mpg when towing & around 9 to 10 when not towing. We later upgraded to a 2017 F350 Platinum diesel dually with a 3:55 axle ratio, that was rated to tow the same as the old F450. The ride is much better & it tows beautifully. It gets 9.5 to 10 Mpg towing, & 13 to 15 mpg when not towing. The technological features on the 2017 are great, like adaptive cruise control, lane change warning, 5 cameras, longer fluid change intervals, aluminum body, etc.. And we’re now going to park the 5er on a lease lot as a home base, & add a Host Yukon, triple slide truck camper, on the truck to continue our travels.
I have always owned a truck even before starting to RV. Upgraded to an F250 powerstroke when I bought the first 5th wheel in 2003. Now driving a 2012 F250 powerstroke and towing a 2019 travel trailer. So no, did not buy a vehicle to tow my present RV.
Whatever brand of tow vehicle you buy, do yourself a huge favour and buy more truck than you need! You will not regret that decision!
Yes and check the payload rating. You will likely go over that before what they list as a tow rating. Based on the payload of my old truck the max towing with a proper 10 to 15 percent of tongue weight the towing rating was closer to 5000 rather than the 9830 the manufacturer stated.
We sold our 38’ motorhome then missed it, decided to go with a smaller RV in a TT, we traded our toad a 2017 Chevy Equinox in on a 2018 Nissan Frontier then started looking for a trailer the truck could safely pull. We settled on a Mesa Ridge 23RLS, it’s taking some rethinking but we are adapting. Lol