Getting our first camper

[Loneoak-XRD]

Nice rig! You must be so excited!

 

[Lloyd S]

That is a very nice looking unit!

 

[mark5w]

Looks sharp.

 

[COCamping-XRD]

Congratulations! Looks nice. Good to know Camping World will transfer trailers as well.

I'm also located in Colorado Springs. We were originally looking at that same trailer. After talking with some friends that tow, as well as various dealers (truck and trailer) we learned that for our altitude and driving up over the passes we really shouldn't tow what we want with less than a 3/4 ton truck. We were consistently told to knock 20% off the tow capacity due to altitude. So now we're looking at Crossroads 5th wheel options. We prefer the 5th over the TT, but were originally looking at TT to try to stay with a 1/2 ton tow vehicle.

Have fun with the new rig.

 

[PokerMunkee]

I wouldn't get worked up on the HP/TQ numbers. Sure a NA engine loses 3% of HP every 1000' in elevation. But just think 5, 10, 15 years ago, 3/4 and 1 ton gas trucks had less than 250HP. Same with diesel. Now a 5.3L from GM pus out 350HP and a 5.7L from Ram puts out 390HP.

A EcoBoost F-150 has the HP and TQ to pull a heavy camper. Stopping and controlling it is another story.

The 6.2L gasser in the F-250 pulled the camper just fine up the Ute Pass. I was going 40-45MPH up with no issues. RPMs stayed around 3-4K, so it was a little loud. But nothing wrong with having the engine work a bit. Just kept an eye on the tranny temp gauge.

I need to get the rear suspension beefed up a bit. Sanked the rear end 1" down even with an equalizer. The tech who installed the hitch said he put the same trailer on a new Ram 1500 and the rear end went way down.

I need to spend some time with the equalizer to make sure it's setup properly, don't trust an RV tech even if he's been installing them for 15 years.

If buying a new truck, definitely go a 3/4. Look better and a lot more capability.