What is the actual max travel trailer length for 1/2 tons?

[rdolan5]

I had two 1/2 ton pickups, one a Dodge, one a Toyota. I tow from Arkansas to Washington State every spring, returning in the fall. A 26' TT with no slideout was what I towed with the Dodge. I had a 27' with a large slideout is what I pulled with the Toyota. I recently traded for a 34' TT with three slideouts. I brought it home with the Tundra. All my 1/2 ton trucks were augmented with Firestone Airbags. I also used a Hensley hitch on them. First my gas mileage was horrible! But, that being said the Toyota was a better tow vehicle due to the 4.10 axle and better brakes. When I upgraded to the 34' trailer, the first time I hit the brakes I knew I had way too small a truck. Braking is the problem! The Dodge continually had to have the rotors turned due to warping. The Toyota faired better but not for a large trailer! I traded the Toyota for a 3500 cummins diesel. Not only does it pull and stop much better, but my fuel millage really improved! Brakes are more than adequate when towing with the 1 ton even when towing over three major mountain ranges every year! I learned that tow rating ( based on differential gearing) and brake size are just as important as horsepower! Remember that the truck also has a load in it besides the trailer!

[jtesta1]

You could probably pull a 53 foot trailer be it made of balsa wood. Towing goes by weight not length.

[locogk]

we have 31 ft i have a 1500 RAM does good

[youroo]

Originally Posted by itat

And those trucks (tractors) have 2 rear axles both with 4 wheels per axle!

No none of them have dual axles, they are single axle with dual wheels! They pull and place MFG Homes every day! Youroo! !

[Wilco]

Originally Posted by youroo

This seems to be a Trick question, the 1/2 ton part and the 36'! States have a "Total Length Limit "! Youroo! !

Shortest total length limits is ~55' in several states. (One state has a limit of 53'.) So a 36' TT with tow vehicle fall within those limits.

This question has more to do with experience. The question is "How much sway is acceptable to the driver?" A lot of factors play into this questions.

How fast are you towing? The faster you go, the more sway you will get from a vehicle going the other direction. I tow at 60 MPH for many reasons. Tow rating of ST tires, gas mileage, braking distance, etc.

What is your comfort level to sway? Usually, the more experience you have towing, the higher your comfort level with sway. I expect some sway when I am passed by a semi rig. It is actually worse when their speed is only slightly greater than mine. Their bow wave presses on the rear side of the trailer for a longer time, trying to push it sideways. I will occasionally slow my speed slightly to allow them to finish passing me. Other drivers freak when they feel any amount of sway. I also will slow my speed down when there are heavy gusting crosswinds.

Tow vehicle weight and wheel base length also effect sway. The heavier the vehicle, the less sway. That is why a larger truck has less sway. The shorter the wheel base, the more sway. You can have sway without a trailer. Have you felt buffeting of your vehicle when being passed by a large truck? The is sway because of the uneven pressure of the truck's bow wave on your vehicle.

[W5CI]

Originally Posted by youroo

Some of the Shortest Wheelbase Trucks I have ever seen deliver "70+ foot long trailers all over the USA!Youroo! !

I drove a truck for over 25 years and never seen a 70 ft trailer, 53 ft is the Max without a permit. I pulled a 57 ft with permit to Texas where it is legal. New York I think allow 53 ft doubles as well as a few other states.

[RACarvalho]

I tow 34'11" (hitch to bumper), ~9000lbs GVWR camper with a F150 HDPP package and I would say that IT DEPENDS on what your set up is.
Assuming bumper pull:
First you will bump into the weight limit of your hitch.
It is hard to find a camper longer than what I have that will not have a tongue weight above ~1150lbs, which is what the F150 HDPP usually has as a limit.
Supposing you can find one, that means it will be a huge box that is really light so you will need to invest in a Hensley hitch to eliminate the possibility of sway.
I rather to have a smaller/heavier camper than a big "champion of light weight" trailer for heavy(for the lenght) tows better.
That is one of the reasons Roos tow so well - they are heavy for their length.

Fifth wheel:
On the fifth wheel side, assuming you have a F150 with HDPP and payload capacity above 2500lbs..., you will be limited to ~11000lbs GVWR (extended cab or Crew cab) and that will limit the size of the 5er to around 36' too (see Cougar's Half Ton Line).

For reference, my experience is that the F150 HDPP will be fine up to 10000GVWR and around 36' (hitch to bumper) with a common WDH. Above that length, you should use a Hensley hitch and above that weight, you should tow with a 3/4 ton.
Up to this 10K lbs there are reasons people don't want to tow with 3/4 ton and reasons people want to tow with 3/4 ton and a lot of that depend on your perceived level of comfort towing.
If you are that kind of driver that wants to correct every single side movement that a rig does and gets stressed because of that, then please do yourself a favor and get a 1 ton truck or a camper that weights 1/2 of your towing limit.
If you know what you are doing and know that it is a big rig and, like the semis, it will move around when wind pressure changes, etc., then you should be ok with a WELL EQUIPPED 1/2 ton towing within the weight limits WITH a WELL SET UP WDH.
As you see, too many variables for a simple answer....

[katkt]

Originally Posted by W5CI

I drove a truck for over 25 years and never seen a 70 ft trailer, 53 ft is the Max without a permit. I pulled a 57 ft with permit to Texas where it is legal. New York I think allow 53 ft doubles as well as a few other states.

You’ve seen them. ;^)
I’m pretty sure the trailer length in question, is a modular home. Some tractors used, are single screw.
Of course they always get a pair of Escorts, and lotsa flags and banners. They also carry lotsa spare tires. Lol

I’ve seen some long ones along I-10. Traffic and weather permitting, they do some proper windload testing while delivering. I’ve seen a couple running above 70.

[MR.M]

Originally Posted by JohnD10

It will not be an issue...until it is an issue!

And once you find yourself at that moment in time...it is too late!

Chances of having an issue with a 1/2-ton truck and a big heavy trailer go up substantially over having a bigger truck in the first place!

you can have that gotcha moment with any Truck and trailer combo . to assume because you have a 3/4 or 1 ton your totally safe or will not have issues is a false sense of security

[JohnD10]

Originally Posted by MR.M

you can have that gotcha moment with any Truck and trailer combo . to assume because you have a 3/4 or 1 ton your totally safe or will not have issues is a false sense of security

That's not what I said...

A truck that is too small will have more of those 'moments' than a truck more suitible for the load...

But then again, I'm not the one trying to justify towing with a truck that is too small for the intended load.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by Wilco

This question has more to do with experience. The question is "How much sway is acceptable to the driver?" A lot of factors play into this questions.

How fast are you towing? The faster you go, the more sway you will get from a vehicle going the other direction. I tow at 60 MPH for many reasons. Tow rating of ST tires, gas mileage, braking distance, etc.

What is your comfort level to sway? Usually, the more experience you have towing, the higher your comfort level with sway. I expect some sway when I am passed by a semi rig. It is actually worse when their speed is only slightly greater than mine.

Towing speed is probably the most important factor. Those who tow at or below the posted speed limit for towing will have several factors in their favor. At slower speeds one has more time to react to trailer sway. When driving slower than the big rigs they pass you quicker and you are subjected to the conditions that can cause sway for less time.

For some reason though people with the longest trailers behind pickup trucks seem to be in the biggest hurry. Well maybe not quite as hurried as those with huge diesel pusher's. Just saw a YouTube dash cam video of a large coach pulling a pickup truck pass what looked like a Bus that was already going pretty fast. About 2/3 the way past the bus the Coach blew a LF tire, went into the median, and rolled on it's side like an elephant wallowing in a mudhole.

I frankly don't care how fast people want to drive with their rigs just as long as they don't meet up with misfortune right next to or right in front of me. Makes me think though that people like that have little thought for others, just themselves.

[MR.M]

Originally Posted by JohnD10

That's not what I said...

A truck that is too small will have more of those 'moments' than a truck more suitible for the load...

But then again, I'm not the one trying to justify towing with a truck that is too small for the intended load.

agreed and neither am I . but i think most issues regardless of size of TV . Is the driver . too many out there that shouldn't be towing at all . let alone all those they allow behind the wheel of the motor-coaches

[JohnD10]

I think the problem of this whole issue lies in the numbers...

Far too many people think that just because a truck has a tow rating of, let say 10,000 pounds...

Does NOT mean that it can safely pull an RV that weighs 10,000 pounds.

That tow rating is just a number that gives a maximum amount of weight that the vehicle is supposed to be capable of towing, but again it is just a number that really needs more clarification as to what type of load this number means versus just a flat out number that really is meaningless.

A short side utility trailer that is no higher than the bed of a pickup truck with 10,000 pounds of sand in it is a whole different load than a 32-foot camper that is maybe 10 feet tall, eight and a half feet wide with 50 gallons of water sloshing around (not to mention what might be in the black and gray tanks), a heavy kitchen on one side and a much lighter side loaded with two recliners and a dinette and all of the stuff that goes along with glamping...

This, and the physical size of the tow vehicle next to the trailer they are wanting to tow with it, are the issues that just blows right over peoples' heads when they try to juggle the numbers.

This is why I took this photo funny of my old daily driver about a year ago and said that this was my new tow vehicle that will get me better towing gas mileage (it will pull it no problems):

[JohnD10]

This was posted a couple of weeks ago on another site I post at.

These are the words directly from the occupants of this vehicle (2017 Chevy 1500):


"Okay, so this was Monday on 95 northbound just south of Roanoke Rapids, NC. We were on our way for a 3 week trip to New England, but as you can see we never got there. It was already a bit windy and when we were trying to get by the truckers who were drafting each other the push from their trucks hit the trailer just right and it went into a wicked sway that caused the truck to get sideways and we flipped. In the picture we're pointed in the direction we were actually coming from.

We immediately had help all around us. There was a firefighter driving behind us and a paramedic coming the other way. It was pretty miraculous really. I'm fine (not a scratch), our pup is fine, Mary ended up with a fractured vertebrae in her neck. She'll be okay, but she's going to be in a neck brace for the next 6-8 weeks.

We were 3.5 hours from home but our wonderful neighbors and friends went above and beyond, one driving up to get our pup and others to bring us food tonight now that we're home.

Initially they took us to a regional hospital, but then they transported Mary to Vidant in Greenville, NC. The Trauma Center staff there were fabulous.

While they were transferring Mary to Greenville I was able to go pick up the pup and go to the yard where they hauled the vehicles to get most of our things into the SUV rental car. I always keep important papers close at hand in the truck, which the firefighter helped me get from the truck, so I was able to start the insurance process right away and call the campgrounds to cancel.

Anyway . . . Sorry this is so long, but what can I say? Just very grateful to still be here."

They had an E2 WDH setup (not sure what brand that is).

[MR.M]

Originally Posted by JohnD10

This was posted a couple of weeks ago on another site I post at.

These are the words directly from the occupants of this vehicle (2017 Chevy 1500):


"Okay, so this was Monday on 95 northbound just south of Roanoke Rapids, NC. We were on our way for a 3 week trip to New England, but as you can see we never got there. It was already a bit windy and when we were trying to get by the truckers who were drafting each other the push from their trucks hit the trailer just right and it went into a wicked sway that caused the truck to get sideways and we flipped. In the picture we're pointed in the direction we were actually coming from.

We immediately had help all around us. There was a firefighter driving behind us and a paramedic coming the other way. It was pretty miraculous really. I'm fine (not a scratch), our pup is fine, Mary ended up with a fractured vertebrae in her neck. She'll be okay, but she's going to be in a neck brace for the next 6-8 weeks.

We were 3.5 hours from home but our wonderful neighbors and friends went above and beyond, one driving up to get our pup and others to bring us food tonight now that we're home.

Initially they took us to a regional hospital, but then they transported Mary to Vidant in Greenville, NC. The Trauma Center staff there were fabulous.

While they were transferring Mary to Greenville I was able to go pick up the pup and go to the yard where they hauled the vehicles to get most of our things into the SUV rental car. I always keep important papers close at hand in the truck, which the firefighter helped me get from the truck, so I was able to start the insurance process right away and call the campgrounds to cancel.

Anyway . . . Sorry this is so long, but what can I say? Just very grateful to still be here."

They had an E2 WDH setup (not sure what brand that is).

Tragic ! but can't blame the truck . what was the loaded weight , was the wdh set up properly , was the trailer loaded correctly , unfortunately this was most likely owner error and not because of the truck . the TT did not look to be to big for the truck .

[JohnD10]

Originally Posted by MR.M

Tragic ! but can't blame the truck . what was the loaded weight , was the wdh set up properly , was the trailer loaded correctly , unfortunately this was most likely owner error and not because of the truck.

The TT did not look to be too big for the truck .

And once again...that (and all of that) is exactly my point!

However, I have friends that know these people and the couple that were traveling in that wreck were seasoned trailer-pullers!

Anyway, I'll let you continue to try and justify towing with too small of a tow vehicle and I'll continue to tout getting a bigger and safer tow vehicle to pull the load!

[goduc]

Originally Posted by JohnD10

This was posted a couple of weeks ago on another site I post at.

These are the words directly from the occupants of this vehicle (2017 Chevy 1500):


"Okay, so this was Monday on 95 northbound just south of Roanoke Rapids, NC. We were on our way for a 3 week trip to New England, but as you can see we never got there. It was already a bit windy and when we were trying to get by the truckers who were drafting each other the push from their trucks hit the trailer just right and it went into a wicked sway that caused the truck to get sideways and we flipped. In the picture we're pointed in the direction we were actually coming from.

We immediately had help all around us. There was a firefighter driving behind us and a paramedic coming the other way. It was pretty miraculous really. I'm fine (not a scratch), our pup is fine, Mary ended up with a fractured vertebrae in her neck. She'll be okay, but she's going to be in a neck brace for the next 6-8 weeks.

We were 3.5 hours from home but our wonderful neighbors and friends went above and beyond, one driving up to get our pup and others to bring us food tonight now that we're home.

Initially they took us to a regional hospital, but then they transported Mary to Vidant in Greenville, NC. The Trauma Center staff there were fabulous.

While they were transferring Mary to Greenville I was able to go pick up the pup and go to the yard where they hauled the vehicles to get most of our things into the SUV rental car. I always keep important papers close at hand in the truck, which the firefighter helped me get from the truck, so I was able to start the insurance process right away and call the campgrounds to cancel.

Anyway . . . Sorry this is so long, but what can I say? Just very grateful to still be here."

They had an E2 WDH setup (not sure what brand that is).

That guy didn't have his TT setup properly. Absolutely no way that, that short of a TT setup properly would've started to sway violently. That TT is maybe 25-26' long.
Last Sunday on the way home from visiting family while driving up the freeway traffic slowed way way down (25mph). When we go to the cause of the slow down we found a guy in the right lane doing 50 mph in a 65 mph zone where most everyone does 70-75. He was driving a short WB Toyota Sequoia towing a 28-30' Cougar 1/2 ton TT. The Sequoia was dragging the rear end but the TT was level. The driver had both hands at 10:00 and 2:00 on the steering wheel in a death grip. Probably about ready to soil his pants.
Those are the people that shouldn't be towing. Probably told by the dealer that he'd be fine. Never took the time to learn about setting up the tow vehicle or even it's limits. I would say he was probably within the Sequoias limits, just poorly setup.
He was at least smart enough to drive slow, but very easily could've caused a wreck. If an LEO would've came buy he may have been ticked for going to slow

[goduc]

Originally Posted by JohnD10

And once again...that (and all of that) is exactly my point!

However, I have friends that know these people and the couple that were traveling in that wreck were seasoned trailer-pullers!

Anyway, I'll let you continue to try and justify towing with too small of a tow vehicle and I'll continue to tout getting a bigger and safer tow vehicle to pull the load!

Seasoned towers means nothing. I see guys towing large toy hauler TT's with lifted 3/4 ton trucks with the front of the truck pointing to the sky and no WDH that tow like that for years.
They are a lot of "That stuffs for sissy's" types out there.

[CentralMePistol]

Lots of opinions out there....
To the original question- I tow a 32' TT with my half ton. I also have a Camco R6 WDH which has, in my opinion, a great sway control built in. (Side note on sway- I actually "feel" the sway more with the sway control turned on- as my entire truck and trailer are pushed by the winds. But without it I feel less safe seeing the trailer move side to side without the truck adding resistance.) I also stiffen my rear end with sumo springs.

We will never have all the details on the described accident and photo but I did pick up on statement- "already a bit windy and when we were trying to get by the truckers".
Now I don't intend to say that they caused it, but it sounds like they were trying to pass the big rigs in conditions that were already sub-par.
I can attest that when I drive with the trailer I am watching for coming trucks in my mirrors, or any vehicle really, and preparing myself, the truck, and trailer for any pushes that may come when I get passed- or if I'm passing others.

[goduc]

If you have to worry about being next to a semi then you're not setup properly or are mismatched.