Tow vehicle for 233s

[stinkyhelmet]

Originally Posted by RACarvalho

I tow our 23IKSS with our X5 and we are 5.
10K miles and not a single problem with sway, etc.

That being said, we special ordered a F150 and are waiting for delivery hopefully next month.

The reason we are going to the F150 is that the X5 don't have the space to carry all the stuff you accumulate, etc.
4 wheel drive SUVs like the X5, Jeep GC, Audi Q7, etc are excellent tow vehicles for trailers up to 7K but they don't have space to carry stuff for a family.

We special order because we wanted a 6.5 bed with a heavy duty payload package, a 3.73 rear axle and the V8.
That should give us 11K in towing capacity with a payload of almost 3K lbs. Which would be enough even if we want to upgrade to a 29' fifth wheel....

What is the payload rating on your X5? What does the sticker say on the drivers door jam?

[RACarvalho]

Enough to say that I'm close to the limit but still under.

[stinkyhelmet]

Originally Posted by RACarvalho

Enough to say that I'm close to the limit but still under.

Higher than 1500 lbs?

[RACarvalho]

I don't remember now but when I did the calculation I was close.
That is the reason we don't carry anything inside the car other than snacks and the reason we are going F150....
I love the way the X5 tows like if was on rails when on highway and I know the F150 will not get even close to that but I think this is the trade off for more carrying capacity.... I guess.....

[stinkyhelmet]

Originally Posted by RACarvalho

I don't remember now but when I did the calculation I was close.
That is the reason we don't carry anything inside the car other than snacks and the reason we are going F150....
I love the way the X5 tows like if was on rails when on highway and I know the F150 will not get even close to that but I think this is the trade off for more carrying capacity.... I guess.....

Just curious. What is the rating as stated on the door jam sticker? A quick google search suggested 1200 lbs which isn't much

[RACarvalho]

I don't think it's that.
The older ones like mine had more stated capacity.
They reduced the stated capacity when they launched the X6 so the more expensive X6 would have more capacity than the X5....
Anyway, I never saw someone complaining that they had a suspension / bake or axle failure because they were towing close to the limit but I always see people complaining about sway even when towing at 1/2 the stated towing limit.
It's not only weight limit that affects safety, but stability too....
you may have a 1 ton truck but if your trailer sway, that thing is dangerous to everybody while a combination that never sways, like mine, is not.

[Boojca1]

We have a 233S and tow with a Toyota Tundra 5.7L and it's awesome.

[PEAS_PA]

We pull ours with an Expedition EL. And we feel it. The 233s has a heavy tongue. My WDH is set at max. But it rides fine and feels very safe. I have weighed it and am within all cargo limits. We are a family of 6 but we don't put any cargo in the truck, everything goes toward the rear of the camper.

Sure a pickup would be better, but you can't fit 4 kids in one comfortably. I would shy away from SUVs with shorter wheel bases and even the shorter Expedition. Go with a Suburban or Expedition EL if looking at SUVs.

[stinkyhelmet]

Originally Posted by PEAS_PA

We pull ours with an Expedition EL. And we feel it. The 233s has a heavy tongue. My WDH is set at max. But it rides fine and feels very safe. I have weighed it and am within all cargo limits. We are a family of 6 but we don't put any cargo in the truck, everything goes toward the rear of the camper.

Sure a pickup would be better, but you can't fit 4 kids in one comfortably. I would shy away from SUVs with shorter wheel bases and even the shorter Expedition. Go with a Suburban or Expedition EL if looking at SUVs. Attachment 149751

What year Expedition? 4WD? What's the payload rating as stated on the door jam sticker?

[PEAS_PA]

Meant to get a pic of it but forgot. Away until end of the week and will get it. We have a 2007 4WD with full tow package. They are basically the same truck from 2007-2017. In recent years brake and sway controls are integrated with the tow package. Newly designed Expedition is coming out in 2018. We love ours. Pretty sure cargo capacity is between 1400-1500 lbs if memory serves me right.

[stinkyhelmet]

Originally Posted by PEAS_PA

Meant to get a pic of it but forgot. Away until end of the week and will get it. We have a 2007 4WD with full tow package. They are basically the same truck from 2007-2017. In recent years brake and sway controls are integrated with the tow package. Newly designed Expedition is coming out in 2018. We love ours. Pretty sure cargo capacity is between 1400-1500 lbs if memory serves me right.

Thanks. How have you calculated your cargo/payload for your family of 6 when traveling?

Here's how I've calculated mine to total 1700 lbs:

Family of 5 = 750
Misc cargo = 25 (personal belongings, snacks)
25 gal of gas = 150
Hitch/WDH = 100
TT tongue weight = 675

This assumes no other cargo goes into the vehicle.

[Tizzards]

We tow our 2016 233s with a 2014 Nissan Armada with a good weight distribution hitch. Its rated towing capacity is 9000lbs. It handles the trailer very well, even being in the Mountains of Alberta Canada. Fully loaded we are around 7000lbs. A rule of thumb I use is to ensure my maximum towing weight (fully loaded) does not exceed 75-80% of the vehicles towing capacity.

[mlawler506]

I use a 2015 F150 XLT with twin turbo 3.5L and extra heavy duty tow package with blind spot monitor.

The blind spot monitor does not work when towing but it is a great safety feature when the trailer is disconnected.

The vehicle has a lot of power. Once, I was pulling away from a stoplight and I hit the gas pedal too hard. I burned rubber while towing the trailer. I use an Equalizer hitch with 1200lb rated bars.

[thestrangebrew]

I have a 2014 SC F150 max tow to pull our 233s. The truck has been fantastic pulling trailer. I think the only mod I've done so far as added air bags. Next in line are e-rated tires when the oem's wear out. My payload is just under 1800lbs (I think 1776 or something like that). We use an Anderson WDH and no issues with sway either.

[PEAS_PA]

Originally Posted by stinkyhelmet

Thanks. How have you calculated your cargo/payload for your family of 6 when traveling?

Here's how I've calculated mine to total 1700 lbs:

Family of 5 = 750
Misc cargo = 25 (personal belongings, snacks)
25 gal of gas = 150
Hitch/WDH = 100
TT tongue weight = 675

This assumes no other cargo goes into the vehicle.

Max Cargo Weight is 1570 lbs.

I've calculated the family as 680 lbs (we have a pretty light-weight family with kids 7-16 yrs old). And remember that the WDH actually transfers some tongue weight and hitch weight back onto the camper axles.

These are my actual weights of the truck (in pounds) with twelve 40-lb bags of pellets in various seats, plus me at 200 lbs, the hitch on the truck, and some gas in the tank (don't remember how full the tank was):

Note that I would say that these weights aren't 100% accurate...could be off a few %. Weighing the tongue or just one axle means putting the vehicle on the far end of the scale and I don't think it was 100% accurate.

Trailer Tongue Unhitched = 820 (two full propane tanks and battery. No doubt it is heavy.)
Truck Alone (w/ me and mock family) = 7160
Truck Hitched = 7800 (below the 7900 GVWR - effectively adds 640 lbs of "cargo" weight from the trailer WDH)
Truck + Trailer = 12640
12640 total - 7160 truck = 5480 camper, well within towing capacity of 8900 lbs)

Like I said, we only have some food for the trip and a few pillows, electronics, books, etc for the ride. We put all cargo in the camper and toward the rear to help lighten the tongue even more. I have even taken the front mattress out and put it in the nook by the rear beds, too. That isn't reflected in these weights.

I towed quite a bit this summer and last with absolutely no problems. Including a trip from CT to NC and back. The Expedition had no trouble handling the camper, but you can definitely feel it when you hit humps in the road where the rear end goes up and down. Power isn't an issue pulling the weight, but suspension and truck weight will limit you. I can't imagine the smaller SUVs have the cargo capacity to handle this camper within GVWR.

[233s]

Pull ours with a 2016 suburban and wdh. It does have the max towing package, but it Pulls great!