Our Tow Vehicle
Once we decided that travel trailers were rental of choice we set out to find a tow vehicle. We knew that we wanted a Ford pick up truck. We spent hours on the Internet researching configurations and respective towing and payload capacities. At this point in our RV research we knew a lot about the weight numbers. In our opinion the most important factor in towing safety is weight and staying under manufacturer’s specifications. Truck manufacturers rate many pick up trucks properly configured, with extremely high towing capacities. Yes the trucks may be capable of towing these weights but what about payload and safety. The first number we considered was payload. The truck payload includes the curb weight of the truck, tongue weight of the trailer, plus all humans and cargo loaded into the truck. Some of these trucks have large fuel tanks, which when filled add significant weight. Adding accessories such as a tonneau cover for the truck bed adds additional weight. Pick up trucks are also available in many different configurations with various options. The more options added, the more the curb weight increases and the payload capacity decreases. They are also available in different body styles such as standard cab, crew cab etc. all with different weights and towing specifications. 4x4 trucks also weigh more than 2x4 models. Ford has some great publications detailing all of the technical specifications. (links in the description below) Yes, we studied these thoroughly. In many cases people are matching a tow vehicle to a specific RV. In our case we knew we would be towing a variety of travel trailers so more thought was given before making a final decision.
Initially we were only planning to tow smaller travel trailers so we decided that a Ford F150 with the max tow package would be sufficient. We test drove a beautiful F150 with the 3.5L Eco Boost V6 engine and ten speed automatic transmission. It was a beautiful truck and we loved it, however, it was not configured as we wanted it. It did not have the max tow package and did not have the larger tow mirrors. None of the local Ford dealers had any F150 models on the lot equipped with tow mirrors. We expanded our search of dealer inventory and found no F150 models available with tow mirrors. After market clip on mirrors are available but we dismissed this option immediately. We worked through about six different F150 configurations on the Ford website prior to getting serious. Once we settled on the desired configuration, off we went to a dealer we trusted. Of course they had nothing that matched on the lot. Dealers these days rarely do vehicle trades with other dealers especially on the highly sought after F150 models so we are faced with ordering it. The dealer was unable to provide a delivery date for the truck. A number of months passed with no news of a delivery on the truck.
One Sunday we decided to visit a local Ford dealer to see why was on the lot. We don’t remember the exact reason why but we did it. We found a beautiful 2021 F250 Super Duty fully loaded. Fully loaded pick up trucks are expensive and the dealers generally don’t discount them at all given the high demand. We scheduled a test drive the next day. We loved the truck but did not love the price and tag and fact that it was diesel. For the amount of towing we will be doing we don’t need the capability or added cost of ownership of a diesel. Back we went to the technical specifications and studied the F250 options and numbers. We quickly realized that the F250 with its greater towing capacity offered expanded options for travel trailers we would be capable of towing. We knew the F250 was the right choice for us. The dealer had an F250 XLT model at a much lower cost in a beautiful blue color (Ford Antimatter blue) in transit. We wanted the 7.3L gas engine and ten speed transmission. The 7.3-liter engine in Super Duty pickup cranks out best-in-class gas V8 output of 430 horsepower and best-in-class gas torque of 475 ft.-lb. Its nickname is Godzilla. The truck was delivered to the dealer and we picked it up the same day. We absolutely love it.
Check out the video on YouTube
