Toy hauler towing experience with a 1500

Air bags. Don't put a leaf back there as it will change your ride for perpetuity. Air bags can be inflated or deflated on demand and only when needed.

 

Righty now it’s almost too soft though. It’s on 18’s with off-road tires and I’ll be switching to 20’s with a more road oriented tire. If the ride is good after that then I’ll probably go to air bags. The shocks might be a bit soft too, it has quite the bounce over large bumps. I feel like with a trailer back there it’ll be like being in a bouncy castle.

 

I've been pleasantly surprised by the ride quality improvement while towing since adding Sumo Springs to my 2015 F150 and towing my toy hauler. Huge decrease in the amount of jouncing, and I can slightly reduce the amount of tension on my WDH and still get the same performance.

When I'm now towing/hauling, there is no difference in ride quality, and the only time I know the Sumo Springs are there is going "Dukes of Hazard" over railroad crossings......

 

My Silverado came with 20’s, I went to 22’s, and am on 18’s, now. I wish I would would’ve went even further, to 17’s, as there are more tire options and even better ride, over 18’s.

As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, hard to beat airbags with an auto-ride height controller. The truck stays at the same stance, no matter the weight, until one exceeds the system’s limits (2000lbs on mine).

If the truck is bouncy, the shocks are to blame and one only needs a tighter valved shock. Falcon has a shock that can be tightened, via a knob, for preference, towing, etc. They’re fully rebuildable, without getting into Fox or King territory, pricewise.

https://www.falconshocks.com/chevy-gmc-1500

 

that was interesting... surprised that with this 9k trailer gas mpg was close to same. Big wind sail toyhauler ? results may vary ?

 

I can’t see that truck needing springs for a 7’x18’ trailer that’s lightly loaded. My truck with the 8x22 heavily loaded doesn’t require it. I do have a load leveling hitch though.
There are times though that I wish the rear shocks were a little stiffer, when you get on a wooped out interstate.

 

If I remember right, he got an AT4. The suspension is way softer on those. They lose about 400 pounds in payload capacity compared to the normal models.

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Our newest semi-trucks pulling an empty trailer will easily exceed that, at 38K pounds. Loaded at 79K pounds puts us down to 8-8.2mpg. That an F-250 is that bad is alarming, to me. I think, the days of Cummins 12V mileage numbers are way over.

 

Yep, I figured the suspension was softer for hitting sweet jumps.

 

Be sure and unhook the trailer, first.

 

I think the short trip may have skewed the numbers. Still seems low to me though.
One of my customers claims he gets 13-15 with his 6.7 truck...You know how claims are though.

 

I use a pitbull trs, no need to.

 

I am glad I didn't buy a bigger trailer every time I go to back my 6x12 up my narrow driveway off my narrow city street. When we towed it back from VIR with my friend's F350 long bed we didn't even bother trying. We just unhitched it on the street and hitched it up to my Touareg TDI.

 

To keep from starting another truck thread... is the F150 with the 3.0 powerstroke worth it or anyone have one? I wasn't even looking but now they have caught my eye. I read that Nissan is already going to be dropping the Cummins from the XD lineup for next year and supposedly GM and Ram are both getting a new 3.0 diesel so I assume they will all be pretty close. Love the idea of 20mpg vs my Tundra's 11-12. I don't like the thought of giving up 100hp though and the sticker shock. My trailer is 5,500 gvwr so I'm sure the 3.0 could handle it. I hate that it costs more than a 3/4 ton but I just don't need that much truck.

 

First off, you won't get 20mpg even with the small diesels like the Ecodiesel (Ram) and Powerstroke (Ford). I chatted with a guy who was trailering all over the southeast with a 7x14 with a similar GVWR and he said best he saw was 14-15 mpg at 70mph.

Everything I've read about the new Ford Powerstroke is it's even less fuel efficient than the Dodge, and I think this is the first model year when you can even get it on anything less than the Lariat trim. They charge a ridiculous premium for it still, though.

I thought about the smaller diesels too but just can't stomach the price premium of nearly every aspect......

 

Tons of issues with all these small diesels. Better do a lot of research, before deciding.

If your usage is primarily shorter trips/traffic/commuting, you’ll have nothing but trouble.

 

Thanks, that was one of my concerns. This is my everyday driver and I do a lot of short trips for work, 5 miles or less. I was really excited about the Nissan XD's but there is a ton of bad reviews on them and then now I saw they were dropping the diesel option I figure it must not be all that. That 53ft turning radius wasnt going to do me any favors anyway I guess....hah

 

Yea, Nissan really missed the mark on that whole endeavor.....not surprising they are canning it.