Trailer towing for dummies

I'm not confusing them. (if that was what you meant).

Also, that 15k has to be the GCWR, not TWR or GVWR.

TWR is almost meaningless as you'll ALMOST always exceed GVWR or RAWR first.

 

After many years of research and searching for a toy hauler my Yukon Denali could tow the only thing I found was going to be a www.livinlite.com trailer.

Subsequently I got rid of the Yukon and bought a Duramax! Now I tow my 20ft race trailer fully loaded easier than the Yukon towed my previous 6x12.

Best advice I can give is get a new tow vehicle.

 

I think the beeb hath spoken.

 

Greg and I both have the 27 HFS. His has an onboard genny and I went with a Yamaha inverter. Not sure about the smaller units, but the larger ones can be ordered with the onboard genny and fueling station. I towed my 27 HFS for the first year with my Titan, but have now upgraded my truck to a Dodge 2500. My truck handled the trailer fine, but the new truck makes towing it effortless. I upgraded because it was time for a new truck, NOT because of issues with the Titan towing it.

 

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. No damn way I'd tow 9000 lbs with an Armada.

 

i have a 27' FR hyperlite hfs. i came with the 4000 onan onboard. i would forgo that, and get a nice stand alone yamaha or honda. the onan is right under the front bed. Not ideal for sleeping with that thing running. Also, the 4k onan runs at a pretty high rpm. way louder than the 5500 onan that seems to just "rumble" along at lower rpm.

i had warned Shawn about the sorta loud onboard gen when he was looking at his 27 hfs.

And yes, FR claims they are "1/2 ton towable", but doing so is not ideal..

 

I went with a Class A RV and an enclosed trailer. It was far cheaper than a 1 ton truck and toyhauler option....

 

Gennies run either 1800 or 3600 rpm to achieve 60hz. 4 pole vs 2 pole generator windings dictate rpms. Cheaper gennies run 3600. 2 pole winding generator heads are lighter and cheaper to make hence cheaper gennies run higher rpm.

Larger diesel gennies run 1800 and are generally quieter with a lower more "pleasant" tone.

 

i would love the "pleasant tone" one LOL!

 

When I run my Onan 5500, it'll put me to sleep with the smooth idle when I'm sleeping at night. No... the carbon dioxide from the exhaust doesn't 'put me to sleep'.

 

^^^^^^^^^^

 

That number does seem large, IIRC my 2500 Suburban is only rated for 8800.

 

I had a 2011 Armada, put in airbags in the rear coil-overs and on board airpump. I could tow my 24 ft enclosed with racecar inside but in winds the thing would be all over the road no matter how I had the load leveling or anti sway hitch setup. Wish the thing had a solid axle rear, the independent rear was wiggly (technical term)

Sold it and bought a 2500 Ram Diesel-No problems or concerns ever again

 

I'm glad I didn't get that thing. No way in hell id sleep and I read some stories on the fuel stations as well. I use a Yamaha inverter and it works just fine. I turn it on when I get to the track and shut it down when I leave.

I tow mine with a '12 tundra with bags and a wd hitch and it's pretty easy. Just a matter of not overloading your setup that's all.

 

I would trust that WAY more than an Armada.

 

Towed this all over the state of Florida for 3 yrs with no issues. 4runner has v8 with towing package /straight axle. Weight dist hitch made all the difference.

 

+100
To be honest, even the 5500 right under the bed is not ideal. That's my setup now on the Raptor, I did it for one weekend at Barber and wasn't impressed.
Should have saved a bunch of $ and got a used Yamaha/Honda. It would be worth the PIA of going outside/loading/etc. for the noise reduction. Maybe I'm just getting old and sensitive in my old age...
I believe there is a big Yamaha 6300 listed in the classifieds right now.

 

You need more truck

I have pulled this rig all over the SE and SW United States in the last 4 years with a 2010 Tundra 2wd truck at first. Got a wild hair after a camping trip in the smokey mountains on a gravel steep grade I needed a 4wd truck so I went out and bought a 2014 Tundra 4wd truck. The 2wd drive truck was better for everyday towing and of course the 4wd truck better at getting the hauler in bad spots. As far as going to a racetrack which isn't technical the new truck does fine but sucks gas on my regular cummute verses the simpler 2wd version.

The a Tundra is a helluva 1/2 ton capable truck. My rig loaded is right at 8,000 lbs with full fresh water tank. This is one of the lightest big toy haulers made which btw they don't make anymore. Its light weight does add to being flimsy in places but not structurally its solid. It's been a good hauler and we have used it a lot. It's got close to 30k miles on it. Its fairly easy to get in and out of places but it's still 30' long so in real tight places it can be a handful. Truck gets around 7-9 mpg depending on the wind and pulls it fine at 60 mph or 80 mph but I usually stick to around 65-70 mph for safety reasons since the trailer tires are only rated to 65 mph. Never had a blowout on it to date. I don't run the tires long new ones are just to cheap to pass up.

Truck is stock nothing but a Equilizer 12,000/1,200 weight distribution hitch set correctly. This hauler has an almost perfect balance point with rear room loaded and fresh water tank full. I use a Honda eu3000i generator for the hauler and use a Honda eu2000 to run my warmers this combination gives me more versatility.

Trackside at Nola


That armada is not going to make a good tow vehicle it's just not designed to deal with large weight on the tail with that suspension it comes with. The weekend boat hauler maybe, 8,000 toy hauler with 800-1,000 tongue weight, no.

I've looked at diesel trucks, new ones but they all scare me off with the current ways they are built. EPA has killed off the good ones. I would never recover the additional diesel truck cost to begin with. My Toyotas are just hard to beat in that regard. Very reliable being worked as well.

 

you replaced the OEM airbags? Mine has the bags and self leveling suspension from the factory..