Travel Trailer Towing Experiences?

[npaden]

I'm looking at renting a travel trailer to take hunting in Wyoming this fall.

I've found a local place that will rent me a 24' lightweight trailer for $650 for 9 days to get there and back. It weighs 4,000lbs and is well within the capabilities of my Chevy 1/2 4x4 Z71 pickup.

I was talking with a co-worker and he said he would let me use his travel trailer for free. It is a 27' trailer and weighs 7,000lbs which is right at the limit of my trucks towing abilities.

The other option is loading everything in my truck and renting a trailer once I get to Wyoming and moving everything back and forth.

I've pulled trailers long distance hauling ATV's and lumber, but never pulled a travel trailer a long way before. I'm leaning toward renting the lighter trailer and hauling it there and back.

The only other option is that I've been looking at buying a used 3/4 ton truck for years now because I use my current truck to haul my tractor back and forth to my land 100 miles each way and it is probably a little over the towing capacity when it is loaded with the tractor and seed and other supplies. Probably not a good idea to buy a 10+ year old pickup and then turn around and run it 2,400 miles round trip pulling a big trailer though.

Oh well, I know the right answer, just looking for input.

Thanks, Nathan

 

[4Kings]

Be careful with that 7,000 pound trailer, it can easily climb to more than 8,000 lbs by the time you load it up with your stuff.

 

[RobertN]

I would rent the trailer. If you break your buddies rig, well, even if you take care of fixing it it makes for uncomfortable situation. And his rig is at your trucks limit to boot.

Have you hunted Wyoming before? Are you ready to tow in bad weather? Muddy and/or snowy roads? 9 of 10 of my trips back there have been good weather. One went from good weather to a foot of snow in less than 12 hours.

Some folks showed up after it snowed towing a trailer. We were in a basic, primitive type campground. They had a lot of fun backing that trailer in to thier camp site. The 5 miles of dirt road coming in were slippery but passable.

I'd make sure to have chains for the trailer. It would be the pits to tow in snow with no chains on the trailer.

My trips have been mid October, for antelope and opening of deer season(Oct-15).

 

[Diamondpilot]

I tow day in and day out. Really, 3-4 days a week, usually over 100 miles at a time. Just Saturday I pulled my 7,000# boat 150 miles round trip with my Nissan Titan and got right at 9.9 mpg. Sunday I moved a friend into college by borrowing a 2 Horse trailer. Its aluminum and it rated for 7,000# but only weighs 1,800# empty and drove it 380 miles round trip of which only 160 had a load of college kid stuff, I guess 1,500# of stuff. The trailer was only stacked 3 feet deep. Anyway I only got 9.2 mpg. What I am getting at is weight comes into play accelerating and stopping but wind drag is a bigger factor. My boat weighs 3 times more and I get better MPG pulling it.

Chris

 

[JMynes]

Rent once you get there. The difference in fuel economy will help offset the cost of the rental, and you will travel a whole lot more comfortably without that whale behind you.
Go and get that 3/4 ton truck after you get back. Drive it, get to know it, then you can tow most anything you want to behind it.
I traded my Suburban because my new toy hauler trailer was right at it's max towing weight. There's a lot to be said for reserve capacity when it comes to power and brakes.

 

[tommu56]

I'd make sure to have chains for the trailer. It would be the pits to tow in snow with no chains on the trailer.

I don't know of many trailers that have clearance for chains.

My TT has a waste pipe right behind the wheel and the skirt only leaves an inch on the side. I don't think chains will fit

Now chains on the truck I use cable chains and Vbar on the rear or if I need them on both axle's v on back cable on front. there isn't enough clearance on the front for the v bar.

tom

 

[daBear]

I have been RVing for about 25 years and have pulled many TT's. If you bump up against the max tow limit on your truck and take it up the hills and down the valleys between you and Wyoming you are asking for trouble. Having been that way more than once there are some fine grades in Colorado and some even finer grades in parts of Wyoming. If your truck makes it without noticeable damage you will have shortened the life of the trans for sure and not know it on that route. Flat land pulling in Texas regardless of the temp is not the same as the mountains. Be careful.

 

[npaden]

Thanks for the replies so far.

I'll be heading that way on September 17th. Snow isn't completely out of the question, but if it does snow it should be short lived and just be some nice mud. I'll be pulling the trailer approximately 30 miles down a gravel road that is fairly well maintained. The more I think of it the more I think the 7,000lb trailer is for sure out of the question. I'd like to save a few hundred bucks, but it just doesn't sound worth it.

I was thinking the 4,000lb trailer wouldn't be that hard to pull. I was thinking it would be worth the extra gas money to pull it there and back so I could load up everything before we left and then unload and clean it once we got back. I figured 6 mpg difference would cost $150 in gas and pulling the trailer would take 1 1/2 hours extra time each way. The rental is a little cheaper here than the rate in Wyoming and it looked like it would be almost the same cost either way. I'm planning on 12 mpg but that might be optimistic. Pulling my 7,000lb trailer with my tractor loaded to the gills I get about 10 mpg so I figured I would do a little better only pulling 4,000lbs but wasn't sure on the wind resistance. I was thinking I would plan on pulling at 65 mph and save a little gas and stress on the truck that way.

I'm worried about the timing on getting to the rental place in Wyoming and shuttling everything back and forth from the back of the truck when it could be raining, etc. and then trying to unload it and clean it before returning it might be a hassle too. I'm also worried that something could go wrong hooking it up or something and better to deal with those issues at home rather than 900 miles away.

The guy I hunt with pulls his travel trailer out there every year and this year my wife wanted to tag along so we won't all fit in 1 trailer and that's why I'm needing to pull one up there. I looked into buying, but the ultra lite trailers are pretty pricey and when you do the math it is actually cheaper to rent than buy if you are only going to use it once a year which is all I intend to do.

Thanks again for the input so far.

Nathan

 

[RobertN]

My 5th wheel has the axles flipped for ride height on my 4x4 Dodge. Plenty of room there, but again, it is "lifted".

My flatbed trailer would be close. So would the Scout Troop trailer I tow frequently. Our Troop went on a snow camp out last winter; they had good weather but had chains for the trailer anyways.

I would not tow a trailer in snow country without chains available for the braking axles. If it snowed, and got slippery, the trailer would be all over the place when you hit the brakes. Especially area's in Wyoming, where it may get steep, or really really windy.

I have never had need to chain up my trucks. My Uncle lives in Wyoming, and used to run from the middle of the state down to offices in Cheyenne in the winter. 10mph, with chains all around on a 4x4. Wind and ice, and blowing snow....

I don't know of many trailers that have clearance for chains.

My TT has a waste pipe right behind the wheel and the skirt only leaves an inch on the side. I don't think chains will fit

Now chains on the truck I use cable chains and Vbar on the rear or if I need them on both axle's v on back cable on front. there isn't enough clearance on the front for the v bar.

tom

 

[RobertN]

Where in Wyoming?

Thanks for the replies so far.

I'll be heading that way on September 17th. Snow isn't completely out of the question, but if it does snow it should be short lived and just be some nice mud. I'll be pulling the trailer approximately 30 miles down a gravel road that is fairly well maintained.