GM Guy

I checked the website and a 2013 312bh has dry wt of 7620 and GVW of 9000 lbs and 765lb hitch weight. That is one nice trailer, and I noticed they have storage everywhere.

If you do the math, you can stuff 1380 lbs of "stuff" into that trailer. So lets add 43g of fresh water @ 8.35lbs/gal which is 360 lbs. Only have another 1,020lbs to go. Add blankets, sheets, pillows, pillow cases, and one spare set of the same. Add in two sets of bath towels, kitchen towels, wash cloths, iron, iron board, vacuum cleaner, two trash cans, pots, pans, skillets, toaster, coffee pot, coffee cups, plates, glasses, silverware, cutting knives, carrot pealers, cheese, ketchup, mustard, mayo, milk, butter, crisco, spices,cutting board, food, maps, campground books, your clothes, her clothes, baby clothes, CD's, and now food, lots of food. Those cans of chili are good, so is spaghetti, spaghetti sauce, bread, buns, hotdogs, adult beverages, sodas, bottle water etc.

I can speak from experience that you have now reached your 1380 lbs. You're not done, now load in your tools, beach chairs, beach towels, shampoo, Tide, bounce laundry basket, but you get the point. If you RV, you tend to want to be comfortable. Yes you can skimp, but you won't. You will be heavy. Now with that much weight, you will need a wt distribution hitch. They are heavy also and become part of the hitch weight (765lbs) plus 50 lbs for wt dist hitch, and it's on the very back of your truck. Not above the axles which are more stable, but way back there on the end.

So here is what you need to really consider, do I have enough power to pull this load anywhere, YES you do. The power is not the problem. The second question you need to ask and honestly answer is: "Can the suspension handle this load without bouncing up and down and swaying left and right? You will find bridges that for some reaon, will get your rig into an up/down resonance that will drive you nuts. You will slow down. When you go down steep hills, the Ecoboost does not have an effective engine brake, which means you will be using your brakes more. When you approach a corner and may be going a little hot, and hit the brakes, will you keep the trailer from trying to go straight when you are starting to turn?

Someone is going to say that the built in sway control will control that. I will only say ,"I hope it does? But what if it is ony marginal at best.

Buy the trailer, and stock it, borrow someone's truck and weigh it as loaded like you will use it. Once you know the true total weight of the loaded trailer, go from there. If they are discounting diesels and not the Ecoboost, this is your friend.

2002silverex

I already bought the trailer. Bought it last fall. Camped with it twice. Pulled it with my shop truck (2011 gmc 3500 dually). Had the weight distribution hitch setup to that truck.

That truck tows it great (big surprise) the problem is its a regular cab.... wife had to follow me around in the car to go camping. Not the end of the world but much more convenient to have the whole family in the TV.

brulaz

You've got the trailer, take it to a scale (like a CAT scale) and weigh it. Calculate the tongue weight.

Should be around 1000-1200# for stable towing.

Pretty sure that tongue weight, people and gear in the truck will exceed the payload on an F150 with the MaxTow. The HD Payload (+MaxTow) option might do it though and will have a more stable suspension/tires than the just the MaxTow.

2002silverex

By the way GM Guy, i totally agree with you my camper fully loaded and wife kid and dog in truck is going to max out the ecoboost if not put it over.

The thing thats keeping me still wanting the ecoboost is the fact that itll be my daily driver, and I will only tow this camper on weekends during the summer and not every weekend and 75% of the time wont leave the state.

Will a 3/4 ton be safe/better absolutely. Im just not sure I can justify the extra 10+ grand.

Also my company pays for the truck, which is why i get a new truck every 3 years, i dont have money burning a hole in my pocket! Wish i did!

2002silverex

My plans if i go with an ecoboost is:

airbags with on board remote
hd shocks for the rear
lt tires for the stock 20's
already have w/d hitch
livernois tuner with a tow tune setting

Wondertwin1

After reading all of this, I still vote for the super duty. Any super duty I've driven can pull a house down. I rolled across the scales at 29,000# with an F250 and kinda flipped out because we didn't realize we had that much weight. Pulled great. Any 1/2 ton I've towed with, once you even get close to the max tow you just start to feel uneasy. Plus, with a trailer that weighs that much. I want something heavier in front of it. God for I'd you get in an accident, I don't think the front end on a 150 will hold up as well as a super duty with all that weight behind you. Stopping, turning, all of those are the biggest concerns. All trucks can pull anything, but being safe slowing down is a big concern. And you said you only go most weekends in the summer and rarely out of state. If you buy the super duty you might be more adventurous and go see stuff you haven't seen yet, hell you might take a week and a half off and drive to some mountains and camp up there. In for the super duty.

EcoboostKev

If your work is paying for the truck then definitely get the Superduty! It gets almost the same mpg as the Ecoboost with 800lb/ft of torque at your desposal!

rbrais

Well, as I said: I clean my friend's camper for him that he tows with a Stock 3500 Chevy Dually. It doesn't smoke bad, but unburnt diesel is dirty, and it is a decent abount of work to clean it off. Take it for what you will.

rbrais

I guess one other thing to consider is how far will you be going? If you are going to hit local campgrounds that are 30 min away, that's not so bad. If you are going 3-4 hours or more through the mountains and such...

The WD hitch helps a lot, and I'm fairly sure the trailer has brakes. Everybody says the EB has enough power. I'd say handling is the big concern. I have been driving when the trailer starts to bounce and sway. It's not real fun. The bags may help.

Hell, you have the trailer. Test drive an EB, even if you are planning on ordering one; test drive one on the lot. Hook up the trailer and see what it can do.

2002silverex

Well they are paying for it yes, but its not an unlimited monthly payment. I have a certain payment I need to stay within...

therefore I can lease a LOADDEEDDD fx4 ecoboost for the same money or less than i can finance a stripped down powerstroke