Tow Vehicle for a 379FL

[cargo747]

I'm looking at a 379FL and I currently have a 2004 F250 6.0 Turbo Diesel. I have heard mixed stories if this truck could tow the 379FL or maybe with airbags. Any thoughts? Thanks for your advice in advance.

Best Regards,
Rusty

 

[Kamper]

Make sure you check out your GCVW (Gross Combined Vehicle Weight) and Payload Capacity. Allot of trucks will tow the weight but are not safe due to overload and breaking. If you overload any aspect of the vehicle you will put excess strain on the engine, trans & breaks causing failure and safety issues. I was looking at a 3/4 ton that will tow our Solitude but does not meet the safety guidelines. I will have to go with the dually because the hitch weight is too close and GCVW is way over. I am no expert by no means, just research and decide for yourself. Do not rely on salesman as they are more than likely going to steer you in the direction of a sale not safety. They are not lying by telling you your vehicle will to tow the RV but it will be overloaded and unsafe. Just my thoughts. Good Luck and Happy Camping!

Someone on this forum gave me this link to check out. Hope this helps.

http://fifthwheelst.com/

 

[Dave and Monica]

The dry pin weight of that camper is listed at 3000#...I believe that you'll be over the truck's rear axle rating before you load a thing into the camper. I'd never recommend that you exceed the trucks RAWR, but that's just my opinion.

Dave

 

[thompsons 369rl]

Assuming the truck is SWR, you will be over on the axel weights. There is no way I would risk towing a 379 with your current truck. I think the numbers will speak for themselves. Here is a link to the towing specs. Check out page 17.

http://www.fleet.ford.com/resources/ford/general/pdf/towingguides/2004_All.pdf

 

[Stang98]

How about a GMC 2500HD turbo diesel? I have been researching and get conflicting information. Hope someone here is way smarter than me. LOL!

 

[Steve and Cill]

Welcome to the forum Rusty! Your F250 will not tow a 379FL safely even with air bags. Air bags do nothing to increase the weight you are going to tow. I have an F350 SRW and it will not tow a 379FL safely, too much pin weight. Check out the sites Kamper and thompsons 369rl (Andy) gave you.

Steve

PS: I am not the "weight police"

 

[thompsons 369rl]

Welcome to the forum Rusty! Your F250 will not tow a 379FL safely even with air bags. Air bags do nothing to increase the weight you are going to tow. I have an F350 SRW and it will not tow a 379FL safely, too much pin weight. Check out the sites Kamper and thompsons 369rl (Andy) gave you.

Steve

PS: I am not the "weight police"

Yes, welcome Rusty.

Nor am I ,Steve. Nope.....no weight police here, but tryin to tow a 379 with a 3/4 ton ANYTHING sounds flat out dangerous. A 379 must be at least 1500 lbs heavier than our 369's and I'm not all that far from maxing out on weights with my F350 once it's fully stocked.

 

[Tdietert13]

My 2012 F350 dually pulls our 379 pretty good. With the trailer being excess of 42 ft a dually helps keep it stabile when you get to the bumps on the road or crosswinds. I'm not going to get into the whole weight police since everybody already covered that. My truck also has air ride rear to keep the truck level

 

[overpolished]

Hi Rusty, We are considering the very same rig.... just have to find one in person to take a look at. We had a 2008 GMC 2500 D/A that I sold for the very reason you are wondering.... it was not enough truck for what I wanted to pull so I went out and got something that would pull everything I wanted to pull or could foresee wanting to pull with a great deal of head room. My 2008 was limited @ 13k 5th wheel with 3,000lb pin weight. I would guess a 4 year old Ford would have less capability on the spec sheet. While I am certain your truck would get the trailer rolling without issue.... I hate to think of your insurance company walking away should you get in an accident while exceeding your stated towing capacity. We upgraded to 29k in towing capacity with 6k on the pin..... bigger than anything I can dream of towing with a pickup. Having to write a check for a new truck... and trailer is not great when they happen close together.... but writing checks because you were over weight and you are liable for an accident is much worse IMO.

Andy is right on the money...

 

[Al~and~Dave]

We hauled our new 379FL 250 miles this weekend to Maine. Our 2013 GMC 1-ton SRW CC Diesel handled very smoothly, there was very little, if any, chucking. It held speed well on the hills of I-89. 3/4 ton is definitely not enough.

Alison and David
Georgia, VT

 

[cargo747]

Thanks everyone We Decided to go smaller and lighter I pick up my 337RLS on Friday I can't wait!