johninar

Not a huge difference between a 24 vs 28 foot enclosed.
Referring to pulling power, handling, sway etc? Anyone doing this?

Zip Corvettes

Huge difference in a 24 and 28. I guy next door to us used a 1500 dodge ram with a Hemi to pull his Pace 28.....................into a ditch. You need a 3/4, the trailer weighs more then your truck when you put a car in it, your truck needs to be able to handle it.

AutobahnCCZ06

I pull my 28' trailer with a "1/2" ton, it is a 2009 Tundra double cab with the 5.7L. It pulls like a champ but I wouldn't pull my trailer with any other 1/2 ton.

trackboss

Regardless of whether a vehicle can pull a trailer or not its more important to consider how well it can handle the trailer and just as importantly stop the trailer.

0RAAMaudio

Edited since not so burned out right now, long day yesterday!

NOTE: I highly recommend reading your insurance policies, if you are towing an overweight trailer you many not be covered

My 07 2WD Double Cab LTD has BIG brakes, towing rated to 10,400 lbs and I added a great eq/stabilizer hitch, air bags, rear sway bar(which did help) and put the right amount of weight on the tongue and have a very good trailer brake controller. I also upgraded to BBS Tundra specific wheels and properly rated tires.

I normally tow my open deck 18' trailer and with a race car I can barely feel it, 14+ MPG even at 75 MPH, rides, stops, takes off from a light with ease at 5-6k lbs.

But, I have a 28ft Featherlite SURV toyhauler I moddified to fit a race car in but cannot carry enough spare parts, water, etc without being right at the limit the truck is rated for and I feel it is stressing the truck more than I should be doing. It tows quite well, stops well, etc, not really an issue but the MPG goes down to 8! Even though it does the job pretty well I just do not consider it wise to be at the limit, especially towing a car I will have over $100k into soon, $48k trailer, etc.......

------------

Now we want to tow two Vettes to shows and races starting in the spring, I could probably get a gutted aluminum trailer long enough and low enough in weight but what about spares, canopies, a place to sleep if we want to, etc.......?

So, looking for the right deal on a GMC dually diesel and either a very long Featherlight with sleeping quarters or one big enough for both cars, spares, insulated, etc.......and then maybe a pop up camper for more versatility as not always needing the sleeping qtrs, can take a pop up into the woods if we go camping, etc...

It may be blasphemy to say it here but my Tundra is one dang fine truck. My wife is a die hard Chevy fan and she even likes it better than the GMC's we have test driven but it just will not get the job done safely so it has to go. GMC(or Chevy) is the only truck on our shopping list and it would be nice to pull up in a silver one matching our race and show cars I do not even want a dually due to regular driving it will see at times, just to dang big but it will be more stable when we ask it to pull a big load.


Just my experience, thoughts, ideas, plans, concerns, etc......

Rick

John Shiels

1/2 ton will lack the suspension and brakes to do it properly no matter what the motor can do. You will probably be over the rated weight rating of the truck also which is illegal.

Jason

My 3/4ton works its **** off pulling a 28' enclosed trailer.

L98Terror

I have a 2005 F-150 and I tow my 28' with no issues, it did suck wind up through the rocky mountains on my way to Miller and back. We were loaded to the till including 28 extra rims and tires.

BTW I tow long distances also not just 3 hour trips, we towed non stop back from Salt Lake City to Michigan 23 hours no breaks. The tranny started to act a little funny but once I let it cool and stopped towing in OD it's been fine. 80k on truck and about 30k towing.

Got 10 MPG to Utah and back towing 65-70 out and 70-75 back. Open Trailer I get about 13 MPG and 14 MPG unloaded. BTW I normally drive 75-80 hence the poor MPG

wtknght1

I definitely DO NOT recommend towing any type of enclosed trailer with anything less than a 2500...and preferably a dually. The stability factor alone is worth every dime of that dually!!!!!!!

drivinhard

SouthernSon

I have had 1/2 ton, 3/4 ton diesel, 24' enclosed and open aluminum trailers and having pulled all different combinations, uphill, downhill, fast, slow, with traffic, little traffic, alone and with groups of people I have come to the conclusion that if one runs lightly loaded alone and can pick your own speed then a gasoline will get you there eventually. However, keep your load very tight and evenly distributed and make sure you have good brakes on both axles of trailer (truck alone will not save you in panic stop!). If, however, you have heavy trailer, not particular about how you load it (just throw the stuff in and get the heck out of dodge), want to run fast with others over long distances, and want the truck to last a good lifetime, then get the 3/4 diesel.

There is a reason the manufacturers make diesel 3/4 ton trucks.

Falcon

How much does that trailer weigh when loaded, particularily with all those wheels & tires?

johninar

Thanks for everyone's feedback. Just a thought I was wondering. The 28 foot weighs 500 lbs more. Not insignificant when you start looking at total weight and brakes. I guess that factor alone would keep me from doing it.
In a perfect world I would have my F350 SuperDuty Diesel, and that's not going to happen unless I win the lottery.

AU N EGL

28 Extra wheels and tire? where did you put your car? On top ?

johninar

Maybe he hauled them in a tandem??

L98Terror

I have no idea, 12 of those tires were in the bed of the truck.

FYI I normally don't use the sway control either and have towed above 85 with no sway issues. Now that is trailer dependant, because I have towed both a 28' and a 24' both with sway controls that would start to sway above 70 MPH for some reason my trailer tows true with no sway issues at all.

IMO the trailer is as important as the truck, if you have a poor towing trailer you may need a 3/4 or 1 ton to compensate but if you have a trailer that tows true you can get by with a 1/2 ton. Hell the 1/2 ton was fine even with the other trailers as long as I kept it under 70.

exracer28

Each truck is rated my the options installed on that truck. A 1/2 ton truck is a style more than a weight rating. Each truck will have a GVWR and a GCWR rating. Again each truck will have it's own rating. The GCWR is the majic number that you should stay under. The total weight of the tow vehicle and trailer should never exceed the manufacturer's listed GCWR. A 2009 F150 "MAY" go as high as 14K GCWR while the highest Tundra listing I found was for a 2008 and it is only 10k.

As for the concern that the tow vehicle must be heavier then the trailer you might be surprised how light some semi tractors are. 80k includes truck, trailer and load. Lighter truck and trailer = higher load weight.

Falcon

It's not the 500 pounds of empty space in that 4 feet that is the problem. It's all the additional stuff you cram in that 4 additional feet that is the issue.

L98Terror

12 in the bed of the truck & 5 stacks in the front of the trailer, between the tires, coolers, tools, clothes, food ect there was no room to walk in the trailer at all. This was for my tow to Utah for Nationals.

For My Car "Rita"
4 Rains
4 Stickers
4 w/3 heat cycles
4 w/8 Heat cycles
4 on the car with unknown heat cycles

For Greg's car "Katrina"
4 w/ 20 heat cycles
4 Stickers
4 w/5 heat cycles

bearnest

Glad you had a safe trip, but I hope I never fall in behind you on the road. Have you ever been pulled over?