I could use some advice from towing experts.

[Davexxxx]

I'll be able to share my breakdown this weekend or there abouts.

We bought the camper today.

We went through the inspection and walkthrough, then signed the papers and handed over the check.

I had already arranged for permission to keep it there, while I installed and set up the main safety systems, so then wired, mounted and caulked, a Haloview, 3 camera system.

Started programming the TMPS but it needed charging, so called it a day.

Tomorrow I'll go back to finish the TMPS, set up the hitch and program the trailer into the truck and mount the sticker, for the pro trailer features.

Hope to start the trek home by mid morning Fri. Hit the scales on the way and try to get the wheels balanced and be home before rush hour.

I did notice that the curb weight sticker of the trailer, is ~400 lbs. heavier than the published weight but they made some changes for 2024 and they're still in the process of updating the site so ... I don't see the 400lbs but we'll let the scales tell the tale.

The trailer, will be dead stock and empty, except for the installation of 2 maxair fans I had them install, the lb and a half or so of the cameras, full propane tanks and the single, dealer supplied batt on the tongue.

The truck, will have my wife and I, full tank of fuel, the 60 some lbs. of mods, 106 for the hitch and another 100 ish for the tools I normally carry so, nothing near a full camping weight but a baseline to work from.

I'll try to take separate weights of truck and trailer but it'll depend on how busy the scales are and what room I have to work with in their parking lot.

Anyway, I'll itemize all that stuff out and get back with you..

As for yours. you have a resultant remaining payload of 750.

Gonna be tight. I'd shop for a quality but light hitch and plan to pack the trailer carefully, to keep enough tongue weight but not too much. A tongue scale is in your future.

I hear the Anderson hitches are good for smaller trailers.

Aron is right of course about the Cat Scales being for big trucks and general rule of thumb, is most equipment works best in the middle of their ranges, which we don't give them but I'd also read they are good to the nearest 20lbs. so, way better than guessing.

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[Atlee]

Do not buy a Powerboost with towing intentions unless you're talking about dragging your jet skis or snowmobiles around locally. If you just have to have the F150, then get the 3.5l Ecoboost. And then don't cringe at the towing mpg because it'll suck. Been there. Done that. My 2016 F150 King Ranch 3.5l Ecoboost headed from Florida to Michigan with one of my cars for the Woodward Dream Cruise.

I bought a PB with towing intentions. And it works fine. I wanted the 7.2 Kw generator to power my trailer when boondocking.

All that said, I knew the PB's were somewhat Payload capacity challenged, so when I ordered it, I was very careful with the options I ordered. I was also careful with size trailer I was going to pull.

I pull a 2021 Coachmen 20SE. It's 24' 6" long with a GVWR of 6000#. The PB is GVWR = 7350#, CC = 1,645#, WB 157".

I'm quite fine pulling my trailer anywhere I want.

 

[Atlee]

.My issues really wasn't my point....this time. Actually it's because the Powerboost trucks typically have a terribly low payload capacity. What is the point of the big tow rating when you can't carry anything.

Or you can build them with forethought and get better CC.

 

[Atlee]

as a safe guy... not saying its gospel
but almost ALL tires on towables are ST tires
they are speed rated at 65 mph, not 70.
sooooo if you plan to go faster towing, especially in summer upgrade to LT tires

Used to be, not so much now. Even the chinese tires still on my current trailer have a speed rating of N which equals 87 mph. There is no way in Hades I'd tow that fast, but the extra cushion is good to have.

 

[Jus Cruisin]

Or you can build them with forethought and get better CC.

I buy with plenty of forethought.... I have as many option boxes checked as possible.

 

[Jus Cruisin]

I bought a PB with towing intentions. And it works fine. I wanted the 7.2 Kw generator to power my trailer when boondocking.

All that said, I knew the PB's were somewhat Payload capacity challenged, so when I ordered it, I was very careful with the options I ordered. I was also careful with size trailer I was going to pull.

I pull a 2021 Coachmen 20SE. It's 24' 6" long with a GVWR of 6000#. The PB is GVWR = 7350#, CC = 1,645#, WB 157".

I'm quite fine pulling my trailer anywhere I want.

My trailering has been for the purpose of hauling cars or boats not camping. If I was intent on camping I'd make sure the camper was equipped with a genny from the get go. But honestly my idea of camping would be in a 44' motorcoach with the truck being flat towed.
I bought my Powerboost early on when everyone thought it could be used to backfeed a house. But....of course that isn't the case.

 

[sbreech]

Thanks for the tips re: tongue weights. It's actually a new model, 23FB Flying Cloud we are thinking of, but the specs say 23' 9'' so I rounded up. We will learn how to pack the trailer without going over the GVWR and keep the truck as clean as possible. Second choice is to kick down to a Caravel, but then we lose the double axle. As I mentioned before, if push comes to shove, the wife stays home!

We tow a ‘23 23’ flying cloud front bed twin with our F150 2.7 and it’s a perfect combo, but our payload is over 1500 pounds. Loaded up, our trailer is 5960 pounds and tongue weight is 650. Almost everything we take camping is stored in the airstream, like food, chairs, bike, blankets, etc, so we still have almost 300 pounds of payload left after people and pup. Our WDH is a blue ox sway pro 750 that does great. The truck tows and stops with authority. We typically tow about 5k miles a year, including through Appalachia and over Jelico.

 

[Nasto]

We tow a ‘23 23’ flying cloud front bed twin with our F150 2.7 and it’s a perfect combo, but our payload is over 1500 pounds. Loaded up, our trailer is 5960 pounds and tongue weight is 650. Almost everything we take camping is stored in the airstream, like food, chairs, bike, blankets, etc, so we still have almost 300 pounds of payload left after people and pup. Our WDH is a blue ox sway pro 750 that does great. The truck tows and stops with authority. We typically tow about 5k miles a year, including through Appalachia and over Jelico.

That's awesome! My problem will be payload. The powerboost models weigh more and I have all the bells and whistles so factoring in a 23" Flying Cloud with 650 tongue weight will probably leave us with 75-100 lbs after passengers, WDS, etc. Still do-able I am told from the fine folks here, but would have to pack the trailer very smartly.

Do you really like the Flying Cloud with the twin beds? We were thinking of going that route too. And did you go with any of the options available (window awning package of solar package)?

Thanks!

 

[sbreech]

That's awesome! My problem will be payload. The powerboost models weigh more and I have all the bells and whistles so factoring in a 23" Flying Cloud with 650 tongue weight will probably leave us with 75-100 lbs after passengers, WDS, etc. Still do-able I am told from the fine folks here, but would have to pack the trailer very smartly.

Do you really like the Flying Cloud with the twin beds?

That's awesome! My problem will be payload. The powerboost models weigh more and I have all the bells and whistles so factoring in a 23" Flying Cloud with 650 tongue weight will probably leave us with 75-100 lbs after passengers, WDS, etc. Still do-able I am told from the fine folks here, but would have to pack the trailer very smartly.

Do you really like the Flying Cloud with the twin beds? We were thinking of going that route too. And did you go with any of the options available (window awning package of solar package)?

Thanks!

We were thinking of going that route too. And did you go with any of the options available (window awning package of solar package)?

Thanks!

We actually love the twin beds. That option really opens up the camper making it seem so much bigger. Just the ability to stand in the bedroom between the beds to get dressed is worth it, plus we keep the dog food / water bowls up there out of the way. We have the solar, awnings, and convection ovens, and then the AGM batteries. If you go with the lithium route, you can probably cut 30 pounds of tongue weight, but you want to keep your tongue weight % above 10%. The amount of storage in the 23FBT is phenomenal. That’s why I say you can put everything in the camper instead of the truck, then you just have the tongue weight, people, pets, and customizations to calculate payload (and WDH). I bought a tongue weight scale…

Simple WEIGH™ Tongue Weight Scale https://a.co/d/3SsZBs0

 

[Nasto]

We actually love the twin beds. That option really opens up the camper making it seem so much bigger. Just the ability to stand in the bedroom between the beds to get dressed is worth it, plus we keep the dog food / water bowls up there out of the way. We have the solar, awnings, and convection ovens, and then the AGM batteries. If you go with the lithium route, you can probably cut 30 pounds of tongue weight, but you want to keep your tongue weight % above 10%. The amount of storage in the 23FBT is phenomenal. That’s why I say you can put everything in the camper instead of the truck, then you just have the tongue weight, people, pets, and customizations to calculate payload (and WDH). I bought a tongue weight scale…

Simple WEIGH™ Tongue Weight Scale https://a.co/d/3SsZBs0

Very helpful. Thank you!

 

[sbreech]

We actually love the twin beds. That option really opens up the camper making it seem so much bigger. Just the ability to stand in the bedroom between the beds to get dressed is worth it, plus we keep the dog food / water bowls up there out of the way. We have the solar, awnings, and convection ovens, and then the AGM batteries. If you go with the lithium route, you can probably cut 30 pounds of tongue weight, but you want to keep your tongue weight % above 10%. The amount of storage in the 23FBT is phenomenal. That’s why I say you can put everything in the camper instead of the truck, then you just have the tongue weight, people, pets, and customizations to calculate payload (and WDH). I bought a tongue weight scale…

Simple WEIGH™ Tongue Weight Scale https://a.co/d/3SsZBs0

Very helpful. Thank you!

You're very welcome. How about THIS data? This demonstrates how OCD I am...

 

[Nasto]

You're very welcome. How about THIS data? This demonstrates how OCD I am...

Oh, hell yes! Is that first one an auto-formulated Excel spreadsheet?

 

[sbreech]

Oh, hell yes! Is that first one an auto-formulated Excel spreadsheet?

Of course it is. All I do is enter the weight of the item and the percentage (100% means in truck, 0% means in camper). With this, I can see all the weight I'm carrying, the payload on the truck, and the payload in the camper. The only weight in the camper that matters to the truck is the tongue weight - which is 100%. I've even factored in the gator tonneau cover, the bed rug, and the weight distribution hitch. The combo of that truck that cargo, and that airstream yields 16.2mpg on a round trip from Ohio to Georgia and back. The truck computer says 17.1mpg, but my calculations show 16.2. With that said, I was only getting about 12-13mpg pulling a much shorter and lighter camper ('21 NuCamp Tab400 Boondock), and the airstream tows sooooo smoothly.

 

[Nasto]

Of course it is. All I do is enter the weight of the item and the percentage (100% means in truck, 0% means in camper). With this, I can see all the weight I'm carrying, the payload on the truck, and the payload in the camper. The only weight in the camper that matters to the truck is the tongue weight - which is 100%. I've even factored in the gator tonneau cover, the bed rug, and the weight distribution hitch. The combo of that truck that cargo, and that airstream yields 16.2mpg on a round trip from Ohio to Georgia and back. The truck computer says 17.1mpg, but my calculations show 16.2. With that said, I was only getting about 12-13mpg pulling a much shorter and lighter camper ('21 NuCamp Tab400 Boondock), and the airstream tows sooooo smoothly.

If I PM you, could I get a copy of your spreadsheet via email?

 

[sbreech]

If I PM you, could I get a copy of your spreadsheet via email?

PM sent

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