Wife and I are looking to purchase an RV here soon and have a few questions. First off though my truck is a 2016 f150 sport 4x2 crewcab with the 5.0. I have 3.55 gears and a tow package. The camper I am looking at is the Coleman lantern 263BH. It is 30ft, weight of 5820lbs and a dry hitch weight of 775lbs.

1. My truck should pull this somewhat easily right? The camper is well below the max of 8400 or 10100. Not sure which one applies to my truck.

2. I would need the weight distributing hitch correct?

3. Is it recommended/needed to have a trailer brake system installed? My understanding is I can get one since I have the towing package. Should be prewired for one.

4. Should I/ can I get towing mirrors installed from Ford and would you recommended?

5. Anything else I am not thinking about?

This is something that I am just in the beginning stages of thinking through. I want to try and avoid having to buy a new truck. I am hoping this setup or something similar will work well with what I have. Thanks ahead f time for any input.

ral2009 said:

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Wife and I are looking to purchase an RV here soon and have a few questions. First off though my truck is a 2016 f150 sport 4x2 crewcab with the 5.0. I have 3.55 gears and a tow package. The camper I am looking at is the Coleman lantern 263BH. It is 30ft, weight of 5820lbs and a dry hitch weight of 775lbs.

1. My truck should pull this somewhat easily right? The camper is well below the max of 8400 or 10100. Not sure which one applies to my truck.

Yes, although easily is going to be a relative term. You will should be able to pull comfortably at around 65mph while getting 8-9mpg. If you want to drive 75 using cruise control, you'll be dropping gears and sucking gas constantly. Hills and headwinds can have a significant impact as well. With Travel Trailers the weight is deceiving. They are a giant box with poor aerodynamics. You can tow a flatbed with 8,000 lbs of material more easily than a 6,000lb TT

2. I would need the weight distributing hitch correct?
absolutely a must. Preferably the weight distribution hitch with built in sway control. The Reese dual cam is a good one. I'd also recommend a sway bar for the truck

3. Is it recommended/needed to have a trailer brake system installed? My understanding is I can get one since I have the towing package. Should be prewired for one.
Not recommended, 100% must have. Your half-ton brakes weren't designed for that kind of load

4. Should I/ can I get towing mirrors installed from Ford and would you recommended?

I just got the clamp on extensions. The worked fine

5. Anything else I am not thinking about?

The weight of your gear and family. You're probably adding 1,500lbs to the combined weight of the Truck/TT

This is something that I am just in the beginning stages of thinking through. I want to try and avoid having to buy a new truck. I am hoping this setup or something similar will work well with what I have. Thanks ahead f time for any input.

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Thanks for the reply. Never thought about the gas mileage. Would only get around 160-180 miles per tank because I have the small tank. Wife and I have talked about taking kids on longer trips at some point. Out of state kind of trips. How much better would my gas mileage be with a diesel and at what point did you decide to upgrade trucks. What were the main reasons for moving to a 3/4 ton truck?

I decided to upgrade to a Super Duty on a trip back from College Station when the wind was blowing pretty good. I just got to the point I was ready to sell the camper because towing was usually stressful and I was maxed out at about 3 hours. I have a 31' Shadow Cruiser 280qbs that weighs around 5,700lbs and was towing behind a 5.7 Tundra. Between the gas stops, wind, hills, and 18 wheelers I told my wife I was going to upgrade or sell the camper which we had used about 10 times at that point. My mileage has only increased about 1-2mpg, but, now I'm using cruise control while driving 75 and keeping up with traffic. Hills aren't a problem and I can even pass slower vehicles on 2 lane roads when I need to with the camper behind me. I've now got a 27gal gas tank as well so range has been extended to about 250 miles at normal speeds. We just got back from a Spring Break trip to Fort Davis then Big Bend where I spent around 21 hours total towing the camper including the 9 hour return trip. It was relatively painless in the big diesel whereas I would never have considered that trip in the Tundra.

Full disclosure; In my case, I had always wanted a 3/4 ton long before I had the camper and I had just turned 40 so it was kind of a present to myself. I also have a boat that gets towed regularly and a company car for my daily driving so those also played a factor in my decision. I am also a fairly impatient person and get frustrated easily at inconveniences especially when I'm on vacation so personality is definitely a part of it too.

I'd see how it goes in the F-150 before you worry about the upgrade. Plenty of slow, patient, lane hogging folks pull with half tons and will tell you it works out just fine.

I just looked up that Coleman and it is a really nice layout very similar to ours. Should work out great with kids

FIDO98's response is spot on.

3/4 ton not necessary at that weight. My 2010 F150 pulled a 8500# wet TT without issue through Oklahoma and Kansas. Stressful at times, but not enough to warrant buying a new truck for something that I was only dragging 5-6 times a year.