[truckguy]

"Well Sir, If I understand this correctly, You have and enjoy a 5er.?? But you are not real happy with the Ford P'up as a tow vheicle. I hope I got that right."

You do.

"If I did what are the complete specs on the truck??"

F250SD running 300HP with an exhaust brake. Manual 6 speed transmission. Crew cab.

"I have had Ford P'ups all my life I do not feel that a F-350,450 or the 550 with a 7.3 or 6.0 Diesel Engine are "REAL TRUCKS" to use to pull a loadded 5er around."

They are certainly adequate. I've read the bashing that various people have done on pulling 5ers with HD pickups versus MDTs and I don't agree. Certainly a MDT has better brakes and is more stable, but the Ford HD pickups are more than up to the task. Our trailer is 9500 pounds loaded up and the truck handles it very well. We can climb any reasonable grade (6%) at 50 MPH and braking isn't a problem either with the manual transmission and exhaust brake. On anything less than about 7% the engine braking alone will easily control the speed. Wheel brakes are only used for emergency stopping.

The things I don't like about the F250 are the ride and the lack of fuel capacity, both of which could be rectified.

People brag about the HP of buses and motorhomes. However, those units usually weigh a lot more too. I've got 600 ftlbs and 300 HP on 16,500lbs. A typical 33,000 pound RV would need 600 HP to have the same performance as I have. In fact, one of my criticisms of MDTs is that they don't have any more power and yet they weigh a lot more than a HD pickup. They do have a wider torque band though. But I absolutely hate automatic transmissions, which a lot of people get in their MDT. (I love autoshift transmissions though.)

"Even if you have modified it with a chip,exhaust and more air it is still not a real truck, As in Stopping It, Frame, Tires and the complete front end."

As far as stopping goes, if the brakes on the trailer are good the unit stops surprisingly well. A lot of MDT owners feel they need a MDT to stop the trailer. Well, in the real trucking world, trailers have enough brakes to stop their own axle weight. The tractor has enough brakes to stop its GVW too. And our setup does this well. What most of these MDT owners really needed was better brakes (or properly serviced brakes) on their 5er.

Tires ? I haven't had any tire trouble with my truck. The rears will wear quickly if you pull aggressively in the mountains. I got 50,000 miles on the first set and the second set is still running. Load range E tires are rated at 3420 each IIRC. The front and rear axles on our truck weigh 4400 pounds each when hitched or 2200 pounds per tire.

The frame is fine. We've been pulling this trailer for 7 years with no problems. It is very stable, even in cross winds. The key there is a dual pivoting hitch. Single pivoting hitches will flex the frame of the truck and affect the steering.

"What is your 5er Gross Weight Loaded Ready to go Not Hooked To The
Truck??" 9200 to 9500 pounds, depending how we have it loaded. And yes, I have weighed it. The GCWR on my truck is 20,000 pounds. My truck weighs 6600 pounds empty and 7000 with us in it. Total rolling weight is 16,500 typically.

"I THINK the F-550 only has a GVW of 19,000 pounds maximum. Hell the truck weighs 10,000-12,000 lbs."

The heaviest pin weights I know of on regular 5ers are 3,000 pounds. The F550 has GCWRs of 26,000 to 29,000 pounds. They can weigh as little as 9,000 pounds, leaving room to pull up to a 20,000 pound trailer. They run 19.5 rubber and have heavy rear axles and big brakes, so that isn't a totally outlandish thing to do. What they don't have is the right engine.

"Have you even figeured fuel mileage???"

I'm at 9.5 to 11.5 depending on conditions. It isn't terrible. I pull with 3.73s and that holds OD on grades up to 2% or so. I probably average 11. Head winds really kill it. F450s and F550s usually have 4.30 and 4.88 axle ratios. The engine is screaming at 65MPH. The fuel economy is terrible.

"Air Ride Today can be mounted on any type of vehicle there are a lot of mfgs.out there. I am gonna take a guess that your 5er loaded weighs 13,000-15,000 lbs. with everything needed for a two week trip. Even using
the light side adding 10,000 & 13,000 lbs. is a total weight of 23,000 lbs. You are maxxed out by 4000lbs. before you leave
the driveway. At a minimum I would use a 30,000 GVW Real Truck on 22.5 rubber with air brakes 300+ H.P. and an engine brake."

Your numbers are wrong. I gave you my real numbers above. And in the scenario you gave above (13,000 pound trailer), an F550 would work pretty well if it had better engine/gearing in it. The GCWR of an F550 can be 29K.

"One could be built w/a 8'-10'box w/nice seating and all the comforts of Home. The Bottom Line Here Is Safety To Protect Your Family And 5er. JUST WENT BACK AND SAW THAT IT IS A F-250 Eek SOMEONE HAS SURE BEEN WATCHING OVER YOU,
DO YOU HAVE TO PUSH YOUR GONADS AROUND IN A WHEELBARROW?????? AND I THOUGHT I CROSSED THE EDGE OF THE ENVELOPE!!!!!!!!!!!"

These trucks handle 5ers real well. We drive 600+ miles a day in all types of conditions, except snow. We are not overloaded. My friend pulls an 11,000 pound trailer without any problems. The 99+ trucks were a big step forward from the previous trucks. Better brakes, 6 speed versus 5 speed, better mirrors. The exhaust brake and manual transmission make a tremendous difference on the down grades.

I've driven empty tandem trucks with 250HP weighing 15,000 pounds and my F250 compares well as far as acceleration goes.

Here is a shocking stat for you. My truck has pulled the 5er for 7 years, about 2500 miles a year in mountainous conditions and now has just about 100K on it. It is still on the original brake pads. I'd say the front pads have 40% left. I'll probably change them this summer.

What I don't like about this setup is:

a) driving a large truck around as our daily driver, although it works
b) the ride is rough on rough roads
c) the engine and wind noise is pretty high
d) wife and kids can't sleep or eat or go to the bathroom while we are travelling like they could in a motorhome or bus or truck conversion.
e) lack of fuel capacity. 25 gallons on my short box. Fuel stop every 300 miles. Huge hassle getting into small stations with a 5er in tow. Truck stops are fine.
f) 5ers aren't built really well. Lots of little marginal craftsmanship/design issues. And they can be surprisingly difficult to work on.

Mainly what I want is more all round comfort when travelling.

I'll shock you once more. Sometimes I pull a small boat behind our 5er. That is right, I tow doubles. It would weigh 1200 pounds with the trailer. I don't do it in the mountains though.