Camper for the R1T -- what can I safely and reasonably tow?

[Lpotter86]

I’ve got a Epro 19FD. ~4200lb loaded. Doesn’t even feel like it’s back there while towing.

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[NWCamper]

The rule of thumb is half maximum for ultimate driver comfort and safety. I'm sure you can pull the maximum weight. If it is your thing to glamp - then glamp.
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I have pulled a dry 3800# to 6000# fully weighted thousands of miles in my V6 Taco. Things get fun doing 80 and having a large truck pass you and the wind whips you around. Sure the R1T is something different all together.

You need to balance range impact vs where you want to go vs what you think you need to tow to keep all folks happy.

You pulling a 30' trailer with your R1T, I will give you thumbs up on the highway...as you are sitting at the charge station....

Seriously though - I'd try to get a dry weight no more than 4 or 5K.

 

[Yellow Buddy]

Have a good think about what kind of camping you want to do. If you want to stay close to home, towing should be fine. If you want to stretch your legs and see more of the country (there are a lot of amazing destinations out there!), you're not going to want to do it while towing (with an EV). You might consider keeping the tent life, or a rooftop tent and maintain some "reasonable" range (reasonable is open to interpretation, of course)

A rooftop tent didn't work for us. We're definitely not minimalists and we like separate sleeping areas for the kids so for us it's usually multiple tents or our giant multi room tent.

I think it's important to lay out just how we will travel as well. Our life gives us stretches where months at a time we will be available to travel. Meaning we will be able to do anywhere between 3-6 hours of towing to our next destination and will be able to stretch out multi state trips over the course of several days or even weeks if needed. That is also a large reason for the camper - we see it as a hotel room replacement rather than a tent replacement.

Since I haven't had one, is that a reasonable expectation? Or is it an absurd one?

 

[NWCamper]

It is easier to buy up on a trailer then to buy down. Get what you need and then you can always get a bigger one, there are plenty of folks with monstrous trailers they can barely pull with their F150 on the market.

 

[cbrcanuck]

A rooftop tent didn't work for us. We're definitely not minimalists and we like separate sleeping areas for the kids so for us it's usually multiple tents or our giant multi room tent.

I think it's important to lay out just how we will travel as well. Our life gives us stretches where months at a time we will be available to travel. Meaning we will be able to do anywhere between 3-6 hours of towing to our next destination and will be able to stretch out multi state trips over the course of several days or even weeks if needed. That is also a large reason for the camper - we see it as a hotel room replacement rather than a tent replacement.

Since I haven't had one, is that a reasonable expectation? Or is it an absurd one?

In my mind that's the best reason to have a camper, for the types of trips where you'll be on the move a lot. Saves a ton of time from breaking camp and setting it up again and you get to enjoy the locations a lot more. Huge plus in that (and the extra comfort, especially when the weather doesn't cooperate).

With an EV, the time savings would likely be heavily offset by the extra time charging. With 100-150 mile range between loooong charging stops, I would think you'll be heavily limited in where you can actually go. You'd be more comfortable being able to hang out in the camper while charging, but will have the major downsides of range, longer charging stops, and the headaches of needing pull-through chargers or unhooking the camper and leaving it elsewhere while you charged. More comfortable, but also a lot more time/work.

 

[Yellow Buddy]

In my mind that's the best reason to have a camper, for the types of trips where you'll be on the move a lot. Saves a ton of time from breaking camp and setting it up again and you get to enjoy the locations a lot more. Huge plus in that (and the extra comfort, especially when the weather doesn't cooperate).

With an EV, the time savings would likely be heavily offset by the extra time charging. With 100-150 mile range between loooong charging stops, I would think you'll be heavily limited in where you can actually go. You'd be more comfortable being able to hang out in the camper while charging, but will have the major downsides of range, longer charging stops, and the headaches of needing pull-through chargers or unhooking the camper and leaving it elsewhere while you charged. More comfortable, but also a lot more time/work.

That’s exactly the thought. We can have a meal, play some video games or even start sleeping while charging.

It’s a comfort space rather than sitting in the car. And eating out constantly gets expensive and old.

 

[emoore]

That’s exactly the thought. We can have a meal, play some video games or even start sleeping while charging.

It’s a comfort space rather than sitting in the car. And eating out constantly gets expensive and old.

Same here. I have never owned a travel trailer before but our plan is to only travel 300ish miles a day and then plan on camping for a few days. So our cross country trips will take 2-3 weeks or more. Otherwise we will camp near Colorado for weekend trips.

 

[Thedude]

300 miles in a day would be pretty easy. Charge to 100% before leaving the campground and only need to make two charge stops along the way depending on terrain.

 

[Dark-Fx]

That’s exactly the thought. We can have a meal, play some video games or even start sleeping while charging.

It’s a comfort space rather than sitting in the car. And eating out constantly gets expensive and old.

We typically end up "tailgating" but it'd definitely be undesirable to do it this way in bad weather.

 

[MReda]

For us, the hassle of charging with a trailer attached (or having to drop a trailer) has been a bigger deterrent then the impact to range or the longer charging stops. Our common routes into the mountains only have so many chargers, and we've been paying close attention to which ones would have trailer friendly spots (even if not labeled as such) and which ones would require us to drop, and there are a fair amount where even finding a spot to drop a trailer would be a pain in the ass, and we're only pulling a Turtleback Getaway.

 

[NWCamper]

It takes dedication and planning to pull a trailer long distances, not to mention extra extra time.
You would use ABRP and google maps to scope out the charger and plan your entrance so as to not drop the trailer. A lot of them where I live seem to have a large area with metal walls [like at grocery stores or walmart] that hold the electrical equipment - it allows you to pull into the first charger and let your trailer sit out in the roadway without blocking folks.

There is a massive learning curve. You cannot simply hitch and go.

Having done this a bunch over the summer, I got a rooftop tent and will give that a whirl when I know I am traveling light - like 2 ppl and a dog - and traveling distances that would require more than two charge stops or when I don't want to allow 6 to 8 hours to go 300 miles.

The longest route I traveled was 250miles one way. You will want to take a few trips to gauge how your trailer does and the energy consumption.

That is why I recommend a smaller 20 to 24 foot trailer like an ultralight or Casita. I have an Apex Nano and it has been great, it is light and appears well built. [had since 2018]. Tons of storage and a slide out, large tires and large fridge with separate freezer. It is aluminum with azdel walls. It was also less than 20k new.

I am not so convinced about the benefit of the Rpods or other larger than teardrops but not really that much bigger - providing more energy economy than a simple aluminum and stick Coleman or Jayco or something light weight with azdel and aluminum. The .2 KW/Mile savings for such a small trailer is not worth it.

I think the market is overpriced - but maybe with a recession and interest rates - there are deals to be had.

There does not seem to be a definitive test out there, but ANY trailer will essentially reduce range.

 

[Yellow Buddy]

It takes dedication and planning to pull a trailer long distances, not to mention extra extra time.
You would use ABRP and google maps to scope out the charger and plan your entrance so as to not drop the trailer. A lot of them where I live seem to have a large area with metal walls [like at grocery stores or walmart] that hold the electrical equipment - it allows you to pull into the first charger and let your trailer sit out in the roadway without blocking folks.

There is a massive learning curve. You cannot simply hitch and go.

Having done this a bunch over the summer, I got a rooftop tent and will give that a whirl when I know I am traveling light - like 2 ppl and a dog - and traveling distances that would require more than two charge stops or when I don't want to allow 6 to 8 hours to go 300 miles.

The longest route I traveled was 250miles one way. You will want to take a few trips to gauge how your trailer does and the energy consumption.

That is why I recommend a smaller 20 to 24 foot trailer like an ultralight or Casita. I have an Apex Nano and it has been great, it is light and appears well built. [had since 2018]. Tons of storage and a slide out, large tires and large fridge with separate freezer. It is aluminum with azdel walls. It was also less than 20k new.

I am not so convinced about the benefit of the Rpods or other larger than teardrops but not really that much bigger - providing more energy economy than a simple aluminum and stick Coleman or Jayco or something light weight with azdel and aluminum. The .2 KW/Mile savings for such a small trailer is not worth it.

I think the market is overpriced - but maybe with a recession and interest rates - there are deals to be had.

There does not seem to be a definitive test out there, but ANY trailer will essentially reduce range.

FWIW, I've pulled a trailer decent distances. They just happen to be enclosed utility trailers (6x10) that aren't anywhere near the size or weight that I'm considering, and I did it using a Model X 60D and 75D. I believe during one winter I had 40 miles of actual travel distance while consuming 950wh/mi (1.05mi/kW), so I understand the pains fully.

I think my concern is more as I step up in size, weight, usage of a camper specifically so that I don't do something stupid that ends up bending the frame, harming the truck, not being able to utilize it etc. Since I've never towed anything of this magnitude or a camper in general.

Anyways..I went and put the truck on CAT scales today. In case anyone is interested.

An adventure pack, 22" wheels, on-road, no spare, roof bars on the back:

Front Axle: 3700lb
Rear Axle: 3480lb RR
Gross Weight (with me inside @210lb) 7180lb GVW

That should leave me roughly 1352lb of payload.

On top of that, gear wise is typically 25-35lb/pp for us. With a 15% buffer that should allow me roughly 800lbs on the tongue safely. Can the more experienced opine on the numbers there please?

 

[NWCamper]

I can only chime in - 10% tongue to trailer weight. that's 8K

 

[Thedude]

You need more than 10% tongue weight to be safe with a travel trailer. Personal bags won’t be an issue for payload, just put it in the trailer rather than the truck.

 

[Yellow Buddy]

You need more than 10% tongue weight to be safe with a travel trailer. Personal bags won’t be an issue for payload, just put it in the trailer rather than the truck.

How much would you say I need?

The absolutely MAX at the limit would be about 1000lbs of tongue weight if I didn't want any buffers.

10% = 10,000lbs
15% = 6,666lbs

That's on the max side. If I wanted to be conservative and build in a 10-15% buffer that would be 5,666lb which seems too conservative, doesn't it?

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