Damn you Aussies and your awesome cars! Gimme dat diesel Hilux amazingness.

 

I just sold a near clone to your trailer a couple days ago. As he drove off I watched him take two feet off the first corner. Hope he's a quick learner.

 

2013 F-150 EcoBoost SuperCab/6.5' bed with Max Tow Pkg

I'm shopping for an enclosed trailer now. Need something 80" or lower... proving to be a challenge.

Any views on Haulmark or ATC?

 

Let me know how that works out. I'd like to avoid going the 250/2500 route when I start towing enclosed.

 

I have a Haulmark. It's okay. I had mine built to my specs so you should be able to get your 80". Go for the 10K suspension. Hard to trust the wimpy little tires on a 7K.

My Ford is at the opposite end of the spectrum: 2012 F-350 SD Crew Cab long-bed turbo diesel 4x4 with a full-time camper. Nice truck. My best yet. But I need to buy an extended warranty. I'm not gonna want to pay for work on that high tech engine or transmission.

 

I just got an Expedition to use as a family hauler and tow vehicle. Pulled up to Hallett from Houston recently with three adults and a kid, full of gear, with an aluminum open trailer behind me. Towed great and got 14.5mph at 70-72mph. I'm not going to complain about that.

I did use a weight distributing hitch, which I believe made a big difference in how it felt.

robert

 

I have a customer with a 5.5ft version of the same truck. It pulls the trailer just fine, but he gets pretty mediocre fuel mileage (~10mpg pulling a 20ft enclosed) and even with a WD hitch the truck's sway control system has pulsed the trailer brakes on him to keep everything in line.

IOW it can be done, but if you want to do it regularly, get the right tool for the job (3/4 ton truck).

 

I use a 2006 F250 gaser to pull a 24ft enclosed trailer.

The guy I got my trailer from originally used a F250, but when he upgraded to a 28ft enclosed, he went to a F150 eco-boost. He said he had no issues with it pulling his Fox Body in the trailer. Regardless, F250/350s are cheap enough (or the equivalent 2500/3500) and I feel better knowing my F250 without a doubt will pull what I have plus some.

 

I'm with Jeff

 

I have a F150 Ecoboost with 5.5ft bed and towed my 20ft trailer weighing about 5500# without issue. Those trucks were tested up to 11,000# by Ford.

 

My rig



Got the truck and trailer off craigslist. Picked the trailer up for $500. I like that it's short fits in my garage perfectly gets the job done. Got the truck a few years back for $3500 12v diesel 5 spd with 160k miles. Gets 20-22 mpg towing @ 65mph. My only complaint is how high the rear end gear is. It's a 4.11 (The rpms are through the roof at anything above 65mph I want to get them around 2k @ 70mph right now they are 2750ish) wish it had a 3.55 or 3.33 gear so I could get better mileage.

 

You stole that truck.

PERFECT rig IMO.

 

^ this

That's like a $10k truck round these parts. Unless there was something seriously wrong with it?

 

I have a Haulmark Race trailer. The build quality is great, but it's also heavy @ 4400 lbs before putting a car in it. I went from an F250 gas to F250 diesel in response. If you're looking at new, they hold their value really well so you don't really lose at resale.

 

Reg cabs can be had at a significant savings compared to crews. Reg cab dually has a limited market; it's not a vehicle that makes a great daily, and you can't fit more than 1 other person in it.

 

it has the 12V cummins though, I would expect you could get 5K for that engine alone.

 

Fur sure

But still...that's the cheapest I've seen a reg cab by like 50%.

Also, I'm in the same boat because I want a truck (preferably diesel) but I can't get anything that's not at least an extended cab. If I can't put a child's seat of some sort in the back then the truck is basically useless to me.

The kids...they want to go racing too...

 

Older lady's husband passed. Really didn't know what it was she listed it as a dodge 1500. In the end all it needed was a Ofv ($30) and some rocker rust repair.

I sold My previous 12v 98 SBQC 5spd 4x4 for about 14k. That truck was a "holy grail truck" as they call it. This dually is worth about $7k given the current market.

 

07' 2500HD & dual axle utility trailer with a 2ft dove tail.

~12-13 MPG @65-70mph (Meh, could be worse)

 

I think you are being pretty optimistic with that mpg expectation. I wouldn't expect anything better than low 30s to high twenties.