This should be interesting

[Samsbird]

Another test for the 2 heavy duties on the market, should be interesting.
http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2013/08/ki ... -road.html

[Mike Clay]

It will be interesting but I personally would not tow anything over 18k with any of them. There has to be a limit on the big 3 for trailer weights. This is getting to the point of being unsafe when you look at some of the numbers Dodge is putting out there. All that will happen is the trailer manufactures will build bigger and HEAVIER trailers. I dont care what anybody says when your trailer gets to be 2 times heavier then your pickup (that includes the F450) you are walking the line. Not saying it cant be done heck a Tundra made the space shuttle roll.

Just my .02 worth

[Don Wilson]

It will be interesting but I personally would not tow anything over 18k with any of them. There has to be a limit on the big 3 for trailer weights. This is getting to the point of being unsafe when you look at some of the numbers Dodge is putting out there. All that will happen is the trailer manufactures will build bigger and HEAVIER trailers. I dont care what anybody says when your trailer gets to be 2 times heavier then your pickup (that includes the F450) you are walking the line. Not saying it cant be done heck a Tundra made the space shuttle roll.

Just my .02 worth

I feel the trailers now that are 14K and change are reaching the tooo heavy point!

As for the Toyota and Shuttle do people really believe that the crawlers were pulling it not the Toyota!

Don

[Samsbird]

The ideal situation is to have your tow vehicle weigh more than whatever is being towed but, we all know that isn't feasible. I agree that the marketing ploy is getting rediculous and unsafe but, the outcome will be interesting.

[The sailor]

It isn't the pulling that got me to change trucks , it was the stopping . After running two red lights because the f350 could not stop my rig, that was enough. My Volvo is heaver than my cardinal and stopping is no problem, also it was cheaper to buy and maintain then a new pickup, some thing to think about. Jim

[Rob & Cathy]

It will be interesting but I personally would not tow anything over 18k with any of them.

What's the concern?

Rob

[Mike Clay]

The concern is there is to much weight for what Ford, Dodge and probably Chevy numbers say they will tow. Over twice the weight of your truck towing all of that mass behind you. Get in trouble with that heavy of a trailer with a pickup versus a medium duty or HD truck and you will see what the problem is.

[Torben]

Maybe it's time that all of the RV manufactories, not just Cardinal, start thinking about making smaller and lighter unit so we can tow with a regular pick-up without having to buy semi trucks to tow trailers to go on a simple family camping trip . I am reading about tires blowing out, axels bending, springs breaking, frame cracking, and rims cracking from the trailers being to heavy. That is just my 2 cents worth

[Rob & Cathy]

Over twice the weight of your truck towing all of that mass behind you.

Many HD trucks are pulling multiples of the tow vehicle weight and are designed to do so. A heavy HD truck may weigh 20K# and be pulling a load, trailer and cargo, of 80K#. I wouldn't pull an 18K# trailer behind my current truck because the manufacture says it's not designed/rated to pull that weight.

Rob

[Don Wilson]

Over twice the weight of your truck towing all of that mass behind you.

Many HD trucks are pulling multiples of the tow vehicle weight and are designed to do so. A heavy HD truck may weigh 20K# and be pulling a load, trailer and cargo, of 80K#. I wouldn't pull an 18K# trailer behind my current truck because the manufacture says it's not designed/rated to pull that weight.

Rob

Rob
Those commercial trucks also have a heavy duty air braking system and still on some steep downhill grades you find a truck in the runaway ramps buried in gravel up to their axles because their brakes gave out or did not work!

Don

[Mike Clay]

Your right Torben and thats what I am trying to say here. It gets to a point that there needs to be a limit. Only thing that is going to happen is trailers are going to get heavier with the new tow ratings the big 3 are putting out. Its not just the weight of the trailer that gets you in trouble its the mass, wind and so forth towing with the light pickups. Plus I really dont care what they say they are designed to do to get market share.

Rob your not even comparing apples to apples.

[Rob & Cathy]

Over twice the weight of your truck towing all of that mass behind you.

Many HD trucks are pulling multiples of the tow vehicle weight and are designed to do so. A heavy HD truck may weigh 20K# and be pulling a load, trailer and cargo, of 80K#. I wouldn't pull an 18K# trailer behind my current truck because the manufacture says it's not designed/rated to pull that weight.

Rob

Rob
Those commercial trucks also have a heavy duty air braking system and still on some steep downhill grades you find a truck in the runaway ramps buried in gravel up to their axles because their brakes gave out or did not work!

Don

I agree Don that no matter how a truck is designed and rated they all can have problems then good luck. The point is they're designed for the loads they're pulling. If a pickup is designed and rated to pull 18k# pounds it will have the proper brakes, engine/transmission, suspension, gearing etc. Now whether an individual feels good pulling the much weight is whole different story.

Rob

[Mike Clay]

Well then maybe the individual should smarten up along with the big 3. Because an engineer says it can do it that is all it takes for you to feel its safe? By the way Rob I drove semi for several years so dont even go there with that last comment.

[Olbird]

What's going to happen is they will start requiring RV's to stop at the scales, then the checking will start.
All these people towing over GVWR, overloaded trailers, trucks too small pulling heavy rigs, people running tires 6 plus years, etc.

[Rob & Cathy]

Because an engineer says it can do it that is all it takes for you to feel its safe?

Well, perhaps I should have said comfortable rather than safe. Personally it took a little while for me to feel comfortable pulling my 12K# fifth-wheel after years of pull my 8K# towable. Now I don't give it a second thought after pulling it under a variety of conditions and environments. But the one thing I didn't worry about was the capability of the truck because it was designed and rated to handle the load.

Rob