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05-26-2005, 03:23 PM
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#1
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Montana Fan
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Sioux Falls
Posts: 398
M.O.C. #3846
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tow vehicle
New guy here. Won't really be an owner until tomorrow. My question is..."will my 1997 F250 7.3 liter Powerstroke tow a 355RL?"
This fifth wheel looks really big anad I'm having some second thoughts about whether my truck will tow it. Looking for confirmations (or NO's) please.
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05-26-2005, 05:15 PM
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#2
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Montana Master
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Cooper
Posts: 1,230
M.O.C. #3029
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Virgil-
I thought that I had bought more trailer than my truck was capable of towing. If you look at my signature you will see that I also have a 7.3 PSD, but it has some extras. It does very well with a 3295RK which has more hitch weight, but not more total weight than your 355RL. There are a lot of folks here that are using 3/4 ton trucks and towing the larger trailers. As far as power, I have plenty, milage is adequate at about 12 MPG on the freeways running 65-70.
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05-26-2005, 05:37 PM
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#3
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Montana Master
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Leona
Posts: 6,382
M.O.C. #2059
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Virgil,
Welcome to the MOC. Look at my signature. The truck is a little newer, but has the same engine. I added a couple of things, i.e., extra leaf in the rear springs, using larger tires with more load capacity, and added a Hypertech Programmer III to increase horsepower. I am satisfied my truck will do the job without these upgrades, but I just wanted them. If your truck sags in the back when the fiver is connected, you may want to consider something like Firestone Airbags to give lift to the rear suspension. I think you can tow and feel ok about it. Happy rving....
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05-26-2005, 11:58 PM
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#4
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Montana Fan
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Sioux Falls
Posts: 398
M.O.C. #3846
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Thanks a lot guys. you have made me feel much better.
Virgil
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05-27-2005, 03:14 AM
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#5
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Montana Fan
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Munising
Posts: 158
M.O.C. #2134
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Virgil;
You've got plenty of truck.
Just one other point. If you haven't already, you should strongly consider some type of sliding hitch with the shortbox.
Gary
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05-27-2005, 12:41 PM
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#6
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Montana Master
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Yuma
Posts: 856
M.O.C. #1935
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Virgil
Welcome aboard
I think your Truck will do fine as long as you know that you are maxing it out and keep up with the maintance 3,000 miles oil change a must. tranny oil change yearly if you tow it a lot. And most important have your BRAKES check once a year if not this one could Kill you, We as Rvers buy these nice trucks with lots of power and forget the most important thing how are we going to stop. All we worry about is if I have enough power to tow the rig
Just another thought
Mel
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05-28-2005, 09:32 AM
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#7
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Montana Master
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Cedar Rapids
Posts: 4,876
M.O.C. #1944
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by virgil47
New guy here. Won't really be an owner until tomorrow. My question is..."will my 1997 F250 7.3 liter Powerstroke tow a 355RL?"
This fifth wheel looks really big anad I'm having some second thoughts about whether my truck will tow it. Looking for confirmations (or NO's) please.
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I pull my 2000 3555RL with my 1995 F-250 Power Stroke and I have no problems. The 1997 will tow with no problems. It's basically the same truck I have.
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05-31-2005, 05:19 PM
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#8
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Montana Master
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Oceanside
Posts: 20,028
M.O.C. #20
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No sweat, Virgil. I assume '355RL' was a typo so I'm not sure which model you have. In the worst scenario, you might see some squat in the rear if the pinweight is very high. If so, airbags or overloads will take care of that. You'll find many, many people towing similar fifthwheels with the same truck you have.
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06-07-2005, 02:49 PM
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#9
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New Member
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location:
Posts: 3
M.O.C. #3908
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I pull a Mountaineer 298RL with my Silverado 2500HD Duramax/Allison with no problems at all. However I am in the process of trading up to a 3500RL Montana and I have some of the same concerns about towing. The 3500 has 4 slide outs so there is considerably more weight. The salesman says "no problem" but he has a rv to sell. Can anyone help set my mind at ease? Thanx, New MOC recruit
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06-07-2005, 04:29 PM
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#10
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Montana Master
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Ft. Smith
Posts: 981
M.O.C. #116
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smarking;
Welcome to the forum, you'll get a lot of opinions here, on both sides of this subject.
Depends on how "weight concerned" you are.
You may be interested in looking at the "Tow vehicle and Towing", includiong the old posts, section of the forum for more information.
Skip
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06-07-2005, 06:56 PM
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#11
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Montana Master
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Oceanside
Posts: 20,028
M.O.C. #20
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Welcome aboard, Smarking. There are many here towing equal or greater weight than you propose with the same or similar truck without problems, including us. We're currently towing about 600 pounds more than the max allowable weight of the 3500 so I base my opinion on that. I don't think you need to worry, the truck will do fine. The 3500 also has one of the lightest pinweights of all Montanas so you shouldn't have any worries there, either.
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