New owner, almost.

[Montana_3184]

Trying to be a new owner. For you that are towing a 3265RK with an '05 F250, is this enough truck? I love this truck but the hitch weight is scarying me. My 5th now is a 29ft. at about 9500lbs, tows it great.

[Charlie]

Welcome to the MOC. Everyone here says that the F-250 will do fine...I won't be able to tell you until after Monday. Our 3295RK showed up in Houston yesterday. You might want to go to GENERAL DISCUSSIONS and look at tow vehicles. Lots of info there.

[stiles watson]

I am pulling mine with a 2002 F250 and it does just fine. The 2005 F250 is even beefier than the 2003. I don't think you have a problem. If you check out the signatures, you will discover that many of us Montana fanatics are using a 3/4 ton truck, Fords, Dodges, and Chevy/GMC..

By-the-way, welcome to the zany world of Montana Land. Happy RVing...

[Just148]

Welcome to the forum, and congratulations on your new rig. Your tow vehicle will do just fine.

[Glenn and Lorraine]

tdager, First of all Welcome to the MOC.

One of our members that would be the first one to jump in and answer your question is sreigle but he is off line for a time as he travels.
I was able to find a thread that he participated in dealing with a similar question. Below you will find a link to that thread...

http://montanaadministrator.forumco....IC_ID~8249.asp

It is a very thorough post pertaining to the 05 F250 and the 3295RK

[Sunshine]

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on the new Montana. As stated by others, you will find answers to your concerns regarding your tow vehicle discussed on the forum. All I can add is that our '96 F250 pulls our 2000 3255RL like a dream - you hardly know it's back there. Many happy travels.

[Joyce H]

tdager,
Good choice in units! We love our 3295RK. We decided to go with the F350 for towing. May be a little over doing it per some of the members here, but we felt we would rather have the extra for weight, etc. Many are towing with the 250 and have had no problems. Welcome to the forum.

[sreigle]

Welcome aboard! Glenn already took care of it for me (thanks, Glenn!) so I will only add (because I didn't check to see what I said in that other thread) that I added airbags because I was getting a very slight sag in the rear and I don't like that. The airbags bring it nicely back to level. If I had the 'camper package' in addition to the tow package I wouldn't need the airbags. The camper package is intended for the slidein camper that goes in the bed. It adds an extra leaf to the rear springpack, like the F350 has. We had a '99 F350 and an '03 F350 before this '05 F250. I don't think the F350 is overkill at all. But the '05 F250 has higher ratings than the '04 and prior F350 so I'm perfectly happy with this setup. We bought this truck on October 25, 2004. It now has 16,400 miles on it. About 2600 or so of that is towing this Montana. My opinion is you'll be fine with the F250 but keep in mind you might need airbags if it sags. I see a lot of trucks towing fivers with a sag in the rear but I'm just not comfortable with that. My opinion only. The truck does a truly super job of towing this Montana. Ours is very heavily loaded so our pinweight is probably higher than most would have with their 3295RK.

[Montana_3695]

check your empty truck wheight and then when loaded. Some states will wheigh you. A 1 tone truck has a gvw of 9900 (single axle) and wheighs in at around 7500 so it doesnt take a whole lot of pin wheight to make you over your legal limit. That being said , it'll pull just fine .

[wa4bmg]

We pulled a 3295RK Big Sky for a year or so with our 2003 F250 e/w camper pkg ( extra spring and stabilizer) with now problems. Hardly knew it was on the truck. Very little sag on rear. We also added the TrailAir hitch which added some weight too. I agree with the other posts, I don't think you will have any problem at all.

[sreigle]

This is where the 2005 Fords have changed the game. Our 2003 Ford F350 1 ton had GVWR of 9900, as is posted above. Our 2005 F250 3/4 ton has GVWR of 10,000, which is more than prior 1 tons. Also, tow ratings on the 3/4 ton are up to as high as 16,500 and GCWR to 23,000. All of those numbers exceed the numbers from last year's F350 1 ton. So, in my opinion, if a 2004 one-ton is enough truck, then the 2005 F250 is more than enough truck. Remember this is just my opinion but it is based both on the numbers and about 3,000 miles towing with the 2005 F250 and many more than that with a 1999 F350 and 2003 F350. You'll love the way it tows the 3295RK. Our F250 has gvwr=10,000, tow=15,400, and gcwr=23,000.

Some have asked whether the frame and brakes on the F250 can handle that weight. The 2005 has larger brakes, new (on the 4x4) front suspension, control arms from the F550, and a beefier frame with the same thickness and construction as the F550. Also, the rear springs are heavier (wider). Plus the integrated brake controller (Tow Command package). So, all aspects of the 2005 F250 have been beefed up to support the numbers.

Tdager, you didn't say which engine and transmission. Also which cab and bed. My comments assume you are thinking either the powerstroke diesel or the V10 gas engine. The cab and bed configuration can affect available GVWR, also.

If you don't get the Camper Package that adds the extra leaf to the spring packs (I didn't) then it's possible you'll want to add the airbags to the rear (I did). However, our 3295RK is loaded very heavily and the sag was very slight. I see many rigs on the road with more sag than we had. I just don't like not being level when towing so went for the airbags. Many people would not bother.

Sorry I sound like an ad for the F250 but the 2005 model has changed the conventional wisdom.