Truck, Trailer, and Tech - Starting off
Alexandra & Nicholas Tenbarge
Initial Truck Specs and Setup:
I could have probably afforded a bigger truck had I worked a part time job delivering pizzas with all the research I put into finding a suitable travel trailer and tow vehicle. We started with a very luxurious F150 Limited which had been an excellent truck for all things a suburban family needs a truck to be. It could haul so many groceries! In all actuality it did a great job, we built a deck, garden boxes, and many other projects around the house with that F150.
But then we started looking at travel trailers.
The first mom-and-pop camper dealer we went to asked two questions and told us we could tow anything that wasn’t a 5th wheel. We walked through several options, noting what we did and didn’t like. We weren’t planning on buying anything on the first trip, and luckily we didn’t. They had some very nice options, including a model-year closeout that was (in all honesty) a decent deal.
When I came home and started down one of my famous research rabbit holes, I quickly came to the realization that our salesman was the typical ‘make the sale’ and deal with the fallout (if any) later. Payload was never discussed, and after a few trips out the driveway looking at the payload sticker and hitch rating I quickly discovered our options were extremely limited with the fancy F150 Limited. If I remember correctly the available payload was around 1250lbs. My family & Ellajay would be close to 650lbs leaving a slim 600 pounds for the hitch. All travel trailer manufacturers seem to be extremely light on the advertised hitch weight and so we quickly realized we had to trade up to a better equipped tow vehicle if we wanted a bunkhouse travel trailer with many if not most of the other features we wanted.
We searched forums and reviews for tow vehicle suggestions. You can throw a rock and hit 6 opinions about any one option or opinion.
For our budget and needs (and some wants) we finally focused on a 2022+ Ram 2500 6.4L HEMI. We don’t plan to tow enough these first years to warrant the upfront cost uptick of a 3500 diesel (if you buy a 2500 diesel you’re gonna experience a lower than expected payload capacity) vs the benefits of increased MPG.
We went and test drove two that were very low milage Bighorns for a decent price. We left slightly disappointed that for the price it didn’t have a couple of the ‘wants’ we were after such as rear USB/12v power for the kids iPads on long drives. After searching high and low, including some rebuilt trucks out west we (well actually my dad) found a 2022 Ram 2500 6.4L HEMI Megacab Bighorn less than an hour away.
When we arrived we were pleasantly surprised it had the 4.10 gear ratio, LED lighting package, and Tech Package which included rear 12v/usb A & C outlets. And did I mention it was a MEGACAB! It has a huge interior with room behind the rear seats for tools/supplies. It even came with the factory TPMS sensors and other accessories new in bags.
We did our test drive, and signed on the dotted line. We had our tow vehicle and could move onto picking out our first travel trailer!
One of the first upgrades I did was installing the Ecoflow Alternator charger. I ran the cable under the truck and up a small hole under the rear 1/3 of the drivers seat that was plugged with a plastic cab. I purchased a grommet to keep it water tight and it’s done great at keeping the Ecoflow charged during trips.
Otherwise the truck is stock and does an amazing job at pulling through the mountains of north Georgia. Many more adventures up and down the East Coast and midwest await. Before we tackle out west on long drives we’ll be looking at trading up to a diesel (or maybe an extended run auxiliary fuel tank).
Initial Trailer Specs and Setup:
Initial Tech and Setup: