Ideal tow vehicle for towing Scamp 19

[Jm Rintel]

Hi All,
New member here. JmR. I'm having a little trouble narrowing down information concerning a tow vehicle for 19' 5th wheel Scamp. Two questions have haunted me since I have committed to purchase a fifth wheel Scamp. Is it really worth buying a smaller truck to try and get better gas mileage? And Second do I really need 4wd? I am familiar with the off road advantages of 4wd but I don't think I want to drag our new/used camper on roads marked "4wd only". Is there something I'm missing concerning the 5th wheel that would rule out 2wheel drive?
I would prefer buying a late model truck versus a new one.

Ideal is probably the wrong term, but suggestions based on real world experience would be invaluable.
Thanks in advance
JmR

[Raz]

I think you will fnd the mileage difference is minimal. My Frontier doesn't do better than an F150 of the same year but it cost less and is a little easier to find a parking space. I have 4wd mostly because 2wd pickups are unsaleable here. The low range is useful. Two wheel pickups tend to be light in the rear but the fifth wheel will take care of that.

[Jon in AZ]

Three thoughts (related to towing in general, not the Scamp 19 in particular)...

Towing fuel economy is likely to be similar whether you buy a larger vehicle or a smaller, and has more to do with the weight and frontal area of the trailer. The larger vehicle won't be working as hard, of course. The advantages of a smaller vehicle come when you unhitch- fuel economy, maneuverability, garageability, cost,... Your decision may come down to how much you tow and how much time you expect to spend in high-demand conditions: mountains and high altitudes.

Repairs can quickly overshadow fuel savings, so I rate reliability as one of the top characteristics of a tow vehicle.

Four wheel drive is useful whenever you're on a loose or slippery surface. You don't have to go on a jeep trail for that. Gravel forest service roads, campgrounds, winter conditions can all make 4WD useful, and more so when you're dragging an extra 3000 pounds behind you. You might also consider resale- since you live in the snow belt, you may find 4WD is the norm.

[Jack L]

4X4 trucks often have stronger transmissions and rear axle ratios that are more suitable for towing.

[floyd]

Limited slip is an very definite advantage for towing.
4WD is a liability for the purpose. if for no other reason than simply lugging around an extra differential and transfer case.
Buy 4WD only if you feel you need it for other purposes.
You MUST check out the 2.7L Ecoboost before you buy!

[margeleept]

I really appreciate the versatility of 4WD. We unload our trailer where we will be camping and then have much more varied choices as to where we can explore. I'm not into roads marked as 4WD only, but do like to explore on dirt roads, have the freedom to brave the snow, etc. The 4WD opens a lot of doors.

[Radar1]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

Three thoughts (related to towing in general, not the Scamp 19 in particular)...

Towing fuel economy is likely to be similar whether you buy a larger vehicle or a smaller, and has more to do with the weight and frontal area of the trailer. The larger vehicle won't be working as hard, of course. The advantages of a smaller vehicle come when you unhitch- fuel economy, maneuverability, garageability, cost,... Your decision may come down to how much you tow and how much time you expect to spend in high-demand conditions: mountains and high altitudes.

Repairs can quickly overshadow fuel savings, so I rate reliability as one of the top characteristics of a tow vehicle.

Four wheel drive is useful whenever you're on a loose or slippery surface. You don't have to go on a jeep trail for that. Gravel forest service roads, campgrounds, winter conditions can all make 4WD useful, and more so when you're dragging an extra 3000 pounds behind you. You might also consider resale- since you live in the snow belt, you may find 4WD is the norm.

Well said Jon!
I would add that newer trucks seem to be getting taller and taller so if you buy a used Scamp 19 it may need to have a lift kit added so it matches the truck bed height. If you order a new Scamp you can have the factory do that. It seems that in some of the newer trucks you need a step stool just to be able to reach over the side to get something in the bed.
I wish Dodge would come back with the Dakota, and have heard persistent rumors that Ford is coming back with a Ranger.

[oldblacksmoker]

Originally Posted by Jack L

4X4 trucks often have stronger transmissions and rear axle ratios that are more suitable for towing.

Not remotely accurate. Any Tech can tell you that. If you don't need 4x4, you will be paying more for maintenance,, have more components to break down, higher and less stable ride hight, less payload, and far worse economy. The only upside is resale value and the odd situation when you ended up in conditions where you needed it. If it's a dedicated TV, and you aren't one to test the elements, you will regret purchasing it every time you drive it. It's a bunch of high maintenance dead weight moving components you don't need.

[GOB]

I tow my 19 Scamp with a 1996 Ford Ranger, 3.0L, automatic, 2wd. I get between 16 - 17 mpg towing and 20-22 empty.

[Jm Rintel]

Thanks for all the quick responses. This is a great site! I am looking at 2 vehicles right now one is a 3/4 ton chevy 2wd (I know the truck) it's set up for towing. The other is a 1999 Ford Ranger 4wd towing package well kept and maintained. Both are in the same price range. It's a coin toss to me. Resale is going to be about the same by the time I get done with them. Decisions, decisions ?
JmR

[Jm Rintel]

I forgot to mention the Chevy has posi traction.

[Mike_L]

A four wheel drive will have a heavier suspension. Fuel mileage will be less when not towing but the same when you are towing. Traction will be much better with a 4X4. I've lost traction when climbing towing my trailer on a gravel road in the summer. This won't happen with a 4x4 and the resale value will be much better. I have five trucks and tow with all of them.

[DavidG]

Originally Posted by Jm Rintel

Thanks for all the quick responses. This is a great site! I am looking at 2 vehicles right now one is a 3/4 ton chevy 2wd (I know the truck) it's set up for towing. The other is a 1999 Ford Ranger 4wd towing package well kept and maintained. Both are in the same price range. It's a coin toss to me. Resale is going to be about the same by the time I get done with them. Decisions, decisions ?
JmR

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I would worry a bit about buying a 17 year old (Ford or Chevy) to Start my travel adventures ; if you buy a pretty new TV it will be 17 yrs old soon enough. Some folks on here tow with older TVs, (even Rangers ! ) but most have owned the truck for many years. From Experience, a 17 yr old Ranger is not the same as a 17 yr old Toyota. ( Go ahead and tell me your 20 yr old Ranger with 200 K has never required a bit of repair. )
I sold my 2003 Tacoma ( 180,000 mi )and bought a 2002 Ranger with 52,000 mi and am fairly happy with it now at 70,000+. But it is needing suspension and steering work that the Tacoma didn't need at 180k . I would try to buy as new a truck as possible, It will be 'old' quite soon anyway. If you plan to camp mostly at local parks and lakes, the older truck(s) might be OK, but will you be heading cross country soon, or be limited by reliability.? David in Fresno and Sonora, CA

[Darwin Maring]

The Chevy. Has the power, has positrac and will tow bigger campers should you upgrade in the future.

[floyd]

Attachment 100554Attachment 100554

Originally Posted by DavidG

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From Experience, a 17 yr old Ranger is not the same as a 17 yr old Toyota. ( Go ahead and tell me your 20 yr old Ranger with 200 K has never required a bit of repair. )

I agree, they are not the same! That's why I still have my 2001 Ranger with only 175,000miles on it.
Pictures taken today, poor thing hasn't been washed or spent a night in the garage in months...

[steelypip]

Towing macho arguments aside, a 19 foot Scamp is about the lightest 5th wheel thing you can tow.

You're in Wisconsin, which is not known as a land of huge mountains. 5th wheels offer an advantage in that a significant fraction of the trailer weight is right over the drive axle of the TV (which is why 18 wheelers use this system).

Fiberglass RV people tend to be less-is-more sort of folks or we'd all have 35 foot Class A's, so expect to see that sort of bias here.

You're the only person who knows if a 19 foot scamp is likely a stepping stone to something bigger for you or is the biggest thing you hope to tow. Use that piece of knowledge to decide what to use for a TV. Stronger suspension, bigger engine arguments only make sense if you're planning on going bigger later on.

Also consider the amount of actual towing you expect to do. If you're going to be taking a couple of weeks a year to go wilderness camp you might choose a very different TV than if you're going to be spending 6+ months per year RVing around. In the first case, I'd bias toward a more economical truck that can also tow the trailer. In the second I'd choose something that wouldn't be stressed by pulling the trailer 10k+ miles/year.

Now if you're trying to justify buying that full-size dually diesel pickup, feel free, but that's way more TV than any scamp will ever need...

[stude]

Originally Posted by Radar1

Well said Jon!
I would add that newer trucks seem to be getting taller and taller so if you buy a used Scamp 19 it may need to have a lift kit added so it matches the truck bed height. If you order a new Scamp you can have the factory do that. It seems that in some of the newer trucks you need a step stool just to be able to reach over the side to get something in the bed.
I wish Dodge would come back with the Dakota, and have heard persistent rumors that Ford is coming back with a Ranger.

:He tows it with a 2014 Dodge Diesel and says empty no tow on board he gets 40mpg and if towing drops to 34mpg this Dodge is full size 8' box with 4 doors, He does not fib and has about 2 dozen collector Vehicles that he has restored on his own over the years, said to bad they did not get this kind of mpg in the old cars with Carbs.
Stude

[Darwin Maring]

A 19ft Scamp 5r?

[emers382]

Jm, welcome to the forum.

4wd vs 2wd - we had a 2wd 2010 F150 to pull our classic Escape 5.0 single axle and had no problems. This year we traded up to a 4wd and have only used the 4wd twice once with the trailer getting into an uphill camping spot which was no problem same spot two years ago but was wet this time. 4wd would be better for you in WI also as mentioned here the trade in value is more, should you want to trade up.

Bigger vs smaller truck - when we got our Escape in 2014 I wanted a Frontier but couldn't find a suitable used one so bought the F150 and glad we did. As Floyd says check out the 2.7 F150 Ecoboost. That is what we got this year and despite having done little towing due to health reasons it has been great on mileage when not towing. We bought it with the intent of having only one vehicle but so far we're still running a very fuel efficient car as well.

Good luck in your search

Adrian

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Raz

I have 4wd mostly because 2wd pickups are unsaleable here.

Same as here - you can't give them away.

2 wd tricks are light in the back end and real poor in the snow.