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What gas trucks can pull a 20 foot enclosed trailer?

56K views 66 replies 40 participants last post by  River 
#1 ·
I have a chevy 1500 with a v8 gas engine. I assume thats not going to work. No dot regulations here thank god so tell me what truck? It has to be gas not diesel.
 
#2 ·
My brother in law pulls a 20V nose with a tundra. I'm sure a ranger would move a 20' My point what will be in the trailer and type of driving (highway/city/hills) I would improve the brakes on the truck maybe a trans cooler and shift kit etc
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#4 ·
depends whats in the trailer. I have a 2500 chevy 6.0 and use it for my lawn truck and I also tow a 26' camper. This is a small-ish camper compared to what I could pull with that truck. But it's comfortable towing that size camper loaded around 7-8000 lbs. Now, I see guys rolling in to campgrounds towing 30 footers with Ford explorers, or similar. not the smartest thing to do, but it does happen. So your 1500 would certainly pull a 20' enclosed trailer as long as you're not crazy heavy. So don't load it up with 5 zero turns, a few walk behinds, a compact tractor and a race car. if you need to fill that size trailer, def go with a 3/4 or 1 ton. might consider a WD hitch as well.

As for trucks, I can only speak for the 6.0 and 8.1 gassers from Chevy. I have the 6.0 and it's OK, not great but it does fine, never overheats, never complains, just is a bit underpowered on hills sometimes. no issues with my lawn rig tho. it also is thirsty on the gas. towing the camper I get around 7-8mpg. Now, I've used a friends 8.1 chevy before and that thing pulled every bit as well as my old dodge cummins did. I wish Chevy still made that 8.1 it got the same mileage as the 6.0 and had tons more power. But I don't think you'd be disappointed with the chevy 6.0 with a 20' trailer unless you're in the rocky mountains.
 
#5 ·
My 97 ram 1500 has pulled a 8.5 by 22V empty, with 2 mowers, with a jetta in it, also had a ranger in, and fully loaded with moving stuff. Yes I have air bags but I didn't with the 2 mowers. The moving stuff by far was the worst on my truck but it took it no problem and the trailer didn't have brakes. A 1500 can pull a 20V but I would put air bags in the rear to help with the weight.
 
#8 ·
Don't use airbags add leaf springs and you'll be great. Airbags are like a band aid
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I'm not agreeing and im not disagreeing for the price of a cheap pair of bags you could get a good set of added leafs but your ride suffers greatly I wanted something that you could throw a lot of weight at but still have a good ride when you not hauling. I have the firestone air springs and wouldn't have it any other way. I haul up to 4 different trailers and its nice to be able to level out the truck and be able to change PSI for each trailer to not suffer ride.
 
#10 ·
I pull a 8.5X20 enclosed with 2 61" zrt's and all the other goodies.

Ram 2500, 5.7 Hemi pulls it fine. It's flat here no hills at all and the mpg is not good towing.

Have also pulled it a time or two with our 97 Chevy 1500. It will do it but it don't like it.
 
#12 ·
Any gas motor over 350 cubic inches can probably do just fine. Put personally id want it to be f350 or a 3500 if you are doing any bagging. If you just let it fly and do not collect anything than a f250 or 2500 pick up would do but id never want that kind of mass on the brakes of a smaller truck. Yes I know it has trailer brakes but the truck brakes still get a work out.

That said once you go diesel there is no going back. I can remember a break down once where my trucks fuel pump went and I coasted to a side street and managed to pull in but I was still partly blocking the intersection. And I was now on a beginning of a hill so I couldn't just unhook the trailer I needed to be on flat ground first. I had ram 1500 quad cab long bed maxed out with grass the pile was higher than the roof of the truck. The trailer was 16 ft with 2 ztrs on it one with a collection system then 2 back packs 2 trimmers and all the extra gas. Easily weighed 12-13000 pounds my only available truck was my 89 gmc 3500 diesel 6.2 but it had 3 yards of top soil in her for another job. That truck pulled herself the Ram and the trailer and the mowers up this steep hill like nothing it never even went above idle. How many gas trucks you know that would move 18,000 pounds not including themselves with that kind of ease. As I said once you go diesel you will never go back.
 
#13 ·
Thank you all very much. Let me explain a little more sorry. I live in central america. Gas is over $5.50 U.S./gallon, due to this my trucks are all converted to butane,propane$2.00/gallon, this is why it has to be gas. Iwill be pulling 2 60" ztr's, and a 72"ztr with a hydro walk behind. trimmers,blowers,etc. I love my Chevy 1500 and if that can do it great! There are some hills but nothing major. Now that I was more detailed what do you guys think, I really dont want to spend the money on another truck if I dont have too, the trailer and 72" are going to set me back$$ already.
 
#15 ·
Thank you for the response Jackal. Excuse my ignorance, but is it easy to change the rear end? Labor here is cheap so to get it done shouldnt cost much just to get the 411 rear will be the thing. This is good news I love the truck had toyota's before but really old ones and they were a headache. Had the chevy a year now its a 1997, and no problems at all.
 
#16 ·
I don't see why a 1500 wouldn't pull it. Just watch what you load into it. I have a 7x16 v nose. We pulled it with a f150 for a few months and now I tow it with a 1500HD. The f150 only had the 4.6 so it was under powered a bit. The 1500HD has the 6.0 and it tows great but the gas mileage is below par. (9mpg)
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#20 ·
Well thank's for all the input everyone. I love the support on this site. I guess I will stick with my chevy its really a great truck. I will definately have electric brakes on the trailer, so that's no problem. This is great news for my pocket.
 
#21 ·
I guess technically as long as your within all your ratings than you are OK assuming everything functions properly. I towed a 20' loaded @ about 9K daily for years with a 5.4L. Most rigs have enough power to move you around. No you do not need a 600hp diesel to tow mowers. Actually you really do not need that for anything. Those are a luxury. A nice 250HP with proper gears will get you anywhere you need to go.

The thing is even though pickups are rated to tow these weights they are not designed to do it all day, every day. Doing it is possible, but you will rip up tires, brakes, suspension, ball joints, trannies, and overall the truck will require additional maintenance. My big thing is safety though. I spent too many hours back in the day keeping my rig legal, but every day I see guys with mismatched tires, no working lights, presumably no brakes, and fenders smashed to #%$&, all while driving through town like a sport compact car. We've since upgraded to proper tow rigs, but it concerns me that my family is driving around on the same roads as the guys with 1500lb mowers bouncing around and blowers dangling off the side of the trailer, or in this case a loaded 10K enclosed with no brakes.
 
#22 ·
Shovel racer thank's for the input. Just wanted to clarify I do not have the trailer yet; nor the third ztr. I will be going up to the U.S.A early this summer or late spring to purchase everything and maybe drive it down through Mexico to Belize. Im not sure yet might ship it all, any how I am definately not going to buy a 20 foot enclosed with no breaks! That would be insane! Thank's for the info. The 411 rear end is the gear ratio right???
 
#23 ·
Shovel racer thank's for the input. Just wanted to clarify I do not have the trailer yet; nor the third ztr. I will be going up to the U.S.A early this summer or late spring to purchase everything and maybe drive it down through Mexico to Belize. Im not sure yet might ship it all, any how I am definately not going to buy a 20 foot enclosed with no breaks! That would be insane! Thank's for the info. The 411 rear end is the gear ratio right???
yes, but it's actually listed as a 4.11 .

You just need to get the right ring and pinion gear for the specific rear end you have. You should look up the Vin number and see what you have first.

Depending on the truck, it could have a 3.42 or a 3.73. Depending on the axle you might be able to go to a 4.10. But keep in mind, changing your rear axle gear will give you more torque and pulling power, but your going to loose on mpg's. But, with propane the cost difference might be negligable.

Also, if you have 4 wheel drive, then you'll also need to change the gearing in the front differential to match the rear.

...................
 
#24 ·
Wow! ok thanks white gardens you know your stuff:laugh: I have my truck going into the shop for servicing next wed. I will get the mechanic to figure that all out for me with your input I can now more clearly state what I need so thank you. I think because I use propane I loose a few horses aswell. The truck is really strong though. Thank's again.
 
#25 ·
My brother in law pulls a 20V nose with a tundra. I'm sure a ranger would move a 20' My point what will be in the trailer and type of driving (highway/city/hills) I would improve the brakes on the truck maybe a trans cooler and shift kit etc
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Well, this Intrepid can apparently haul a 31' airstream. No joke. I did a print screen when I saw it a few years ago on the AutoTrader website! It's not the best quality but you can make out the WD hitch. I don't even think this car has a GCWR!

 
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