I would never tow with a DII... destroy that tranny and no power to tow with.

 

You cant tow a 5-wheel travel trailer with a SUV.
You cant tow a travel trailer around the back roads in lo range, top speed will be 30-35mph with the engine bouncing off the rev limiter.
If all you are going to do it buy it to park it forever have it delivered or rent a 3/4 ton pick up for a day.
Its not the power that makes it not able to tow that much weight, its stopping and turning.
If the thing being towed weighs significantly more than the tow vehicle it will push the back of the tow vehicle around corners and you will jack-knife.
It is weighs significantly more than the tow vehicle during high wind or wind gusts the trailer will flip over and take the truck with it.
If the trailer starts to sway it will jerk the truck around, and you crash.
If its raining and the trailer hydro-planes, you crash.
With no trailer brakes if you have to make a emergency stop, you crash.
As some of you know I drive for a living, I have also pulled more trailers more miles than most of you combined.
Trailers weigh more than you thing, the frame is all steel, the floor is heavy plywood, the walls are thin but the stove, fridge, beds, table, shower, sinks, toilet....it all adds up.
Not to mention your fresh water tank, water heater, batteries, LP tanks...
Honestly Julian, before you buy a camper, fix your truck.
I realize you are just looking right now, but get your truck in reliable shape before anything else.

 

Don't tell him that I wanted to see if he tried

 

What Spike said. I camp every summer, have a 98 Chevy 3/4 and still don't want anything over 27-28'. Towing is no joke, esp with the wife and kids along.

 

I tow a 23' travel trailer that weighs in at about 4000 lbs loaded with my gear. I have the 4L and it manages it, but I do have to gear down on inclines of any real amount. The 4.6L would do it better, but still not really what most folks would consider for towing a long travel trailer of any significant weight, IMHO. It is not idea for towing longer trailers, and I would say that 23-24' feet would be at the max. length, if not pushing it a bit at that, due to the short wheel base of the D2 compared to the length of the big tail that is behind you when you are towing these long travel trailers. I have had a few less than comfortable moments with this setup, but really my fault getting to comfy with things and pushing the speed and not paying attention like you need to when towing. I have trailer brakes that were not working when I first brought it home, and now sway control that I did not have when I towed it 3-4 hrs home that first time.

I feel pretty comfortable with it now, but I do have to stay alert as it is not a steady as a longer wheel based pickup would be. The length as well as the weight are definitely something to consider as it can feel like it is pulling you around sometimes with wind and highway driving with air coming off other large rigs. Also, the towing capacity should be dropped 10% for safety margin, says the towing experts, then you are to begin adding you trailer, trailer contents, passengers, and all vehicle contents weights together to determine the total weight being towed. I was surprised when I found out that all the cargo and passengers in the vehicle were part of the tow capacity from what I researched on these calculations, so tow capacity as I understand it is always really lower than advertised.

 

Thanks for the tips guys. Guess Ill either rent a truck or purchase a mobile home and tow the Disco on the back to get to the grounds. Either way the camper has to be a 27+ foot long as it will become my new permanent all season home... Just looking for innovative ways to save the maximum amount of $$$$$ on rent/utilities etc.

 

Also, all of the trailers I've owned have a metal label on them outside, either by the door, or by the hitch and they've listed the weight, year, serial number, etc... Even an older 1969 that I had still had this label.

 

re: Just looking for innovative ways to save

With the current glut of homes and foreclosures, there have been houses sell pretty cheap, under $10K in some cases. In my Dad's neighboorhood, of early '60's brick ranchs, 1800 - 2000 square feet, there are eight homes within a mile that are $35,000. In Atlanta, it made news when some bank owned homes sold for $4000. You may find an auction that will knock your socks off. Make the banks an offer. Don't know if that also applies to manufactured homes or class A large motor homes. If you like doing your own work, people buy school buses at auction and convert them.

 

Clunky Old School Bus Converted into a Sweet Earthy Home With a Wood-fired Stove School Bus Conversion by wpi Creative

 

Living in a travel trailer/motorhome in New England is NOT going to save you money, the furnace will run 24/7 and burn out in a month.
The roof top a/c will do the same thing.
The water heater is 10gals, thats a 5 min shower, 10 in the summer.
You will be spending all of your money on LP tank refills.
The electrical system is not meant for large loads either, so dont go thinking you can just plug in a electric heater to keep warm.
Not to mention all of the outgasing of the chemicals in the treated wood, floor, etc.
It wont be so bad in a older trailer, but they are not meant to be lived in full time, theres a reason they are called RV's (recreational vehicle)