We towed the trailer just shy of 5,000 miles on this trip and drove the truck almost 7,500 miles. We wandered between sea level and 10,000 feet elevation and visited nine states or provinces in the process.
The Scamp is back in it's shady spot, sporting a to-do list of minor fixes or mods - some that have already been finished by the time I got around to writing this.
The truck proved to be a wonderful match. We had plenty of clearance between the trailer and the top of the bedrail on the pickup. I LOVED the optional 32 gallon tank and wouldn't consider one without it. The 8 speed transmission was spectacular, especially in the mountains. The tow/haul mode worked so well that I never had to manually select the appropriate gear.
The Hemi engine and the 3.92 rear gear ratio were probably both overkill, but the end result was that we could (and often did) stay on cruise control, up mountain and down. Summed up, this truck was much more relaxing to drive, with excess capabilites in every regard except GVW where we would run very close, especially with full fuel. All in all, I'm very pleased.
I must say, I'm somewhat surprised to hear that you were very close to GVW. Wasn't expecting that towing a Scamp fiver, as light as they are. What do you figure the "payload" weight (or tongue weight)of the Scamp is?
ReplyDeleteThanks for this post as I am also the owner of a 2010 Scamp fiver (standard) and am most definitely in the market for a new truck to pair it with. My biggest concern is the rail bed heights with a new four wheel drive truck, but you are certainly living proof that good matches are to be had.
My tongue load runs between 650 and 700 pounds depending on how we're loaded. On this trip we had the cross box loaded with a pop-up shade/bug shelter, a couple folding chairs, and a few other things. We typically care 6 gallon of potable water in the jerry can. The hitch rails and hitch are another thing that takes a bite out of the payload. And, as usual, my truck actually weighed more than the 'book' suggested. We run close on the GVW with two people, the dog, toolbox and various associated stuff, but we're well under the individual axle limits, and way under on the Combined GVW.
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