3612 tow vehicle?

Can someone please tell me if my 2003 Ford F-250 4x4 supercab, Camper special ,triton V10. Will pull and STOP a Cyclone 3612? I really would like to purchase this unit but do not want to purchase new truck aslo. I have looked at all the spec but can't figure3 them out. Just tell me Yes or No. Saftey is a must!

Thanks
 

jimtoo

Moderator
Re: 3612 tow vechile?

Hi LoneWolvin,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and hopefully to the family. We have a great bunch of people here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge if needed.

Your going to get answers both way. Yes it will pull it,,, safely,, probably... will it stop it,,, yes... safely????... in emergency,,,???? The empty weight is listed as 13,175# for the 3612, this is going to put you at or over your max rating for your truck I think.. I am not a weight policeman, but do think that you will be overloaded. There are people out there,, traveling the highways every day that are more overloaded than what you would be,,, It is a decision you will need to make.

I say NO.

Enjoy the forum.

Jim M
 

caissiel

Senior Member
Re: 3612 tow vechile?

The driver will make the diference while pulling the heavy load. The truck can pull it and the brakes on the trailer will stop it.
With the gas engine you will surely have heating problem pulling the unit, you will have to keep the RPM elevated in order to keep the rad fan going strong cooling the transmission and engine.

I pulled a 5600lbs trailer with a 2.9L Ranger for 3 years and was very succesfull but had to observe all the above elements and never had any ocasions to be worried.

I have a neighbour here with a 2500 GM with 8.0 lt engine pulling an SOB heavy trailer for the past 5 years and he is very pleased with the unit. He tells me it works fine at 55/60MPH. He is getting ready to install a Motorcycle rack for a 650CC Suzuki on the rear.
 

truknutt

Committed Member
Re: 3612 tow vechile?

It just so happens I have the 2003 Ford Towing Guide right here. Skip to page 19 of 24. 3.73 gears recommended max fifth wheel weight is 10,400 lbs while 4.30s is
13,400 lbs. I know my little old 3210's dry weight is 11,000 and change. Cyclones are notoriously pin heavy so you need to check the capacity of your SRWs; not just axle but the tires also. Max trailer weight is 18K, so for pin weight 20% of that is 3600 lbs. Add the extra weight of your hitch and you see how it adds up. I have a 2003 F350 DRW 2x4 6.0 PSD w/3.73s that has a max fifth wheel capacity of only 12,800 lbs; that's one reason I moved up.

In the end, you have to make the ultimate decision. BTW, I LUV & dream of the 3612 being in my garage someday.
 

branson4020

Icantre Member
Re: 3612 tow vechile?

can someone please tell me if my 2003 ford f-250 4x4 supercab, camper special ,triton v10. Will pull and stop a cyclone 3612? I really would like to purchase this unit but do not want to purchase new truck aslo. I have looked at all the spec but can't figure3 them out. just tell me yes or no. Saftey is a must!

Thanks

no........
 

tgreening

Active Member
Re: 3612 tow vechile?

no........


Ditto. Biggest problem in my book is the axle/brake issue. Someone said "trailer brakes stop the trailer". Yes, in a perfect world but I've had trailer brakes fail on more than one occasion and did not care to repeat the process with 18K of fifth wheel behind me. I bought an F450 with the thought that I could stop the trailer, trailer brakes or no, and the absolutely massive brakes on the 450 give me that assurance.

I had your truck except in a crew cab configuration and can say with complete confidence there is no way on gods earth I'd of stood a chance of stopping a 3612 unassisted. If safety is your primary concern (as it should be) you have either the wrong truck, or are looking at the wrong camper.
 

jnbhobe

Well-known member
Re: 3612 tow vechile?

As much as I think all of us would like more brakes I bet about 1% of us have a truck built that way. Lonewolvin has the same truck as a lot of us, not having a diesel is his biggest problem and the truck would be overweight by the numbers. But none of use would be happy if we lost the brakes on the truck or trailer because it would be hard to stop either way. I think he should at least have a dually with a trailer that big.
 

Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
While the V10 is a very capable engine and the F250 a very popular truck, you will be overweight.

That said, you won't be alone. Way too many RVers are pulling overloaded.
 

caissiel

Senior Member
Re: 3612 tow vechile?

If you depend on the truck to do the braking you will be greatly disapointed because the front tires will never hold the load and you will be flying down the road with your antilock brakes pumping off and on and only have the rear brakes with diskbrakes that the pad will fall off the back plate. It happened to me in Miami in 4 lanes of trafific with a lighter trailer thats why I'm not sold on discbrakes. The Front is where its important to have the weight, and with 4 x 4 and the 265 wide tires I feel its the best for braking.

Anyway with a dually there is not enough weight on each tire that in the rain there is no traction when braking it happened to my friend with his dually. Same as in the snow duallies have no traction for proper braking. And they are next to impossible to keep on the road in the snow without tons of weights in the box. They are made to carry heavy loads and in no way my trailer is heavy enough for pursuading me I need one.

There is a fellow down the road from me that has 14K trailer and drives a F450. He asked me how much air I keep in my rear tires and I told him I have 80PSI.
His remarks were that my truck must be awful rough with that much air. He remarked that he keeps 35psi air in his rear tires because the ride is just awful with more. And this is the second truck he keeps the pressure low in the rear, he was doing the same thing with a F350.
Well I told him I would never leave the yard with that trailer setup. I had a Ranger pulling the 5600Lbs trailer with 35psi air in the tires and one time I had to do an emergency stop and it stop realy well, but later I noticed the tires turned on the rims, that is when I traded for a GM 1/2 Ton diesel with 50psi air in the tires.
 

gpshemi

Well-known member
Well I have that coach, and you can see what I tow it with. I have braked with the 3612 unassisted (the prong on the plug broke off and the plug came loose). I have large 4 wheel disks and Cummins power to spare. I can say fairly confidently that while you COULD pull and stop it (despite being grossly overweight), you won't be happy with it, and you'll be nervous with it all the time. You'll burn through gas like there's a hole in the tank too. My 3500 SRW megacab, with all the mods, gets r' done. So much so I doubt my next truck would be a DRW, but I surely wouldn't want any less than what I've got either.

Look for less trailer, or more truck...
 

robnmo

Well-known member
Re: 3612 tow vechile?

I'll go along with everyone else, we've also got a 3612 and we've towed about 6k miles this year, I really don't think I'd be very comfortable with less truck than our 3500, it's alot of toyhauler back there. I say upgrade the truck and go for the 3612, you won't be sorry.
 
Re: 3612 tow vechile?

Thank you everyone for the input and great response. Trying to get this info out a RV dealer is impossible. (by the way I'm a She)
Safety is my first concern, I will be traveling alone hauling my Harley softtail and yamaha Enduro all over the US and in all kinds of terrain and weather. I don't want to be stuck half way up a hill or unable to stop at the bottom of one and God forbid I loose control and hurt someone else. That said, since I am TOTALLY in love with the 3612 I am now looking to upgrade my truck. So next question... F350 dually, F350 Single, F450 Dually? (I've read some bad things about the 450) will be bying used truck 2008 or newer. (biggest problem at this point is g
 

robnmo

Well-known member
Re: 3612 tow vechile?

OH BOY is this gonna be a can of worms hahahahaha, we'll I'll say we've got a dually 3500 the plus is to us it just feels more stable with the extra tires on the ground, down side is buying 6 new tires hurts the pocket, and like someone else said in deeper snow I'm NOT impressed it's kind of squirrely feeling. My .02 cents are since your gonna be in all kinds of terrain, etc, I'm saying definitely a diesel w/ an aux tank, definitely 4X4 now outside of that I'm sure others will toss stuff in as well.
 

jnbhobe

Well-known member
Re: 3612 tow vechile?

Thank you everyone for the input and great response. Trying to get this info out a RV dealer is impossible. (by the way I'm a She)
Safety is my first concern, I will be traveling alone hauling my Harley softtail and yamaha Enduro all over the US and in all kinds of terrain and weather. I don't want to be stuck half way up a hill or unable to stop at the bottom of one and God forbid I loose control and hurt someone else. That said, since I am TOTALLY in love with the 3612 I am now looking to upgrade my truck. So next question... F350 dually, F350 Single, F450 Dually? (I've read some bad things about the 450) will be bying used truck 2008 or newer. (biggest problem at this point is g

from 08 to 10 I would look at the F-450, on a 2011 an F-350 would be ok.
 

Birchwood

Well-known member
Someone stated the dry weight of the Cyclone 3612 to be 13175 lbs.Thats a pin weight of around 2500 lbs.Look on the door frame
of your truck to find the trucks GVWR (probably around 9200 lbs).Check your truck registration for the weight of truck( maybe 6500 lbs)
Add the truck weight 6500lb(truck) + 2500lb(trailer)+ 300lb (driver and passenger)= 9300lbs
The above calculation is an example but you can see you are at the trucks allowable GVWR without fuel,hitch or anything
in your trailer.Hope this helps you decide.
 

trvlrerik

Well-known member
I only pull my 3912 20 times (or so) a year and I am happy with my 08 F350 srw F350 4x4. Having said that, there are trade offs. I can manuver the short wheelbase around much easier than a dually, but there are times like high wind days or heavy load trips that a dually would be nice. My tow vehicle is a daily driver also, so the single wheels are nice.
In my opinion I would not use fuel milage as a consideration, in personal experience the milage difference between singles and duals is a wash.

Safety is always a consideration, I check tire pressures, brakes, and electrical systems constantly. Duals may give a higher margin in the saftey category, but if a person maintains (or does not maintain) the equipment, the vehicle is only as safe as the driver.

I hope you enjoy your new tow hauler, be safe and have fun with it.
 

caissiel

Senior Member
If you are shopping for a used Diesel I would not buy anything with the 2008 exhaust system they are going to be a glut of them on the market with the new 2011 coming out on the market. The pre-2008 are my preference due to ease of repair and fuel consumption.
I folow the trend on the Ford Forums and we have found a fix for the 6.0L and they are getting more popular then the 6.4L.
My son has a 2008 Ram and he has all kinds of problem with the regeneration and been at the dealer numerous times. His friend has the 5.9L and its a solid engine but both have front end issues of death wables.
I would advise to look for a great deal on the 2008-2010 because the price on them are going to drop fast after everyone trades on the 2011 up.
 

jwalker1

Active Member
I just recently traded my 2008 F350 Dually because of the problems I was having with the transmission and fuel consumption (about 11 mpg). I bought a new 2011 F350 dually and I am extremely happy with it. I am getting close to 18 mpg hwy not towing and I just pulled the 2011 Cyclone 3950 home from the dealers and avg about 13.8 mpg (no hills of any substance). The GVWR on the 2011 F350 is 13300 and the tow rating for a 5th wheel is 21600.
 
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