Choosing Our Rig

​LONG STORY SHORT
​We picked our truck and trailer to optimize our ability to dry camp and keep our cat comfortable.

​By Jason Clark

One of the first rules of buying a truck and a trailer is this: Pick your trailer first. That way, you can find a truck that’s 100% capable of towing the trailer you like.

Well… we picked our truck first.
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It was for good reason, and we have no regrets. But it did affect how big we could go with our trailer.

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Our Truck: Steve

Our truck—named Steve, for no reason other than Kristine thinks it’s hilarious—is a 2022 Ford F-150 PowerBoost. In other words, Steve’s a hybrid. We considered getting a diesel truck for the enhanced towing capability, but the F-150 PowerBoost had one feature we considered essential: a 30-amp plugin for onboard power. With this plugin, we can power our trailer when we don’t have electrical hookups—which is often—and we don’t need to lug around a noisy, stinky, portable generator. 

After six months on the road, Steve’s onboard power has proved to be a massive convenience. For one, we can run the air conditioning while plugged into Steve, which is critical for keeping Catsby comfortable inside the trailer in triple-digit temperatures. For another, Steve’s onboard power doesn’t operate like your typical generator: The truck’s engine kicks on for a few minutes every half hour or so, but otherwise, it’s silent. Which means we’re not subject to the generator-use restrictions many campgrounds enforce.

Steve’s one downside, however, is that a half-ton pickup is limiting in terms of towing capability. You can’t tow as much with a half-ton as you can with a three-quarter-ton or one-ton pickup, and half-ton towing is a divisive topic among RVers. Some think half-tons are useless; others see that towing-capacity sticker and go out and get a fifth-wheel to lug around.
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Our setup is somewhere in the middle. We wouldn’t tow a fifth-wheel, but Steve manages our 6,300-pound travel trailer just fine.

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Our Trailer: Holt

For better or worse, while picking our trailer, we came up against some inherent size limitations due to the “nature” of our trip. Camping in national parks is extremely competitive, and a bigger rig leaves you with fewer campsites to choose from. After extensive research into national-park campgrounds, we decided we couldn’t exceed 30 feet with our trailer, and ideally we’d get one shorter than 26 feet.

We ultimately settled on the Outdoors RV Timber Ridge 22FQS. “Holt” is nearly 27 feet from tongue to bumper, and admittedly, he’s a bit heavier than a typical trailer of that length. We’re OK with that because of our two highest priorities: boondocking capability and Catsby’s comfort.

In our opinion, the build quality of Outdoors RV trailers is a clear tier higher than much of the industry. (RVs and trailers are notorious for being cheaply made to save weight and cost; we gladly paid a bit extra for a better-made model.) For us, one of Holt’s most important features is the substantial insulation in the roof and walls, which makes temperature control much easier—and Catsby much happier. Whereas some trailers behave like cars in the heat and turn into greenhouses, Holt has enough insulation to stay well below the outside temperature in summer heat, as well as warm and cozy in the winter.
Another important feature for us is Holt’s massive water tanks. Holt has an 80-gallon freshwater tank, while a comparable 28’ trailer from Grand Design—an above-average brand we’d considered early on in our research—has a 43-gallon tank. Steve’s towing capacity doesn’t allow us to tow with full tanks, but we can transport water from nearby to fill up Holt’s tanks, which sustain us for much longer than an average trailer’s tanks would.

Finally, a word for the tow police: It may come as a surprise that we can tow this trailer with this truck, but it’s important to note that we aren’t exceeding Steve’s limits. Fully loaded, we do come close to the max payload rating, but even then, we aren’t anywhere near Steve’s 11,000-pound towing capacity.

We’ve taken our rig over mountain passes, through scorching deserts, and on windy coastal cliffs. We’ve had no problem keeping up with semitrucks and other RVers, and we haven’t had any issues with our engine overheating while doing so. Steve may not be the strongest truck available to pull Holt, but he’s certainly capable of doing it safely.
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Steve Holt!

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