I've got to get my three cents and a piece zip cord in here.. BeforeI bought the
31' land yacht I had a 24 foot Sportsman '96 Max wet was 5400 lbs.I towed it with
a '96 Ford 150 with a 302 Cu In. I had no problems towing using a loadequilizer
hitch and an anti- sway. I purchased the Airstream late last summerfrom my
Brother in Dover Deleware. My nephew checked out the running gear andbrakes and I
went down with the 150 and towing apparatus and hooked up to the newAluminum
Twinkie and towed it back to Pepperell Mass. and it towed like a dream.We towed
it later to Colebrook NH with the 150 and when we hit Franconia notchin the White
Mountains. (Steep gradual grade) things got real slow by the time thingsflattened
out we were between 25 and 35 and my foot was on the firewall. A 350cu in would
have been nice. the 31' yacht wets out at 7800 lbs.
Soon after that Marcia and I bought a a low milage Ford 250 , 7.3 liter.Trubo
Deisel. The first trailer I towed with the new truck was my brothersnew '34 foot
box from Dover to Chinkateague, VA. What a difference I hardly knewthe trailer
was back there. I've onle towed the Airstream around the block a coupleof times
to adjust the ball height and the torsion bars I can hardly wait totry that
mountain pass again. Incidently I wouldn't tow with out Equalizersand sway
control. I had a friend roll his dad's trailer on a clover leaf andsince he was
only going a few miles he didn't bother with the other stuff they endedup
scraping the trailer out... CUL Dave Newell :>))

TYLERBEARS@aol.com wrote:

> Richard - you asked about gas vs diesel - and your truck/rv configurationis
> similar to what we have used successfully. Note: our diesel was notturbo
> charged and it did NOT have an aggressive pedal response anywherealong the
> power curve. Patience and planning are sterling virtues.
>
> Bottom line, we like both our gas and diesel tow vehicles. Biggest
> disadvantage to diesel (for us) is some of the hideous places torefuel. I got
> around the fuel pumps with diesel fuel on the handles (odor of dieselfuel on
> my hand didn't come off after repeated washings) by wearing disposablegloves.
>
> We quickly learned not to use diesel pumps where the macadam shinedor where
> it was sandy (diesel fuel gets on the soles of shoes and then onthe carpet in
> the truck). If the smell of diesel is perfume to you, then no problem.Our
> diesel truck is airtight and well insulated so the smell and thenoise isn't
> objectionable while rolling.
>
> Of lesser inconvenience was searching for places around the continentto get
> maintenance work done (always at a much higher cost than for ourgas engines).
>
> Plus, we needed to acquire another set of mechanical sensitivities.Luckily,
> I have a mechanic friend who specializes in diesel suburbans. Thatmade the
> acquaintanceship process with our diesel's needs occur quickly. And- we
> could call him from any garage in any state and he'd talk with theirmechanic
> about whatever problem we were currently experiencing. Twice, thatlittle
> convenience led to the mechanic asking questions, getting a advicefrom our
> friend and doing a better job for us than might have otherwise occurred.
>
> Have you guessed yet? Every vehicle and the factors associated withit have
> plus and minus features. My wife loves the comfy cloth seats in thediesel,
> the fact of a front and back air conditioning and the clarity ofthe stereo.
>
> For me, I love the rumble of dual exhausts, the aggressive pedalresponse of a
> finely tuned 460, the easy familiarity of a gas engine and no carpayments for
> the last 20 years.
>
> Bet this is more than you expected when you asked that question.Oh, well.
> Bye for now, Terry