Coleman 300tq

[michaelxx350@gmail.com]

Good afternoon everyone.

I'm considering the 2020 300TQ, but have had reservations regarding the tongue weight, and my current TV.

I have a 2018 Ford F150, with the 3.5 V6 EcoBoost engine and max Tow Package.

The sticker on the hitch indicates a max tongue weight with a WDH of 1,170 lbs.

The brochure on the 2020 300TQ lists the tongue weight as 998lbs (assuming dry weight), which doesn't leave a lot of room.

I purchased a Sherline LM 2000 trailer tongue scale, and took it today to check out the camper's tongue weight first-hand.

On the lot, leveling the frame of the trailer near the hitch with a level, the Sherline scale read 900 with nothing in the trailer, and 750 with a golf cart in the garage section.

Does this seem like an accurate reading and method to determine the tongue weight applied by the trailer? We'll be toting either a golf cart or 4-wheeler most of the time, so if the 750 lbs reading is approximately what the tongue weight will be, I'd feel much more comfortable with my trucks capacity.

Additionally, I plan to use a 1,200/12,000 Equalizer hitch for the trailer.

Regards,
Michael

[acdii]

Originally Posted by michaelxx350@gmail.com

Good afternoon everyone.

I'm considering the 2020 300TQ, but have had reservations regarding the tongue weight, and my current TV.

I have a 2018 Ford F150, with the 3.5 V6 EcoBoost engine and max Tow Package.

The sticker on the hitch indicates a max tongue weight with a WDH of 1,170 lbs.

The brochure on the 2020 300TQ lists the tongue weight as 998lbs (assuming dry weight), which doesn't leave a lot of room.

I purchased a Sherline LM 2000 trailer tongue scale, and took it today to check out the camper's tongue weight first-hand.

On the lot, leveling the frame of the trailer near the hitch with a level, the Sherline scale read 900 with nothing in the trailer, and 750 with a golf cart in the garage section.

Does this seem like an accurate reading and method to determine the tongue weight applied by the trailer? We'll be toting either a golf cart or 4-wheeler most of the time, so if the 750 lbs reading is approximately what the tongue weight will be, I'd feel much more comfortable with my trucks capacity.

Additionally, I plan to use a 1,200/12,000 Equalizer hitch for the trailer.

Regards,
Michael

Multiply the GVWR of the trailer by 13%. This will give you the most you will have on the ball with the trailer loaded to the gills. Chances are you wont ever see it, but it gives you a ball park figure to work with. The one number you left out that is the most important is how much payload your truck has. DO you have enough for the family and gear in the truck plus the 1000 pounds when you include the weight of the WDH? If you do, then it is a balancing game to get enough weight without going over GVWR of the truck on the ball and still have a stable tow.

[kschlais]

Originally Posted by michaelxx350@gmail.com

Good afternoon everyone.



I'm considering the 2020 300TQ, but have had reservations regarding the tongue weight, and my current TV.



I have a 2018 Ford F150, with the 3.5 V6 EcoBoost engine and max Tow Package.



The sticker on the hitch indicates a max tongue weight with a WDH of 1,170 lbs.



The brochure on the 2020 300TQ lists the tongue weight as 998lbs (assuming dry weight), which doesn't leave a lot of room.



I purchased a Sherline LM 2000 trailer tongue scale, and took it today to check out the camper's tongue weight first-hand.



On the lot, leveling the frame of the trailer near the hitch with a level, the Sherline scale read 900 with nothing in the trailer, and 750 with a golf cart in the garage section.



Does this seem like an accurate reading and method to determine the tongue weight applied by the trailer? We'll be toting either a golf cart or 4-wheeler most of the time, so if the 750 lbs reading is approximately what the tongue weight will be, I'd feel much more comfortable with my trucks capacity.



Additionally, I plan to use a 1,200/12,000 Equalizer hitch for the trailer.



Regards,

Michael

I started pulling mine with a 2016 Silverado 1500. I needed airbags with a 9400 tow capacity. Everything you put in the basement and kitchen adds to the tongue weight. I would guess it gets to around 1k with full propane, 2 batteries and gear in the cabin even with the golf cart in the rear. The 1500 had plenty of power but I got pushed around a lot by the wind. Traded up to a 2500 gasser in March. Love it.

Hope this helps.

[acdii]

One thing I forgot to mention, you NEED at least 13% tongue weight with a travel trailer or the wind and semis will toss you around. Don't try to reduce tongue weight to fit the truck with objects in the back or you will regret it.

I went and added the CCC and shipping weight and you are looking at 1260 pounds at GVWR. So lets say you put no more than 1400 pounds properly distributed so as not to be tail heavy, you will be at 1063 pounds tongue weight, plus the weight of the WDH, so figure you need at least 1200 pounds available payload on the truck.

[kschlais]

Originally Posted by acdii

One thing I forgot to mention, you NEED at least 13% tongue weight with a travel trailer or the wind and semis will toss you around. Don't try to reduce tongue weight to fit the truck with objects in the back or you will regret it.

I went and added the CCC and shipping weight and you are looking at 1260 pounds at GVWR. So lets say you put no more than 1400 pounds properly distributed so as not to be tail heavy, you will be at 1063 pounds tongue weight, plus the weight of the WDH, so figure you need at least 1200 pounds available payload on the truck.

Problem is in the 300tq the entire garage is behind the rear axel. Hard to evenly distribute that way.

[franktafl]

You ain't gonna like the way that tows AT ALL, especially in the mountains where you live! The V6 is way underpowered! In my humble opinion... Look for one of the nissan titan XD Diesels. You will love the way it tows. It's the EQ of the 2500 at a much lower price point.

[kschlais]

Originally Posted by franktafl

You ain't gonna like the way that tows AT ALL, especially in the mountains where you live! The V6 is way underpowered! In my humble opinion... Look for one of the nissan titan XD Diesels. You will love the way it tows. It's the EQ of the 2500 at a much lower price point.

My 2020 Silverado 2500HD gasser was under 40k. Crew cab 4x4.

[Focker]

Sorry for Hi-Jacking the topic but I’m in need of some help; which I was not able to locate on the Forum... And where better to ask then the experts on here.

For my 2016 300TQ, I am getting conflicting information about Lubricating or not Lubricating the Slide...?
The Dutchman Manual is very vague about this, heck it doesn’t even tell me what mechanism I have for the slide...

When I look [U]under[U] the slide it has two geared rails that go all the way from the outermost side to the innermost side. There is one rail at the front of the slide, and one at the rear. Only one of these rails, front, has a motor on it (12VDC, 9100rpm).

At the end of the front geared rail, just under the slide skirt, is a 1” threaded rod that looks like it goes the entire depth just like the rails. The threaded portion of the rod goes into a housing, which I’m guessing is to protect the threads.

All of the above description is while the slide is in, not out.

Anyway, I have some KWIK LUBE from Lippert and I feel I need to lube something under there.... Any and all suggestions are welcome.

[1l243]

Originally Posted by michaelxx350@gmail.com

Good afternoon everyone.

I'm considering the 2020 300TQ, but have had reservations regarding the tongue weight, and my current TV.

I have a 2018 Ford F150, with the 3.5 V6 EcoBoost engine and max Tow Package.

The sticker on the hitch indicates a max tongue weight with a WDH of 1,170 lbs.

The brochure on the 2020 300TQ lists the tongue weight as 998lbs (assuming dry weight), which doesn't leave a lot of room.

I purchased a Sherline LM 2000 trailer tongue scale, and took it today to check out the camper's tongue weight first-hand.

On the lot, leveling the frame of the trailer near the hitch with a level, the Sherline scale read 900 with nothing in the trailer, and 750 with a golf cart in the garage section.

Does this seem like an accurate reading and method to determine the tongue weight applied by the trailer? We'll be toting either a golf cart or 4-wheeler most of the time, so if the 750 lbs reading is approximately what the tongue weight will be, I'd feel much more comfortable with my trucks capacity.

Additionally, I plan to use a 1,200/12,000 Equalizer hitch for the trailer.

Regards,
Michael

I wrote this once already using my Dumb phone and it did not appear. I will try it again using my puter and hopefully it won't appear twice.

It's hard to dispute your numbers since you have a scale. I can only relate what my experience is .

When I bought my 2017 300tq. On the way home from the Dealer I stopped at the truck scales and weighed in. The trailer was empty except for a full 60 gallons ow fresh water and full propane tanks and one battery mounted on the tongue.. At the time I was using 10,000 WDH. The scale said my TW was 1,700 lbs.

When I got home I upgraded my WDH to 15,000 lbs. I have added 3 extra batteries on the Gen platform on the tongue for a total of four.

I carry one 900 lb Harley. Typically I carry just enough fresh water to get me to the next stop maybe 15 or 20 gallons. The holding tanks are empty.

I have weighed my rig at the truck scales with setup several times. The TW is almost always between 1450 and 1500 lbs.

PS. I upgraded my trucks hitch several years ago to 15,000 lbs.

[1l243]

Originally Posted by Focker

Sorry for Hi-Jacking the topic but I’m in need of some help; which I was not able to locate on the Forum... And where better to ask then the experts on here.

For my 2016 300TQ, I am getting conflicting information about Lubricating or not Lubricating the Slide...?
The Dutchman Manual is very vague about this, heck it doesn’t even tell me what mechanism I have for the slide...

When I look [U]under[U] the slide it has two geared rails that go all the way from the outermost side to the innermost side. There is one rail at the front of the slide, and one at the rear. Only one of these rails, front, has a motor on it (12VDC, 9100rpm).

At the end of the front geared rail, just under the slide skirt, is a 1” threaded rod that looks like it goes the entire depth just like the rails. The threaded portion of the rod goes into a housing, which I’m guessing is to protect the threads.

All of the above description is while the slide is in, not out.

Anyway, I have some KWIK LUBE from Lippert and I feel I need to lube something under there.... Any and all suggestions are welcome.

From everything I have read your not suppose to lube or grease. The only think I do to my slide is I use slide seal lube on the rubber seals.

I will be interested if you hear anything different. When I first got mine I was wondering if it should be lubed or not too.

[1l243]

Added Second Awning to 2017 300TQ
After procrastinating for 2 years I finally got the second awning added to the garage area of the 300TQ.

I called a local awning guy and he did not want to do it because of the electrical?

So, I called Camping World where I bought the Unit and they said they would take a look at it. I had to take the trailer up so they could check it out. They said they could do it. I ordered the awning. The TQ comes with a 16 foot Carefree awning. Because Carefree does not custom order awnings to specific size I went with a Dometic 11 foot awning. The hardware is black. There is a little difference in appearance where the awning roll meets with the arms but it almost looks like it was intended to the be that way. The awning fabric on the 11 foot Dometic is not exactly the same as the Carefree. The color scheme is the same dark gray to a lite gray with some white but the pattern is different.

Camping world did a good job on the installation. They ran the wiring under the trailer to the battery on the tongue instead of trying to fish wiring through the roof and to the wall. They came up through the floor into the wall between the garage and the bathroom for the switch. There was exterior wall structure to mount he awning arms to the trailer.. I was worried that they would have to bolt through the wall. But I guess that's where the custom size awning paid off.




I will have to get a better shot with both awnings out but just not enough room here.

[acdii]

Originally Posted by franktafl

You ain't gonna like the way that tows AT ALL, especially in the mountains where you live! The V6 is way underpowered! In my humble opinion... Look for one of the nissan titan XD Diesels. You will love the way it tows. It's the EQ of the 2500 at a much lower price point.

Under powered? The 3.5 Ecoboost is a beast. I was passing the 2500 and 3500 diesels up the IKE towing my Coleman with a 2014 F150. The truck runs out of payload way before it ever runs out of power. Now with the Gen2 EB and 10 speed it has even more power and better gearing.

[kschlais]

Originally Posted by acdii

Under powered? The 3.5 Ecoboost is a beast. I was passing the 2500 and 3500 diesels up the IKE towing my Coleman with a 2014 F150. The truck runs out of payload way before it ever runs out of power. Now with the Gen2 EB and 10 speed it has even more power and better gearing.

We get it. Your a ford guy. I don’t like the turbos on the v6s. Great for gas mileage. My brother had one of the smaller eb v6s. Not a great tower. No replacement for displacement. I can hold more fuel, coolant, oil etc etc in my 2500 gasser. With the same mileage and less wear and tear. (And depending on your trim level mine prob cost less)

[acdii]

470 lbft of torque is not inconsequential. If I recall that is 10 lbft more than the 2500 6.2 gas engine. 36 gallons of gas goes a long way too. Of course if you are talking a Diesel in a 2500, but wait, why lose all that payload and spend 8-10K more. Bit then again 470 are stock numbers, I don't run stock, 93 perf/tow tune of 500 lbft of tq and 445 HP. Tows like a dream, in fact there is very little difference in power compared to towing the same trailer with my F350 6.7 power stroke. But hey its a widdle biddidy teeny tiny engine, not manly enough for some.

[kschlais]

Truck isn’t heavy enough for me. Not stable enough.

[acdii]

Originally Posted by kschlais

Truck isn’t heavy enough for me. Not stable enough.

Now THIS I whole heartedly agree with! Night and day difference in handling between the half ton and one ton with the same trailer. Half ton is capable, but the one ton is just so much more stable, of course it weighs nearly 3K pounds more too. The 2014 F150 is more stable than the current generation F150 too. I had to get a Blue Ox WDH for the newer trucks, the old round bar Husky I used on the 2014 wouldn't cut it. Worked just fine on the older truck.

[kschlais]

Originally Posted by acdii

Now THIS I whole heartedly agree with! Night and day difference in handling between the half ton and one ton with the same trailer. Half ton is capable, but the one ton is just so much more stable, of course it weighs nearly 3K pounds more too. The 2014 F150 is more stable than the current generation F150 too. I had to get a Blue Ox WDH for the newer trucks, the old round bar Husky I used on the 2014 wouldn't cut it. Worked just fine on the older truck.

I never said your truck wasn’t capable. I don’t like the idea of the turbos on the V6 personal opinion.

I pulled my 300 from Atlanta to Disney with my 2016 1500 5.3 L. I had no issues power wise. It was all stability from Crosswinds and big rigs. Oh I also pulled it from Atlanta to Mobile and back once.

I just pulled the 300 with my 2020 2500 HD 6.6 L gas from Atlanta to Destin Florida and back. Night and day. About the same mileage with a little bit more on ramp power but the stability is amazing.

[acdii]

I understand completely. Turbos scare a lot of people considering how many failed back in the 90's when it was all the rage, but Ford did their homework on the EB and these turbos are pretty much bullet proof. Maintenance is key, but they are pretty strong reliable engines now. Towing the same trailer with and F150 and then the F350, 100% difference, something that some people scoff at, but it makes a huge difference, I don't even feel the trailer back there like I do in the F150. A good hitch properly set up does help a lot with wind and passing semis, but getting it there takes time and patience. I struggled with it for several trips before finding the culprit and correcting it, now it tows rock solid, but still no where near like the heavy truck does. I'm upgrading to a 5th wheel which is why I have the F350 now, otherwise I would have stuck with the F150 for towing, but it is my daily driver, and driving a 1 ton for 640 miles a week can get pretty old pretty quick. I wanted to get a dually instead of the F150 back in 2017 when my 14 got wrecked, but that suspension when empty driving it 2 1/2 hours a day would kill me. Note I said dually, not F350, as it didn't matter which brnd, but I have a good friend who owns a Ford dealership who gets me vehicles for under invoice.

BTW the 2021 F150, Ugly, Thought for sure it would be a RAM killer, but nope, RAM is still the better looking interior. I considered the RAM, but their engines are old school, and still tend to eat cams.

[kschlais]

Want to talk old school? Lol. Cast iron block 400 small block in my 2500.

[kschlais]

Originally Posted by 1l243

Added Second Awning to 2017 300TQ
After procrastinating for 2 years I finally got the second awning added to the garage area of the 300TQ.

I called a local awning guy and he did not want to do it because of the electrical?

So, I called Camping World where I bought the Unit and they said they would take a look at it. I had to take the trailer up so they could check it out. They said they could do it. I ordered the awning. The TQ comes with a 16 foot Carefree awning. Because Carefree does not custom order awnings to specific size I went with a Dometic 11 foot awning. The hardware is black. There is a little difference in appearance where the awning roll meets with the arms but it almost looks like it was intended to the be that way. The awning fabric on the 11 foot Dometic is not exactly the same as the Carefree. The color scheme is the same dark gray to a lite gray with some white but the pattern is different.

Camping world did a good job on the installation. They ran the wiring under the trailer to the battery on the tongue instead of trying to fish wiring through the roof and to the wall. They came up through the floor into the wall between the garage and the bathroom for the switch. There was exterior wall structure to mount he awning arms to the trailer.. I was worried that they would have to bolt through the wall. But I guess that's where the custom size awning paid off.




I will have to get a better shot with both awnings out but just not enough room here.

What did they charge you to install the awning?