Now that we had purchased a 36-foot 5th wheel that weighs about 12,000 pounds, we had to find a good sized truck that will safely tow our beautiful new home. Ryan had a scion tC and I had a RAV4. We thought about using Ryan’s scion to tow the camper. We thought it was perfectly logical to open the sunroof and whoever was the passenger could hold on real tight to the fifth wheel as we tow it behind us!

We spent weeks researching everything we needed to know about the requirements for a tow vehicle. We didn’t want to accidentally buy a truck that was too small to tow the RV. We researched different makes and models of trucks, figuring out what each offered and what was needed for our RV. We learned a lot about the payload weight, the GVWR and engine types.

We went to a LOT of places to test drive trucks. I had a difficult time finding a truck that I was comfortable in. Being of short stature, I needed the ability to adjust the seat and the pedals so that I could reach! It was challenging finding the right truck. The seats to all of the trucks we test drove were adjustable, but some didn’t adjust enough for me. And many of the trucks didn’t have pedals that adjusted.

We were extremely picky about what we wanted for the truck. We knew we would be spending days driving across the country so we needed to be comfortable. Below is the list of what we were looking for…

• Payload weight that can handle the RV plus all our stuff, the fifth wheel hitch, and of course us. It all goes into the calculation.
• Adjustable seats and pedals
• Tow mirrors
• Back up camera
• Diesel (don’t hate us, we love the environment, but it is better for our needs right now)
• Low(ish) mileage
• In our price range

We went driving all over New England and New York looking for a darn truck that fit our criteria. We would get so close to finding the right truck and then find out that something was missing. Usually it was the price, which we couldn’t budge on.

It took us 6 weeks to find the right truck. It was surprising to us that we found our camper in 1 week, but the truck took 6 weeks!

We ended up getting our truck, which we named Clifford the Big Red Truck, from a dealership in Granville, NY. We traded in Ryan’s car to get a little bit knocked off the price. We wouldn’t usually trade in our cars because we could probably have gotten a better deal if we sold it privately, but his car needed a lot of cosmetic work done so we felt it was worth the convenience of not having to deal with it. 

We were SO HAPPY to finally find our truck! We had hoped to start our travels in July (plans made pre-COVID), but now that we decided to buy a camper and truck, we knew the plans would be pushed back until everything was settled. We hoped we wouldn’t have to delay our travels too long, but we didn’t want to rush these large purchases; we needed to take the time to find what we really needed and wanted. 

We also felt a need to rush to get a truck because Country Campers was holding our RV there until we had a tow vehicle, but we didn’t want to leave it there forever. Plus we were super excited to start moving into it.