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I am currently in the market for a camper and I am wondering how much weight I can tow. I have 2019 Silverado 1500 RST 5.3 V8 crew cab short bed. From what I can find online I should be “okay”, but really wanted some feedback from those of you that have a similar setup. I am aware the 2500 is the ideal setup, but that will be down the line a bit for me. Truck Trailering Info: GVWR 7100lbs GCWR 15000lbs GAWR RR 3800lbs Max Payload 1819lbs Max Tongue Weight 960lbs Curb Weight 5281lbs The camper I am looking at has a dry weight of 6300lbs and GVWR of 9,480lbs (no intent to load our camper down or travel with full tanks). Hitch weight of the camper is 680lbs. 32’ 11” tongue to bumper. Really only looking at going camping within 100 miles on the weekends. We typically travel light with basic necessities for hook up campgrounds (clothes, food, chairs). any help would be great!

We aren't a big fan of the hitch setup on our 2500HD in regards to attaching the safety chains for our Arctic Fox 22G trailer. As you can see in the pics, the hooks are too big for the rather odd hitch hole arrangement. Even if I were to remove the little latch on the hook it still won't quite go through the holes. So, the dealer came up with the smaller chain and quick link type solution so we can attach the safety chains. I guess I don't like the added length from this setup. I really don't want to drill more holes or grind on the existing ones. I've tried a bigger quick link by itself but it won't go all the way around and through both holes. This GMC hitch setup is just weird. I've looked at a little bit smaller hooks for the safety chains but then they won't fit all the way through on the hitch. Maybe I just haven't found the right hook yet? Anyone else run into this problem and what solution did you come up with that you are satisfied with?

Well, I've done it now... I've just committed to our RV rental for our next vacation. We want to try it out and see if this is something we enjoy or not. I need to add a brake controller to the truck. I'm planning to get the Tekonsha P3, but am open to other recommendations. My question is about the truck, though. Are all the trucks pre-wired to accept a trailer brake controller? Is there an RPO code I can look for?

The wife and I are looking at getting a camper and decided to rent one to learn if we’d really be okay with the work and the towing. The camper we rented isn’t the same as we’re looking at, but it’s pretty close. The one we’re looking at is a little lighter. The trip was about 90 miles each way. It was nearly all interstate with some tighter back roads and about ¼-mile of dirt road in front of the house. I’ve put together a little outline about how things were configured/changed and what seemed to change from my perspective. The more astute readers may notice that we stopped at Walgreens and returned home twice. The first time was because my wife forgot to bring the anniversary cake. The second time was because she didn’t shut the garage. Annoying as they were, the stops gave me an opportunity to change the setup a bit. Truck: '15 Double Cab 4wd z71, 5.3L, 3.42 gears 9200 lbs tow capacity UWS toolbox: ~130 lbs with stuff (maybe) E-rated KO2s @ 55psi 2.25" Leveling Kit Trailer: '17 Cruiser RV MPG 2650RL 32' overall length Dry Weight: 5,705 Water tank ~ 400 lbs Propane & Battery: ~200? Food, clothes, other stuff.... Who knows. Didn't take the time to weight it all. Towing Trips: 1. Dealer -> Home A. Dealer tech set up WD-hitch with 1 chain link; massive squat B. I insisted on at least 2 links, still a good bit of squat C. Tech used 1-finger method to tighten the anti-sway brake D. Fresh water tank, propane tanks full Experience: Truck-trailer were a little bouncy and could feel the trailer exerting its influence on the truck a good bit. Impression: I'm nervous at this point. 2. Home -> Walgreens -> Home (max speed 45-50mph, backroads) A. 60lbs of firewood in the back of the bed B. Camper loaded with a 30lb box and 3-12pks DDP in back Experience: VERY bouncy, twitchy and somewhat unstable Impression: I'm getting very nervous about the bounciness and hoping it will settle out at speed. 3. Home -> Walgreens -> Home A. Moved firewood forward in the bed B. Moved heavy box and DDP forward to bedroom space Experience: Less bouncy (reasonable), still twitchy especially over bumps. Still feels like the trailer is able to take control if it decided to do so. Impression: Feeling a little better about it since the bounciness is significantly reduced. 4. Home -> Campsite Experience: On and off the TBC most of the time. Didn't go over 65 for more than a couple minutes (just experimenting). I was white-knuckling it most of the time. Passing trucks and other traffic pulled-pushed the camper around and at some points the steering got a little lighter than I've expected. Impression: I hated every minute of this. When we got there, I was ready to arrange for the dealer to pick it up at the end of the trip. I settled down a bit over the course of the week and did more research on how to set it up. 5. Campsite-> Home A. Only 5-6lbs of firewood left (if that) B. Moved the 2 bicycles to truck bed (~40lbs) C. Fresh water tank still basically full. Obviously, less of most everything else. D. Put Trailer on hitch without WD-bars. Got about 3/4" front-end lift. I put the wd-hitch on 3 links and got it about 1/2" back down. It was quite difficult to get the chain on and there was clearly a lot of spring tension in play. E. Tightened the anti-sway bar using my full-hand to the point where it just stopped and then 3/4-turn more Experience: Truck drove well. I had a near constant low-amplitude oscillation, but nothing as intense as the bouncing before. Absolutely no sway that I could identify even when trucks passed. I did notice that on broad curves like some off-ramps, that the trailer didn’t follow the curve like it should, but was kinda dragging sideways. I assumed the sway-bar was too stiff. Impression: It was a comfortable, easy experience. I can live with this. 6. Home -> Dealer (rain) A. Left WD-hitch at 3 links B. Loosened the anti-sway bar to hand-stopping point and 1/4 turn (per some video my wife found online) C. Camper empty (fresh water still full) D. Truck basically empty Experience: Everything felt "off" again. The bouncing was back... It wasn't as bad, but it was there. The sway when passed was back too. The rain added a new variable and I used 4wd (auto) for a couple of miles to make sure I could pull out safely and it worked well. The trip over the bridge during the storm was a bit hair-raising. I'm not sure if it was because of wind or the fact that people still went 80, but I couldn't get comfortable with it over 50 going up and 65 going down. Impression: I think the sway bar was too loose and maybe I had too much weight-distribution... I have no idea. I’ve been looking into things I might buy/change… I think I’d always use at least 3 links on the WD-hitch I think I’d keep the sway bar tight and let the tires take the beating on gentle curves I was looking at sumo springs or the roadmaster kit to help with the ride/squat issues. To add a new wrinkle, I have a coworker who has a similar sized trailer and until a few months ago the same truck as me. He just got a real purty 2500 for retirement. Anyway, he said that he uses 4 links on his hitch and doesn’t really remember how tight he makes the anti-sway bar. He said it towed well, but he just decided that staying off the interstates was an easy solution to most of the towing issues. You go slower and have less “aggressive” traffic. At any rate, all this is new to me. So, I look forward to anything you more experienced folks can share.