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Any Towing Problems With

bajakid2

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bajakid2 Enthusiast

bajakid2

Posted
Posted

Hey, Im looking into purchasing a 26 foot travel trailer ASAP...i was curious if anyone has any problems with the NBS's towing?(07 1500 5.3 CC). My main concern was the electric fans while towing? how do they hold up as in keeping the motor running normal temp?

Thanks

Travis

Zembonez Senior Enthusiast

Zembonez

Posted
Posted
Hey, Im looking into purchasing a 26 foot travel trailer ASAP...i was curious if anyone has any problems with the NBS's towing?(07 1500 5.3 CC). My main concern was the electric fans while towing? how do they hold up as in keeping the motor running normal temp?

Thanks

Travis

You main concern should be what a 26 footer weighs. Towing with a half ton crew cab is not unlimited. If that trailer has slide outs... you may be overloaded.

 

Trans temps are critical. Make sure you have a good cooler.

txab Senior Enthusiast

txab

Posted
Posted
Hey, Im looking into purchasing a 26 foot travel trailer ASAP...i was curious if anyone has any problems with the NBS's towing?(07 1500 5.3 CC). My main concern was the electric fans while towing? how do they hold up as in keeping the motor running normal temp?

Thanks

Travis

You main concern should be what a 26 footer weighs. Towing with a half ton crew cab is not unlimited. If that trailer has slide outs... you may be overloaded.

 

Trans temps are critical. Make sure you have a good cooler.

 

+1 on both points. Your diff. gearing plays an important part in your towing ability too.

 

Off to bed Jim! :lol:

bajakid2 Enthusiast

bajakid2

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Hey, The trailer weight is 5500..it has one slide out.

Also with these trucks you should always tow in 3rd gear correct?

thanks again

Travis

Also forgot to mention truck has 3.73s. i do have the factory towing package too..

ffthornton Enthusiast

ffthornton

Posted
Posted

I have a 18Ft camper and have also pulled my father in laws 24ft. The 5.3 has no problem pulling that kinda wieght. I also tow in drive and turn on tow haul. Thats what its there for.

700 sportsman Senior Enthusiast

700 sportsman

Posted
Posted

I have my 16ft trailer I I pull loaded with 4 atv's, and gear in the tool box, I need to see how much It weighs, but I can definately tell it's back there, especially in the hills of southern ohio, and kentucky, I always monitor my trans temps quite a bit, and they are not outrageous, but it's been a while, and I don't remember what they were, but with a trailer that much bigger, I would reccomend an additional cooler

 

Also I presume your trailer is a fifth wheel

Stevens03 Senior Enthusiast

Stevens03

Posted
Posted

You'll have no problems. If you see the truck shifting alot in/out of overdrive, then just pull it down into 3rd. Use your tow/haul button and you'll be fine. 5500 lbs shouldn't be any problem for the truck. Just make sure you have a good ebrake and some type of distribution hitch.

 

Congrats on the camper.

music Senior Enthusiast

music

Posted
Posted

If that is "dry weight", then once loaded, you're going to be near the weight that I'm at. I pull a 31' camper that, loaded, weighs in a ~7k lbs... and I live in East Tennessee, with plenty of hills and a few mountain climbs. With everyone/everything on board and ready to camp, I'm pushing 13k lbs. This is getting near the upper limit for the 5.3/4-spd/3.73 IMHO, but it handles it just fine. Tow in 3rd, unless you're on flat ground. For significant mountain climbs at highway speeds, drop to 2nd and pull at 50 - 55 mph. The key is to keep the rpms up high enough that you aren't lumbering the engine. It also keeps the transmission cooler. Too many people I've spoken with try to run low rpms on a gas engine for fuel economy. In a word, don't.

 

The more significant thing to consider (much more important than power) is your load distribution and sway control. Tongue weight can easily push you up to your payload rating (I'm bumping it myself). I highly recommend the Reese Dual-cam distributing/sway setup. It works very well. If you have questions, post them... there's a few of us on here that tow campers.

nbscanuck Enthusiast

nbscanuck

Posted
Posted

What he said ^^^^^

Also look into air bags. I have Firestrone bags, best investment I made. The electric fans will keep up to the cooling needs. I've towed in 110 degree heat, with AC on and no issues. You can also look into tuning the truck, there you can get fans adjusted to come on stronger and sooner. I have a DiabloSport Predator and since I had a real winter here I have summer tune with more agressive fans and a winter tune that has stock fan settings.

 

Towing is not a race.

Zembonez Senior Enthusiast

Zembonez

Posted
Posted
Hey, The trailer weight is 5500..it has one slide out.

Also with these trucks you should always tow in 3rd gear correct?

thanks again

Travis

Also forgot to mention truck has 3.73s. i do have the factory towing package too..

I'd think you are under the limit with 5500 pounds and 3.73 gears. Just make sure you don't load it with another thousand pounds of crap. With a 5500 pound trailer, you're gonna want to think "pack light". You'll be stressing the truck quite a bit when towing but it will do it. Not a big deal unless you intend to tow thousands of miles... then you would really need to consider a 2500.

 

I know there are those who tow heavy with half ton trucks but just because they do it doesn't make it right or safe. It takes a big toll on the truck's longevity over time... Half ton truck trans & brakes aren't designed for anything more than occasional heavy towing. Overall I'd say you should do fine going on a few several hundred mile camping trips.

 

Whatever you do... DON'T LISTEN TO THE CAMPER DEALER. They will sell you anything you want to buy as long as they can hook it up and you make it off of the lot. They are just as bad as car dealers.

txdutt Enthusiast

txdutt

Posted
Posted

5500 lbs on a 26 footer with a slide sounds like dry weight.my last TT was a 27 footer w/slide & it had a gvw of around 8k, dry was around 6k IIRC..look at the veh info sheet inside one of the kitchen cabinet doors, that'll show you the gvw & cargo capacity of the unit...

WilliamsVMAX Enthusiast

WilliamsVMAX

Posted
Posted
Hey, The trailer weight is 5500..it has one slide out.

Also with these trucks you should always tow in 3rd gear correct?

thanks again

Travis

Also forgot to mention truck has 3.73s. i do have the factory towing package too..

 

I don't think you should have any trouble pulling that trailer with that motor and gearing. But you do have to consider how much additional weight you add to the trailer. If your truck is rated for 7500lbs, thats total, including extras to the trailer and truck. I have a 30ft, dry weight of about 6000lbs. I have the 6.0L with 4.10, so that gives me lots of room to play with. I use tow mode on my programmer so I don't use tow/haul mode on the truck and I keep it in over drive. Also the equalizer hitch is a big deal. My tongue weight of trailer is about 700lbs so I have a good hitch that transfers that weight, which helps sag and wear on your rear tires. The 2" rear block in the back helps as well.

 

 

Pic1-5.jpg

bajakid2 Enthusiast

bajakid2

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Hey, Thanks for all the helpfull info!

i do have a diablo programmer with "diablew custom tune",RC leveling kit and 285/75/R17 Nitto Terra Grappler tires,Trueflow intake. The truck has plenty of power i was just curious about the electric fans while towing weight.

If anyone knows California, my truck has gotten a tad warm EMPTY going up the grape vine on the I5 freeway in 110 Degree weather..and also it has gotten up to about 215 degrees on the 14 freeway with my bed full of riding stuff..(a quad,2 dirtbikes and some other things) and both times was with the air conditioning on. I havent had any problems with the truck getting hot going up big inclines with the Air conditioning off.

Also where would be the best and cheapest place to find some air bags?& i was looking into the Prodigy brake controller too.

 

Thanks for all the help

Travis

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