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trailer weight

15silver

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Britt Lifsey Enthusiast

Britt Lifsey

Posted
Posted

A big thing to keep in mind with an RV is water weight. If you are camping in places without water supply or dumping facilities, you likely will be towing in with freshwater full and towing home with black/gray full. Water is roughly 8.25 lbs per gallon and 30-45 gallons FW is typical in that size TT. Also look at location of tanks and storage for heavy items relative to axles...the location will impact tongue weight.

GsBowtie Enthusiast

GsBowtie

Posted
Posted

Size - Just had that discussion with a buddy who rv's a lot. Not all parks can handle the bigger rigs - thats good advice.

Tough enough around here to find availability when you want it, let alone scratch off a few because your rig is too long.

Nice knowing others can do a 30'er with a 1500. I was getting upsold everywhere I went, and its so easy to get carried away. Just another $50/month ....

 

Exactly. The notorious line "oh your truck can tow that no problem...." from salesman. That has gotten many folks in trouble over the years.

 

What happens then is they quickly find out they bought too much trailer for their truck and wind up shopping for a 3/4 ton truck in a year after buying that big trailer.

 

Not everyone though. Like i said folks have different levels of what their comfortable with. There are some who have no issue towing a 30+ footer with a 1/2 ton truck,which is fine as long as they can do so and stay within the weight limits. I just personally prefer to have more margin than that. But that's just me.

 

Towing any trailer of any length is a seriiys thing and requires extra concentration. The combined weight of my truck and trailer is probably north of 11,000 lbs. That's a lot of weight to get slowed down in an emergency, even if properly set up with good brakes.

 

Also of note, most trailer tires are speed rated to 65mph max, so I usually run around 60 and just take my time. Overheating and/or hitting curbs (weakening the sidewall )are two big causes of trailer tire failure. In addition to improper inflation. I always run the max sidewall pressure, cold.

Debra in Cali Enthusiast

Debra in Cali

Posted
Posted

Exactly. The notorious line "oh your truck can tow that no problem...." from salesman. That has gotten many folks in trouble over the years.

 

What happens then is they quickly find out they bought too much trailer for their truck and wind up shopping for a 3/4 ton truck in a year after buying that big trailer.

 

Not everyone though. Like i said folks have different levels of what their comfortable with. There are some who have no issue towing a 30+ footer with a 1/2 ton truck,which is fine as long as they can do so and stay within the weight limits. I just personally prefer to have more margin than that. But that's just me.

 

Towing any trailer of any length is a seriiys thing and requires extra concentration. The combined weight of my truck and trailer is probably north of 11,000 lbs. That's a lot of weight to get slowed down in an emergency, even if properly set up with good brakes.

 

Also of note, most trailer tires are speed rated to 65mph max, so I usually run around 60 and just take my time. Overheating and/or hitting curbs (weakening the sidewall )are two big causes of trailer tire failure. In addition to improper inflation. I always run the max sidewall pressure, cold.

You are so correct. I error on the side of caution for driving and medical advice ( I am a nurse). 15Silver also has to account for his location. He is in British Columbia. They have real mountains in that area. Mountain passes in the West Coast of North America are much higher than most if not all of mountains East of the Mississippi.

tkkz71 Enthusiast

tkkz71

Posted
Posted

I have your same set up, (engine, gear ratio, etc) and tow a 33' travel trailer with no problem. Dry weight is 7300lbs so with water and beer, I'm thinking it's close to 8000. Truck does well and I'm impress with the results.

if you don't mind can I ask you some questions?

when you pull your trailer do you use the tow/haul switch?

what kind of gas mileage are you getting?

have you done any performance mods exhaust, tune ect?

i've only had this truck for a year still trying to get used to it from the 03 Avalanche i had

thanks for your time

Gary13 Enthusiast

Gary13

Posted
Posted

Wait..... Passenger weight? You're allowed to tow the trailer with people in it?

Gary13 Enthusiast

Gary13

Posted
Posted

I use the "tow haul" mode when towing, yes. Most of my towing is around Pa, Del, NC, Va, etc. too many hills for it to trying to switch in and out of OD or hold short shifts. When on the open road, with no hills, I'll take off the "tow/haul" mode. I'm not really sure about the fuel mileage, to be honest, never really checked. What I do like is the fact that on the info center I can select "Trans Temp" and monitor the temp of trans fluids. When she's really pulling, it's just over 200 degrees.

 

As far as any modifications, none. I have just went from 18" wheels to 20's but haven't towed with it like that yet. I'm thinking cold air intake and a programmer next.

 

Hope that helped.....

GsBowtie Enthusiast

GsBowtie

Posted
Posted

if you don't mind can I ask you some questions?

when you pull your trailer do you use the tow/haul switch?

what kind of gas mileage are you getting?

have you done any performance mods exhaust, tune ect?

i've only had this truck for a year still trying to get used to it from the 03 Avalanche i had

thanks for your time

I tow with tow/haul on. It makes a huge difference. Helps with grade braking also. Since i don't exceed 55-60 mph when i tow except for a short time on occasion, i also run it in M5 so all 8 holes always stay lit. I don't like it going into V4 mode with all the weight on. But that's just my preference. Towing I've gotten 12-13 mph average. Pretty darn good in my opinion. No modifications
Britt Lifsey Enthusiast

Britt Lifsey

Posted
Posted

Wait..... Passenger weight? You're allowed to tow the trailer with people in it?

I've read that it is legal to ride in 5th wheel trailer if equipped with communication with driver :-)

 

And, if RV is horse trailer with living quarters you would have passengers of the horse variety.

gmckenzie Enthusiast

gmckenzie

Posted
Posted

A few comments.

 

Don't even talk about dry weights on a trailer.That is before propane tanks, batteries and a bunch of other stuff. No trailer on a lot is close to it's dry weight. If you want to discuss weights, look at dry plus carrying capacity. The poster who thinks a dry weight of 7,3,00 is close to 8,000 loaded is out to lunch.

 

Ditto for tongue weights. Manufacturer's ratings are a joke. My trailer brochure shows a tongue weight of 530 lbs. I'm close to double that when loaded up, with about a 1/2 tank of water.

 

I've got the NHT. Rated for 10,800 lbs and 2,015 lbs payload. Trailer is 34"4' from hitch to bumper, but is 8,200 GVW. That leaves me under 80% of tow rating. I have not been able to weigh the trailer loaded to see how I am at payload, but I will in the next week or so.

 

Make sure you get a decent WDH. Not a fan of what the RV dealer sells and too often they sell an undersized unit. Seems they get a deal on the ones with 800 lb bars. Step it up to a WDH with built in sway control. I've got a Equal-i-zer 4 point and it is way better than what most use, both to control sway and just as a WDH.

  • 3 weeks later...
15silver Enthusiast

15silver

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Well finally picked a trailer, and have a bit of experience now. 3800 pounds dry, single axle, and haven't got water in it yet, but 2 propane and a battery.

- MPG is average of 13.7 & varies

- don't seem to need tow/haul mode bad idea? better economy with it off

- came with a 10,000 lb weight distribution hitch

hitch lifted rear of truck back to level

- you know its there, but pulls smooth

- acceleration is surprisingly decent, uphill too

- braking is good, no fading (trailer has e brakes)

GM integrated controller has a time delay before trailer kicks in.

tend to feel a push when braking, then feel the trailer bite. normal? dont like it

 

Feels like it could pull a heavier trailer for sure, but the engine is definitely working harder than without. Another couple thou on top and I think the 5.3 with 3.42 would work hard enough I'd be concerned. I'm almost concerned with the increase I feel now. If I had a long flat highway stretch, then I feel confident one could say you wouldn't know it was there - however the roads around here are hilly.

Towing within 4 hour range I'd say a non-event. All day road trip for a couple weeks at this load I feel is aok for this truck. Pulling a boat to a local lake on weekends I think you could go much heavier - even up to the 9400 lb rating. For a work truck with constant towing I don't think this is the right vehicle. Of course that would depend what you're pulling .. just the truck does feel the difference, and it is working for sure. Day in/out work like this I'm sure would take a toll.

Summer boating, vacation rv trailer towing - its a good size for a 4-5000 load. I wouldn't want to do much more personally, but thats just my impression, based on what I've got now.

buckwuk Enthusiast

buckwuk

Posted
Posted

I have a 35' TT. GVWR is around 9500. I don't load it that heavy I'm usually around 8500-8800 loaded with the combination being around 13500 with everything. 15 Denali 6.2. my max payload is 1650 and max tow is 9100. GVWR combination max is 15000. GM recommends anything over 7000 to have a weight distribution hitch. Also have roadmaster assist springs installed. Yes I'm comfortable pulling it. And truck handles it fine and doesn't get hot. Also stops it well. The numbers GM puts on these vehicles they are very confident it will not damage the vehicle. So don't ever think your truck can't handle it. If you aren't comfortable towing heavy that's fine. My truck would pull my dad's 42' 5th wheel. I'm never going to try it but I know it would. But like everyone else said tow what your comfortable with. Plenty of guys out there that exceed the ratings on there truck by 3-5000 pounds and haven't had any problems. If they ever get into an accident with it I believe it's a pretty big deal with the law though. And just plain unsafe.

Britt Lifsey Enthusiast

Britt Lifsey

Posted
Posted

news article here recently guy had a trailer accident and got jail.

 

http://theprovince.com/news/crime/man-gets-22-months-jail-for-boat-trailer-crash-that-killed-ucluelet-woman

Reading that article, there were many more issues going on than towing overweight. While being overweight was mentioned in article, the lack of proper maintenance seemed to be primary reason for conviction.

mdauwald Enthusiast

mdauwald

Posted
Posted

Reading that article, there were many more issues going on than towing overweight. While being overweight was mentioned in article, the lack of proper maintenance seemed to be primary reason for conviction.

How do you put brake shoes on backwards?

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