1/2 ton towing advice

The unit I was considering was a KZ Spree 270RLS. I think we've decided on another 24' unit that comes in at about 4900.

lawrosa wrote:

We are looking at a 30' TT with a dry weight of about 5500 lbs and a GVWR of 7000.

Can you post make and model? That seems a bit light...

I have a 29 foot-no slides that comes in at 4,500 pounds dry. They are out there.

My situation is halfway similar- 3 Suburbans over the last 15 years: 1/2 ton with 3.42 & 4 speed, 1/2 ton with 4.10 and 4 speed and 3/4 ton with 3.73 and 6 speed & a 27 ft bunkhouse, 7000 lbs gross.

I think 1) you are near the maximum capacity, and 2) are probably OK.

After reading 10-zillion "can I tow this threads", my take away is that having a little extra truck makes for more comfort.

Our 3/4 ton seems a bit more stable, and the point that folks make is that the axles, springs and brakes are designed for more weight. But both previous 1/2 ton Suburbans pulled ok (and the difference in the 3.42 vs. the 4.10 was pretty minor (heck, the 6-speed spends LOTS of time with the engine wound up to pretty much similar, if not higher, RPMs)).

There is probably a safety advantage to going bigger, but conversely, it's very wrong to be towing at 80% of maximum and feeling smug! (because you have a 3/4 ton or 1 ton or dually, yada yada yada). Towing anything heavy and big requires good attention and good driving hobbits regardless of the TV!

If I towed LOTS and LOTS, I think the "80%" rule is probably more important. But if you are like so many of us and the towing is more intermittent, your weight and truck seem to work- again, with the disclaimer that you are probably maxed out (and that pulling and accelerating are not the issue, but stopping and dealing with wind).

Tystevens wrote:

Jthornto wrote:
Thanks. I do have the factory towing package with the K5L cooling. I also just added a Tekonsha P3 brake controller.

I don't know what the cost to add the GM factory controller is (it was about $200 on my Ford), but I'd recommend it over the stand-alone inertia controllers. The integrated controller can do things that the stand-alone cannot.

A GM factory controller cannot be added after as the wiring is all different.

I had a Tekonsha P2 and it worked decent. Not as good as the factory controller, but worked decent enough.

Jthornto wrote:
Thanks. I do have the factory towing package with the K5L cooling. I also just added a Tekonsha P3 brake controller.

I don't know what the cost to add the GM factory controller is (it was about $200 on my Ford), but I'd recommend it over the stand-alone inertia controllers. The integrated controller can do things that the stand-alone cannot.

Mine is the Texas Edition which includes the towing package but not the integrated brake control.

Jthornto wrote:
Thanks. I do have the factory towing package with the K5L cooling. I also just added a Tekonsha P3 brake controller.

Doesn't your truck have a built in brake controller? I thought that they were standard with the towing package. The factory built in unit works very well.

Thanks. I do have the factory towing package with the K5L cooling. I also just added a Tekonsha P3 brake controller.

To the OP, we tow a very similarly sized TT w/ the 1/2 tons in my signature. They do just fine. We live in Utah; every tow has lots of mountains and elevation involved.

Make sure your truck has the K5L cooling package (look at the RPO code sticker in your glove box for the K5L code). If you have that, you should be set to tow.

Of course, you will need a well set up WD hitch and trailer brakes (the factory controllers are fantastic).

SouthpawHD wrote:

owenssailor wrote:
I forgot to include the weights for our trailer.
Trailer GVW 7000
Brochure trailer 5005 tongue 780
as shipped trailer 5400
When in use trailer 6600 tongue 1200

At 1200 TW, plus WD hitch, aren't you over the max for GM trucks? My truck says 1200 max.

My truck says 1500