Avalanche for towing?

kellijaebaeli wrote:
I get conflicting responses all across the board on this. We bought a travel trailer that we were told could be towed just fine by our 2002 Chevy Avalanche (1500). Now we're not so sure. We're considering finding a cheap 1/2 ton or 3/4 --but we weren't expecting to buy another vehicle for towing, so we have a very limited budget on that.

Anyway, various sources (The sticker on the door, dealers, other truck owners, various spec websites, etc) say that Ava can tow 7100-8100lbs. I believe the trailer is about 6k; it's a 2001 KZ Sportsmen 2604 (bumper-pull). We are remodeling the inside, and it will probably be much lighter than factory when we're finished, as we are removing a bunch of heavy things we don't need. Either way, i don't want to be in dangerous territory, nor put too much strain on the Avalanche. She did well pulling it back from the dealer over curvy, hilly roads; although we are hearing some scraping sounds that might be the brake pads (?) and of course, we didn't have the braking controller at the time. (We will be getting a sway bar, and a brake controller before any other towing). For now, it's parked in a storage area where we are doing the renovations. Would love some insight from those of you who have used a 1/2 ton truck--especially an Avalanche for towing.

I don't have any direct experience, these are just general comments from experience.

The fact you said it towed well, without even being setup properly, is valuable information. To me that would say set it up properly and then try it some more more specifically looking for issues before you run out for a newer truck.
A quick google says that trailer has a fair amount of front weight, 780# and you need to add battery and propane to that and your truck's payload (1380?) is low for a 'half ton' so you likely will be over the listed carrying capacity specification there (unless you have an empty truck). Is that a problem, the answer varies by vehicle and how much you have to carry in the truck and I don't know this truck so no comment there. You will find that spec is more important to some people than others, which likely resulted in the wide disagreement on if this is a suitable setup you have already seen. This also makes getting the weight distribution correct even more important, and don't forget the more weight you move forward the less total weight is on the truck.
Don't try to get it too light on the front being obsessed with the trucks carrying capacity when renovating, you want it in the 12%+ range and lower will make things worse.
I'm surprised you didn't notice swaying without sway bars, that too is a good sign but it definitely needs that added given the numbers on that combination and the brake controller ..... don't leave home without it again!