I understand that just asking this question really shines a light on how much of an idiot I am. That being said, I'm going to ask anyways. I started shopping for my first travel trailer a few months ago and have been told by dealer after dealer that towing a sub 5000lb GVWR trailer would be no problem with my 2011 Chevy suburban. Well, I went ahead and ordered a new 2016 starcraft ar-one maxx 19bhle through camping worldI put a down payment on it since there were non around and it should be here in about 8 weeks.So, I've been reading up on the different hitches and am getting concerned about a lot of forums that go over so many different TT and TV weights. I thought that I had plenty of towing capacity but now I'm just not sure. I know there are a lot of posts up there that talk about this, but I'm hoping that some of you with years of experience can chime in on my exact setup.Here are the weights on the trailer:WeightsUnloaded Vehicle Weight (lbs) 3,373 Dry Hitch Weight (lbs) 400 Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (lbs) 4,400 Cargo Carrying Capacity (lbs) 987 Fresh water capacity is 42Gal.My tow vehicle is a 2011 chevy suburban 1500 LT 4WD.Here are the specs I pulled off the door:GVWR = 7400lbsGAWR FRT = 3600lbsGAWR RR = 4200lbsAccording the manual, I have the following towing specs:Max trailer weight = either 5000lbs or 5500lbs(not sure if my model is LC9 or not)GCWR = either 11000lbs or 11500lbs (again, not sure if I have LC9 model of suburban)max tongue weight is 1100lbsI don't know what the curb weight or dry weight is of my Suburban.I don't even think that I can get my deposit back if it is too heavy but maybe I can put it towards something smaller if not:(Any help is very appreciated.Thank you,Don

That sticker on the door should say something like "the weight of the cargo and all occupants shall not exceed _________". That's what you need to know to figure this out.

That's a fairly light trailer and off the top of my head I don't think you'll have any issues to be concerned about. You should have an axle code on your TV door pillar. If it's a 3.5 or higher all the better. If you don't have an HD package, add a transmission cooler and just be conscious about how much weight you add to the TV and loaded TT.

Your only worry might be remaining payload for hitch weight around 650 lbs when loaded. Otherwise the trailer is relatively light. You need to get actual weight of vehicle and then can compare it to your ratings.

My gut tells me you should be fine. I would weigh the truck with full fuel and passengers and then subtract that number from the GVWR and see how much you have left for tongue weight. Your tongue weight will probably range about 600lbs +/-. You can also subtract that number from the GCWR of either 11000lbs or 11500lbs to see approximately how heavy of a trailer you can tow. I really don't think that trailer will be too much for your vehicle.Barney

I pulled a similar weight trailer, Jayco X17C hybrid, with a 4.0L V6 Nissan Frontier with no problems. It was a little slow on the hills and a head wind slowed me down but never felt overmatched. I think you'll be fine.

HELP! Did I buy a trailer that I can't pull????

39 Replies

N-Trouble
Explorer
Mar 11, 2016
You should be fine with those weights assuming you have the proper hitch and set it up correctly.
camper_don
Explorer
Mar 11, 2016
Thanks for all the fast replies. My dad has had a different trailers for years and says that he used to pull a 7500lb trailer with his old 1500 GMC truck.

I hope I'm just over thinking it.
camper_don
Explorer
Mar 10, 2016
wing_zealot wrote:
That sticker on the door should say something like "the weight of the cargo and all occupants shall not exceed _________". That's what you need to know to figure this out.

Unfortunately, it's not on there:(. It even says that I should see something like that on there in the manual but no go.
dodge_guy
Explorer II
Mar 10, 2016
I don't see any issues with that trailer with your Burb. If the tow capacity is only 5000 then you may have a 3.08 gear. But you have the 6 speed auto with good gearing in it.

Have fun with it!

FWIW, I towed a 25ft 5000lb loaded TT with a 95 Explorer and it did remarkably well.
penguin149
Explorer
Mar 10, 2016
I pulled a similar weight trailer, Jayco X17C hybrid, with a 4.0L V6 Nissan Frontier with no problems. It was a little slow on the hills and a head wind slowed me down but never felt overmatched. I think you'll be fine.
BarneyS
Explorer III
Mar 10, 2016
My gut tells me you should be fine. I would weigh the truck with full fuel and passengers and then subtract that number from the GVWR and see how much you have left for tongue weight. Your tongue weight will probably range about 600lbs +/-.

You can also subtract that number from the GCWR of either 11000lbs or 11500lbs to see approximately how heavy of a trailer you can tow. I really don't think that trailer will be too much for your vehicle.
Barney
Bedlam
Moderator
Mar 10, 2016
Your only worry might be remaining payload for hitch weight around 650 lbs when loaded. Otherwise the trailer is relatively light. You need to get actual weight of vehicle and then can compare it to your ratings.
phillyg
Explorer II
Mar 10, 2016
That's a fairly light trailer and off the top of my head I don't think you'll have any issues to be concerned about. You should have an axle code on your TV door pillar. If it's a 3.5 or higher all the better. If you don't have an HD package, add a transmission cooler and just be conscious about how much weight you add to the TV and loaded TT.
wing_zealot
Explorer
Mar 10, 2016
That sticker on the door should say something like "the weight of the cargo and all occupants shall not exceed _________". That's what you need to know to figure this out.

Forum Discussion

HELP! Did I buy a trailer that I can't pull????

39 Replies

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