1st Time. Going crosscountry. Question for experienced folks

Hi all,

This is my first post on rv.net. I am looking for resources to learn the easy way things one would rather not learn the hard way while on the road for the first time. I have never RV'd, been on a campground, or walked into a travel trailer before with the exception of visiting RV dealerships very recently. I am ready for the learning curve and understand there will be lots of sacrifices in convenience but I believe it could all be worth it. From my research I have decided I would be best off going with a travel trailer because I can always unhitch when I arrive at a new state and explore with higher ease & mpg as opposed to an RV where you are constantly lugging around all of your belongings.

Current vehicle: 2017 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 4x4
Engine: EcoTec3 5.3L V8
Rear Axle Ratio: 3.42
GCWR: 15000

Proposed trailer:
29 foot in length with 2 slideouts weighing at around 6000 pounds. One example would be the Dutchmen Kodiak 253RBSL (doesn't let me post link for some reason)

My main concerns are driving safety and accessibility.

When it comes to safety is this an acceptable choice considering I will be driving on all sorts of roads throughout the country, going uphill, downhill, and through tunnels during all 4 seasons?

When it comes to accessibility I wonder if there would be any issues with a travel trailer 29-foot in length and a Silverado 1500 19-foot in length considering campground restrictions at most national parks and commercial rv parks?
For the national parks I checked the travel trailer length restrictions on nps.gov and most places allow trailers shorter than 30-foot in length but I am not sure if there would be any issues with the 19-foot Silverado. This is where personal experiences would really help clarify what to expect.

Any other links to guides or resources with tips and tricks on how to best prepare and navigate through a trip like this are most welcome!

Thanks in advance to all those who contribute :)

50 Replies

itguy08
Explorer
Oct 04, 2017
Prober22 wrote:
Your 1500 most likely has a Class 3 hitch. The weight rating for that is 6000 lbs.

You should check your hitch - there will be a sticker on it that says the class rating. For ours, Ford put a class IV on it.

The sticker or the owner's manual will tell the weight ratings for the hitch. Then he can compare with his selected campers.
Prober22
Explorer
Oct 04, 2017
Your 1500 most likely has a Class 3 hitch. The weight rating for that is 6000 lbs. The guy at the dealership won't tell you that when you hook that new 30 footer up to it, you will probably be over the weight rating for your hitch. I had a class 4 hitch put on my 2500HD for this reason. I figured that if I were in some kind of accident, and some insurance investigator was nosing around, he could easily discover that my payload exceeded the recommended weight capacity of the Class 3 hitch. I didn't want any potential culpability or liability for that.

A Class 4 hitch is rated for 10,000 lbs.

Safe Travels!
Prober
itguy08
Explorer
Oct 04, 2017
campigloo wrote:
Itguy08
I really don't mean this offensively. Honest.
You're dangerous.

How so? Remember, I've got the Max Tow package with a little over 1800 lbs of cargo capacity. It's just me and the wife and a dog.

I'm within the weight limits of my vehicle.
I adjust the trailer brakes every 3k miles like the book says
The trailer brake controller is set correctly.
Done a few panic stops (idiot drivers) and it stopped straight and safe.

While I've not been out West I've gone through the mountains of PA, NY, VA without issue. Interstate and back roads.

I've towed in the wind and while you feel the push it's not that bad. Sway seems to not be an issue in the 6k we've towed it.

Longest trip was down to Kitty Hawk, NC the first year we got it - 400 miles one way. It did great.

What am I missing? I'm being serious as for us this combo does real well and I'm within the parameters of my tow vehicle.
campigloo
Explorer
Oct 04, 2017
Itguy08
I really don't mean this offensively. Honest.
You're dangerous.
itguy08
Explorer
Oct 04, 2017
Can't help on the cross country part but we were new to the camper thing as well. Went from never towing anything to towing a 35', 9900 lb travel trailer. Have over 6,000 miles so far and we're doing just fine and I'd go cross country tomorrow. What's the vehicle you ask? 2011 F150 with the max tow package.

Couple things -

1. Look at the yellow sticker on your driver's door jamb. The cargo capacity will be listed. That's the weight you can put in the truck. You, wife, dog, cat, stuff in bed, and tongue weight of the trailer.

2. Tongue weight is typically 10-15% of the trailer's weight. Figure this on GVWR of the trailer for calculating if you can tow.

3. Run the #'s - you, wife, dog, etc, tongue +50 or so lbs for the hitch. Make sure they are all under payload.

4. Make sure your truck has the tow package with integrated brake controller if not you'll need aftermarket.

5. Get a good hitch. We were sold an Equalizer and it works great.

6. Take it slow around the neighborhood as you get used to the feeling of how it handles. It rides,stops, turns, and brakes a lot different with the weight. Backing will take patience.

There's no reason you can't do this safely with your truck as long as it's within the weight specs for your truck. Your trailer brakes stop the trailer and not even a 1 ton truck's brakes are rated to stop the GCVW at max capacity. The rest of the things often cited are issues towing with any vehicle.

We went from nothing to towing with this combination. It tows so well even my wife will now drive it. The only place she won't is in a campground as it's "too tight" and she won't back it up.
SheDrives
Explorer
Oct 03, 2017
JnJnKatiebug wrote:
I guess we travel light. My Tahoe has a 7250 GVWR. Here is my before and ready to camp scale tickets with me in the vehicle. The only thing I add is wife (120#) wife's purse (57#) and dog (7#). Unless I am no good at math I am below my ratings.

You're probably not aware that your images are not showing up. This is what I see:

I took a peek at what URL you are posting and the image appears to be hosted on Google. I would guess that there is security on the pictures and you can see them fine since you're logged into Google. But since the picture is not "public", I'm just seeing the grey.
arkie_guide
Explorer
Oct 03, 2017
To much trailer are to little truck. Period. I have carried, pulled, many different size trailers from upstate New York, to The Fl. keys. To San Diego, to Oregon and back,. plus Canada. Alaska, and Mexico.
Several times, KEEP in mind pulling is not always the issue - you can pull more then you can stop.Stay with your truck, at about 24 feet no slide out.Yes I have had 35' bumper pull and 35' 5th wheels with slide outs, but they are way to big to use a 1/2 ton to pull.Now I have went down, and down, and building myself a 12 foot box T.T.
After 50+ years in them I want as little behind me as possible.

GOOD LUCK.
allen8106
Explorer
Sep 30, 2017
From Jan 2007 to March 2011 I towed a 32 foot TT with a 1500 Dodge Ram. I picked the rig up new in Walcott, IA and towed it 500 miles home. That was the worst 500 miles towing I have ever experienced. After that I only towed it the 30 miles to and from our local lake and would never have considered towing it any further. You can tow that rig across country if you want but you won't like and your truck won't like it

Just my 2 cents worth.
westend
Explorer
Sep 29, 2017
@westend
Thanks for being so thorough. Door sticker details:
Combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed: 768kg or 1692 lbs.
Tires: P265/65R18 Pressure: 240 kPa, 35PSI

That cargo rating was more inline with my thinking, not the 2300 Lbs derived from the calculator.
One thing you can do if you choose one of these heavier trailers is invest in a good set of LT tires. You can air up the tires for towing and decrease the PSI for more urbane travel. They last longer, too.

I don't need a WDH with my 3/4 ton and trailer but I do use one. I have an Equal-I-zer brand hitch I purchased off Craigslist. Even 600 lbs of tongue weight on a 4x4 3/4 ton takes weight off the steering axle. I like most of it back on there.
6door74
Explorer
Sep 29, 2017
How do you interpret the results from the husky calculator? Specifically the tongue weight. I know it's just a guide and getting the actual weight at scales is the only way to truly know. I played with the calculator using 2 different trailer specs and I ending up with the same tongue weight which us over my max. One trailer has a tongue weight of 1070 and the other has a tongue weight of 680 (dry weight per the manufacturer websites). What am i doing wrong?

I did notice that leaving the tank fields empty (simulating empty tanks)seems to give me passable numbers with either trailer. I'm pretty sure 9/10 times I wouldn't drive with full tanks but I'm not sure if I should act on that when choosing.