Ok, I have had a few motorhomes with the largest being a 34' which I pulled a 16' trailer with toys on it. I have had a couple of travel trailers as well with the longest being a 24'. Well Mom just purchased a 34' bumper pull to put in the mountains for the summer(we live in AZ). Dry weight of the trailer is 7500 and I have an 07 GMC Duramax. Any pointers for pulling a trailer this big? Thanks in advance.

Well, they’re really not that complicated. What has you nervous?

If you towed a 16 ft trailer behind your MH you should have no problem towing a 34 ft TT.

Mine is 36ft and dont have any issues. I personally think the longer camper are easier to back up than short.

The only thing you really have to be more concerned with, or at least I have to be, is the swing of the rear of the trailer past the back wheels. When turning in tight corners in my storage yard and some tight campgrounds, it is really my main concern.

34' bumper pull, pointers. | Good Sam Community

DutchmenSport
Explorer
May 18, 2018
OK, you asked about a sway bar.

I tow a 35.5 foot > 10,000 pound tandem axle travel trailer with a 3500 diesel Chevy long bed dually. I use a weight distribution system with built in sway. I use the Equal-i-zer 4 point weight distribution system, rated for a 14,000 pound trailer and a tongue hitch weight of 1400 pounds.

Would I tow this without WD and sway control.... NO! I tried it and didn't like it.

An aftermarket friction sway bar is better than nothing at all. But you definitely want some kind of sway control, long or short trailer.

The problem with the aftermarket friction sway bars is the fact you really should remove them every time you back up. This can be a real annoyance.

Why remove them? If you back up, you run the risk of bending them if you begin to experience a jack knife. Also, there is a risk the little ball on the hitch head could break off. This would ruin your hitch head too.

What you really should consider is a weight distribution hitch system that has built in sway control. Equal-i-zer 4 point, Blue OX, Reese Dual Cam. This way you won't have to worry about that extra friction sway bar.

Yes ..... you need sway control, whatever system you end up with.

This coming from a dually 1 ton driver with a 35 foot trailer.
sgfrye
Explorer
May 18, 2018
DutchmenSport wrote:
35 1/2 footer here (without the cargo carrier). Best advise I can give you is to take the trailer to an empty parking lot and practice turning, so you'll know how sharp you can turn before jack knifing, and especially jack knifing when backing up.

Second, learn in the parking lot how much a swing your camper actually makes on tight turns and how the tires actually track in turns.

Once you know your campers limitations, there is really no difference in towing an 18 foot (which we started with) to a 31 foot (which was our second), to a 35.5 foot (our current one).

Practice in an empty parking lot. It will be the best 30 minutes to an hour spent in the history of your new camper.

Congrats on your new camper!

x2 on this we have a 33ft TT
my wife has learned to take her turn driving on longer trips and she's now comx2 fortable with it.
campigloo
Explorer
May 18, 2018
So far as the sway question, if it does start to get out of hand don’t touch the truck brake but hit the trailer brake hard and quick.
handye9
Explorer II
May 18, 2018
BucknMindy wrote:
Not nervous just curious if there was any pointers. They do have a husky Equalizer hitch and one of the things I was wondering is should I install a sway bar? Is it necessary with a trailer that long? I figured it would be easier to back up being that long. It's them little guys that are a booger.

Weight distributing hitches have varying weight ratings. You should check to make sure the one they have, is sized for the correct tongue weight.

With 7500 lb dry weight, the loaded tongue weight on that trailer will easily go over 1000 lbs. Their hitch should be rated for at least 1200, and possibly 1400 lbs.

Some sway bars can be an annoyance because they need to be removed for backing up.

There are hitches that have sway control built in. No need for sway bars. I use a BlueOx Swaypro 1500. My tongue weight varies between 975 and 1200 lbs. Note: Tongue weight is not a constant number. It fluctuates, up and down, during every trip.

If you need to upgrade the existing hitch, maybe you'll want to look at something with sway control built in.
ken56
Explorer
May 18, 2018
Be sure to take off the weight distribution bars and any friction sway control before backing up, you can bend things in tight turns backing into a site.
dodge_guy
Explorer II
May 18, 2018
Is this going to be towed all the time or just parked? If it is just being parked and not moved then I would just get the one away bar with a WD hitch.

Length is only an issue if the tongue weight is too light. You’ll be fine.
Camper_G
Explorer
May 18, 2018
BucknMindy wrote:
I'm picking up the TT and it's a 3&1/2 hour drive home. Do I need sway bars before that first ride home?

Yes you do.
Huntindog
Explorer
May 18, 2018
BucknMindy wrote:
I'm picking up the TT and it's a 3&1/2 hour drive home. Do I need sway bars before that first ride home?
Do you want a sway issue on the way home?:S
BucknMindy
Explorer
May 18, 2018
I'm picking up the TT and it's a 3&1/2 hour drive home. Do I need sway bars before that first ride home?
Huntindog
Explorer
May 18, 2018
BucknMindy wrote:
Not nervous just curious if there was any pointers. They do have a husky Equalizer hitch and one of the things I was wondering is should I install a sway bar? Is it necessary with a trailer that long? I figured it would be easier to back up being that long. It's them little guys that are a booger.
A single sway bar is good for up to 25-26'.
Beyond that, two sway bars are needed.