Can I tow my new camper safely

Bumpyroad wrote:
Never heard of anyone involved in a civil suit either for recreational towing overweight.

If you were ever involved in an accident where you were hit by someone towing what appeared to be an overloaded tow vehicle would any of you ask the policeman and the insurance to run the specs on the combo?? How many would ask if the driver had the right licensure? Would you ask if the tires had the load capacity for the combo?? Might be a real easy way to prove liability. Food for thought

When we were purchasing our TT we looked at several similar models. We had done our homework and pretty much knew what weight we wanted.

When the deal started to get serious the salesman asked if the technician could look at my TV to see if it could handle the load. That took about 2 seconds since I had a new 4x4 with an Ecoboost engine.

I our conversation with the salesman, it seem that sometimes the people know what they want, only to show up with a minivan with a 1000 lb. towing capacity. This does neither the salesman nor the customer any good.

When we were first looking we went to an RV show to checked out some of the FW models. I asked two of the dealers "What kind of beast do you need to haul one of these things?" both of the salesmen said they would not haul one with anything less than a 3/4 ton. I asked if I could beef up my 1/2 ton and they said "not really".

I agree the salesmen and women will paint a rosy picture and will rarely mention the drawbacks. However, on a purchase of this magnitude, there is a certain level of diligence that should be done by the purchaser.

Not picking on salesmen (yes, I am), but their job and paycheck depends on getting YOU to sign. Then it's your problem. It's a tough thing to do, but folks absolutely have to do their homework before rather than after. And then you toss in the emotional factor and you're sunk.

The local idiot/dealer here, as we were looking at HTT, was merrily waving goodbye to an older couple - older than WE are - hooked up with their little Ford Ranger and a 21SS HTT....the 21SS weighs more than our 23SS due to a very deep slide. Those folks had absolutely no business getting out with that combo, but knowing this dealer, they'll swear you can tow that, no problem. A member of the Hybrid Explorer Forum has a saying that fits all too often, "I can tow my 23SS with my garden tractor, but that doesn't mean I should".

Easiest way to get RV and truck dealers and salespersons to stop that nonsense is to request they put their statements in WRITING!....bet you won't get ONE salesman to state in writing, "You can tow anything with that Big Boy"......Dennis

TucsonJim wrote:

Tachdriver wrote:
The first purchase will be the biggest education!!!

Since I'm a very "seasoned" RV towing guy now, I'll have to fess up that I was in this guy's situation one time.

My first truck was a 1500 Silverado 4x4 extended cab short bed. I knew enough to ask the salesman "Does this thing tow?" He said "you can tow almost anything with this big boy". So I buy it.

I pulled my little 4500 pound TT just fine. But a buddy had a nice FW, so I convinced the DW that we "needed" a bigger rig. So off the the RV dealer. I had just enough knowledge to be dangerous. I asked him "what can my truck tow"? He said "since it's 4x4, you can tow anything!!". So I purchased a 30 foot FW. I don't remember what the GVWR was, but it listed the useless dry weigh around 9,800 pounds. Of course, we filled up all the water and propane, added fishing tackle, clothes, dishes, pots, pans, groceries and most important - beer!

When I picked it up, the PDI took about 45 minutes. The rear of the truck sagged about 4-5 inches when I hooked it up. This had me concerned. The salesman and service manager at the RV dealer said, "no problem, that's perfectly normal. Just readjust your headlights if your towing after dark".

On my first trip, we hit about a 5% grade, and the truck went down to about 32 mph! When we encountered a strong head wind, I think we were actually going backwards... But in reality, I did take it on a few trips, and it was very unnerving. Honest to God's truth, At 28,000 miles, the transmission on that poor little 1500 decided it had had enough. Fortunately, they honored the warranty on the truck. As soon as it was fixed, I traded it for a 2500HD. What a difference.

Moral of the Story:

We all have to learn one way or another. I don't want to pick on the OP, because I made the same mistake of listening to "professional" dealers instead of doing my own research. Now, he needs to rectify the situation and either get a smaller trailer, or a more stout TV. We can all help by making sure that any of our friends or acquaintances are fully informed before making a purchase.

In the mean time, we need to make sure TV and towable dealers understand all of the variables that go into a safe tow set up. I purchased a new FW this month, and the dealership actually compared items such as towing capacity, payload, hitch weight, etc. and recorded it. They have a very strict policy of not selling an overweight TV (thanks Lazy Days).

A good story and a good lesson TusconJim!

I give the op credit for sensing something may not be right and coming here for advice. No sense bashing folks, we're all still learning something.

It really is criminal what both tv and rv dealers are misleading folks with.

Tachdriver wrote:
The first purchase will be the biggest education!!!

Since I'm a very "seasoned" RV towing guy now, I'll have to fess up that I was in this guy's situation one time.

My first truck was a 1500 Silverado 4x4 extended cab short bed. I knew enough to ask the salesman "Does this thing tow?" He said "you can tow almost anything with this big boy". So I buy it.

I pulled my little 4500 pound TT just fine. But a buddy had a nice FW, so I convinced the DW that we "needed" a bigger rig. So off the the RV dealer. I had just enough knowledge to be dangerous. I asked him "what can my truck tow"? He said "since it's 4x4, you can tow anything!!". So I purchased a 30 foot FW. I don't remember what the GVWR was, but it listed the useless dry weigh around 9,800 pounds. Of course, we filled up all the water and propane, added fishing tackle, clothes, dishes, pots, pans, groceries and most important - beer!

When I picked it up, the PDI took about 45 minutes. The rear of the truck sagged about 4-5 inches when I hooked it up. This had me concerned. The salesman and service manager at the RV dealer said, "no problem, that's perfectly normal. Just readjust your headlights if your towing after dark".

On my first trip, we hit about a 5% grade, and the truck went down to about 32 mph! When we encountered a strong head wind, I think we were actually going backwards... But in reality, I did take it on a few trips, and it was very unnerving. Honest to God's truth, At 28,000 miles, the transmission on that poor little 1500 decided it had had enough. Fortunately, they honored the warranty on the truck. As soon as it was fixed, I traded it for a 2500HD. What a difference.

Moral of the Story:

We all have to learn one way or another. I don't want to pick on the OP, because I made the same mistake of listening to "professional" dealers instead of doing my own research. Now, he needs to rectify the situation and either get a smaller trailer, or a more stout TV. We can all help by making sure that any of our friends or acquaintances are fully informed before making a purchase.

In the mean time, we need to make sure TV and towable dealers understand all of the variables that go into a safe tow set up. I purchased a new FW this month, and the dealership actually compared items such as towing capacity, payload, hitch weight, etc. and recorded it. They have a very strict policy of not selling an overweight TV (thanks Lazy Days).

The first purchase will be the biggest education!!!

If your truck is typical it has a 5.5' bed and a short wheelbase. A good component of stability is your truck's wheelbase. A 30 foot trailer is entirely too long to tow with your truck, let alone the weight factor.

bmaccue wrote:
I just bought a new camper with a UVW of 8130# towing with a 2008 chevy 1500 4x4 w/5.3L motor and 3.73 gears. Do you think I will be all right towing this?

I think if would have asked “what size of weight distribution bar is needed to tow a camper with a UVW of 8130# towing with a 2008 Chevy 1500 4x4 w/5.3L motor and 3.73 gears”. You would have got five pages of you must use 1200 pound bars and my Chevy 1500 has done great for ten years. You have to take everything you read on this site with a ton of salt!
MM49

I can tell you from experience there is a big difference between being able to tow and proper towing.

My 2002 F150 was rated to 6000 lbs. so a 4500 lb. trailer should have been piece of cake; but as has been noted, a loaded trailer gains a lot of weight. More important, the 200 hp. motor and transmission were not able to pull the load. 50 to 55 mph was the best I could do on even a small hill.

Matching the truck to the anticipated load and understanding the numerous weight details make towing much easier. So in answer to your question, can you pull it, probably yes; can you pull it well, probably not.