Chevy 1500 Truck. Can I get a camper?
I have been looking for a camper that I can put in my half ton Chevy Silverado. I am not sure if there are truck campers that are light enough that I can use in my truck. I took a look and the max...
Forum Discussion
Good for you for considering everything before buying. You have discovered the bane of all 1/2 tons, they can haul a lot more than they can carry. 1650lbs is not enough for 5 people, camper, water, propane, dishes, food, and all that you will bring. Been there done that once before I knew any better. My dad has a old six lug light duty K2500. 8.5ft camper with 6 of us went on vacation. Truck wallowed down the road, springs almost flat, would not drive straight, had to almost stop for corners, baaaaad!
Travel trailers also fall victim to weight thing too. Your owners manual may state you can tow 8900lbs like mine does, but not all kinds of trailers are the same. A boat or flat deck is not the same as a travel trailer. Travel trailers have much heavier tongue weights. For example, my Expy has a 890lbs tongue weight limit and a 8900lbs towing capacity. The tongue weight limit is 10 percent of the max towing capacity, which is fine for boats, but TT have tongue weights in the 13-15 percent or more range. A 8900lbs TT will have a tongue weight around 1300lbs!! I wish RV dealers would explain this to customers, but they don't.
Look for trailers in the 25ft range which will be in general around 4500-5000lbs empty. This is general rule of thumb for 1/2ton and numbers will almost always work out. Your situation is very similar to mine, max cargo and people of my Expy is 1672lbs and I have a growing family of 5, we sometimes take a 6th. You want to keep the tongue weight of the trailer 900lbs or less, and most travel trailers have 12-15 percent tongue weight. So 900lbs tongue weight equates to a loaded trailer around 6500lbs. When you subtract weight of your stuff, food, full water tank, propane, batteries, etc you end up with a dry weight between 4700 and 5000lbs.
My TT is a great match, it is 22ft long ball to bumper, weighs 4000lbs empty about 5200lbs loaded and has a great layout for the 5 of us with 4 separate sleeping locations (double bed with single bunk over, dinette and jackknife sofa). We do have to drop the table and couch but that takes 1 minute to drop and lay out a sleeping bag.
Welcome to the forum and good luck in your endeavors!
Travel trailers also fall victim to weight thing too. Your owners manual may state you can tow 8900lbs like mine does, but not all kinds of trailers are the same. A boat or flat deck is not the same as a travel trailer. Travel trailers have much heavier tongue weights. For example, my Expy has a 890lbs tongue weight limit and a 8900lbs towing capacity. The tongue weight limit is 10 percent of the max towing capacity, which is fine for boats, but TT have tongue weights in the 13-15 percent or more range. A 8900lbs TT will have a tongue weight around 1300lbs!! I wish RV dealers would explain this to customers, but they don't.
Look for trailers in the 25ft range which will be in general around 4500-5000lbs empty. This is general rule of thumb for 1/2ton and numbers will almost always work out. Your situation is very similar to mine, max cargo and people of my Expy is 1672lbs and I have a growing family of 5, we sometimes take a 6th. You want to keep the tongue weight of the trailer 900lbs or less, and most travel trailers have 12-15 percent tongue weight. So 900lbs tongue weight equates to a loaded trailer around 6500lbs. When you subtract weight of your stuff, food, full water tank, propane, batteries, etc you end up with a dry weight between 4700 and 5000lbs.
My TT is a great match, it is 22ft long ball to bumper, weighs 4000lbs empty about 5200lbs loaded and has a great layout for the 5 of us with 4 separate sleeping locations (double bed with single bunk over, dinette and jackknife sofa). We do have to drop the table and couch but that takes 1 minute to drop and lay out a sleeping bag.
Welcome to the forum and good luck in your endeavors!
