Help Needed to pair new Tahoe w/ TT

JnJnKatiebug wrote:
I have that exact same Tahoe. A full tank of gas with just me inside weighs 5960 pounds (me 200#).

So my earlier guess of ~ 5700 lbs was pretty close to your base weight of 5760 lbs. Add ~ 100 lbs for weight distribution and we're talking ~ 5860 lbs for this vehicle, full tank of gas, no one in it and no cargo, but ready to be hitched to a trailer. IIRC it's GVWR is 7300 lbs - subtract 5860 lbs and we have a maximum potential payload of 1440 lbs. Subtract even 1000 lbs for trailer tongue weight and that leaves a mere 440 lbs for all people and all cargo added to the vehicle as well. If the actual scaled weight is even higher the story will be even worse. My own view is if this Tahoe isn't negotiable to a 3/4 ton then the OP really needs to downsize the trailer to something more reasonable, say 6000 lbs fully loaded & ready to camp, with an average gross tongue weight somewhere around 750 to 800 lbs. Even at that he's going to end up using pretty well all of his available payload capacity. Regardless, none of this is going to compensate for an excessively short wheelbase of just 116" so the shorter the trailer the better if he insists on this Tahoe as a TV.

My own anecdotal story ...

For several years I towed our KZ Spree triple bunk bed trailer which averaged ~ 5500 lbs loaded and ready to camp, measured 26' 9" coupler to bumper, with our 2006 Silverado, 5.3L, 3.42 axles coupled to a wide ratio 4-spd transmission. Wheelbase of that vehicle was 143.5" and using an Equal-i-zer to glue the two together the combination towed well, 'though certainly steep upgrades would have me towing in 2nd rather than 3rd, Tow / Haul always engaged. When the lease expired on that truck I bought our current 2005 Avalanche - same engine, same transmission, same axle ratio - but with a shorter 130" wheelbase. Towing stability didn't change but I did find it easier to back into campsites where access to the site was really tight ... but I certainly wouldn't want any shorter a wheelbase for towing a travel trailer of this size. These days I tow a shorter couple's trailer averaging ~ 4500 lbs loaded & ready to camp, measuring 22' 6" coupler to bumper, but interestingly it doesn't tow significantly better than it did with the Spree which was ~ 1000 lbs heavier. Wind resistance created by a trailer's "barn door" profile is the culprit and only when I strip the trailer at the end of the season do I notice any towing advantage at all.