Help picking new truck

Sprink-Fitter wrote:

docjason wrote:
Hello to all...been lurking here for years and have learned lots here but just signed up as a new member for some advice. I started camping with the normal progression...pop up then a travel trailer (still have) and am now moving up! Just ordered a 2017 Grand Design Reflection 367BHS 5th wheel today...dealer will set it up when it's in (late April or early May) at our seasonal camp site as our current truck is a Silverado 1500 6.2 and of course would be crushed under the new rig. We will be trading the Silverado for a proper truck for the camper next spring.

So my question is what type of truck should we be getting into? Our dealer told us a 2500 diesel will do just fine. I'm not so sure, I think we will need a 3500 diesel and possibly dual axle. The specs on the camper are:

UVW 12362
Hitch weight 2496
GVWR 14995
Length 41 feet

The payloads on the 2500 diesel trucks with 4x4 (necessary where we live) are all under 3000 pounds that I'm seeing online. The 3500 diesel trucks all have payloads over 4000. So am I reading this wrong that a 2500 is not enough truck and I should go 3500? I would prefer 2500 but am OK with bigger. Also, with 3500, do I need dual axle for this rig? Dealer says no.

Thanks so much for the advice in advance

You are not leaving it at your seasonal site?

What Silverado 1500 comes with a 6.2?

We will leave it at the seasonal site all this season and over the winter. But we do like to pull out a few times a year and travel, not far, usually no further than 3 hours away in any direction for a long weekend.

Yeah, I didn't know they came with any engine bigger than the 5.8 until my neighbor who sells Chevy told me when I was looking for a bigger truck in 2015. We had a RAM hemi and bought our travel trailer which from factory was 7000 lbs. The dealer said the ram was plenty of truck, but it wasn't. The payload on that was under 2000 and rated for 9600 towing capacity. So the first year with the trailer we only made short trips and thought the truck was fine. Well, first 3 hour highway ride and I was a nervous wreck as the trailer was driving me! So we were looking for a 2500 and my neighbor said they had a 6.2 with towing package that rates at towing 11,800 lbs and payload of 2600. That was plenty for the trailer so traded the ram and this truck did great. Only down side is it only comes in the high End LTZ trim so we had to pay for bells and whistles in the truck we weren't looking for. But ended up loving it.

This is why I got the 5th wheel first. Leaned with the travel trailer the hard way