Pulling with half ton!

tigertail34 wrote:
Reading all of this is making me nervous... I pull a 33' north trail 33bkss (dry 7595) with a 2007 suburban 1500. It pulls fine using an equalizer wdh setup.

You should be nervous ... even without any passengers or cargo in your Sub you're WAY over it's payload capacity and certainly exceeding it's rear axle rating towing a trailer that probably weighs close to 9000 lbs loaded.

Wow. :E

Alberta Born wrote:
Hey gang. New to the site, and surprisingly for being Canadian, new to RV'ing. Just buying a 2007 Jayco JayFeather 29D. GVW is 7050 lbs. My question for you experienced towers is this: I have a 2006 Chev Avalanche (don't judge me, normally I'm a Ford guy), it is the 5.3 V8 1500 and I am almost certain the gear ratio is the 4.10. What can you tell me about using this truck to pull my about to purchase 29' featherlight TT? Thanks for your wisdom!

Towed 30,000 miles with as 1/2, my 5th 27 ft. lite was 5000 lbs, with 1200 pin weight. I tow all of the Rocky's many times. a 4.10 would help, but your rear spring are not that heavy.
You won't be happy. Buy a 3/4 or get under 25 ft. trailer or 5th wheel.

Probably get away with it when towing so close to home but a trip several hundred miles with a family of 6 and gear for an extended stay would suggest you are almost certainly overloaded. I would think that a 1500 Suburban would be maxed out with an empty trailer and no passengers or gear in the vehicle.

Reading all of this is making me nervous... I pull a 33' north trail 33bkss (dry 7595) with a 2007 suburban 1500. It pulls fine using an equalizer wdh setup. I typically tow it within 15 miles of the house. I will be making our 2nd trip to Disney this week, New Orleans to Orlando with a family of 6.

SoundGuy wrote:

SoundGuy wrote:
That Jayco 29D has a UVW of 5580 lbs so I'd expect you'd be towing at least 6500 lbs loaded and ready to camp, with an average gross tongue weight of ~ 850 lbs which is an awful lot an Avalanche. JMO, but I wouldn't tow a trailer 31' long and weighing this much with an Av.

Nvr2loud wrote:
I'm in agreement. I tow a Trailcruiser 30QBSS fully loaded weight of 6006 lbs when ready for a 7 day trip. I tow with a 2011 Sierra 5.3 L with the 3.42 rear end. In my opinion, this has hit the trucks limits for both power and payload, and very nearly tongue weight.

Regardless, the deed is now done - the OP has his trailer so now he's just going to have to figure out how to tow it with his Av. On the upside that 4.10 axle which he has now confirmed is correct will help quite a bit in how the truck handles that much weight, 'though it won't do a thing to solve his payload issue.

Correct or stability issues that arise with a long trailer /short wb tow vehicle combo

SoundGuy wrote:
That Jayco 29D has a UVW of 5580 lbs so I'd expect you'd be towing at least 6500 lbs loaded and ready to camp, with an average gross tongue weight of ~ 850 lbs which is an awful lot an Avalanche. JMO, but I wouldn't tow a trailer 31' long and weighing this much with an Av.

Nvr2loud wrote:
I'm in agreement. I tow a Trailcruiser 30QBSS fully loaded weight of 6006 lbs when ready for a 7 day trip. I tow with a 2011 Sierra 5.3 L with the 3.42 rear end. In my opinion, this has hit the trucks limits for both power and payload, and very nearly tongue weight.

Regardless, the deed is now done - the OP has his trailer so now he's just going to have to figure out how to tow it with his Av. On the upside that 4.10 axle which he has now confirmed is correct will help quite a bit in how the truck handles that much weight, 'though it won't do a thing to solve his payload issue.

SoundGuy wrote:

Alberta Born wrote:
I have a 2006 Chev Avalanche (don't judge me, normally I'm a Ford guy), it is the 5.3 V8 1500 and I am almost certain the gear ratio is the 4.10.

A 5.3L Avalanche with a 4.10 axle ratio would indeed be rare so you'd certainly want to verify that by examining the RPO codes shown on the glove box sticker.

GU6 -- AXLE REAR, 3.42 RATIO
GT4 -- AXLE REAR, 3.73 RATIO
GT5 -- AXLE REAR, 4.10 RATIO

By far the most common ratio used in this vintage of Silverado / Sierra / Avalanche is 3.42, just what I had in my 2006 Silverado and now have in my current 2005 Avalanche ... not great for towing, good for a maximum loaded trailer weight of ~ 6000 lbs. That Jayco 29D has a UVW of 5580 lbs so I'd expect you'd be towing at least 6500 lbs loaded and ready to camp, with an average gross tongue weight of ~ 850 lbs which is an awful lot an Avalanche. JMO, but I wouldn't tow a trailer 31' long and weighing this much with an Av.

I'm in agreement. I tow a Trailcruiser 30QBSS fully loaded weight of 6006 lbs when ready for a 7 day trip. I tow with a 2011 Sierra 5.3 L with the 3.42 rear end. In my opinion, this has hit the trucks limits for both power and payload, and very nearly tongue weight.

Alberta Born wrote:
Thanks Soundguy. Just yesterday I called the local Jayco dealership here in Calgary and explained this all to a technician. He recommended a standard Reese Pro-Series Equalizer, and then later if I felt it was needed to add anti-sway. He thought the Avalanche would do okay with that.

There's nothing wrong at all with using a basic Reese Pro Series WD system but it should include a friction sway bar. The downside is 6 holes have to be drilled into the trailer's A-frame to mount the sway bar frame plate but nonetheless there are probably more of these in use than pretty well any other system, because of the cost. Personally I prefer WD systems like the Equal-i-zer and Blue Ox Sway Pro that feature sway control as a function of the design of the system and therefore don't require the use of a separate friction sway bar but of course they're much more costly.

I picked up my trailer on Tuesday and borrowed a friends 3/4 ton GMC. Since I don't yet have a sway system I pulled the trailer out of Calgary to my storage place with just the ball hitch. It pulled really well, no sway, handled bumps nicely all with just a ball hitch. But that's with the 3/4 ton.

The difference here is the 3/4's much greater payload capacity and much stiffer suspension compared to a 1/2 ton, especially an Avalanche which has coil suspension instead of leaf suspension so it can ride more like a car than a truck. Certainly with the size of trailer you've chosen your Av's payload capacity (or more correctly lack thereof) will be your biggest problem. That 4.10 axle ratio you've now confirmed will help enormously in terms of how well your Av tows this 6500 lb trailer, certainly far more easily than my Av with it's 3.42 would. Always use Tow / Haul for towing but heck with 4.10 you might even get away with towing in Drive instead of 3rd as I always do towing a lighter trailer. One way or another, you'll know for sure once you start towing with it. ;)

SoundGuy wrote:

rickm wrote:
I used to drive Avalanches for Demos ..... pulled up to a 32' Jayco, but staying mainly in SW Ontario, where the landscape is flat, the Avalanche had no problems towing. Only time i could remember one struggling was getting up the hill going into Algonquin Park. Personally, i think the AV is one of the best camping vehicles out there, the hard 3 piece tonneau cover made storage a snap, keeping things safe n dry, while being able to move 2 adults, 2 kids, and a dog in Suburban fashion comfort! ...... and lets not forget, reliable as anything out there!

No way I'd tow anything that long or anything more than 6000 lbs loaded with my own 2005 Avalanche. That aside, I'd agree it's one of the most versatile vehicles one could own ... mine's now 12 yrs old and although the body is really starting to deteriorate in spots I'm really reluctant to let it go as it's been the best vehicle we've owned for towing up to a mid-size trailer and for general use around town. :B

Thanks Soundguy. Just yesterday I called the local Jayco dealership here in Calgary and explained this all to a technician. He recommended a standard Reese Pro-Series Equalizer, and then later if I felt it was needed to add anti-sway. He thought the Avalanche would do okay with that.

I picked up my trailer on Tuesday and borrowed a friends 3/4 ton GMC. Since I don't yet have a sway system I pulled the trailer out of Calgary to my storage place with just the ball hitch. It pulled really well, no sway, handled bumps nicely all with just a ball hitch. But that's with the 3/4 ton. Haven't hooked up to my avalanche yet but will have to in order to take it to the dealership to install sway bar system or equalizer... Not sure about how happy I am with that little trip. Thoughts?

rickm wrote:
I used to drive Avalanches for Demos ..... pulled up to a 32' Jayco, but staying mainly in SW Ontario, where the landscape is flat, the Avalanche had no problems towing. Only time i could remember one struggling was getting up the hill going into Algonquin Park. Personally, i think the AV is one of the best camping vehicles out there, the hard 3 piece tonneau cover made storage a snap, keeping things safe n dry, while being able to move 2 adults, 2 kids, and a dog in Suburban fashion comfort! ...... and lets not forget, reliable as anything out there!

No way I'd tow anything that long or anything more than 6000 lbs loaded with my own 2005 Avalanche. That aside, I'd agree it's one of the most versatile vehicles one could own ... mine's now 12 yrs old and although the body is really starting to deteriorate in spots I'm really reluctant to let it go as it's been the best vehicle we've owned for towing up to a mid-size trailer and for general use around town. :B