Road Trip Review
Just returned from a 4 week, 4000 mile road trip, from south Texas to Utah (with a quick side-trip to Las Vegas) and have some “real-world” comments that might be of interest. This was our first long trip towing an RV and I was somewhat apprehensive, spent months lurking on this forum for advice.
• I’m a firm believer that a properly equipped 1500 truck can safely tow a rather large travel trailer if set up correctly. That being said, I upgraded from a 2012 Silverado 1500 5.3 to a 2015 Silverado H/D 6.0 prior to this trip and I’m damn glad I did. My TT is 34’ long and weighed in right at 8,000 lbs. I was confident in the 1500’s ability to tow this trailer (and stop) in the flats of south Texas, but after pulling some of the miles long steep grades in the Rockies, I have real doubts the 1500 could have handled the load without a lot of struggle. Would have also worried going down the other side of those grades! I’ve got to say the 2500 did an outstanding job towing. Having the equal-i-zer hitch made for a truly steady platform – I drove at a steady 62 MPH and could not feel any effects from passing semis traveling at 75 MPH. Not once during the entire trip did I feel uncomfortable towing. My average MPG for the trip was just a tad over 9 MPG, not too bad for a brand new gasser.
• WiFi in most campgrounds SUCK……..
• Don’t expect any grass in most campgrounds in west Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. Utah has some great “hidden gems” campgrounds. Stayed in a couple in Hatch and Glendale.
• September is a month where the entire country of Germany goes on vacation in Utah and northern Arizona. I’m not kidding, there were hundreds and hundreds of small rental motor homes everywhere and campgrounds were full of tents with German campers, mostly young folks. The amount of tour buses on the road is unbelievable. Had a lot of fun talking with them - their economy must be doing pretty good.
• Fellow Rv’ers in campgrounds are a friendly bunch.
• A lot of, actually most, gas stations are not designed with the RV’er in mind. Getting a 34’ TT in and out was very interesting a couple of times.
• Kept my “China Bomb” Tow Master tires properly inflated and didn’t have any problems. In fact, tires are not showing any signs of wear. I’m actually pretty impressed with them.
• Installed a 5” square fence-post on my back bumper as a sewer hose holder and it worked great. Learned about this from folks on this forum and it’s a very good alternative to using the rear bumper as it holds not only the hose but the attachments.
All in all, a great trip. Northern New Mexico, Arizona and Utah are
absolutely beautiful.
• I’m a firm believer that a properly equipped 1500 truck can safely tow a rather large travel trailer if set up correctly. That being said, I upgraded from a 2012 Silverado 1500 5.3 to a 2015 Silverado H/D 6.0 prior to this trip and I’m damn glad I did. My TT is 34’ long and weighed in right at 8,000 lbs. I was confident in the 1500’s ability to tow this trailer (and stop) in the flats of south Texas, but after pulling some of the miles long steep grades in the Rockies, I have real doubts the 1500 could have handled the load without a lot of struggle. Would have also worried going down the other side of those grades! I’ve got to say the 2500 did an outstanding job towing. Having the equal-i-zer hitch made for a truly steady platform – I drove at a steady 62 MPH and could not feel any effects from passing semis traveling at 75 MPH. Not once during the entire trip did I feel uncomfortable towing. My average MPG for the trip was just a tad over 9 MPG, not too bad for a brand new gasser.
• WiFi in most campgrounds SUCK……..
• Don’t expect any grass in most campgrounds in west Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. Utah has some great “hidden gems” campgrounds. Stayed in a couple in Hatch and Glendale.
• September is a month where the entire country of Germany goes on vacation in Utah and northern Arizona. I’m not kidding, there were hundreds and hundreds of small rental motor homes everywhere and campgrounds were full of tents with German campers, mostly young folks. The amount of tour buses on the road is unbelievable. Had a lot of fun talking with them - their economy must be doing pretty good.
• Fellow Rv’ers in campgrounds are a friendly bunch.
• A lot of, actually most, gas stations are not designed with the RV’er in mind. Getting a 34’ TT in and out was very interesting a couple of times.
• Kept my “China Bomb” Tow Master tires properly inflated and didn’t have any problems. In fact, tires are not showing any signs of wear. I’m actually pretty impressed with them.
• Installed a 5” square fence-post on my back bumper as a sewer hose holder and it worked great. Learned about this from folks on this forum and it’s a very good alternative to using the rear bumper as it holds not only the hose but the attachments.
All in all, a great trip. Northern New Mexico, Arizona and Utah are
absolutely beautiful.
