towing capacity HELP!

Under 6000 pounds dry and even that may cause hte Suburban to exceed one of its ratings or more.

I was trying to tow 6,700# with a Tahoe with the 5.3 motor. Absolutely not fun for me. I was pretty sure it was going to blow my Tahoe up. I would highly suggest a lighter trailer, and don't ever listen to a salesman as others have said.

terminator35 wrote:
Thanks rjxj, and Gary. I want to keep my family safe and the vehicle operational. I think I will stick to looking for a trailer no more than 6800 dry weight.

Loaded for camping (dishes, pots and pans, bedding, camp chairs, BBQ, groceries, water, etc) , most trailers are going to weight approximately 1000 lbs more than dry weight. If you buy one at 6800 lb dry weight, you will be 77 - 7800 lbs when loaded. That could easily put you over weight on one or more of your tow ratings.

Check the towing section of your owners manual. You'll probably find a statement similar to "Max tow capacity is limited to the weakest link in the vehicles towing systems". That weak link is normally payload.

Max tow capacity is calculated, considering the driver only weighs 150 lbs, he is alone, and has no cargo.

As you load people and cargo, your tow capacity and payload are going down, pound for pound. IE: bicycles on the roof rack and 500 lbs of family, you no longer have that mythical tow capacity.

You might be better at about 5000 lbs dry weight.

Now as you look for lighter models you need to watch out for other issues like flimsy construction.

How many people are you taking with you, pets etc?

What model were you looking at

My TT had a "Dry Weight" of 5650#. Ready to pull out it is closer to 7200#! The tongue weight as measured with a Sureline scale is 1100#. With 600# of bodies and another 200# of stuff, that has my truck carrying 1900#.
My 3/4 ton 8.1L with 3.73 axle ratio is rated to tow 10,500#. Would I tow my TT with a 1/2 ton Suburban? Absolutely not. Should you tow a 7500# dry weight (9000# loaded up) trailer with your 1/2 ton? No Way!

Thanks guys. I appreciate all of your input. I will be looking for a lighter travel trailer. I am a newbie and this will be my first one. Glad I found this site.

You can save a little payload if you get an Andersen WDH. It only weighs about 45# compared to much heavier Equalizers and the beasts Propride-Hensley. Look for a TT with a dry weight about 5000ish and find one with a hitch weight less than 600. That should tow nicely for you.

Is the SOB going to by you a new transmission?

On top of all that equalizing hitch weighs near 100 pounds PLUS PLUS PLUS it may say dry weight but is it an actual factory certified weight??????????

Because if it's not, then the propane tanks, battery, spare tire, microwave, awning and on and on MAY be on top of that dry weight figure. Get in your truck and GO home before those snakes get you!!!!! RUN NOW!!!!

I have a friend with a 2500 series Suburban with a 8,800 GVWR and 454" engine. It tows a 10,000 pound trailer with a 1,000 pound hitch weight with ease.

Chances are that your Suburban is not that heavy duty, but we would need to know the GVWR and rear axle weight ratings of YOUR vehicle. They are on the drivers door sticker.

Also do you have a factory hitch, or not? Factory 7 wire connection?

Those are fairly easy to upgrade while installing a electric brake controller. I installed a 7 wire plug and electric brake controller in my RV in about 30 minutes. Your wiring experience will vary. . .

Fred.

Fred.