tradeing in and up! advice
Hi all, After our 1st camper (2013 35ft surveyor sport) towed with a 2013 GMC sierra 1500. Wife decided she wants something bigger...(insert your own joke here). But im torn on the tow vehicle....
Forum Discussion
The GM diesel trucks all come with an exhaust brake as standard equipment. The GM also has an independent front suspension which makes for a less harsh ride and better handling. Duramax problems were related to the new DEF system with the early 2011 trucks. DEF is new for 2013 with the Ram trucks so they may have more problems with this new emissions control system than the GM trucks where it has been in use for 3 years.
Check the excellent test review of the 2011 heavy duty trucks with a 19K trailer in tow at mrtrailer.com and the Car and Driver tests of the trucks in 2012 with lighter trailer loads but still enough to be informative. Both follow the new SAE J2807 guidelines where you test a truck's handling, acceleration, braking, and towing performance with an actual payload instead of driving an empty truck around town. These provide a good idea of how well the engine, transmission, Tow Haul function, exhaust brake, etc. work in concert for towing.
GM has something they call grade control and I have had many mountain miles where it has provided complete controll of the truck's speed going down 7% grades with little input from me. There is also a trailer tow option that provides a control on the dash to adjust the relative braking of the trailer's brakes as you drive.
Hope you monster trailer works out for you. Most of the people I know who moved up to a longer trailer later regreted doing so as there were fewer places where they could camp. Same thing happened with a couple that added a toad to their MH and expected greater mobility once at a camping area but the downside was they could not get into any of the USFS campgrounds on their last trip.
Check the excellent test review of the 2011 heavy duty trucks with a 19K trailer in tow at mrtrailer.com and the Car and Driver tests of the trucks in 2012 with lighter trailer loads but still enough to be informative. Both follow the new SAE J2807 guidelines where you test a truck's handling, acceleration, braking, and towing performance with an actual payload instead of driving an empty truck around town. These provide a good idea of how well the engine, transmission, Tow Haul function, exhaust brake, etc. work in concert for towing.
GM has something they call grade control and I have had many mountain miles where it has provided complete controll of the truck's speed going down 7% grades with little input from me. There is also a trailer tow option that provides a control on the dash to adjust the relative braking of the trailer's brakes as you drive.
Hope you monster trailer works out for you. Most of the people I know who moved up to a longer trailer later regreted doing so as there were fewer places where they could camp. Same thing happened with a couple that added a toad to their MH and expected greater mobility once at a camping area but the downside was they could not get into any of the USFS campgrounds on their last trip.
