2015 Sierra Denali 1500 6.2L & 2016 Sunset Trail ST320BH

[swethog]

Hello to all and looking for some impartial third-party recommendation as I've been pulling my hair out over this.

I currently have a 2015 Sierra Denali 1500 with the 6.2L (420hp/460#) and the 8-speed. Tranny cooler. Build sheet weight is 3269#, but nadaguides, kbb, etc. say curb weight is more like 5400#. I will be going to a scale tomorrow to get a real number. GVWR is 7,200# (GMC website), GCWR is 15,000# (manual). Truck has the integrated braking controller and 3.24 gears but they do not offer the max trailering package with this truck (salesman lied to me and I believed him - first mistake).

Looking to buy a 2016 Sunset Trail ST320BH which comes in at 7700# dry, GVWR of 9744#, and tongue weight of 944#.

TT dealer is throwing in a Center Line WDH with it.

Using the Towing capacity worksheet at http://www.popthetop.com/files/
and the 3269# of the truck I come in at 88% of GCWR and life is good. Using the 5400# I have found around on the Net I come in at 102% of GCWR. Life is not so good.

My GMC guy (who lied to me originally and got an earful of it from me) of course says no-go and wants me to upgrade to a Duramax/Allison combo.

Two different camper sales places both said they wouldn't think twice about a 7700# on my truck.

We are pretty set on the ST320BH because we want bunks, TV for the kids and a bath and a half which are very hard to come by. We could probably go for the 2016 Keystone Passport Ultra Lite Grand Touring 3350BH which comes in at 6650# but we don't really like the interior as much.

I have been struggling with this for days now and am about ready to just forget the whole thing. Does anyone here have an opinion on the matter? If I need to provide other info I can.

[swethog]

Well, the saga continues, at least (so far) with a happy ending. The 2015 2500HD was a double cab and my 13 year old son is already 5'10" so I (same height) jumped in the back and even with the seat moved forward proved to be an uncomfortably tight fit, so we went back to the drawing board. Long story short and a check of $3500 later I drove out with a 2016 (year newer for trade-in value) 2500HD SLT Crew Cab. Not missing much for amenities of the Denali but a much more capable truck. Still 9500# GVWR and 20,500# GCWR with legroom for the kid(s) and looking at the same camper. Paperwork filed, waiting on a response. Stay tuned...

To the question about where in SD, I'm in the SE corner, but now am not afraid at all of trips to the Black hills, Ozarks, or Apple River whereas I was losing sleep of heading to Yankton (1 hour). Thought about a 5'er but the ST320BH is exactly what we want so we're shooting for that.

Thanks again to everyone, your input and acknowledgement of my questions have not gone unnoticed.

More updates to follow and hopefully someday I can provide input to someone as you all have for me.

[MFL]

Not sure where you are at in SD, but that first trip to the Black Hills, on windy I90, will make you smile, while driving that solid 2500 with LT tires.

Congrats on another new truck, and new camper, next stop! 🙂

That is a nice trailer, I can see why changing trucks will make for a happier family. Nice the GMC dealer treated you well, after misleading you on other truck.

Happy future camping,
Jerry

[270wsmhunter]

Glad to hear. Now get that camper!!

[IdaD]

That's a well matched combo. Sounds like you got a good deal on it too.

[Need-A-Vacation]

Congrats!!!

That will not have any issues!!!

Concerning the trailer, check the axle rating vs the gvwr. I am not sure about other companies, but one we looked at (Coachmen) had 2-4400lb axles, but a 9500lb (or so, right around there) gvwr????!!!! They added some of the tongue weight (may have been the "brochure" dry tongue weight) to the axle ratings for a higher gvwr.... Our Jayco has 2-5000lb axles with a 9975lb gvwr.

What is the "brochure" dry tw of the trailer? Make sure you get the correct rated wd bars for the loaded tt!!!! For comparison, our 910lb dry tw is about 1400lbs loaded, ready to go. That is with empty water tanks, by we do pack a fair amount in the front pass through/ under bed storage. We have 1500lb wd bars.

Make sure you get a good wdh with integrated sway control. The Reese Dual Cam, Reese SC, and the Equal-I-Zer 4 way system are all very good. And plan on re-adjusting the wdh once the tt is loaded up and ready for a trip. The dealer is only setting up the wdh for an empty trailer. Get all the paperwork for the wdh. Check my signature links for info on wdh's.

Good luck!!!

[APT]

That will be a good/comfortable combo. Enjoy!

[swethog]

Luckily my current truck is new enough it still has good value and they have admitted their mistakes by giving me extra discounts (this will be technically my third truck in 6 months). After sending this I'm on my way down to GMC to sign for a 2015 Sierra 2500HD 4x4 Double Cab SLT 6.0L gas. $1250 out of pocket for me. 90% same appointments as the Denali inside so I am 90% happy there. 9500# GVWR and 20,500# GCWR means I can get the ST320BH and have no concerns pulling it. Guess I better call him back too now...

[IdaD]

swethog wrote:
I greatly appreciate everyone's input on my situation. Even though every camper place I talk to and even a very trusted Chevy Service Coordinator saying I am at my limits but it should pull fine I am more of a numbers guy and it's apparent this truck/camper is a bad combination. I trust the opinions here much more because you are assumed to have more real-world experience and I do want to be safe.

I'm having the camper salesman drop the hold on this camper and I've started looking for a different truck because the limit of this truck's GVWR gets me a camper way too small for my needs. If the camper I want is still available great, if not I'll try to find it somewhere else.

I think you've made a wise decision but I'm sorry it's going to cost you some bucks. The cheaper option would be to downsize the trailer and keep the truck but I understand you not wanting to make that compromise.

Any of the heavy duty gas trucks would be a great match for that trailer. On the diesels I'm biased towards the Cummins engine although any of them would obviously handle that trailer with ease.

Good luck!

[APT]

Very few RV and vehicle sales people actually tow RVs. A TT is probably the most difficult type of trailer to tow, with large profile frontal area as well as side profile to catch any wind. A 6k TT will tow a lot different/worse than an 8k boat or open car hauler.

[swethog]

I greatly appreciate everyone's input on my situation. Even though every camper place I talk to and even a very trusted Chevy Service Coordinator saying I am at my limits but it should pull fine I am more of a numbers guy and it's apparent this truck/camper is a bad combination. I trust the opinions here much more because you are assumed to have more real-world experience and I do want to be safe.

I'm having the camper salesman drop the hold on this camper and I've started looking for a different truck because the limit of this truck's GVWR gets me a camper way too small for my needs. If the camper I want is still available great, if not I'll try to find it somewhere else.

[Southedistoman]

I had almost this exact same setup. 2008 Chevrolet 1500 with max towing package and 4.10 rears and 2014 Sunset Trail 320bh. The truck was listed as 10500 lb towing capacity. I was over by 200lbs on rear axle weight with just me in the truck. Notice I said "had", now I've traded for a 2014 Ram 2500 with the 6.4. I thought the Chevy was enough truck. I now know the Ram is. Much more pleasant towing experience.
My advice is don't "settle" for a trailer that doesn't have the features your family wants. Bite the bullet and trade up to a 3/4 ton. My Ram does ride rougher, but it gets virtually the same gas mileage. You will likely take less of a hit on trading the truck now than you will on trading the rv in a year if you don't get what you want. Just my .02 and worth exactly what you paid.

[Mike_Up]

swethog wrote:
The payload sticker says occupants and cargo should not exceed 1392 pounds. Taken from 7200 gives me 5,808# which is even more in the wrong direction.

Wow, my wifes 2015 4WD Explorer has 1398 lbs. That's low for a truck decked out to tow a trailer. You'll be limited.

I did the calculations on my previous F150 that had a lower 1430 lbs of payload. I was stuck towing no more than my current trailer at 5050 lbs dry from the factory (yellow sticker on the camper) and about 6500 lbs wet loaded with water, food, clothes, gear.

That trailer is way to much for that truck. You really need a 3/4 ton truck that has a higher rated hitch receiver, as your trucks hitch rating will likely be exceeded by that trailer. Then your GVWR will likely be exceeded as well.

Keep the truck and just get a smaller trailer. It's an easy situation. That's what the rest of us do. 😉

[270wsmhunter]

I have had 1500 series trucks in the past but when we bought our 26BH and towed one year with it I upgraded to a 2500 HD, what a difference. We now error on the side of caution and have our signature truck. It is my daily driver and we often take it instead of my wife's new Camry, it rides nice. It is a truck but the ride quality is not like a one ton years ago. I would say get a truck that scoffs at whatever you think you might tow instead of downsizing campers.

[evanrem]

You have to crunch the numbers to figure it out. The closer you get tot the max the less enjoyable the tow becomes. I towed 8500# with my chevy 1500 which was at the max if not over the payload sometimes for 5 years because I did not grasp the towing weights fully when buying my first setup. I was ready to sell the trailer because the tow was miserable until I came across the propride hitches and thought I would give that a try. It saved the day and improved the tow but I was very aware of weight and made sure I traveled as lite as possible. This last fall I sold the 1500 and got a 2500 and it is a significant improvement. I can relate to the pain, a lot of money is spent on this stuff and when you find out you spent 45k on a truck and it's not going to work its a bit sickening. At least you don't own the trailer yet.

[APT]

So that TT will likely have 1150-1200 pounds of TW when loaded for a long weekend. No pickup truck has pulled into a campground with an empty truck bed, so estimate 200 pounds there, more for firewood. Add weight of the family and a few things to occupy the travel time. You'll be 500+ pounds over GVWR of the truck, and likely the same amount over the rear axle rating even with a WDH.

So 1400 pounds of payload available. Let's say your family weighs 500 pounds and you'll throw 200 pounds of camping gear in the truck bed. That's 700 pounds left of trailer tongue weight. That's about 5500 pound loaded TT.