Can we pull a TT with our ‘20 Suburban

[Hujouguhnk]

We recently bought a 2020 Z71 Chevy Suburban. We know that the towing capacity for our car is 8000lbs, but we don’t want to meet that capacity because we don’t want something like... the transmission going out... to happen to us (especially being we just bought our car in November).

The thing is, we have been salesman-ed to death now. We’ve been to two dealerships and one guy showed us a TT that was 7200 lbs towing weight. Another showed us one a TT that he knew we’d love (floorplan and decor wise) and said he “thought” it came in a smaller size—it didn’t, and then he tried to convince us to upgrade the towing capacity however we could.

So realistically speaking, what are we looking at? Can we pull anything? We are a growing family of 5 plus a 95lbs German Shepherd puppy. We’d ideally like a bunkhouse for the kids but can live without it definitely. We’d like opinions and tips from people who have been in our situation or who can add light to something we are out of our realm on.

[Grit_dog]

Bathrooms aside, you absolutely don't have to worry about destroying the transmission or anything else pulling any moderate to larger TT.
They didn't give it an 8k tow rating because it'll come apart towing 6k, or 8k or 9k.
And if it does, I'd rather it happen under warranty, lol.

5.3 or 6.2?
If 6.2, 10 speed it will pull most any TT with a lot of authority. But the 5.3 8 speed does a great job too, based on the one I had for a couple months.

[opnspaces]

Kevinwa wrote:
This may sound odd, but sit on the toilet when rv shopping and Imagine doing your business, wiping etc.

Absolutely critical on this point and make sure you close the door and just try to pretend to wipe. I did this test 15 years ago and my trailer passed. Now 15 years later and the bathroom seems to have gotten smaller.

[Kevinwa]

Hujouguhnk wrote:

Kevinwa wrote:
Once you find your available cargo capacity there are plenty of trailers to choose from. Likely the 27 foot range will be about max for your vehicle. Lots of nice single slide bunk houses in this range. We have a minilite 2504s and love it. Minilite has a few styles with quad bunks now. We Spend about 35 night a summer in it, including a two week trip to the mountains every summer. Yes it’s small, especially since I’m a big guy at 6’3” and 260. We make do. We love the Murphy bed, it gives us a proper bed and a couch in a smaller floor plan. This may sound odd, but sit on the toilet when rv shopping and Imagine doing your business, wiping etc. Even some 45 foot mobile mansions have super awkward bathrooms. I think that is one of the big things that makes our little trailer livable on long trips. Bathroom is roomy, well laid out and bright. Toilet is comfortable.

Thanks for the info, what are you using to pull it with? We’re looking over the mini lite floorplans and it looks about what we’d need to get to be comfortable.

We started out with an extended cab 07 F 150. We were right about at the limit for that truck. I actually did wreck a transmission due to overheating it pulling the camper 700 km to the mountains on a hot day. The camper was sized good for the truck for shorter trips, but on long trips it started to struggle. I don’t think those older half tons had enough transmission cooling capacity and it couldn’t shed enough heat. We are currently pulling with a diesel F 350. It is overkill for that trailer size, but since we take long trips I love how it can handle running loaded through hills in hot weather all day long and have enough capacity to shed the heat.

We really like the minilite. have had no major issues.

[Hujouguhnk]

Kevinwa wrote:
Once you find your available cargo capacity there are plenty of trailers to choose from. Likely the 27 foot range will be about max for your vehicle. Lots of nice single slide bunk houses in this range. We have a minilite 2504s and love it. Minilite has a few styles with quad bunks now. We Spend about 35 night a summer in it, including a two week trip to the mountains every summer. Yes it’s small, especially since I’m a big guy at 6’3” and 260. We make do. We love the Murphy bed, it gives us a proper bed and a couch in a smaller floor plan. This may sound odd, but sit on the toilet when rv shopping and Imagine doing your business, wiping etc. Even some 45 foot mobile mansions have super awkward bathrooms. I think that is one of the big things that makes our little trailer livable on long trips. Bathroom is roomy, well laid out and bright. Toilet is comfortable.

Thanks for the info, what are you using to pull it with? We’re looking over the mini lite floorplans and it looks about what we’d need to get to be comfortable.

[Kevinwa]

Once you find your available cargo capacity there are plenty of trailers to choose from. Likely the 27 foot range will be about max for your vehicle. Lots of nice single slide bunk houses in this range. We have a minilite 2504s and love it. Minilite has a few styles with quad bunks now. We Spend about 35 night a summer in it, including a two week trip to the mountains every summer. Yes it’s small, especially since I’m a big guy at 6’3” and 260. We make do. We love the Murphy bed, it gives us a proper bed and a couch in a smaller floor plan. This may sound odd, but sit on the toilet when rv shopping and Imagine doing your business, wiping etc. Even some 45 foot mobile mansions have super awkward bathrooms. I think that is one of the big things that makes our little trailer livable on long trips. Bathroom is roomy, well laid out and bright. Toilet is comfortable.

[Lwiddis]

In addition to what your new Sub can carry and pull, where do you want to camp? Most private RV parks can handle a big trailer but if you want state parks, USFS and BLM campgrounds many have length limits.

[opnspaces]

Hujouguhnk wrote:
Another showed us one a TT that he knew we’d love (floorplan and decor wise) and said he “thought” it came in a smaller size—it didn’t, and then he tried to convince us to upgrade the towing capacity however we could.

I'll bet that was a 33 ft trailer he showed you. Yes it's probably all my perception. But it seems that any time a new person comes to the forum and says they found the trailer they love, it's about 31 to 33 ft long. And of course they love it, that is a big trailer with lots of room. Sometimes you have to lower your expectations in order to get a trailer that you can tow. Because while the manufacturer might say you can tow say 10,000 lbs. It's not going to be fun trying to tow that much down the road.

You should have a list of requirements with you before you shop.

You already know you want a bunk house.

Do you want a walkaround bed or are you okay with a bed in the corner (harder to make in the morning)?

What kind of camping do you envision doing? If you're going to do any camping without hookups (most forest service and BLM campgrounds) you'll want to make sure the waste tanks are big enough. I have 40 gallon fresh, 35 gallon gray and a 35 gallon black tank. With 4 young boys we would fill the tanks by the end of a weekend. And that's with me constantly reminding them to conserve water. Just be aware because some light trailers have only a 12 gallon black tank.

When looking at a trailer find the Cargo Carrying Capacity (CCC). If less than 1,000 lbs it's probably not a great choice. Most people seem to pack around 1,200 lbs when they camp.

Now look at the exterior label on the front left (drivers side) of the trailer for the GVWR number. That is the max weight the trailer is designed to carry.

Take that GVWR and add 75 to 100 lbs to account for the weight of the hitch. Now multiply it by .12 (ie. 6,000 + 100 x .12 = 732) That would be the projected hitch or tongue weight of the loaded trailer. Can your hitch support that number with weight distribution?

[opnspaces]

A couple of things come into play with the most important thing being the weight capacity of the Burb. As said look inside the drivers door jamb and find the yellow sticker, It will tell you how much you can carry. then start subtracting everything that you will be putting in it.

Next look in the owners manual or on the actual hitch for the capacity of the hitch. Here you should find something like.

Capacity:
500 lb weight carrying 1,000 lb weight distribution. (important for tongue weight consideration)
This is important because the hitch is part of the frame now and you can't change out the rear hitch for an aftermarket with more capacity.

Your towing capacity, the easy number that GM will advertise like crazy to you.

How tall are you and your spouse? there are many lite or microlite trailers out there. But they often save on weight by lowering the roof and therefore the ceiling. You don't want a trailer you have to duck when inside to keep from hitting your head.

Do you have a place to store the trailer? If you're thinking driveway know that the model number on the trailer is usually not the length. For instance my trailer is a 27BH. But bumper to end of the tongue is 29'6" So take a tape measure with you when shopping and add 2 ft to whatever measurement you find. You won't be backing the trailer until it hits the garage wall. So don't measure with the tape pressed to the wall. Also for a driveway look up, if the house eaves stick out that will be your measure point. The trailer most likely won't fit under the eaves.

Now that you have the above information it's time to go shopping.

[wanderingaimles]

With a family of 5 plus a large dog, your issue is likely to be cargo capacity more so than tow cap.
There should be a door column sticker listing your cargo cap, add up weights of family and in vehicle cargo. Add 100 lbs for a weight dist hitch and then see how much room you have left. That's what you have available for tongue weight.
Tongue weight should be about 12% to 15% of your total trailer weight, so as an example if you had 800 lbs available for tongue weight, your trailer loaded for travel should weigh no more than 6000 lbs which would require between 720 and 900 lbs of tongue weight.
Hope this helps.

[goducks10]

You Burb should have a sticker on the drivers door jamb that shows how much cargo capacity you have. Take that weight and subtract all the weight you'll put in the Burb and thats what you have for the trailers tongue weight.

Towing capacity is not as important. You won't burn up the tranny on a newer vehicle. This isn't the 70's.

Once you find what you have left for tongue weight then start looking at trailers where the tongue weight will be 15% of the trailers GVWR.
i.e 5000 lbs = 750 lbs. There's variables in all this but thats the easiest way for a newbie to figure things out.