First post, first TT, first of many stupid questions.

[JMGNole]

We have a 2007 Tahoe, 5.3L, 2D. Max Trailer WT of 6,500lbs per Chevy VIN site, 6,600 on my door sticker. New tires, new brakes, new bushings, checked over by our mechanic to make sure that it was safe to pull a trailer.

We bought a lightly used 2014 Rockwood 2604WS, dry weight of 5,828lbs, per the sticker.

From reading, I'm not sure that we should be pulling this trailer with this vehicle. The truck is practically wheezing and very unstable. It has the sway bar installed and apparently working.

Frankly, we're rookies at this and we nearly lost it on the Interstate while driving it the 70 miles home from the dealer. Lane to lane sway, nearly rolled it.

After speaking to the dealer GM, we're being told that it should pull it easily and it's ours. They did offer to consign it, at a loss to us.

Not sure what to do next. Can I get some feedback?

Thanks!

[Swell1]

Tire air is most likely your issue I pulled a 7500 pound Dutchman with a 2011 Tahoe with the Max trailer tow package. I needed to have 50psi in the tires to stop the sway. once the tires were inflated to 50psi there was no issue with sway at all.
Good luck

[JMGNole]

Sorry, sway BARS. With the tension bar on one side.

Camping World Round Bar Weight Distribution Hitch Kit with Sway control, 800 lb

[horton333]

A couple of times you say sway bar, singular. There should be two antisway controllers for this setup I'd suggest. You may want to tighten the tension bolt down a quarter turn, check the clamp rod is tight.
You say tire pressure was checked, but was it checked to be the maximum that is rated for your tires (as suggested by others), as opposed to the door plate pressure. This makes a big difference others have noted.
I notice in the trailer specifications that trailer has a dry hitch weight barely more than 10%. With that solid suspension and strong hitch you have room to put more weight upfront in the trailer as you may be lighter than optimal, see if you can add say 200# of stuff at the front and see what the effect is. Not enough hitch weight is a prime cause of sway, which is the opposite of what some people assume when first starting out.
Tahoes are high ride height, solid axle, and have poor overhang ratios given their much shorter wheel base than their truck heritage had. They can be made to handle ok, but you are starting off from a non-optiminal situation. Make use of that strong suspension by getting some more weight forward if you can, the problem is fixable.

The setup may not have been done properly too, does the Tahoe sit level with the trailer on? Are the two weight distribution bars roughly horizontal to the ground?

[JMGNole]

V8, 5.3L/323

[cyntdon2010]

Sounds to me as if your rear of T.V is sagging (LOW) when connected. If so your rear springs may be worn or perhaps Air Bags would help.
what size engine in your T.V?

[JMGNole]

I believe that this is the sway package that they installed.

Camping World Round Bar Weight Distribution Hitch Kit with Sway control, 800 lb.

[coolmom42]

BillyW wrote:
The sway issue is very important and needs to be addressed ASAP. But the struggling to accelerate and maintain speed may just be that you are not used to towing. It's pretty normal for a gas engine to really wind up the RPMs to get the work done. They were built for it. There are many drive line modifications one can do to improve towing performance, IF the suspension/sway issues have been figured out. I've comfortably towed similar weights with a lesser tow vehicle.

Exactly.

Slowing down won't hurt you but that sway will kill you.

The first thing you need to do is lower your expectations.

Trailer tires are not generally rated for over 65 mph. The max speed I feel comfortable towing is 55-60 on a mostly level road. Going uphill, be willing to drop down to 3rd gear or even 2nd, and let the speed drop to 35-40. You are not in a race.

Go down a grade in the same gear you would go up it. Do not ride the brakes ever. Brake firmly and then let off.

Never let the transmission "hunt" or keep shifting gears. You will burn it up in a heartbeat. Do a manual down-shift and leave it there until you are out of the grade.

[JMGNole]

2oldman wrote:

JMGNole wrote:
we nearly lost it on the Interstate while driving it the 70 miles home from the dealer.

I didn't catch how fast you were driving. Consider slowing down. .

JMGNole wrote:
The extreme sway event was caused by us being undercut in traffic.

You mean someone cut in front of you? Another reason to slow down. You can't react to conditions as well when going too fast.

We weren't going 70, more like 55ish. The trip was 70 miles.

[delwhjr]

You didn't say what type of sway control or WDH you have. With your weight pushing the edge of the envelope you need more than a basic WDH with friction sway control.
In addition to maxing tire pressure on the TV you need to consider one of the better WDH with integrated sway control (Equal-I-zer, Reese dual cam, Blue Ox Swaypro). You may be able to coexist with the setup for awhile that way.

[2oldman]

JMGNole wrote:
we nearly lost it on the Interstate while driving it the 70 miles home from the dealer.

I didn't catch how fast you were driving. Consider slowing down. .

JMGNole wrote:
The extreme sway event was caused by us being undercut in traffic.

You mean someone cut in front of you? Another reason to slow down. You can't react to conditions as well when going too fast.

[TurnThePage]

The sway issue is very important and needs to be addressed ASAP. But the struggling to accelerate and maintain speed may just be that you are not used to towing. It's pretty normal for a gas engine to really wind up the RPMs to get the work done. They were built for it. There are many drive line modifications one can do to improve towing performance, IF the suspension/sway issues have been figured out. I've comfortably towed similar weights with a lesser tow vehicle.

[Nvr2loud]

JMGNole wrote:
The tires are the prescribed tires, properly inflated, and brand new that morning.

The trailer was empty, except for the furnishings and water.

The extreme sway event was caused by us being undercut in traffic.

Acceleration and going up hills is a struggle, even with the tow package engaged.

You are going to need to check that the tires are inflated to their MAXIMUM if you are running that kind of weight. My Sierra tires run at 36 psi all year but I increase that to 44 psi when towing the trailer. That 8 pounds makes a massive difference.

It also appears like your tongue weight might be too light. Sometimes a WDH (weight distributing hitch) has clamp style hardware that can slip. I had a terrible sway suddenly one time, pulled into a service center, and found that one side of my hardware had slid forward on the tongue. The WDH was therefore not working correctly one one side, it caused all sorts of sway. I adjusted the position and tightened it down, all was good after that.

[_tiredTeacher]

JMGNole wrote:
BTW, thanks for all of the feedback. I'm currently doing a lot of research that I'd normally do before making a purchase like this, and having serious buyers remorse.

I have the same trailer and it tows like a dream. But I tow with a Tundra. I'm not a weight guru but I think you have maxed out on your SUV's towing ability. The 2604WS is a great trailer but after it is loaded with food, clothes, kitchen gadgets, plates, cups, cleaning supplies, etc., it sure ain't 6000 lbs. any more. Put water in the tank and you add another 800lbs.
All that being said, I agree with inflating tires (front and rear) to the max allowable. Second, go here and read how to set up your hitch. Double check the set up with the trailer loaded for a trip.
If these don't solve the issue, you will have to get a ½ ton pick 'em up or a smaller trailer.

[BadgerMcAdams]

Although I am by no means an expert, here are the specs I found online for that model trailer

(taken from http://www.rvguide.com/) For the model you stated

Length - 29.67 ft.
Dry Weight(lbs) - 5,665
Payload Capacity(lbs) - 1025
Hitch Weight (lbs) - 711

So, according to their specs, Max loaded weight of the trailer is 6,690.

Your vehicle specs (Taken from http://www.nadaguides.com)

Weight Information
Curb Weight - 5,137 lbs
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating - 7,100 lbs
Max Payload - 1,963 lbs

Okay, let's crunch numbers...

You have 1,963 pounds to play with, subtract the Tongue Weight of the trailer as listed (711 lbs and mind you, this is Empty weight on hitch), that give you 1,252. You didn't mention if you had a Weight Distribution Hitch (WDH) to help transfer some of the trailer weight to the tow vehicle (TV). But since you didn't mention one, subtract approx. 100 lbs from your amount for the weight of the hitch (Yes, this is a very necessary part to help with stability and trailer control). 1,252 - 100 = 1,152 left. Are you filling your propane tanks before you head out? Subtract say another 35 lbs for 2 tanks, that leaves you with 1,117 lbs of capacity to play with.

Note: I wouldn't fill your water tanks until you get to your camping location or at the final stop. You have a 36 gallon Fresh Water (FW) tank. 36 gallons x 8 lbs per gallon is 288 lbs of weight you can avoid dragging down the highway if possible. If you do fill up, that drops your capacity down to 829 lbs.

Now to figure in the "What Nots" that go in the camper. Clothing, pots, pans, pillows, blankets, jack, leveling blocks, etc...say you can get by with only 150 lbs of stuff. That leaves you 967 lbs without water, 679 with it.

Okay, now to figure out what you are carrying in the Tow Vehicle (TV)...If you are average people and there are just two of you, figure 350 lbs for you and a passenger. Weight capacity now is 617 without water and 329 with it.

Okay, I got you this far...Hopefully there are those with a lot more experience at this that can look at the numbers and see what I have left off, didn't mention, didn't know about, etc. But from the looks of the numbers you are pushing very close to the Max on what you have.

Sorry for being a bummer...but I'd rather you be bummed and safe, than not bummed and having an accident that could really ruin your day.

NOTE: Saw the post where you said you had a WDH...so disregard that calculation and add 100 back to the totals. 😉

[naturist]

Don't feel too bad. Yep, rookie mistake, but one that many, many, many people make. You are not at all unique on that score.

For what it's worth, you can probably limp along for the short term (after, of course, fixing the sway issue) with the set up you have. But be aware that it might not be fun going on long trips, especially through the mountains, and your truck will wear out faster than you might expect.

But wait, there is a bright spot here: that's a perfect excuse to GET A NEW TRUCK!!! Yea!!!!!!!! Who doesn't covet a new truck?