Help with TV concerns - new to towing trailer

[TerryandKim]

Hello All, I'm new to towing a trailer and this is my first post.
We have a 1999 GMC Sierra 5.3l with tow capacity given at 8200lbs. I checked as many blogs as I could, asked GMC dealership and towing supply shops in my area before trailer shopping. We ended up with a 2010 Jayco with 5300lb dry weight and 7500lb GVWR, although we travel very light (no water, bare food needs etc). I've been reading further on some forums and am getting concerned because some guys are saying things like "any 1/2 is not suitable for towing a travel trailer, no mater what the manufacturer says" etc. I showed the dealership what I'm towing with (I realilze they are salesman and can't be completely trusted) but I wanted them to know that if it doesn't work that they are taking the trailer back. They are going to hook up the WD hitch, and give me lessons on that as well as take the vehicle for a drive before I leave the lot with it. HELP, am I in over my head, am I towing to much with my truck??
Thanks anyone that can give some info or advice.

[jaycocreek]

ScottG wrote:
People that say you can't tow with "any" half ton just aren't with the times.
Todays 1/2 tons out tow the diesels and 3/4 tons of the 90's in many cases.
Your truck is capable of towing what the manufacturer says it can and probably a bit more since much of that number is based on what the warranty dept. says.

Don't worry and enjoy your new trailer!

X2

[JJ_Spectre]

If the payload stats at the link are accurate, you should be fine:

1999 GMC Sierra 1500

[handye9]

Keep in mind, some of the numbers used by truck manufacturers and RV sales people, can be quite unrealistic.

Dry weight -- There are trailer sales people, who will tell you, as long as the dry weight is within your tow rating, you'll be fine. What they don't tell you is, that dry weight number is what the trailer weighed when it left the factory, the trailer gained weight at the dealership, and it will gain more weight when you load it. Before you buy the trailer, it no longer weighs 5300 lbs. When you are loaded for camping, the trailer will weigh approximately 1200 lbs more than it did at the dealership.

Tow Capacity --- Is the weight the truck manufacturer says it can pull behind it. Keyword is "behind". Your truck probably can pull an 8200 lb sled, because a sled doesn't add weight to the truck. With a travel trailer, 10 - 15% of it's loaded weight, is being carried by the truck.

Payload --- This is the difference between GVWR and what the truck actually weighed, when it left the factory. Any accessories / options added, by a dealer or consumer, deduct from the payload, pound for pound. ie; add a 200 lb bed cap, your payload is now 200 lbs less. Even a set of floor mats, will reduce your payload by what ever their weight happens to be.

Available payload -- This is the difference between your GVWR and what your truck actually weighs, now. This is the weight room you have for passengers, truck cargo, weight distribution hitch, and trailer tongue weight.

It is quite common to run out of payload and exceed GVWR, before you get close to your tow capacity. You'll see a lot of posts where, folks recommend loaded trailer weights should not exceed 75 - 80 percent of your tow capacity. That is mainly due to tongue weight.

Your 8200 tow capacity, at 80 percent would be 6560 loaded trailer. At 6560 loaded weight, your tongue weight would be about 790, plus the weight of the distribution hitch. You would need close to 900 lbs available payload for this.

[TerryandKim]

.

[Lantley]

Honestly I can't tell if your in good shape or not without knowing any ratings for your truck. A 99 is not built like the 1/2 tons of today.
What is the payload rating of your truck? What is the hitch rating.
Does it have a tow package of any kind?
You really need to know your ratings and weigh your truck to determine how well matched your combo will be. Otherwise it's just a guess by a bunch of guys over the internet.

[py8pointer]

Welcome to the forum. Okay here is my take on things here. First your truck is going to do just fine. I have a99 1/2 ton Dodge Ram 1500 5.2 v8 and pull a 18foot Pioneer TT, and it does just fine. Granted your not going to be winning any races going down the road, but you shouldn't be anyway.If going on the interstate stay in the right lane whenever possible, and let people pass you,dont be in any hurry. I run between 60-65 and not any more. Here might be a couple things to consider putting on your truck just to make the towing a little more enjoyable,a little less stressful. A couple of things I did to do this was put on some airbags on my truck,and I fill them up to about 65# before hooking up the trailer. I my opinion this just helps keep a little more weight on the front end of my truck. Also a Anti Sway Bar helps keeping your trailer going in a straight line. Oh and a good brake controller, you gotta be able to stop that thing when the need arises.
I hope this helps and enjoy your new TT. Take it out on a few short trips at first to get a feel for it and you'll be just fine

[TerryandKim]

Great replys, thanks to everyone! I'm getting all the fluids changed on the truck and making sure it's scheduled maintenance is all up to snuff, brakes and tires. Mark and Linda, did you find the sway bars made a difference? I'm considering an Equalizer, Reese Straitline or all out for a Hensley/Propride. The dealership is giving me a WD hitch "for free", it's a Curt, but I don't hear much about them and I want to be sure we're set up right, it's my family I'm towing around. What a great forum!

[Mark_and_Linda]

I tow a 2009 Puma 25RS with my 2007 Chevrolet Silverado with the 5.3 L. I have a Prodigy P2 which I installed myself. I also installed a set of Timbren Suspension Enhancement Blocks on it. I had to readjust my WDH when I did this addition. Like it has been mentioned, you won't win not races..but who cares. I love towing mine on the two lane roads. I have no problem in the campgrounds backing or anything. I added a Friction Sway bar to mine, I also have a ProSeries WDH with SC on it. No problems...

[waynec1957]

I towed a similar sized TT with an 06 Silverado, 5.3L. It's doable, just don't get in a hurry.

[Ron_Gratz]

Ooops - posted by mistake.

[tomkaren13]

fla-gypsy wrote:
You will be OK but you should learn all you can about manufacturer ratings and equip yourself with a good quality WD/sway control system. I am assuming your vehicle has all the required towing equipment also. If you have deferred maintenance items you need to correct that.

X2 Go and enjoy!

[BurbMan]

The issue with towing RVs is not the weight you pull its the weight you carry. Even packing lightly your trailer will likely be at 6500 lbs. and with 12% tongue weight will add 750 lbs to your truck.
\
Best thing you can do is make a trip to the scales when you are fully packed and weigh the truck and trailer, and see where you stand with all your truck ratings. As was said I think you'll probably be OK with this set up weight wise, but you certainly won't win any races with that 5.3 and 6500 lbs behind you.

Be sure you get a good weight distributing (WD) hitch and have the dealer show you how to use it. Even though the dealer will set it up for you, you will likely have to re-adjust it when you get the trailer packed to allow for weight/balance. There is a sticky over on the towing forum here that gives you step-by-step on how to do this.

Other points mentioned above on tires/shocks etc are good but I wouldn't do anything until you take a couple of trips and note how the rig handles.

One thing not mentioned is mirrors...at a minimum get a set of those clip-ons, or better yet a set of McKesh strap-ons if you don't have extendable towing mirrors. You need to be able to see down both sides of the trailer all the way to the back to drive safely in traffic, and you won't be able to with factory stock mirrors.

Also be sure to get a GOOD inertia based brake controller like the Tekonsha Prodigy. the Sentinel is good but for a few extra $ the Prodigy is well worth it.

Welcome to the TT forum and good luck with the new rig!

[Ron_Gratz]

TerryandKim wrote:
We have a 1999 GMC Sierra 5.3l with tow capacity given at 8200lbs. I checked as many blogs as I could, asked GMC dealership and towing supply shops in my area before trailer shopping. We ended up with a 2010 Jayco with 5300lb dry weight and 7500lb GVWR, although we travel very light (no water, bare food needs etc).---

With many TV's, it's not a matter of how much it call pull -- it's a matter of how much it can carry.

Step 1 is to look on the driver's door edge or pillar and find the sticker which says "maximum weight of occupants as cargo is XXXX".
That value is the payload capacity of your TV as it was delivered to the dealer.

Step 2 is to estimate the total weight of occupants and cargo (including things like bed cap, weight distribution hitch, etc) which will be carried by the TV when towing.

Step 3 is to subtract the estimated added weight from the value of XXXX from Step 1. This is the maximum allowable vertical load which the TV can exert on the TV with WD applied.

Step 4 is to estimate the loaded-for-camping tongue weight of the TT. With a dry weight of 5300#, your very lightly loaded TT might weigh 6000# when loaded and have a TW around 800#. With WD applied, an 800# TW might cause about 6000# to be added to the TV.

Step 5 is to compare the estimated added load from Step 4 with the maximum allowable load from Step 3.

Ron

[2112]

You may want to consider installing 3.73 gear if not already. I had a 1997 F-150 with the 3.55. Changing that out to 3.73 and installing Timbrens were my best improvements.

Also air up all tires to the max psi stated on the tires.