New to travel trailers
My son and I are thinking about buying a 2012 Outback Keystone 312BH. They are charging $24,900 for it. It seems to be in great shape. Since we are a 66 yr. old mom and 25 yr. old son, the 312 with th...
Forum Discussion
Franbak13 wrote:
But neither of us has ever had a travel trailer before and know very little about camping.
Towing an RV is not easy. Not for the tow vehicle, not for the driver unless you get into about 50-70% of capability. So you want to push the capability of your truck with no RV or towing experience? My truck is overkill for my current TT, yet my wife won't tow it despite the Suburban being her daily driver.
The average RVer adds 1200 pounds of stuff over manufacturer dry weight. Weekender couples less, full timers more. 7k dry is over 8k loaded, and 900-1100 pounds of tongue weight. That's too much for most half tons. You want to tow with a 10 year old one? How was it maintained?
2004 GM half ton means 4-spd trans. Do you know your axle ratio? You can check the RPO sticker in the glove box for GU6, GT4, or GT5. How about the HD towing package?
My advice is to spend the $25k on a newer 3/4 ton truck. Take the $10k-ish value of your current truck and get a nice used TT. There are plenty of bunk house models that will work for you. You will be a lot happier with the towing experience.
