Newbie looking for easy to pull trailer 28-30'.

snowedin wrote:
Had a 2009 Silverado with the 5.3 V8, 3.42 axle ratios and pulled a KZ Coyote CL180 weighing 3850 lbs. The truck handled that camper ok but it did a lot of shifting up & down to do so. It was acceptable but was never real happy about the way the pickup truck handled the towing....(snip)... on level ground the Silverado did fine but on hills I was not liking it.

My exact experience and thoughts pulling our 5000lb 26BH with the 2007 Silverado 1500 5.3 I sold...it just didn't seem like it was enough truck for the task. A co-worker pulls his 26BH effortlessly with an F150 Ecoboost but I opted for a 2500hd gasser and love the way it handles and pulls....no more white knuckle steering for me.

Had a 2009 Silverado with the 5.3 V8, 3.42 axle ratios and pulled a KZ Coyote CL180 weighing 3850 lbs. The truck handled that camper ok but it did a lot of shifting up & down to do so. It was acceptable but was never real happy about the way the pickup truck handled the towing so traded for an F150 with the V6 Ecoboost engine, 3.55 axle ratios, and then found I have an outfit that comfortably handled the towing, did not shift up & down very much at all. Then I traded the F150 for another only with the 5.0 V8 and should not have as again I got that frequent shifting up & down. Now I have another F150 with the Ecoboost engine (and a Keystone Passport 2510rb travel trailer weighing 4720 lbs empty) again with the 3.55 axle ratios and it pulls the trailer fine but am not thinking I would go any larger. On level ground the Silverado did fine but on hills I was not liking it. We have towed to Alaska and back plus other trips in mountainous terrain and that is where the turbo charged engine earns it's pay.

Iraqvet's comment on the engine and tranny is worth noting. I once pulled a 25 ft. 5000 lb TT with a 200 hp. V6.

Rather poor acceleration but the biggest issue was keeping the tyranny from down shifting. It required constant attention to the speed and gas pedal.

It did point out the need for a better TV and TT match.

What year and engine size on the 1500? Post 2009 Silverados with the 6 speed transmissions do better than the 4 speeds. I had a 2007 5.3 Silverado and hated the way it towed our 5000k lb Jayco.

My Jayco JayFlight (24RKS) has 24 ft of living space and is 28 ft tongue to bumper weighs in at 5200 empty. It has gross weight capacity of 7000, so I can load about 1800 lbs of stuff (that includes any water in tanks). Be sure you read the yellow sticker carefully, as some include propane weight in dry weight and some don't.

Love my Jayco and could stay long term in it easily, with a few mods for extremely cold weather (like heavy window coverings, and heated water hose).

As suggested, check the max cargo or payload rating of you truck first. It is on a sticker on the truck and varies by truck model.

My 2011 F-150 has a max cargo of 1411 lbs. So even though it will tow a 9000 lb. trailer; the truck load including the tongue weight cannot exceed 1411 lbs.

Typically with a ½ ton this means you can tow about a 5000 lb. trailer or something about 25 ft. or so, and still have capacity for people and gear.

mamanomad wrote:
Need it for long term missions work camps all over US. Want to be able to pull it with a 1500 Silverado.

Welcome to the forum.

There's a lot of information available on here. If you're just starting out with trailer towing, there's a lot to learn.

All over the US --- You'll need to educate yourself on travel trailers in cold weather. IE; tank heat, insulation, humidity control, how to prevent pipe freezing, stinky slinky and hoses freezing, tank dumping procedures, etc.

Note: When you hear the term "heated tanks", you need to find out how those tanks are heated. There are varrying degrees of heated tanks. Flagstaff / Rocwood are part of the few manufacturers who install electric tank heaters as an option. Some manufacturers won't install them period.

Pulling with 1500 Silverado --- You'll need to educate yourself on towing terms (Payload, GVWR, GCVWR, receiver ratings, weight distribution hitches, tongue weight / hitch weight, sway control, etc). What are the definitions, limitations, and how are they inter-related? IE: Work camping may require bringing a lot of stuff. What it weighs and where you put it may impact what you can tow, or, what you are towing, may restrict what you can bring.

Check out:
Coachmen Apex
Passport
Winnebago Minnie
Flagstaff/Rockwood Mini-Lite
Fun-Finder

All of these have moderately light weight floor plans that may work for you. Just know that all 1500s aren't the same. You need to know the tow limit of your truck, including payload.

I had a Jayco 27BH, it weighed 4800 empty. With a family of 6 we camped with it for 3 seasons before we upgraded. It did not have a slide out.

Airstream