Towing a 39' TT across country? Possible or no?

[jlfought]

We will be taking our family of 7 across country for a year in a TT. There is a 2002 Dutchmen that we love but its 39' feet long. Is it even possible to tow something like this full time? We currently have a 1/2 ton Burb and we know that wouldn't do it. So we have been looking at possibly getting a 2500 8.1L 4:10. We have checked and cross checked weights and specs for everything, double checked if there would be issues at campgrounds with such a mammoth, checked out WD Bars, bigger hitches and so on and so on. Now my head hurts. So I need your well seasoned opinion and experience, is this a lost cause or can it be done- safely?

Thanks in Advance 😃

[intheburbs]

Forget about the weight of the trailer. It's meaningless. Theoretically, a 2500 Burb could easily pull a 15,000-lb trailer.

All you care about is the weight on the four wheels of your tow vehicle. 2500 Burbs, regardless of the year, are 8600-lb GVWR vehicles. Payload is right around 2000 lbs. Take away 700 lbs for your family, that leaves you with 1300 lbs of tongue weight. Is the trailer tongue weight higher or lower than 1300 lbs?

FYI - the Excursion is a great vehicle, too. However, the diesels have much heavier engines, and actually have a lower payload rating than the 2500 Suburbans. I love the concept of a DuraBurb, but you take a big hit on payload, so, to me, it kinda defeats the purpose of the diesel upgrade.

On my last trip with my family of 5, we were at 8460 on GVW. And that's with a ~900-lb tongue. Not much payload left.

For a monster trailer like that, a 1-ton van is your only option.

[goducks10]

I think I'd just get a nice 65-70" HD tv and watch the travel channel. Take the extra money and make several trips to Disney World:)

[johninedmonton]

I'm also hitting the road, with my 4 kids and wife, for a year. 6 people. We looked at a 3500 truck and a 3500 van and decided against them. Why? Because when we aren't towing the trailer we will still need to go to museums and grocery stores and malls. Those are some BIG vehicles, but with very little room inside.

My decision was to get a '05 Excursion with the 6.0L diesel, get the engine bullet proofed, and fix it up to my standard. I chose against the older 7.3 because of the weak transmission and the general age (wear and tear) of the vehicles.

Our trailer weighs 7,500 dry. Loaded we will be closer to a realistic 9,000lbs. with all of our gear (read: crap).

While the Excursion is rated to be strong enough, 11,000lbs. of towing capacity and 1,800lbs. of payload (family weighs 750 and tongue will be another 850), we will also be adding to the suspension system for peace of mind. Airlift in the rear, upgraded springs in the front, and let's not forget the best damned brakes money can buy. Stopping is the most important part of towing!

It should be a safe hauler. At least the safest I can find/make. A truck isn't as safe for us, because having a kid sitting next to me and pulling at my arm is a danger, no matter the technology or truck size available. Space to work, to move my arms, is as important as anything else. Keep that in mind.

Also make sure you get the best hitch you can. I did months of research, tried 3 different hitches, and finally settled on the Andersen WD. It's spectacular, consistent, and reliable. Easy to use. There may be better hitches if you're an expert, but my wife can hook us up. And it's always the exact same fine-tuned setup every single time. That's also important; a consistent towing feel and experience.

Ultimately, be safe. Don't be stupid and risky. Remain calm and controlled at all times, and you'll be safer on the road than any piece of technology or spreadsheet can provide to you. If the driver is tired or grumpy, hopped up on coffee or not feeling well... don't drive. There's less margin for error here.

Safe towing!

[dadmomh]

Totally aside from the weight questions....that's a LOT of trailer and finding sites is likely going to take some serious homework. It's not that a CG wouldn't have a site that's long enough, the trick is getting the 39' + your tow vehicle maneuvered around trees and such to get to the site in the first place. I see a potential for KOAs in your future without good planning. With 7 you're for sure going to want full hookups or you'll be dragging the blue tote 3x a day. As for staying off the interstates, unless there is another reason, I think interstates would be a benefit since you won't be dealing with small town streets and corners.

Suggest you check into an app, and I don't know the name of it - someone here likely will, but it gives you info on fuel stops and getting in and out easily. Some of the Pilot/Flying J/Love's are great if it weren't for the cars parked directly in front of the building. Getting in is one thing, getting out is another. This app is supposed to help you with that.

Sounds like a great trip! Is this a travel/home study experience??

[Drum]

I'm a big believer in the 1 ton van. I bought my Ford E350 (12 passenger) based on advice from this forum. It's a breeze pulling my 31'6" Coachmen and the family rides in total comfort. I use it as my daily driver too. With all the seats in, I can take a crowd of people to concerts or other events when we're not camping. I can pop the back seats out and haul an unbelievable amount of weight if need be, too. I recently added some cool wheels and a kickin' stereo system for creature comfort, and I've got to say this is one of my favorite vehicles I've owned.

[Mickeyfan0805]

jlfought wrote:
"We'll only be towing our TT for a few hours every week or two. But we will be spending weeks in our TT. Oh wait..." lol

If this is the case, have you considered the possibility of two vehicles? You could keep your current Suburban for family driving and pick up something to tow the camper at a relatively inexpensive price. This would not only open the door to more tow vehicles, but would also open the door to fifth wheels for more room when you are in camp.

We chose to go with the HD Suburban because we do long hauls (500-600 miles in a day). If we were only driving a few hours, however, we would have been far more apt to look at a pick-up and a fifth wheel.

[jlfought]

The other options would also work right? An Excursion, or 1 ton van( some have also mentioned shuttle busses or something similar)? We are having a lot of trouble finding any Burb 2500 8.1L 4/1 to buy. That's why I ask.

[jlfought]

Ok we are not getting the Dutchmen 39' one. Just too much to take on at this point. Sad but at least it's decided. Thanks to all of you for your input it was very greatly appreciated and really helped to guide us in our decision.

And we are using your suggestions in looking for a new vehicle 😃

Now the decision is if the McKenzie 30' trailer will be doable. We look at that tomorrow. It has a dry weight of 6750.

[BurbMan]

jlfought wrote:
Just checking out the 2008 McKenzie we are looking at Thursday and see that it is a 30' TT ( 32' from hitch) and is showing a GVWR of 11000 it self, dry weight about 6750. Don't feel like that is much better but suppose it would handle better being smaller that the Ducthmen?? The Dutchmen dry weight is listed as 8,146, though the seller said it was only 7,600lbs.

We would still need another vehicle regardless. The suggestions are a Diesel Excursion,3/4 ton Burb or 1 ton van. At least I am getting things narrowed down and some clarity.

This forum has been such a life saver- perhaps literally! (:

I am leaning toward not going with the dutchmen. As beautiful and perfect for us as it is, I don't know that it's worth the safety risk especially us being new to all this. We'll have enough headaches along the way and don't need to purposely add another one (;

My husband and I will have to talk and pray about it. Ill be sure to have read through all the great advice on here (=

Feedback is still appreciated though as we make our final decisions. Especially since the McKenzies GVWR is only 1,000 lbs less than the Dutchmen. I'm about to just have us sleep in the back of our Burb lol

The McKenzie is a good match for a burb weight wise, the Dutchman is too heavy.

[jlfought]

BurbMan wrote:
I can tell you exactly what the numbers are. Our Suburban is the LT model with all bells/whistles, so is heavy at the scale. We are 6700 lbs with full fuel and 230 lb driver (hey, I'm 6'5"!)

First a little on the tow rating...the 12,000 tow rating is based on an empty vehicle with one 150-lb driver. Every pound you add to the truck subtracts from the tow rating. If you look at the GCWR of 19,000, that is the max that the truck and trailer together can weigh. If you load the truck up to its 8600 lb limit, you can really only tow 10,400. make sense?

OK, on to the weights. So let's assume you load 700 lbs of kids in teh truck along with the 250 lb driver so 6700 + 700 = 7400 lbs. GVWR of the burb is 8600, so that leaves you 1200 lbs for hitch and tongue weight. Coincidentally that is right at what out TT weighs. With a family of 4 adults (kids grow up, ugh) we are at about 8600-8700 lbs at the scales. The trailer comes in about 8500 lbs fully loaded.

Honestly I wouldn't want to be towing any heavier with this truck. It tows great and had enough power to tackle any hill or situation that I can throw at it.

The trailer before this one was a 34' Sunnybrook with 4 bunks. Kids loved it and it weighed almost exactly the same as this one.

Without knowing the weights of the trailer you are looking at I am going to say it sounds too big for a Suburban. It will also be a bear to maneuver, those few extra feet can block you from a lot of CG spots.

Trailer mfrs post a sticker with the dry weight of the unit inside a cabinet door inside, usually under or over the sink. As a general guideline and assuming you are towing with the 2500 8.1/4.10 combo, I would look for trailers with a dry weight of around 7000 lbs. that leaves you room for 1500+ lbs of cargo in the trailer, so your loaded weight will be about 8500 lbs, that should keep your tongue weight in the 1100 lb range.

Regarding length i would stay under 35' if you can just to make it easier to maneuver. The 39' will work if its not too heavy but will limit you where you can camp. I would also encourage you to look at either a Hensley or Propride hitch (new or used). Especially driving cross-country, you will appreciate the stability of the hitch in high winds, etc.

Makes perfect sense 😃 Thanks! The 32'(from hitch) McKenzie we are also looking at comes in at 6750 dry weight. You feel this one too would be to big/heavy?

[BurbMan]

I can tell you exactly what the numbers are. Our Suburban is the LT model with all bells/whistles, so is heavy at the scale. We are 6700 lbs with full fuel and 230 lb driver (hey, I'm 6'5"!)

First a little on the tow rating...the 12,000 tow rating is based on an empty vehicle with one 150-lb driver. Every pound you add to the truck subtracts from the tow rating. If you look at the GCWR of 19,000, that is the max that the truck and trailer together can weigh. If you load the truck up to its 8600 lb limit, you can really only tow 10,400. make sense?

OK, on to the weights. So let's assume you load 700 lbs of kids in teh truck along with the 250 lb driver so 6700 + 700 = 7400 lbs. GVWR of the burb is 8600, so that leaves you 1200 lbs for hitch and tongue weight. Coincidentally that is right at what out TT weighs. With a family of 4 adults (kids grow up, ugh) we are at about 8600-8700 lbs at the scales. The trailer comes in about 8500 lbs fully loaded.

Honestly I wouldn't want to be towing any heavier with this truck. It tows great and had enough power to tackle any hill or situation that I can throw at it.

The trailer before this one was a 34' Sunnybrook with 4 bunks. Kids loved it and it weighed almost exactly the same as this one.

Without knowing the weights of the trailer you are looking at I am going to say it sounds too big for a Suburban. It will also be a bear to maneuver, those few extra feet can block you from a lot of CG spots.

Trailer mfrs post a sticker with the dry weight of the unit inside a cabinet door inside, usually under or over the sink. As a general guideline and assuming you are towing with the 2500 8.1/4.10 combo, I would look for trailers with a dry weight of around 7000 lbs. that leaves you room for 1500+ lbs of cargo in the trailer, so your loaded weight will be about 8500 lbs, that should keep your tongue weight in the 1100 lb range.

Regarding length i would stay under 35' if you can just to make it easier to maneuver. The 39' will work if its not too heavy but will limit you where you can camp. I would also encourage you to look at either a Hensley or Propride hitch (new or used). Especially driving cross-country, you will appreciate the stability of the hitch in high winds, etc.

[nomad297]

camp-n-family wrote:

This does not make sense and only adds confusion for the OP. The passengers, cargo and snacks are not going to take away from the maximum trailer weight -- they will take away from the payload of the van. The only place the passengers, cargo and snacks in the van are related to the trailer weight is when they are included in the GCWR.

Rubber Ducky has it right. Tow ratings are based on an empty vehicle. Any weight added to the tow vehicle, other than the 150lbs allowance for the driver already included, reduces the tow rating pound for pound.

If this is true, please tell me where GCWR comes into play.

Bruce

[jlfought]

Lowsuv wrote:
It would be worth the trip to take 4 of you and sit in the back of a MegaCab . Those things are huge .
An extra seatbelt could be added to the 3 that are already in back .
The back is so big that the seat makes into a bed .
A HOTROD upholstery shop could create 2 rear facing seats for the back that would bolt to the seat belt anchors . Those guys are creative .
That chassis , running gear , brakes , and drivetrain are the most capable for your heavy duty payload and towing requirements .

Did not even know all that was possible! More food for thought! Thanks!

[jlfought]

My husband and I decided that we were just going to go with something little just to avoid all this headache. I mean like a 26-28' ( That's little to us for a family of 7)-one of the lite versions.

But then we were talking it all out and I said,"well it comes down to this: would we rather have a big TT with plenty of room but have to deal with the headache of towing it. Or would we rather have a small TT that might be a bit cramped but will be a breeze on the road?" I had myself convinced of a smaller TT at this point until I immediately ponder this: "We'll only be towing our TT for a few hours every week or two. But we will be spending weeks in our TT. Oh wait..." lol

Crap! I thought I had made my mind up but now am not so sure once that thought came into my head. I have actually started dreaming about TT, particularly the Dutchmen and how to make it work. Seriously, even when I am asleep I am still thinking about this. Just praying for clarity here!!

I had my husband read through all the posts and he was equally surprised by some of the vehicle recommendations. We would have never thought of a big van or a bus. They seem opposite of what we need for some reason. Such great advise!

Thanks everyone, keep the input coming cause I still don't know what we are going to do for a vehicle or a trailer!

Our house is up for sale and when it sells we will hit the road. So kind of need to get this figured out lol

[hvac]

I know this sounds crazy, but a good used school bus, with a diesel and automatic tranny can be found for well under 20k.Probably air ride as well, some have a/c ins southern districts. Wont even feel the trailer. Really,7 kids and all the stuff with a 39 ft trailer is going to be in the mid size commercial category.

No fighting for good seating and take some rows out of the back and put in a table and lounge area. Slip in a little porta potti and just think of the time saved stopping at all the gas stations! Just sayin!!